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twensetrern – :
This is one of those fragrances that smells divine in the bottle, but on me, is a bit too heavy. It quickly goes from the dusty, leathery smell to pure incense. It is simply too heavy for me, but might go beautifully on someone whom has a different natural body odor.
I have to say, Hate perfumes do tend to blend beautifully with the skin in general though.
Samuel – :
Oh I love this! It really does smell like coconut wet but soon turns into the most beautiful vanillic sweet paper. There is a slightly plasticky crayon note that stays though. Unlike others I get loads of leather on my skin, I guess I must amp it.
ALTERNATIVES
It’s really beautiful, stayed on my skin longer than expected and wish I had the wads of cash to splurge on an FB but at this price point I’d be better off getting a bottle of Manor by Solstice Scents which is slightly more savoury but also less plasticky, besides being half the price and with much better sillage and longevity. SS Library is close too but with stronger wood and leather notes, it’s the whole library not just the book.
conqueror-divine – :
I thoroughly enjoy the evocative names that Christopher Brosius gives his perfumes, and the minimalist packaging. Given my love of reading and libraries, I figured this perfume would be perfect for me. The liquid in the bottle is a lovely milky white, somewhere between opaque and translucent.
The perfume smells sharp at first spray before fading into woody, powdery, musky, and lightly sweet on me. Not much sillage; this one stays close to the skin. I describe myself as “smelling like an old man” when I wear this, though not in a bad way. It feels like an antique, slightly masculine, comforting fall scent.
draks972397 – :
A lovely fragrance, nostalgic and romantic. Smells *exactly* like leather and old paper. I would’ve loved to purchase it again, but it fades so quickly I found myself constantly reapplying it.
backlink service – :
I think it’s lovely. This is a single, leather bound, aged novel that you’ve located in the dusty recesses of some foreign library. The wood polish comes through very strongly, there seems to be a slight vanilla note which is masked by the slight smokiness. It’s entirely subtle, quiet and reserved. Something that would pair nicely with something else. It’s far too tame for my taste, but worth revisiting. It’s a lovely nostalgic smell. Simple and straight to the point. 7/10
jasson – :
Is Paperback a decent dupe for this? I really like it, but it doesn’t last long. It’s a shame it’s so expensive.
AffentFew – :
In The Library smells like wood and vanilla…I don’t smell the leather in this one…I have the water perfume, which do not seem to last much more than four hours or so on skin…lovely milky white in the large glass bottle…perfect for days you just do not want to smell anything strong and bathe yourself in comfort…great…
KAINs – :
Leather chairs, books, furniture polish, the barest touch of damp and antique rugs. Wonderful
tw_x – :
Crayons, soft vanilla and paper. The opening notes are gorgeous and very reminiscent of a library. It changes fairly swiftly as it dries down, passes through a lightly chemical kind of note and settles into the dust of an old novel. I like it and would like to try Demeter’s Paperback now. Not getting any leather at all.
nicolexos – :
This is the first of CB’s that I’ve tried and been able to review (I’d tried Smokey Tobacco previously but it seems to have been discontinued) and In the Library does seem to be a pretty accurate depiction of the experience, with leather and wood comprising the lion’s share of it, and some sweetness (vanilla, perhaps) to round it out and not make it too abrasive or old-smelling.
This walks the line between a skin fragrance and a room fragrance but it would probably work just fine for both. The project and longeivty of the water perfume, which is what I tried, rightfully seems to be a common concern, as it’s not strong stuff in either respect, but I’m enthused to try more of CB’s works. It’s a little disappointing that a stronger version isn’t terribly affordable (the perfume absolute is $20 for 2ml or $100 for 20ml) so it makes sense that the water perfume be the standard way of smelling CB scents.
7 out of 10
dudec – :
I like Christopher Brosious’ approach to perfumery as something to represent reality. Most of his fragrances are more like environmental smells than actually perfumes but his ability to recreate and evoke those smells is total genius.
In the library opens with a sweetish milky accord that immediately brought to mind of almond milk or, if you want, even Orzata. A mix of vanillic notes and something along the line of heliotrope I guess…The fragrance very quickly turns into a slightly smoky / leathery woody base with the vanilla providing a moldy facet. Yeah, smells of paper and it’s quite realistic too but, as I previously said, it’s more of an experience than actually something to wear. Pretty fleeting. For my *library* fix, I’ll stick to Dzing!.
Rating: 6.5/10
dima007 – :
I was super excited to try this one, out of the whole line I thought this one wold be a shoe-in winner.
I can’t smell it.
Not at all.
I’ve never had this happen before and go figure I’m anosmic to a perfume I was really excited about!! And I don’t see another review on here that complains about not being able to smell it…maybe the tester was off.
demon1983 – :
I really wanted this perfume to smell like a library, because I love the smell of books and more books, with possibly some periodicals on the side. But it doesn’t.
It’s a very pretty perfume. The juice itself is interesting, a sort of opalescent, ever so slightly foamy, milky white. I don’t remember seeing that before.
It opens with a lovely honeycomb, beeswax candle smell, and develops a bit of coconut. And there it stays. I get no paper, no leather, a little vanilla in the drydown. It smells delicious, but not at all like a bibliophile’s dream.
ashkhenb – :
Yes flip the pages of an old book in the face and sniff, this is what it smells.
It also reminded me of a dry leaf I use to smell when I was a boy.
For curious sake, this is kinda nostalgic. But not something I will wear as my cologne.
Rudokop – :
just got a sample…it’s not bad..i do get the books and library theme but it did not last long at all. perhaps i will give it another chance but really i like powerful scents and this is not one of them.
quh349speagoessenda – :
Too much dirt and earth and not enough dust and must. This stuff opens promisingly enough with whiffs of old wood, but soon enough it devolves into strong dirtiness, not the respectable dust one finds in libraries, but outdoor dirt. Once the dirt fades, there is some smell of paper, but not old musty paper from books, but construction paper from grade school. Then the janitorial squad rushes in with their chemicals and the whole thing just falls apart. A disappointment. I wanted old library in England and got my first grade classroom complete with mud pies!
Psihoz69 – :
I also wanted to like this, being a bookworm and loving the calm environment (and ones I create in my head) of an antique room filled with yellowed pages of knowledge. But, sadly… I found ‘scotch tape’ was a great description of this one. Maybe cardboard boxes, wax? Dust. Lots of dust. Floor polish! I understand it was to embody the book bindings but this was more a dusty gymnasium minus the sweat. Kinda made me nauseated. So sad to have to scrub but it turned my stomach.
P.S. If anyone knows of a perfume that actually smells like old books’ pages, I’m interested.
anytka – :
The concept is wonderful: I would love a perfume that evoked old paper, ink, leather and wood. Sadly, this perfume does not live up to the concept, not remotely. It opens with creamed coconut and the musty sweet black truffle note that will be familiar to anyone who has experienced the openings of Dirt and Earthworm from Demeter. In drydown it settles to a marginally more pleasant biro ink and chocolate marzipan. I have nothing against these notes in and of themselves, but this is a complete failure as an attempt to evoke a library. CB needs to wean himself from his addiction to heavy-handed use of synthetic ‘earth’ notes and remember what it is to balance a set of notes to evoke mood, time and place. (Notes: (1) I wanted to like this frag, but it is simply inept. (2) My reaction against this frag was so extreme that I doubted my judgements about the notes and development. I checked with others who’d tried it, and they confirmed the broad outlines.)
WERTUOZ – :
It says unisex, as almost all of CB’s are. And if you take away the notion that for the gal’s there must be flowers, and for boys there shant be flowers or strong flowers rather. They truly are. I love this one particularly. It is gorgeous. Sometimes I will pair it with a flowery scent when going out, but it is quite lovely on a woman on its own.
обрез6299 – :
Definitely has the same “paper” note as Demeter’s Paperback, which isn’t surprising I suppose. But this is better.
I don’t think I’d be reminded of a library if it wasn’t named as such, but now that I think about it it’s quite fitting. Quiet and bookish and comfortable. It does smell a bit like dusty old books, but it’s also quite sweet and very different. Coconut and vanilla with a bunch of dustiness. A bit reminiscent of glue. It actually loses sweetness as it warms on me, revealing a low sweet body of leather. I think I get the woods, but only on the very edge, just a sort of afterimage.
Unisex, but leaning to the masculine side. Not for a manly man but a bookish boy. I like.
Ezyv555 – :
My favorite perfume to date and a staple for the fall: this perfume smells like dusty old pages of library books and I love carrying that smell with me throughout the day. The 15 mL bottle goes on subtly and fades fast, within a few hours or so. It tends to dry as a vanilla, musky scent on my skin, although I’ve noticed more leather on the smell of my friends–most definitely depends on body type. My bottle was mixed for me in person at the Brooklyn store as well, and it smells different from the sample size–dustier, somehow. Still, definitely a favorite scent.
kaje – :
I enjoyed trying this fragrance- It’s very witty, very odd. There’s definitely a library somewhere. I can smell the polish of the wood, leather bindings and slightly musty papers. I can also smell the old gentleman in the corner who uses a lot of vanilla pipe tobacco….and a coconut.
Splendid to experience- but I wouldn’t wear it.
redfeller – :
This is a real delight and is almost impossible describe. I think this one of those fragrances that will really vary according to your individual body chemistry. On me, the initial scent was hard to place, a hint of sweet leather and warm woody tones, but evaporated down to the most wonderful caramel musk that lasted all day. A little of the absolute goes a very long way.
Wesker – :
this smells most strongly of liquor to me. worn in the evening sometimes with cb’s burning leaves and under the arbor.
hanna_2509 – :
Yes….I agree there is a hint of Crayola
and something that smells like Construction paper…recalling Elementary School days
Old Wood???
hmmmmm..not sure about that…
the Wood note is Faint …
if it’s there…..at all.
I do like it …!!!!
The smell is sooo odd .. and peculiar….
the scent lingers then fades into more of a Coconut,Vanilla scent after a short time.
Not to sweet keeping its Masculine Esprit intact.
Wood and Books and Leather Bindings
are the furthest thing from my
imagination…
Close your eyes and give it a try.
deGaGA – :
Why would you want to smell like a library ? And this brand is called I hate perfume ? I mean seriously, it is very funny, but I honoustly cannot believe that this company is making any money from this. Who buys this perfume, you would only buy this for fun. I can’t come up with any occasion or location that is good for wearing this, except for the library. Or maybe on a very bad date with a nerdy guy who reads a lot of books, oh no, he maybe would love this then ??? But anyway, Funny name.
антивирус – :
This is a perfume with a sense of humor!
When I saw the name “In the Library” I expected something sultry and forbidden – say, Keira Knightley in Atonement. But it’s just not that kind of library! The scent smells amazingly like my elementary school library: crayons, paste and old wood. I felt like I was walking those halls at age 11, past lockers and polished desks, to where my friends were waiting for me. I can’t say that it’s something I’d ever buy, but wearing it once brought me a lot of joy.