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

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

Attrape Cœur

I finally, FINALLY got my hands on a bottle of this insanely rare perfume and I’m just smitten. In fact, I got not one but TWO formulations of this rare elixir, that has eluded me for that past 3 years, popping up in eBay here and there but just out of reach since the listings typically go for around $800 and up. And that’s just beyond my budget, unfortunately. But I found one at a reasonable price and snagged it right up. I don’t think it had been listed more than an hour lol.

So the fragrance itself is exactly what I was expecting it to be: it smells like Evasion, but perhaps a bit less creamy. The top notes are subtly different and it really takes a few minutes until it gets into the heart of the perfume, for that familar, intoxicating fragrance to begin seducing the senses.

This Bee Bottle flacon that I bought is, from my understanding, the second version of Attrape Cœur, aside from the other named incarnations. It’s a reformulation. The juice is golden yellow as opposed to that familiar shade of peach that I have become accustomed to from Evasion. But the scent itself is the same.

Now for the original formula, which I acquired as a 15ml decant from an incredible swap partner on Fragrantica. It’s incredible. It’s BEYOND incredible! This juice IS peach colored only deeper, darker than Evasion. It’a also a bit “dirtier”. From what I’ve learned, the original Attrape Cœur contained oak moss, which shortly thereafter production, became banned by the IFRA. So it was reformulated with a different tree moss. But the original is thick, syrupy and wears like an extrait. Perhaps it IS an extrait, I’m not sure, but it certainly feels like and wears as such. But it is amazing and I would consider selling a kidney to get a hold of a full bottle of the original haha.

Oakmoss. Photo Credit to Eden Botanicals

The reformulated version is definitely lighter, more effervescent and doesn’t have nearly the longevity of the original. In fact I think Evasion actually wears longer than the reformulated version, though the longevity IS fair for an EdP.

Photo Credit to Monsieur Guerlain

So now I’m left with two more versions of this precious liquid to try: Guet Apens and Royal Extract. Though there ARE actually several other versions of this fragrance that were released over the years, they were such limited and exclusive releases that it’s just not plausible I will ever get to try them. But I’m happy to say that I located and purchased a partial bottle of Guet Apens from a person in France, though it will be several weeks until I see it. But I definitely have something to look forward to!

For die hard perfumistas and serious Guerlain aficionados, there are only handful of perfumes from this house that are truly considered real unicorns, holy grails, the “El Dorados” of fragrance and Attrape Cœur is right up there at the top. It is truly a masterpiece and I hope Guerlain continues to tease us over the years with more mysterious releases of this elusive perfume. ❤

Guerlains limited release “Guet Apens” 120ml  blue lamp flacon 

Season: Any and every chance you get, but it wears great year round.

Top: Peach, Rose

Heart: Iris, Jasmine

Base: Vanilla, Amber, Oakmoss, Woods

Various flacons released containing this same fragrance. Photo Credit to Monsieur Guerlain.