Description
“Set the jungle on fire with a woody liqueur
rich in scorching spices, as sweet as sugar cane, and as warm as leather”.
Olivia Giacobetti
In my island refuge, the senses are omnipotent. The islanders drink rum and are
massaged with balmy oils. I invite you, from the deck of a ship charged with
precious woods, to contemplate the stars in the sky, resting your head on a soft
leather bag that will be your only possession.
A captivating feline creature with obsidian eyes revealed it to me just when
I thought it was forgotten, or lost, or simply a dream…
Only she could give fragrance to this new world called Lubin.
“From the shores of East
Africa to the Sunda
islands, from Zanzibar to
Macassar, on the maritime
spice routes, for centuries,
nomadic people have set
out, all sails to the wind,
to face the storms…
…This bottle is the sail
of a felucca, full with the
swift sea breeze, taking
away a wooden idol by
night, the symbol of a
nomadic people”.
Serge Mansau
Idole was launched in 2005.
Rum,Saffron,Bitter Orange,Caraway,Ebony,Sugar Cane,Palm Tree,Leather,Red Sandalwood
Entineamn – :
boozy with a tobacco vibe; rum, saffron, sandalwood and caraway with sandalwood is the vibe; a sweet gourmand rum scent; just luscious
Typsusnubbins – :
I love this. So many smells I pick up. I can tell it is made of high quality oils but it’s too manly for my tastes. I would go crazy if i smelled this on a man though! I think this is a better fall/winter scent also.
drupalprix – :
Spicy caramel alcohol is what i initially get from Idole. Cinnamon, honey and caramel in a glass of rum. It’s of high quality but it’s not my type of scent.
The sandalwood base is smoky and ambery, and is a worthy continuation, but not enough to impact my heartbeat.
Warm, interesting and of high quality, Idole deserves its fans.
Unfortunately i am not one of them.
***(**)
che279JeomiWogkig – :
Soapy rum. Rich and heavy, with herbal spice over a dry, leather base. Aged rum and citrus peel play a role here, too. Boozy, woody, fruity, and slightly soapy. Idole is really nice, and I was looking forward to trying it out, but it reminds me of stuff I’ve smelled before. Still, this is a very nice fragrance, and one at least worthy of trying out.
19970507 – :
I purchased a sample of Idole EDT awhile back. I tired it once and thought, let me get back to it another time. Well, today is that other time.
Idole has a very heavy saffron and boozy opening, as if someone poured a bottle of rum into an entire create of saffron flowers. Over the first couple of hours the saffron is the star of the show. Using the wetness of the rum to spread its scent. A few hours in the rum soaks into the wood of the create, giving off a rum soaked, powdery wood vibe, until a very soft, sandalwood emerges. Idole then becomes a soft creamy wood scent, with hints of rum and saffron, but it sits very close to the skin at this stage. Idole remains there for the life of the fragrance.
I get moderate projection and longevity on my skin. This is a trendy casual scent to my nose, but I could wear this in a sports coat.
While this is marketed to men, I find this to be a unisex fragrance that leans more to the feminine side, especially in the opening.
Overall, not a bad scent, once you get past the heavy floral opening, but Idole does not live up to the hype on my skin. Hopefully it will on yours.
I had very high hopes for this one. Based on the notes and reviews it seemed to be right up my alley. But this is a pass for me.
Lydayzorway – :
nice take on clove….very well done. Warm n fresh. Modern manly. Reminded me of Loewe#7…..without the rose.
daizy_true – :
Female friends said she liked it, but not in a sexy way. she said it reminded her of baby powder, and a “sophisticated old man”. after a shower with lots of soap till the hot water run out and a sleep, I could still smell it the next day.
12+ hours after.
and can still easily smell it? that is a quality frag. tested uring winter, early to early mid 30s, white skin. i received a 5 ml tester bottle.
not to be worn on a date. use in the office if you’re a white collar lad. i could see myself using this as a blue collar worker on 12-14 hour shifts very easily. if this was to be gifted to a blue collar worker, after using it for a week i would be surprised if he doesnt call you thanking you for it.
the more i smell it, the more i like it, nearly love it.at time of review, i could buy it for $299 AUD. so, this is pricey!!
f1zzo – :
too boozy and male-ish smelling to me…it literally smells as if I smelled rum and cokeish drink on my skin I do not like it 🙁 although it is a well made scent it is not my kind of scents…
longevity is not that good either..max 2-3h
108 – :
Yes. Yes. Yes. Nosegasm material. (Uni)sexy silky boozy goodness. Cinnamon, raisins, honey, bitter orange and a heavy helping of warm wood. Smells exactly like I thought it would. This is the type of praline that kids instinctively spit out when they bite into but grownups enjoy.
dron_73rus – :
I acquired a vintage sample of the original and it’s very similar to Bentley Intense, just smoother. I’d say the texture is between silky and syrupy. I like it but I’ve got plenty of BI, and I may like BI better (plus it’s a once every 2 or 3 months scent for me in any case). This one is more “feminine,” so I can see why women would prefer it.
Магда – :
My goodness , this one is love. This is such an amazing fragrance. Tried the EDP version, but it doesn’t give me that gorgious sweaty feel. Mancera Sand Aoud, Idole du Lubin, and Dior Homme intense are my 10/10 experiences. But this one, I LOVE IT SO MUCH THAT I only use it for a very very special occasion. I bought this bottle in a small niche shop in Switzerland. The older gentleman who run the shop was almost confident when he suggested that I try this one. First spray, I was intoxicated. This may not be for everyone, many people said that the EDT version smells like a sweat. But am telling you, for me, that exact discription did blow my mind, a million dollar smelling kind of sweat. Just to conclude, this is a solid 10/ 10 frag. It doesn’t project necessarily like a monster. Not every frag should screem out loud either.
dpopenko – :
This is a beautiful Olivia Giacobetti creation for Lubin. I’m surprised how many fragrances I own which were signed by her (Safran Troublant, Philosykos, and now this) but looking at her work, there’s a certain thread to her scents. Each fragrance, while certainly different from each other, are very transparent, easy-to-read without being pedestrian, made with top notch raw materials, and have a natural feel to them – regardless of what may be in the actual formula.
With Idole (the edt), I sense a sweet dark rum in the top notes, along with orange peel + saffron, a melange of gentle spices (cinnamon, clove, etc.), sugar cane and sandalwood. I’m sure there’s more stuff going in here that my nose can’t readily identify but that’s my impression of the entire affair.
Personally, I love it. I will cherish my bottle.
VApocalypse – :
Idole edt is good stuff. A fantastic rum/bitter-orange scent that smells really authentique and pretty deep and rich for an edt.
It is sweet and spicy (thankfully not the vanillic kind of sweetness) and it gets more woody and leathery when time passes but the rum and orange note never leaves. It,s like you,re hanging your nose into a bottle of orangey rum.
This scent is very well made that even friends of mine that are not into perfumes even liked it very much.
The bottle and the scent are a piece of art and both they tell a story so well done. The perfumer of this made me look at her other creations because of this magnificent piece.
The performance is just perfect. Not to loud (the way it should be) but still there never disturbing. I have tried all of Lubin but this one is my favourite of them all.
Great scent and a little masterpiece! A classic from the house of lubin already.
fefowuld – :
It took me a while to really appreciate the beauty of this scent.. I have the EdT and initially i thought it’s too harsh and very spicy for my liking but i enjoyed it after few full wearings.. Idole starts off with very boozy accord of rum, followed by a woody and spicy phase and dries down basically to saffron and leather.. I gotta wear it more though but it’s perfect for colder weather.. By the way, the bottle is just amazing, it’s an art piece itself..
Vadic_gotic – :
This is definitely the superior version of Lubin’s masterpiece Idole. While the EDP is fantastic, it is less defined and comes across more like a loud, thick sweet/smoky winter fragrance. At points, it feels like the EDP’s rum/incense combination kind of steps on the toes of the other subtle notes in the fragrance. The EDT is much more dynamic and wearable. While the deep, sweet rum is still there, the leather, woods, orange, and saffron are all much easier to detect and as such the drydown on this smells considerably more masculine (good call on lubin for making the EDP unisex!), complex, and compelling. It starts out with a blast of rum and subtle citrus. Very evocative of a nice high quality mixed drink. It’s pretty unique and atypical for a personal fragrance, that is until the drydown when it becomes remarkably accessible. Smoldering yet smooth ebony provides a nice woody base, a strong and noticeable leather adds some masculine kick and the saffron adds some interesting spicy nuance to the whole thing. It works just as great in 30 degree weather as it does in 100 degree weather and as such, it’s one of my most worn and favorite fragrances. I totally get the 70’s connotation, but by no means does it smell dated. In a way it evokes the endearingly kitschy, masculine, pimp-esque suaveness of a 70’s action b-movie hero in the best way possible. If any of that sounds even slightly appealing, you owe it to yourself to track down some of the Idole EDT.
It Performs just as good as the EDP and is much more wearable, interesting, and unique. (also, the bottle is much better in my opinion!)
9.5/10
guginson – :
Bought this today as a gift from the local representative of Lublin in Limassol, Dora Theophilou haute parfumerie…..which I thank very much for their present.
A day before that I tried bentley intense….the two perfumes have similarities but Lubin is deeper and of higher quality. I love the rum note, the smoky leather and the smell of ebony wood. On the paper during the dry down, turns a bit soapy but woody as well. Will try it on the skin for several days and see…you pay more actually but you buy more. The bottle is magnificent.
A lot of perfumes have similarities among them but always always you pay you get what you pay….nothing cheap can be compared to the quality of a niche perfume but you have to be in the game to see the differences. For the inexperienced nose, everything seems linear and same….and there is no reason to pay more….but this is not true. The others around you smell the difference.
Димаf – :
Idole is a beautiful, exotic spicy scent!
The opening is dry cinnamon with a hint of orange and the caraway. The rum is also very strong, it is beautiful, dark, sweet and warm blended with heavy saffron. I can also sense orange undertone after a period of time. After a time I sense a very dark fruit stew infused with rum note as well. There is a tinge of a cooling note underneath the rum. Idole is becoming richer, smoky, and a bit woody from the incense and the blend of ebony and sandalwood. The saffron still makes its presence known underneath the notes. I don’t get any leather, it is so well-blended for my nose. The drydown is almost like a blend of sweet rum and sandalwood.
It is very rare for me to go through the sample vial. Idole, the cool bottle and the warm, sensual fragrance, belongs in my collection.
murathapov – :
Comforting rum vibe.
Very well done, IMHO better than Jubilation by Amouage. Kind of boozy at the begining and then sets to a skin scent, nice and cozy, a bit 70’s revisited. Something like a 007 careebean / cuban style.
Simple yet pleasurable.
vitas41 – :
a form of ‘serge noire’ by serge lutens, for mine…
the accord struck by the teak, rum, leather and saffron is amazing. gives off a *slight* sweaty/lived-in vibe, but i like that. for me, serge noire is a little nicer, but both can exist side-by-side on my bathroom vanity chest shelf. though i do prefer the cinnamon spiciness of serge, i must say…
this one is amazing, too…
DRO4ER – :
I just bought a bottle of the original Eau de toilette as pictured above at Goodwood in Washington, DC. They have about 5 bottles left.
slava123 – :
I got a small 2 mil sample just to try this out. I have read so many great things about Idole. First spray went on my forearm., I was impressed with the aroma, a beautiful fragrance. I kept wondering about the parfum version, but I have at times found the original itself was the better fragrance imo. hard to imagine I would like that more. this would be a great scent to wear out into public on a date or even just casual like meeting friends at the local bar. luxurious and inviting, I get a warm feel. I only wish I had more of it to test it for a few different occasions. I will try this in the office, might be one that you need more space around you? Idole doesn’t really remind me of anything right off ? That is probably a good thing. Idole would smell wonderful on clothing like a blazer or sweater perhaps?. The projection would be at its best. Masculine scent, but I am sure a woman could pull this off with out much of a hitch. looks to be a little tough to find. wish I would have tried this sooner 🙁 thumbs up)!
one of these days I will get around to trying the parfum..but with this one I am in no hurry. it is frustrating when you find something you like and why they felt they needed to replace this is puzzling..
wheenarrera – :
I smell the rum, woods, leather, and sugar cane mostly in the dry down of idole. When I wear this it makes me feel so calm, cool, and collective when I where it. Makes me feel like I’m a player from the 70s named Leroy lol.
Deroxfkhsr – :
platinum14
Not sure where you’re located.
There are very few of these out there in original bottle like in the picture above edt.
I searched for months here in the usa and no luck.
I contacted at least 10 distributors on the Lubin website for the usa and they either don’t have any in stock or never stocked it. I tried emailing the manufacture. They never returned my email probably because they don’t make them anymore and have no answers. There are some bottles in australia at the David Jones Department store online. Unless you know someone in australia you trust to purchase it for you and ship, because DJ won’t ship to the usa. There are several in the UK but again the international restrictions from that country won’t allow any items shipped that contains any form of alcohol. I found a store in Italy and should be receiving my bottle sometime this week. Try