I fell in love with Idole by Lubin when it hit the blogs around 2005; when I spotted it recently the bottle (and formula) had changed, but the contents still smelled pretty great, all rum and spice and smoke but oh so smoooth.
So here’s a shout-out to some newer Lubins – the recently released Epidor, and Akkad, which came out in 2012, doesn’t seem to have attracted much attention, and I never got around to smelling until recently.
Akkad was nice enough when I first tried it on a warmish October day; curled up on my couch, watching the snow fall endlessly outside my window while I listen to Christmas carols in front of the fireplace, it’s perfect for the moment.
Notes: Mandarin, Bergamot, Clary Sage; Cardamom, Elemi, Frankincense, Styrax, Amber, Labdanum, Vanilla, Patchouli.
When I first put it on I have no idea where it’s going, but I’m pretty sure I’ve been there before and I don’t want to go back. Clary sage is to perfumery what vermouth is to a martini; add maaaybe half a drop or you’ll be full of regrets. Then that citrus-sage stops pelting me, and whoa we’re off in a different direction — the dried spices aisle in your favorite international grocery, complete with a hint of dust and something a little sharpish and savory in the background.
On the other hand (wrist, actually) is Epidor, Lubin’s newest offering in 2017, an unashamedly romantic floriental that makes my heart sing and yours might, too, depending on how you feel about those languid heavy hitters.
Here’s some bodice-ripping prose from the Lubin website: “The ripe wheat swayed yesterday in the summer breeze. The blond sheaves now lie scattered on the ground and the laborers have filled their jute sacks with the golden grain. The village girls lay down their sickles, and in a shady copse, quench their thirst in the stream. They’ll dance tonight to celebrate harvest’s end. A peddler came by yesterday, and now, their skin is fragrant with orange blossom, mingling with jasmine and violet. Their rough smocks have a musky scent…”
Plums, violets, orange blossom, jasmine, sandalwood, cedar, tonka, vanilla.
The violets are sweet, and they fade; the fruit’s overripe, the orange blossom and jasmine are juuuuust dirty enough, and the drydown is an orchard full of buzzing, golden bees among overripe fruit, and I’m stretched out on a pile of hay, drowsing. It’s absolutely narcotic, all boozy plums and hay. Sign me up.
The descriptions are colorful & evocative, even though I can’t distinguish some of the individual notes mentioned. I have no idea what clary sage smells like. On me, the couple of Lubins I’ve tried, such as Gin Fizz, read better than they smell. They disappear very quickly on me, as do the 2 or 3 Serge Lutens I’ve tried. I need more than 10 minutes of discernible scent.
I like Gin Fizz a lot, although it doesn’t last long on me. You stopped me in my tracks with your Serge Lutens comments, though. I’m thinking more along the lines of his classics — they are the sorts of things that, if you dropped the bell jar on the floor, you’d have to move out.
I had to look up the meaning of Epidor, just wanting to see if it was something dark and mysterious. Alas, no. ‘The meaning of the given name Epidor represents practicality, realism, reliability, discipline, sincerity and experience’. So, not sure that’s quite right for a heavy lush floral unless there’s another meaning floating out there. You still make me want to try it, which is ironic because when Idole had its moment on MakeupAlley I tried it and it was thoroughly meh on me. I am curious about the new Hiram Green, Slow Dive. Love Dilettante so will definitely be on the lookout for this.
Yeah, I figured it was just a made-up word since I couldn’t get anything to pop up. Idole got a lot of love, but there were definitely people who scratched their heads and said WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT.
Epidor should be right up my alley (I lurve a good narcotic floral) and yet something is warning me off. My suspicion that the base is really sweet? Not sure.
I really hate clary sage, so Akkad’s off the list too.
But I’m so glad to be reading your prose again, Miss March. XO
The base is actually not. It’s more woody-hay. Drydown is lovely. And thanks, I don’t feel like this was my best prose, but it’s better than not writing.
okay. First off: Why was snow falling on a warmish October day? Second off: WHY ARE YOU LISTENING TO CHRISTMAS CAROLS IN OCTOBER? Third off: that is the most bodice-ripping prose I’ve read in a Very Long Time. Fourth off: I wanna try Epidor, though Fifth off: that bottle looks like a Constant Overturn waiting to happen.
xoxoxoA
I’m pushing back on this one and saying it’s your reading comprehension, lol. the first time I tried it, on a warm October day, it was nice. The second half of that sentence after the semicolon is written in the present tense, implying “today” or “now” (although it was last weekend.) I dunno if you’d like Epidor, how do you feel about Poison? Or one of the sweeter Serges?
lol! NOT my reading comprehension – my eyesight! I didnae see that semicolon. And no. No. No. No Poison. No Sweet Serge. So. No. No Epidor.
xoxoxo
Loving the description of Epidor and am a bit leary of Akkad but have added them to my try list. Clary sage can go either way for me and I’m going to have to look up Elemi. Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve tried Indole either.
The *original* Idole bottle is one of the most striking perfume bottles that I own. The new ones are cool, but not THAT cool.
A couple of years ago we went to our local parfumerie to buy my birthday present which was going to be Idole. I didn’t realise that they had discontinued the EDT and produced and EDP instead which was really nice but not what I wanted. So I chose something else for my present and made a mental note to start what would probably be a fruitless search of eBay.
Just before we left the owner came out with an almost full tester bottle of Idole EDT which he had dug out of a cupboard. “Happy Birthday” he said “Ths is the last one and I’d rather it went home with a good customer who loves it than it sits in my cupboard!”
Now that’s the kind of story I love…. I’m so glad you got ahold of one! I have mine and it makes me happy.
Epidor sounds Ah-Mazing, like real happiness-in-a-bottle grade life-changing. I can get very cozy and content with something like Akkad, though. I have to raise a minor ruckus over your vermouth comment though! I much prefer earlier versions of martinis, and. 2:1 gin-vermouth drink is my go-to. ?
Hey, you do you in terms of martinis! Pardon my aspersions….
Epidor unfortunately is one of those that never even registers on my skin. 🙁
I tried some Lubin perfumes a long time ago and was not too impressed. I recently sampled some again including Epidor. On me, it’s overripe, almost rotten fruit, thrown on a hay pile. Not nice. But I also tried Kismet and it is to me as lovely as Epidor is to you! I definitely want a full bottle. It’s on my Xmas list and my birthday (January) list and any other list I can think of. LOL!!!
Maya I’m with you on the Kismet! I bought some about a year ago when it first came out and can’t tear myself away. It’s changeable on me, anywhere from the first begamot blast to a dry vanilla finish and different every day. It’s also very strong, which I like since most current fragrances never even move the needle on me. I’ve started worrying about running out and I’m only 1/3 through the bottle . . . . .
Yep, Kismet is pretty fantastic!