Decennial Lys de Desert

Last week I was lucky enough to chat with Andy Tauer at ScentBar where he premiered his new scent for Tableau de Parfums. Loretta. He also pointed out to me a new creation of his that is part of a group of four scents that celebrate the ten-year anniversary of LuckyScent.

Andy loves California and isn’t shy about telling you about it. He especially loves the High Desert around Joshua Tree, where he goes camping whenever he’s in the state. Lys de Desert was inspired by the scents of the area, including the rare desert lily, which happened to be in bloom on his first trip.

I liked Loretta. I love Lys de Desert.

Notes (from LuckyScent): Bergamot, rose, green lily, dry cistrose, iris root, ambergris, dry cedar

Did you pipe the word “dry?” Yes, it’s a dry scent, but one that really captures the dryness of the California desert. Dry, but with a sense of stored water: sweet green succulents, salvia, incense cedar trees, and one of the desert’s oldest living organism, the creosote bush. The initial green aspects give way as the scent dries down to a yin and yang of sweet and dry, warm and cool. It’s gorgeous.

It’s available only at LuckyScent, $150 for 75ML. I asked for and received my sample from ScentBar.

Image: joshua.tree.national-park.com

  • fragrance says:

    Two reviews for the same perfume that people are liking like anything! This is something very fanatic.

  • Joe says:

    I ordered a sample of Lys du Désert as soon as I heard about it and — I am so sad to say — I was really disappointed. I don’t scrub, but I was tempted to scrub it. To respond to another comment, the “ambergris” felt to me like an Ambrox or other synthetic overload.

    I wanted to love it — everything sounded perfect. California desert? Tauer? Sign me up! It was not to be, but I really hope it finds some love.

  • Lily says:

    Not sure I like this new disqus comment format. Oh well.

    Was curious Tom, I’m only nominally familiar with Tauer’s line. Is the “ambergris” note a naturalistic one? So many of these substitutes smell nothing of the real thing, does Tauer use real ambergris or a naturally-derived cocktail of materials to derive the note? Or is it ambrox/ambroxan?

  • Patty White says:

    Oh, this sounds great, Tom! Andy does great desert.

  • hajusuuri says:

    I hope LuckyScent includes this in the next Sample Pack.

  • Joe says:

    Oh, Tom. I’d have loved to have been at ScentBar to meet Tauer. And as soon as I heard about Lys du Désert, I needed to try it. I ordered a sample late one night as soon as I’d heard about it had it in my hands maybe three business days later.

    And I wanted to love it. That description! Those notes!

    Sadly, it was not to be. I really, really disliked this scent. A lot. I don’t scrub, but I wanted to scrub LdD. It is not the Tauer I know.

    I’m happy you love it!

    • Lisa D says:

      Joe, I’ll swap you for it come the 16th! I’m a big fan of Andy Tauer, and I love the scents of the desert, particularly right before or after rainfall.

      • Joe says:

        I’d send it to you now, Lisa, except I’ve already moved it on to another friend … who actually seems to be enjoying it.

        Had it evoked the desert for me, as I was expecting it to, I might have loved it. I do hope it gets lots of love, because all of Tauer’s creations do deserve that.

        • Lisa D says:

          Good that it’s found a new home. It must have been such a surprising disappointment to find that you couldn’t wear it (a Tauer scrubber? How is that possible?). Though, now that I think about it, wet creosote can’t be easy to make beautiful in perfume form….