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Витто – :
I got a sample of this a few years back. The fragrance contained within that sample was a dense, resinous, heady vanilla propped up and balanced with a light pepper. Overall it was rich and luxurious one of the best vanilla beast fragrances I had ever smelled
I purchased a 100 ML bottle. The fragrance inside that bottle is a light very weak peppercorn with some labdanum in the background.
Longevity is about an hour with just about zero projection
12321 – :
Aside from the opening 15 minutes, the pepper fades rather quickly to the background. Mostly, as others have said, it’s vanilla/labdanum, a hint of woods, and slightly smoky. Smells like a less intense version of Le Labo Patchouli or a slightly sweeter version of Atelier’s Vanille Insensee, or even Replica’s By the Fireplace. It smells good and autumnal, but replaceable with less expensive scents since it’s not particularly novel, nor is the execution better than the others I mentioned IMO.
vavrin4uck – :
Pepper is my single favourite scent in a fragrance, but the issue is obviously longevity. Here, on initial spray, I get a clean, freshly ground pepper, which hangs around for about an hour, but I get good peppery projection for 3-4 hours all told, which is fantastic compared with CDG’s black pepper. After four hours, the vanilla and patchouli comes through, with the occasional faint trace of pepper. I do love this fragrance. I was wondering whether it was just a suped-up Vetiver 46, but this is much sharper and less woody, with the pepper much more cleanly defined.
Yes, price is obviously an issue. Maybe I could get a lot of the pleasure I get from this from Vetiver 46 instead. But, when I think about it, from a 100ml bottle, I’ll get somewhere between 150 and 200 applications, and so $2.66–2.00 per application. For that I get four hours of intense enjoyment, and another four to six of pleasant enjoyment. So, a solid day of sensory indulgence. And who knows, maybe it’ll give some people around me a few nice moments too. I think when deciding on value and worth, it all comes down to what makes you smile or cry, what gives you strength or keeps you warm and what offers you round-the-clock company on lonely days. Fragrances, I think, can do that. Sure, I wish it was cheaper, as much as I wish beer, good wine, a pot of nice tea or a juicy steak were half their price when dining out, but I don’t think it will stop me with Poivre 23. It just pushes too many of my buttons.
unf381Negeltzex – :
Le Labos city exclusive Poivre 23 London is a unique take on a peppery scent
its blending to perfection by having a smooth & classy opening of smokey woodsy & peppery accords on the top and heart notes followed by vanilla & incense accords on the dry down
even tho i find this scent to be somewhat linear its still unique enough to enjoy on a night out when dressed to impress at a formal setting just be careful on how many times you pull the trigger as this scent can fill a room quickly
longevity is great and projection is slightly above average so wear it knowing that you will smell great (just dont wear it in the warmer months as its kinda thick)
id say this is worth buying just dont blind buy this since its not a scent i think the masses would find appealing
on to the next
clover – :
Scent – sweetened black pepper.
Season/Time of Day – I prefer to use this one in the colder months, day or night.
Projection – I didn’t get noticed, I didn’t get a compliment.
Longevity – I get 24hrs consistently.
#12
Sulacool – :
Le Labo Poivre 23 (city exclusive for London) is, as meteorologists might put it, a wintry mix. It involves pepper, smoke, and resin. It’s a strong cold-weather option that seems to be able to work day and night. Poivre 23 is the strongest Le Labo I’ve tried with respect to projection and longevity. A few mini sprays from the sample atomizer create a cloud, and longevity is in the 8-12 hour range, at least. So the City Exclusive price ($290 for 50ml) at least provides a robust fragrance, but aesthetically, I can see the mix of hard notes being divisive among wearers. This strikes me as almost an exclusively masculine fragrance at the intersection of woody, smoky, spicy, and perhaps even dirty. At a lower price, it would be a welcome addition among some other cold-weather favorites, but the price is still prohibitive. A cool fragrance, nonetheless.
8 out of 10
perec355mail.ru – :
the pepper vanishes quite quickly and you’re left with a vanilla-labdenum mix. nothing all that special or unique. quite a let down…
…and at this price…???
kas113 – :
BACKGROUND: I just got the 2015 sample set of the exclusives from Luckscent and will wear one a day with a review for each – from a male perspective.
Today I’m wearing Poivre 23 to the office.
SCENT: Up top I got a nice punch of fresh pepper, but what surprised me is the unexpected, unlisted green notes here. I am getting bitter fresh galbanum and cypress – offset by some buttery amber and vanilla. Well, there are 23 aromatics in here – perhaps we all get a different take on P23. And once again I agree with Ularewolf – I do get a dash of pickle up front, which dissipates quickly.
OFFICE READY? This couldn’t offend anyone when sitting on my (admittedly dry) skin. The moderate projection of P23 is the warm, ambery side of this composition. You need to get nose-on-skin to get the unusual pepper/green mentioned. I prefer the pepper/green face so this is doing very little to impress me – and getting no reaction from colleagues.
NIGHT OUT READY? It depends how close you get to others – on skin its interesting, brisk a little dark and cold. It’s a slightly dirty/ sexy composition. But from arm’s length – its butteriness is just not enough of a head-turner in my book.
BETTER THAN THE REGULARS? When I know a fragrance is hyped, I tend to try a little harder to understand why – to see what other people see in it. But after a few hours with this, I must admit to myself that there’s not much here for me. It’s the Emperor’s New Clothes – and while ’emperor poivre 23′ is not naked – it seems to be wearing an off-the-rack suit. I think Santal 33 is twice the fragrance.
WORTH THE $440 (AU $600)? Yeah, you know my answer to this already. I thought this was going to be a contender in the exclusives line for the $440 crown. But alas.
WORTH $240? I wouldn’t buy it. I don’t hate it or think it smells cheap. You can tell this is well made – I’d just rather restock my Santal 33 for the price, rather than branch to this.
HIGHLIGHTS: The pepper/green scent I get up close is something all its own – I haven’t come across the same effect before and I respect and like it. Shame the projection is the opposite effect – cosmetic and a little boring to me.
tryuitocxz – :
No pickle here??? That’s Santal 33. Now, Poivre is the most authentic, pure, black pepper I’ve encountered. The vanilla is what come in to make this scent so breathable and even more desirable. Is it worth the asking price??? Only if you truly love it. I REALLY enjoy it and like it’s addicting qualities, but waited to find a used bottle for sale as there are still differences between Love and passion.
LoranBekmambetov – :
It’s mainly sweet benzoin with salty guaiac which, to me, equates to vanilla and bacon. There is some pepper, but I actually find more pepper in scents that don’t actually advertise themselves as pepper, so don’t expect it to be a pepper bomb. It’s more of a balsamic oriental than anything . . . with bacon bits. Although I do like a few Le Labo scents, I generally don’t view the line as particularly accomplished, and Poivre 23 is a good example of why: to me, this is a cut-rate sketch of a scent sold at an extortionate price with manufactured exclusivity. There’s very little to Poivre 23, and I find it to be a charmless exercise in ambroxan. From the city exclusives, Gaiac 10 and Cuir 28 are probably the best, but none of them is worth even a fraction of what the brand is charging. It’s mediocre at best.
klepo – :
i think the vanilla kinda ruins it a touch. the animalic feel that vanilla *can* bring to a scent makes the pepper smell cheap and artificial, unfortunately…otherwise, it’s quite nice. it does disappoint a smidge, though…
мишкаиванич – :
Initially I liked the fragrance. It had an interesting texture and smell to it. Then I tested it again today, put more sprays on, and what do I get? A sour dill pickle smell.
I did NOT get that the first time, but I also only sprayed once. It seems something is amped when you spray it multiple times, and it’s far from pleasant.
Now I can’t seem to smell past that sour pickle, so I’m stuck with this fragrance. I’m sorry, but the prices so far are outrageous in comparison to the fragrances themselves. For City Exclusives, I expected much more.
Out of the three I’ve tried, Vanille 44 wins, but winning this fight isn’t saying much.
EDIT: It’s not as bad as originally. Its drydown is nice but Memoirs of a Trespasser has an extremely similar drydown and that fragrance is amazing from beginning to end. Not even factoring in the huge price inflation for this.
xpertmatrix – :
I got a chance to sample Poivre 23 and while I’d be lying if I said I absolutely loathed this fragrance, I’m quite content with just a sample of it. For me to spend over $400, I have to be absolutely flabbergasted. To put salt on the wound and make matters worse, even if I did find Poivre 23 irresistible and am willing to shell out the big smackeroos for it -well, then on top of $400 plus dollars, I’d need to shell out even more dollars for airfare/hotel, ect. Oh, yes, another option would be to wait around until maybe, just maybe, a reputable seller lists it and charges an arm and a leg for it. Pfffft. Nah.
It irks me and drives me bonkers with these “city exclusives.” They charge double the price, limit it to a certain area and because people naturally want what they can’t have or is not in their grasp, it’s now become high demand and very sought after. And we the consumer buy into this malarkey and all run out like wild animals in heat for it. Anyways , enough with that useless banter. Now onto some more new useless banter.
The opening for this frag is (as the name suggests) pepper. A blast of it. Pepper lovers will be in heaven, but only for a short while. Yep, they did us dirty like that, gave us a taste and yanked it right back-sorry folks. The pepper is short lived (which can be a good or bad thing depending on your preference.) I also got vanilla, labdanum and patch. About 30 minutes in the pepper has completely retreated back, almost into non existent territory. Another thing that irked me, I wanted more damn pepper!! I mean, it’s what this frag is called. But nope. Adios pepper. Hola incense, woodsy notes, and more vanilla. The patch and labdanum do remain noticeable but the vanilla at the point is a little more shy ( the vanilla is not gourmand-y, it remains dry but has a speck of sweetness but it’s faint, I feel the sweetness comes mostly from the amber.)
The final hoo-ra of this juice sends me on my way with vanilla, incense and guaiac wood lending itself to a moderately soft, little bit spicey, resinous vibe.
The third and final thing that irked me- the transition between the layers. I felt they were very abrupt, almost stopped me short and did not blend seamlessly into the next part of this composition.
As far as projection, it was about arms length.
Longevity – 8-10 hours. It does have nice lasting power, but not $400 + worth of nice.
Sillage – Leaves a little poof of trail, but nothing astonishing.
All in all, I am happy to say I experienced it for myself but my $400 plus dollars is staying right in my pocket.
артем свердлов – :
Most Le Labo fragrances are ok but in general not all that astounding. This one parts the sea and can be polorizing at first sniff. The top note of pepper can be off putting if this is not an aroma you appreciate…but I love pepper. Both the smell and the taste. (I blacken my food much to the surprise of others around me.)
But fear not.The jolt of pepper during he first half hour soon subsides and gives way to resins, incense and vanilla. Vanilla and pepper turns out to a delicious combination. Also present is a nice touch of guaiac wood, sandalwood and patchouli.
Starts out decidedly masculine and softens as time passes to become softer and a bit more feminine but very wearable by anyone. An unique oriental with a shocking blast of wonderful pepper at the start. Longevity borders on incredible lasting well over 12 hours, almost 24 hours.
Twice a year Le Labo offers their city exclusives at their retail locations. This is one of the very few times I have purchassed a small bottle. The $440 price for 100ml is stupidly rediculous! $290 for 50ml is even worse (per ml) but my bank account appreciates the extra $150. But even at this price this is a scent I needed in my collection. At least I have the bottle and can get refills later if I run out. The fact that I sprayed liberally in the store and got 3 nice sized samples before I left makes the high price a little easier to take.Not a blind buy! Sample first. If you visit or live in London make sure to sample. If not then get it while you can or wait 2 years…
eplan – :
From a business standpoint, it borders on the absurd to make a fragrance line absolutely EXCLUSIVE to an entire continent with not even a chance to purchase the desired product online! Le Labo is probably the only company in the world outside the ultra-high-tech world of defense-industry products that refuses to sell to interested customers. Go figure! (the losses in revenue)
toradora6876 – :
Poivre 23 is really a masterpiece. I LOVE orientals and spices is fragrances and the pepper in this is amazing. I LOVE hardcore, brash, in your face, black pepper and this definetely satisfies the cravings. I would say Poivre Samarcande (Hermes) remains a consistent straight up pepper (it’s drier, almost food-like or steak-like but doesn’t project or last as long). Poivre 23 is more versatile and incorporates resins and other diverse notes in it. And is sweeter and more inviting. But the pepper is DEFINETELY high quality. LOVE it.
Virus210984 – :
Wow,This is indeed a unique fragrance, very strong projection, its like a sweet , pepper and incense kind of vibe.. i usually do 4 sprays and people can notice me across the room, this is a great winter fragrance very heavy and long lasting,,one of if not my favorite winter fragrance of all.. two big thumbs up,, add in a high five for good measure!!
lilian – :
Ok, I should probably resign to the fact that Le Labo will never be among my favorite houses. I had great expectations form Poivre 23 but when I finally got to test it, thanks to a great perfumisto, I got somewhat disappointed.
The fragrance smells actually pretty fine, but it’s pervaded by a strong deja-vu vibe throughout. It opens with a hint of black pepper immediately joined by incense and a sweet, sort of balsamic quality that I suspect being due to the labdanum and the styrax. In this phase Poivre 23 clearly remarks its presence with a bold but not overpowering sweetish-woody aroma. Well rounded, nice but not incredibly interesting. It then dries down to a woody-patch-vanilla base that’s not so far from the latest phases of Patchouli 24 but nowhere close being as grand.
Bottom line: Mild thumbs up!
Rating: 7/10
Marcus – :
Heard it’s a great and unusual one… I agree but what’s with the scent lasting? It smells on the skin but you actually need your nose sticked to your skin… not good.
Overall 9/10
muhamedyanowa.alina – :
One of my absolute favorite scents. It starts out with a beautifully realistic pepper note and a puff of smokiness. As it dries down, the hidden vanilla heart of this frag reveals itself. It’s like warming sunlight peering from behind the dark cloud of the opening notes. A comforting and confidence-boosting frag for me.