Panthea Stephane Humbert Lucas 777

The first thing that struck me about this perfume was the name. Panthea, from Greek, meaning “all of the gods”, is a pretty bold name if you ask me. So naturally I was expecting a bold fragrance, something titanic and worthy of the gods, but nope. Nothing like that here. Panthea is unapologetically generic.

It opens with a very mellow citrus, crisp green violets, and iris. Surrounding the iris and violet, I get a big cloud of waxy, soapy aldehydes and what I suspect is calone, with its watery melons and ocean breeze facets. Panthea is very similar in feel to Acqua di Gio Homme, though substituting the barbershop cologne aromatics for violet, iris, and jasmine. I would throw Panthea into the aquatic soapy green floral category. The projection is moderate as is the longevity.

While I do accuse this perfume of being generic, that doesn’t mean it smells bad. Quite the contrary. Panthea actually smells really nice. It’s a definite crowd pleaser with mass market appeal and would probably not offend anyone but there’s nothing unique or anything really memorable about it like many of the houses other offerings are. It could just as easily be a body spray sold at the local pharmacy, scent wise, though the juice itself is obviously of much higher quality than a body spray. But overall it feels unfinished, uninspired, and rushed, as if Lucas was more concerned with pushing out another release on schedule rather than devoting more time into creating something incredible. In his quest to remain relevant and in the spotlight, he compromised his artistry.

While it could definitely be pulled off by both sexes, Panthea leans feminine. The violets and calone really amp up and turn a bit shrill in the heart then sweeten up before dying down into a very anticlimactic clean and powdery musk. I never get any tobacco or tonka though the notes are listed. While I find it pleasant enough, I’m just not compelled to buy a full bottle.  It just doesn’t have the wow factor.  I sure hope Lucas puts more effort into his future releases because this one is suuuuper boring or to use the highbrow adjective currently in vogue, “pedestrian”.

Season: Spring/ Summer

Top: Bergamot, tangerine

Heart: Iris, violet, jasmine

Base: White musk, tobacco, tonka, sandalwood

Black Gemstone Stephane Humbert Lucas 777

Though I would classify this as a masculine fragrance, I believe certain women could wear it as well. Bold, confident, perhaps even an audacious woman. She wears bespoke pant suits and is a CEO or major shareholder. She makes moves and big decisions. It would seem foreign on a pink glitter, girly girl though, like a heavy cloud was following her, as if she had dark secrets. But on a bold woman in a position of power, it would be the scent of womens progress: how far women have come in terms of equality and holding their own. Needless to say, this is a power fragrance that makes a bold statement.

The first time I tried Black Gemstone was well over a year ago and I must say, I was not ready for it. I remember thinking burnt rubber and gasoline haha. So I put it away for another day and since I’ve been on a roll with SHL 777 lately, that day has come.

My initial reaction was an overreaction though. This is a beautiful woody resins bomb. The top can be an overwhelming blast of lemon, cedar, and frankincense which create an almost pitch tar aroma. After a few wearings though, it’s one of my favorite parts about this fragrance. The lemon makes the resins really sparkle and gives it a fizzy, effervescent quality, though the heart is really where it’s at for me.

The overall feel of this fragrance is dry, smokey woods but frankincense is a sweet resin and this frag is loaded with it along with myrrhe. So while it’s dry overall, there is a sweetness about it. It’s like you can smell the layers here. The main layer being a dry and opaque wood that’s covered in a sheer veil of sweet resin. The heart is all about frankincense and I pick up on rose and saffron though they aren’t listed. This accord reminds me of Encens Mythique without the heavy dose of ambergris.

 

I found the top to be loud and overpowering but it quickly mellows down. The projection is moderate to heavy and the longevity is quite good. I applied some on my wrists last night before bed and I could still smell it after I woke up.This perfume has the weight of a traditional oud in its deep woody robustness. And like most ouds, would work best as an evening fragrance or cooler weather. This is a pretty heavy hitter and not for everyone so testing is highly recommended before buying. But if you enjoy woody fragrances and incense, it’s definitely one to check out. 

There’s something very formal, maybe even highbrow, about Black Gemstone. I don’t see it as a casual, day-to-day fragrance to be worn frivolously. Something this complex  and extraordinary should be reserved for special occasions. This is burning incense inside the Kaaba or Holy of Holies, precious and rare.  This fragrance is a dark gem indeed.

Season: Fall/Winter 

Top: Lemon, cedar

Heart: Myrrhe, resins

Base: Teak wood, frankincense, tonka

2022 Generation Femme Stephane Humbert Lucas 777

I’ve been on such a roll going through these Stephane Humbert Lucas samples, I’m determined now to finish reviewing the rest of the set now haha. So 2022 Generation is the name of this fragrance though I’m not completely savvy to its name or meaning. Perhaps it is in reference to the 2022 FIFA that is scheduled to take place in Doha, Qatar? Lucas names most of his frags thus far in reference to places in the Middle East and the only thing I see relevant to 2022 is FIFA. I’m just guessing here but I must say the use of galbanum along side an almond and heliotrope accord in the top is most unusual. Galbanum is an incredibly potent green note while heliotrope is typically the main player in powdery fragrances along with iris and violet. With it’s cherry-almond facets that are quasi-gourmand in nature, heliotrope is a sweet fruity floral note while galbanum is an aggressive, musky gum-resin containing terpenes and even sulfur that is quite disagreeable on it’s own. And I know this from personal experience after spilling a beaker with about 15mls of galbanum tincture on my bathroom counter. The grout between the tiles soaked it up and my bathroom reeked of galbanum for weeks lol. Needless to say, these are two notes that are not usually coupled together. But Lucas has clearly worked some type of sorcery allowing these two conflicting notes to play well together.

Galbanum plant

The galbanum doesn’t last very long though since it’s a top note. Within 10 minutes or so it’s completely dissipated and I’m left with a bright sweet heliotrope, cherry-almond, and tonka accord that becomes increasingly sweet moving into the heart. This is quite enjoyable and anyone that loves heliotrope should certainly give this one a try. It’s a very modern, fruity floral. And though the heart is a familiar play on heliotrope and almonds, the galbanum opening alongside these notes make for a very unique opening.

Potted heliotrope

Apricot is listed though I don’t pick up on it much nor the white tea. But it’s still a very fruity scent from the cherry-almond of the heliotrope. The projection is moderate to high. I dabbed a small bit on my left hand and I can smell it from almost a meter away so this is some potent juice! It lasts a very long time too, which for me is a major plus since most heliotrope frags I have are low projection skinscents that fade into the base after a few hours.

A few of my favorite heliotrope perfumes, Guerlain Meteorites center

I still detect heliotrope all the way through to the base but now it’s alongside sandalwood and tonka. Though I am not a fan of cherry notes I actually adore heliotrope and this perfume does the note more than fair justice. It’s sweet but not cloying though I imagine a heavy hand could really amp up this juice since it’s so potent. I love that this frag really brings out the cherry-almond nuances of heliotrope rather than suppress it to crush it into a powdery fragrance. Because this perfume isn’t very powdery at all though my nose tries to convince me that it is since my associations of heliotrope have all been with powdery fragrances. But nope, no powder. Just heady heliotrope in all it’s glory and just LOVE it. Will be buying a bottle of this!!!

Season: Spring/ Summer but works well year round

Top: Nectarine, neroli, almond, galbanum

Heart: White tea, heliotrope, cherry-almond

Base: Sandalwood, tonka, jasmine

Rose de Petra Stephane Humbert Lucas 777

When I think of Petra, I think dry dusty, and ancient. Of course the first image that comes to mind is of the great temple of Al-Khazneh, that’s carved into the side of the pink sandstone canyon wall. Al-khazneh, known as “The Treasury”, was thought to contain hidden treasures and pirate loot and is one of the most popular tourist attractions, if not the most popular attraction, in Jordan.

Rose de Petra is not a dry dusty rose however so it’s difficult for me to abstractly connect this fragrance with the location. To me, this fragrace is a humid, dewy, sweet, and boozy deep burgandy rose, growing in the proximity of an open air spice market.

Rose de Petra opens with a sugary candied rose, sweetened by litchi and pomegranate. It’s also very spicy with pepper and cardamom. It’s in the same vein as a rose/oud though oud is not listed as a note. But it definitely feels like there’s a small amount in the composition along with patchouli, though both are very much in the background. And even though cumin is listed, I detect none.

While I generally dislike overly ripened fruit notes, the litchi and pomegranate are perfectly ripe and are used here in the best way, supporting and enhancing the rose without ever becoming too dominate or cloying. Think sweetened rosewater, which is a very inexpensive luxury to have especially during the hot summer months. I keep an atomizer of rosewater in my bag to refresh and cool myself during the grueling summer days on the go.

My go-to rosewater spray

For a spicy rose perfume, this one is very tame compared to others in this group. It seems to come and go throughout the course of the day, playing a bit of hide and seek. I almost concluded it had poor longevity then I would catch another waft of this intoxicatingly beautiful fragrance.

Though rose-centric perfumes are not in short supply, I think this one is different enough to stand on it’s own. The use of juicy sweet notes along with the dry spicy notes give this rose a unique feel and very modern, Western twist to the long held Middle Eastern tradition of spicy roses.

Season: All

Top: Litchi, pomegranate, Rose

Heart: Deep Bulgarian rose

Base: Pepper, cardamom, cumin

O Hira Stephane Humbert Lucas 777

Though Fragrantica has this listed as straight up ambergris, this is really a labdanum and resin bomb. My last post was somewhat of a rant over these two notes inspired by finding the note pyramid for this fragrance on Fragrantica, what a joke lol.

So it’s all about amber here, but ambergris? I think not. I don’t really get any of that salty marine aroma though I’m sure it must be in there. It HAS to be, because this is incredibly expensive juice. A 50 ml bottle retails over $700 USD!!! Labdanum in itself is not a very expensive nor rare material at all so my only guess is that the price reflects the materials but this is just an assumption. Mr. Lucas could actually be pulling our leg here, bluffing the ambergris note since the actual notes were not divulged. I was actually surprised LuckyScent added it in as a free sample with my purchase to be honest since it costs so much lol.

What I detect most is honeyed labdanum, which is a balsam from the cistus plant, commonly called rock rose. This is dreamy labdanum though as the turpinoids and tar like qualities have been greatly smoothed out and sweetened. I pick up lots of benzoin which adds spicy cinnamon and vanilla nuances to the composition. There’s actually enough cinnamon that it could be its own note here.

This fragrance has a very leathery overall feel to it. It’s dirty but not cumin or civet dirty, but sweaty birch tar dirty. Brand new leather. It’s also a little boozy from honey. It smells like it should be sticky after being sprayed on skin, as concentrated labdanum tincture can be as well as honey. As a side note, at least honey can be washed off with water. Labdanum is not water soluble and if the absolute gets on skin it has to be dissolved with alcohol or some type of spirit but that’s the nature of resins and most balsams.

While I absolutely adore labdanum and this fragrance masterfully showcases the note as there’s no denying its beauty, there’s no way I could justify buying a full bottle since to me, it’s just a labdanum “soliflore” and I could easily mix one up myself from my collection of EOs and absolutes. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I could recreate this fragrance because I can’t or that my little tincture would be as nice as O’ Hira becauseit wouldn’t be. I don’t have all those materials readily available. I’m nota trained perfumer and I’m not THAT arrogant haha. What I AM saying though, is that I could very easily and cheaply tincture some cistus absolute that would satisfy any urge to wear a labdanum soliflore should one arise lol. And I’d still have my $700. Bottom line: yes it’s nice and the bottle is awesome but it’s not worth the asking price IMO. Next.

Season: Fall/Winter
Notes: Who really knows but definitely labdanum lol

Mortal Skin Stephane Humbert Lucas

This is a strange perfume I really enjoy though it’s not a frag I couldn’t live without, I’ll admit. You definitely won’t smell it everywhere- it’s a very “niche” niche scent. I absolutely adore the flacon though! Stephane Humbert Lucas’s presentation is top notch! You can really feel the quality in the heavy weight of the bottle and especially the cap. The juice is also incredibly potent. They only come in 50ml size but a little goes a long way. One or two sprays max is plenty for good projection.

Mortal Skin opens with a strong, hyper-realistic ink note. It’s sweetened by blackberry and warmed by the smell of unburnt incense, nag champa incense to be precise. On me the scent remains fairly linear as I can still detect all three of these main notes all the way until the end. I also detect cold metallic iris in the composition. The projection is moderate to heavy depending on how heavy your hand is when spraying it on.

This piece is very different from the 777 collection, which mostly center around amber notes and all have a Middle Eastern vibe. In fact, he made it a point of creating an entirely different collection called the snake collection to separate it from the 777 collection.

Some fragrances fall short of living up to their concept. Angel, for example, is anything BUT angelic in my opinion lol. It’s a monster actually haha. Alien as well, being a huge white floral, does not smell “alien” to me. A fragrance called Alien in my book would smell closer to Nebula 1. Mortal Skin with the metallic snake concept, nails it. It’s cold like snake skin. When I try to imagine what snake venom might smell like, this would be it (accurate or not).

I’ve always had a slight fear but at the same time, facination of snakes. Being born and raised in Texas, snakes are part of the culture here because they are literally everywhere. Venomous, non-venomous, we have them all in great quantities. The worst ones are the coral snakes and the pit vipers: copperheads, rattlers, and cotton-mouths or water moccasins, which are aggressive and known to give chase if one gets too close to a nest. The bite of a pit viper can be lethal if not given medical attention, though deaths are rare since there is plently of anti-venom around. Occasionally I find tiny brown grass snakes in my garden and will pick them up. They will interlace themselves between your fingers if you let them and they don’t bite. But I was raised to be cautious of snakes, to know how to identify them, to respect them, and most important- if you see one, give them space, especially if it’s venomous.

Many people are afraid of snakes and for good reason. Even the thought of a snake disturbs some folks, giving them rapid heart beat and the “heebie jeebies”. So this perfume and its snake motif may incite that primal feeling of fear and even disgust.

I also want to point out that the name, “Mortal Skin” is almost a play on words, reminiscent of “Mortal Sin”. And that conjures up images of the whole Adam and Eve story with the snake, who according to legend, committed the original sin and brought mortality to mankind. Needless to say, but the use of snake imagery and metaphor is a much more gothic noir/ avant garde approach to marketing and branding than most perfume houses who typically opt for more light and airy themes like the Angel concept or flowers and candy and such.

I’d say that this perfume is unisex, leaning feminine. The blackberry note gives it a bit of sweetness not typical of masculine fragrances but men can definitely still pull this off.

For those who love unique scents, this is a definite must try. I ordered a sample off LuckyScent for around $7 and sprung for a full bottle after only testing twice. It’s edgy and boldly unique but it’s not for everyone and also not cheap at $290 USD for 50ml, so testing before buying is recommended. But whether you end up loving it or disliking it, this perfume is a very unique experience.

Season: Winter/Fall. I like it year round

Top: Blackberry, ink, incense, labdanum

Heart: Opoponax, artemisia, myrrhe, iris, cardamom

Base: Ambergris, styrax, cedar, birch, sandalwood, musk

Ambre Eccentrico Armani Privé

​Ambre Eccentrico is a very warm and spicey unisex vanilla fragrance. Like most of the other prives in the opaque black flacons, AE is a heavier, cold weather fragrance. I could see this being suffocating in the heat, just like all the others from the “black line”.

The main notes I detect are vanilla, tonka, benzoin, and cardamom with an indistinguishable fruity accord sweetening up the composition. It somewhat reminds me of Tom Fords Noir  fragrances in the black striated bottles, only less complex, less sweet, and with a heavy dose of cardamom.

This would be a very cozy scent to wear around the holidays. And while I DO find it too heavy and spicey for the summer, it’s not so overbearing to wear around others, say at holiday parties and such, since the projection is moderate for a black line prive. I emphasize that because others from the collection such as Rose d’Arabie, Oud Royal, and Myrrhe Imperiale are such intense and overbearing powerhouses that I could never recommend them to wear to any casual social gatherings. I see them more as going out, statement fragrances and not office friendly at all.

But Ambre Eccentrico is much easier to wear as it’s more laid back and mellow. Not so much of a powerhouse or “in your face”. While I love the idea of powerhouses, I also think it’s unfair play, and rude even, to assault other noses with them in confined quarters. So while I would very heavily caution against black bottle Armani Prives to wear in social settings, Ambre Eccentrico would be an exception.

This is a big warm cozy hug of a fragrance. And while it IS a thick, syrupy amber, it sits much closer to the skin as the projection is quite low, so it’s much more intimate. Wearing this makes me yearn for snow, sipping a hot coffee in front of a wood burning fire place, and toasting nuts in the fire.

If you are a vanilla  fan, this is definitely one to check out, but keep in mind that it’s spicey, thick and to many gourmand aficionados, this one would be considered to lean masculine though on a grander scale I believe it is a very centered unisex. But delicious nonetheless.

Notes: Amber, Cinnamon, Vanilla, Tonka, Patchouli, Plum, Fruits, Cardamom

Aventus Creed

Known in the fragrance community for its cult-like following and “batch hype”, Aventus has earned its infamy and rightfully so. This chypre fruity is nicknamed “the King” among its die-hard fans and even has its very own Facebook group, “The Aventus Lounge” dedicated to batch discussions, raffles, and batch swaps. Most Aventus enthusiasts own several batches from different years, and typically have a favorite batch. Quite a few other fragrances have tried to mimic the scent itself, most notably Club de Nuit Intense Man, though the dupes have failed to garner the love and following that Aventus has.

CDNIM, a cheap dupe of Aventus

Batch discussions in the fragrance community’s’ most popular forum, Fragrantica, have created much controversy and many heated discussion ‘reviews’ and stands as the most reviewed mens fragrance to date. Seven years after its release, this fragrance has only gained greater momentum and a larger audience. And for good reason: it’s fantastic!

Photo Credit to Daniel Faulkner from The Aventus Lounge

Aventus starts out with a fresh burst of citrus, green apple, and pineapple then gradually dries down to a crisp but musky birch base. Variations within the batches typically lean either towards being more fruity or more smokey, though the real smoke was removed from the fragrance around 2014, with a reformulation removing the greater amounts of birch tar due to IFRA regulations, giving rise to “vintage” batches known for the heavier smokey notes.  These vintage batches dating back from 2011 and earlier can sell for hundreds of dollars more than the current market price and a few batches, most notably 11z01, are considered the ‘holy grail’ of batches and are highly sought after. 

Aventus has become the epitome of a mans fragrance with many newcomers to the frag community claiming that it smells “generic”, though obviously ignorant to its many copy-cat dupes and outright counterfeits currently flooding the market and the many other perfumes that try to duplicate elements of this notorious fragrance.

But through it all, there is only one Aventus and die-hard “fumeheads” certainly know this as the fragrance is more in demand than ever. And I for one, can’t name any other mens fragrance on the market with its very own FaceBook group not to mention its own breed of memes. Yes MEMES! lol

Aventus makes an awesome go-to “signature scent” as it works great year round, in any weather or climate, and is appropriate for any occasion, though I would advise a light hand when applying for office wear as it can really be a powerhouse when applied heavily. The heat really amps up the projection so a lighter application is also recommended for summertime use, whereas in the winter, the cold suppresses the notes so a heavier application serves to achieve better projection. Longevity is good to even great, depending on whether or not your skin “eats fragrances”, with average longevity at 6 hours though some get 12 hours+. On me, it lasts a solid 8 hours on skin and I can still smell it on clothes for days.

Aventus is an easy to wear crowd pleaser though the price range does put it up there into the niche category, so the chances of bumping into someone else wearing it within your network is less likely though not completely improbable due to its popularity. One thing is for sure, this fragrance will get you noticed and compliments galore.

Season: All

Top: Bergamot, Black Currant, Pineapple, Apple

Heart: Jasmine, Rose, Patchouli, Birch

Base: Ambergris, Oakmoss, Vanilla, Musk