Description
“A green aromatic, woody chypre“
The Mississippi River finds its main
source in the legendary Lake Itasca
in the heart of Minnesota. Itasca by
Lubin is reminiscent of the forests
covering the American landscape
once inhabited by the Algonquin
tribes and pioneers exploring their
depths.
Core notes of Minnesotan red
pine mingle with a base of amber,
incense, vetiver Java and Texas
cedar woods. After fresh top notes
of juniper berries, a spicy harmony
then unfolds where dominant woody
notes are accented with clove and
nutmeg.
A spiced vetiver, Itasca opens with
citrus fruits refreshed by juniper
berries, followed by a harmonious
combination of oriental woods,
vetiver, and red Minnesotan pine.
This scent evokes the forests that
surround Lake Itasca, the source
of the great Mississippi river, and
a legendary place guarded by
Algonquin Indians.
Notes:
Neroli, Marigold, Mandarin, Juniper
Berry and Grapefruit.
Clove, Tonka Bean, Clary Sage,
Nutmeg, Geranium Flower.
Itasca Red Pine (pinus resinosa),
Java Vetiver and Texan Cedar, Partak
Incense, Ethiopian Myrrh, Amber and
Canadian Fir Balsam Itasca was launched in 2010. The nose behind this fragrance is Lucien Ferrero.
barilla – :
A very decent citrus fougere (no thrills or surprises here) that can make a nice dignified masculine for everyday use but perhaps somehow redundant since we have many choices in this category of scents. The accord of dry citrus with woods (mainly vetiver, fir and pine) is conservative and classic and smells very congenial in an aromatic way. The overtly polished and tidy composition makes the fragrance a bit tedious after repeated wearings, especially given the sophistication and elegance that fougeres can innately have. Also the heavy hand in the use of some deodorant aromachemicals started causing me headaches after a while. Nice offering although there are other scents in the great Lubin line which are more interesting and beautiful. In the same motif I prefer Acqua di Parma’s Cedro di Taormina or Aventus.
tnq685InsuffBooni – :
Itasca opens on my skin slightly fruity and boozy but it is also grassy and earthy. While the boozy accord stays, the vetiver seems to be pushed in the background rather quickly. Here and there, I pick up traces of vetiver, but the heart evolves into a watery (not aquatic) coniferous tea-like smell. Itasca is not sweet nor resin like and after some time it shifts again by adding a fresh pine needle and, by this stage, it is slightly smoky while retaining the freshness and boozy, green, herbal.
Itasca is a well done and mixes the smell of a forest after the rain, forest fruits, spices, green and earthy elements. I think it complements a man very good, having the earthy elements backed up by unsweetened fruits, good longevity and close projection.
Scent: 7.5/10
Longevity: 8/10
Projection: 6/10
prival1981 – :
This is breath of FRESH clean early morning air, in the great outdoors. Manly and clean yet beautiful. Refined, spicy vetiver, without tobacco and I pick up an ever so slightly minty clean scent. Underneath it all the incense gives it some balls. Manly and beautiful, I love it from start to finish. This can easily be a signature scent. Read Jack Hunter’s review, he gives a great break down of this fragrance.
Perspect – :
Itasca is a wonderfully spicy, woody, incense and resin nuanced, fruity, florally vetiver. It is absolutely stunning. A unique masterpiece. I can’t get enough of it. It sends me into delirious bliss. I really love it. It’s so fresh and scintillating, but also has some warmth, and softness. It’s delicious.
smv12 – :
Well, I absolutely adore vetiver. It’s one of my favourite smells, and therefore, I love Itasca.
I also love masculine perfumes, lots of them. The vetiver is divine in Itasca, but really, on me, the little bit of floral, and fruit are quite noticeable, and it smells rather feminine. Must be my skin. On my husband it is very very masculine – sharp, fresh, crisp, smoky, piney, all the masculine things, but it’s really a lot softer, less sharp, more gentle, on me. It starts off very fruity/citrusy, quite delicious, with a lovely hint of florals, and then moves into a more oriental, spicy, herby, incense woody, a little piney, resinous ambience, which smells soooo divine!
I love it, it’s a fantastic combination. But the vetiver is the magical part. The beautiful musty, dry, woody, smoky, bitter-chocolatey smell of vetiver just turns me on; I adore it.
So Itasca is a delight, for both of us. A wonderful, slightly bracing, but full of many contrasting smells, and completely delicious, perfume.
VRaqoxnP – :
Itasca is a wonderful gem. It’s not a vetiver fragrance as such. Neither do I find it particularly piney, herbal or astringent. But it has a bit of each of that.
Consider all the fresh, sporty aftershaves and fragrances for men that flooded the market in early 2000s before things started to become calorie laden. Think of all the Gillette aftershaves and the Cool Water inspired fragrances. Some of them were green, some aquatic, some a little woody. All were fresh.
Now take all the good renditions of that style. And then take all the best elements of such good renditions, and bottle them as an eau de parfum.
That is Itasca. It is invigorating, fresh, green, foresty and smells wonderful. It is neither juvenile nor mature. Perfect for all seasons, and almost all occasions. It successfully evokes an aftershave vibe due to its associations with fresh modern aftershaves, but is much classier.
Good projection and longevity. Excellent stuff.
4/5 (positive)
Mancevetnic – :
From the first suction and from the first second to the last Itasca exudes class and masculinity on all four sides with a retro style.
There is nothing feminine, no room for sweet floral notes, dusty and delicate, all the chords are very classic, exude testosterone and are very typical of vintage men’s fragrances, the main agreement is attached vetiver citrus aromatic rich powerful Many woods, Iso E and a balsamic touch similar to Vertofix slightly sweet.
Itasca not bored, is made with a complex resolution, thin and multilayered structure is made from a masterly way with a very high quality.
The composition worthy of occupying a large gap between the large “masculine classics” of all time (and that is from 2010).
During drying liegeras notes also detected a delicious snuff, but, needless to say much more, this fragrance is worthy of smell.
If you like to see a fascinating, very classic fragrance, retro cut, in the purest style Guerlain Vetiver before reformulations or like this, or think, try it. It is unique in its kind.
Lucien Ferrero very well
Rating: 8
-=007_Wavaannep=- – :
“Itasca” is a refined woody fragrance that balances all its elements terrifically well. Sharp, cool, fresh, piney, peppery, smoky, sweet, soft, romantic, rugged…it’s a lot of things!
The woods here are realistic, but are composed in such a way as to not make you smell like a forest. Pine stands out with its bracing freshness, but there is also that ‘sanded wardrobe’ effect I get from vetiver, and the vaguest traces of smoke alluding to a distant campfire. Spices and geranium add a delicate piquancy, and the juicy freshness of citrus and juniper give zest to the heart, avoiding the astringent ‘disinfectant’ accord that plagues so many other citrus/vetiver compositions. In the background, a mellow tonka bean provides a perfectly measured sweetness, giving warmth and sensuality.
Quite easy to imagine a handsome, stubble-jawed cowboy sitting casually on a log pile, carving wooden figurines with a flick knife.
I imagine women would go wild for a guy wearing this. It’s about one of the sexiest masculine fragrances I’ve encountered. One of Lubin’s best.
olga631t – :
As a Minnesotan, I know all about the woods and forests. I spent many years hunting deer near Itasca. It is a place of breathtaking beauty and scents. I was a little skeptical over how a company based in France could understand and create such a fragrance that represents the mystery and beauty of Itasca’s forests. Here’s what I found:
This was a recommendation from a fellow member. I had never even heard of it but, it really intrigued me. It soon made it’s way to my top 5 scents, truly a beautiful fragrance! A very well blended creation with a little bit of everything.
The one thing that stays in your soul forever once you have visited a Minnesota forest is the smell of pine. This fragrance has it, and it’s used beautifully. It’s a pretty linear scent but it smells so good that it doesn’t really matter! It’s fresh and dark at the same time, green, mysterious and a little bit of warm spice.
I love it.
kasper73 – :
Amazing scent. It opens strong with smokey incense, pine and juniper. Instead of coming across dark or brooding theres an ethereal, transparent quality to it. Like crisp, cold mountain air fragranced by a nearby campfire. It eventually dies down to a soft vetiver tempered with ashy incense and some just-subtle-enough spiciness. Lasts a solid 8 hours on me and it never gets boring. The aforementioned transparency makes it wearable at all times of the year. I really love this and will probably be getting a bottle soon!
bqp854intitytek – :
Definitely too masculine for me, but the quality of Lubin is certainly there. Vetyver is a note I struggle with because it can go sour on me easily. This is nicely balanced with woody and green pine, so while there is a good dose of vetyver, the other notes are very complimentary. Lovers of woody evergreen perfumes should give this a shot.
andalestr – :
Great vetiver scent! I’m not really friend of vetiver fragrances, but this one is an exception for me. Vetiver is well balanced with resins and amber with the result that the composition is perceived as a gently, truly rounded scent.
senior.drobot – :
Camping in a bottle.
The smell of wet woods in the morning, trees, and campfire.
Masculine as hell, not unisex.
Unlike what Old Spice tries to sell you, this stuff is the smell of Man.
temoha_san – :
Lubin Itasca…I was looking to try this one for a while as the bottle looked interesting and the themes seem right up my street.
Man was I right! Itasca opens with a perfect breeze of citrus, masculine pine, woods and vetiver, and resin fresh but earthy and perfectly evocative of lakes flanked by forrest.
This is in a typical mould of woody aromatics leaning toward the masculine on my skin but absolutely unisex by the same score. It’s not a deep sledgehammer of a fragrance and has a subtle classy feel to it without being intrusive in any way.
The drydown transforms the heart of pine into a resinous, amber which is very slight and close to the skin but smells amazing…almost leathery.
Longevity and projection are not all that great but Itasca is worthy consideration…I enjoy it!
bni175elipseskism – :
this is a successful variation on the vetiver theme. it is really jazzed up with sweet woods, spices and a beautifully astringent vetiver note that lubin does well. it doesn’t really remind me of ontario (or minnesota for that matter) but like a jazz tune, you can call a perfume practically anything….. bought it and really enjoyed it this spring
khav_777 – :
First of all let me tell you that Le Vetiver and Itasca are two completely different scent (I have both). Le Vetiver is citrus based and more aromatic with very prominent vetiver note. Itasca is a warm spicy woody scent with vetiver hiding behind other notes.
Overall I fell in love with this scent shortly after I sprayed it on my wrist. All notes are blended well together and the fragrance is very smooth but rich. I get freshness from fir and pine, some sweetness from spices and cedar and a hint of smoke that seems to tie all notes together nicely.
This scents evokes memories of my childhood and those magical winter holidays when the house was filled with aromas of the real Christmas tree and spiced mulled wine.
Reibipassubre – :
I did not really plan on donning a made-for-men fragrance today, but that is what Lubin Itasca apparently is. I see that its alternate name is Le Vétiver. To me, this is a very aromatic woody and greenish scent. Which makes sense, given the note pyramid boasting Fir, Pine, and Cedar, along with the vetiver.
Itasca essentially offers a fresh forest with pine needles and juniper berries included! The sillage of this fragrance is rather big, so it’s not for someone who prefers to wear scent discreetly. I would not call this a vetiver cologne, because the green forest elements dominate to my nose. I read that Itasca was inspired by the lakes of Minnesota, but for me this would be a nice bottle to have around to evoke memories of long hikes in the Rocky Mountains.
gablia – :
If bright woody scents is your thing and you don’t mind a side dish of florals, then look no further. This scent is a good representation of the new school vetivers. Average longevity, great price and all the way unisex. Overall, not too much to complain about in terms of value…
redi711 – :
One of the very best Vetivers I’ve tried to this date.
Great work DeLubin.
patrik – :
It reminds me to Esencia Loewe.
Zuxon – :
Who can tell me the difference between this perfume and “Le Vetiver”?
Payton_fromAC – :
I really like it a lot with more wears. A woody vetiver seems to be the focus though there are several other elements present such as pine, spices, smoke, tobacco, and musk. It’s not a fresh woody scent nor a dark scent, but a rugged lumberjack fragrance. Masculine, complex and attractive.
bezumnyy11 – :
Yes! This is what I would love my man to smell like.
It opened with a fantastic mix of vetiver and pine simply taking my breath away. Soon citruses joined in and I was left with a lovely heart part where still vetiver plays the biggest lead, but also smoky incense joins in followed by balmy resins making this very sweet, sexual and comfy.
It has the best qualities one could ask for, it has a great silage and staying power is superb, it is made very masculine and strong yet subtle enough to make this a perfect go to scent for everyday use.
Do try this, a lovely surprise for everyone who loves vetiver. Surely will get you many compliments.
labotryaz – :
I caught this marked 25 percent off at my retailer and could not pass it up. It is remarkably well crafted and unlike anything else I have sampled or owned. It makes very smooth transtions and is not overbearing at all. I like the “woodiness” about it most of all. The fact that it is not commonly worn is a definite plus. If you like the unique fragrances this is worth a look.
pelchel – :
It opens with a citrus and a strong pine note with vetiver in the mix. I like the piney freshness of this one and I’m picking up grapefruit and something sweet mixed in as well.
The great thing I like about this fragrance is how the pine and fruits with the vetiver go so well together.
Whats this…. as time has passed I am getting a strong geranium note coming through and mixing with the above notes. Its getting more woody now and a bit sweeter.
This scent is so well balanced and I like it a lot.
To sum up a fresh piney vetiver fragrance with woods and fruits mixed together in perfect harmony. A good masculine fragrance and I get six to seven hours from it.
olatoevace – :
I like it a lot. This is very special and unique fragrance. Kind of classy ingrediens but together they make something unusually resinous, a little bit sweet and dark. I can recommend Itasca as everyday scent and also for special occasions. Shortly I can say, it makes me happy 🙂
doland – :
This one starts off quite pungent. The citrus/fruity side may be present but it’s overruled by neroli, cole and clary sage.
After a while the sharpness mellows and vetiver and what I assume to be the geranium become prominent factors. This is actually nice enough for me to go ahead and order some geranium frags (a note I have little to no expertise with).
By now the scent is drifting towards the herbal/aromatic woody base. Pine and fire balsam set the frame, nicely balanced with the rest.
Overall I’m not immensely impressed but that’s probably due to my taste. It’s certainly well structured and executed and I very much recommend to try it if you care for vetiver or balsamic scents as this is a combo that works.