Laboratorio Olfattivo

I´ve tried to become familiar with the four scents from Laboratorio Olfattivo, a new Italian perfume line, introduced in november last year. The line, this far, consist of Alkemi, Daimiris, Alambar and Cozumel.


The name, Laboratorio Olfattivo makes me think of a laboratorium, but not that kind of modern, cold, and clinical lab (as in Le Labo), but an old, mystic and filled with secrets kind of alchemy lab sort of (and since one of the perfumes are called Alkemi that is probably the intent).


The scents are all warm, golden and with a somewhat mystic aura surrounding them, At first I liked Cozumel (with Marie Duchene as perfumer) and Daimir (created by Pierre Guillaume) the best, but pretty soon I realised that all four scents was really good and also, similar to each other in some way. It´s is quite common that a perfume house/line has some kind of coherent between the scents that makes them easy to identified as belonging to a certain house/line. And, even though Laboratorio Olfattivo is a new line, i think I can sense the story line...


The similarity isn´t a in your face kind of similarity, and I suddenly started to think about the way sieblings could be borh very much alike each other but at the same time their own unique persons. The similarity could be both apperance as well as body language and shared values. And while thinking about siebling I started to think about the old classic fairy tale about "Twelve dancing princesses" a story I really liked when I was little. OK, the king wasn´t the most clever one around, but apart from that I like the story, and most of all I liked to compare the different sister with each other, who was the oldest and who was the prettiest and who has the cutest dress and who was the darkest and so on. What a gold mine for a young girls fantasy, not only twelve sisters but also princesses!


Laboratorio Olfattivos scents could be created for four different fairy tale princesses. And now I don´t think about pastel coloured, girly and cute but half oriental princesses dressed in golden brocade, lush velvet and heavy jewelry.


Alkemi (Marie Duchene) is a saturated, warm and deep oriental floral with ylang-ylang. Myrrh, patchouli and incense makes it dense, dark and suggestive. The dark notes are flickering on my skin as dancing shadows. Still, with some sweetness and the floral notes it isn´t as dark as you can belive considering the notes. In it´s genre I think of Alkemi as a quite light scent. Sensual but at the same time peppy.


Alambar (Enrico Buccella) is all about amber, this is the common line in this scent. The top note is as a golden breeze of bergamot and kakao, after a while the amber got accompanied by a wonderful cinnamon and soft vanilla. This is a complex kind of amber, that changes throug out the scent, it´s both buttery and creamy and powdery... It goes from smoth as honey to almost dark and animalic. Such a pleasure. In Alambar the amber is dancing, floating, dreamy and seductive.


Daimiris (Pierre Guillaume) is the one among the scents that feels most modern, but in a snug and not minimalistic way. Safron, cardamom, rhum and soft suede. Gives a kind of dry but also warm scent with deepth. The sude is of the softest kind and the opowdery note of iris blends together with the dry notes of suede... The spices are sprinkled all over and this is a complicated dance, with advance steps and a lot to learn. Sensual, yet stiff but also fiery... a modern variety of flamenco perhaps?


Cozumel (Marie Duchene) is also a modern scent, different herbs gives it a green but still very soft and warm character. Basil, tobacco, cannabis and sage makes a exuberant and kind of wet greenery laid over a soft, warm and aromatic base. A uplifting, ahppy but also wild kind of dance would go fine with Cosumel.


As you see, the four scents are not that similar, but still something unifies them. Oriental floral (Alkemi) oriental (Alambar) green (Cozumel) and leathery floral (Daimiris). They share a warmth and a kind of golden shimmer, they also have notes of amber all of them. This is well made and interesting scents, but also easy to wear and easy to like (not always the case with niche).


I do hope Laboratorio Olfattivo release more scents, hopefully 8 more, so the princesses will be completed. ;) You can find some more about Laboratorio Olfattivo here http://www.laboratorioolfattivo.it/ (only Italian unfortunatly).






Pic: 12 dancing princesse (trad)