Lobogal Pour Lui by Lobogal + Free Samples Giveaway {Perfume Review & Musings} {Men's Cologne of the Week}

As far as one can tell, the Lobogal perfume brand is still very little known in the US and even in Europe it seems despite its quality. I was fortunate enough to be able to test the fragrances from the line and will review them starting with the men's eau de toilette today.

As previously reported and quoting myself, Lobogal Pour Lui (Logogal For Him) is part of a trio of luxury perfumes by Lobogal, the two others fragrances being Lobogal Pour Elle and Lobogal Gold. The brand is relatively recent having been established in 2004 in Paris by the French company BGL-Beauté.

The perfumes were created by noses Pierre Bourdon and Valérie Garnuch and the bottles designed by Thierry Lecoule. Pierre Bourdon is also the author, amongst others, of YSL Kouros (1981), Davidoff Cool Water (1988), Dior Dolce Vita (1995), Frédéric Malle Iris Poudre (2000), Escada Magnetism (2003), and Franchesco Smalto Fullchoke (2005)...

According to the press release, Lobogal Pour Lui is composed of an "...exotic bouquet of spices from the past, bringing to memory the flavor of the herbal liqueurs which the monks were producing for centuries behind the walls of their monasteries. The extract of whiskey and the way it is used in the olfactory composition adds a true revolutionary spirit, emphasizing both its classical and extravagant nature."

Top notes feature apple, bergamot, pineapple, white pepper, juniper berries, tangerine, ginger, nutmeg, red pepper. Heart notes are jasmine, lavender, muguet, and violet. Base notes are ebony, mahogany, vetiver, and musks.

Lobogal Pour Lui appears to be a medium-light-bodied woodsy and liquorishy scent with an urbane character and touches of the gentleman farmer about it. Its woodsy sophistication allied with the smoothness of its blend assures its wearer of his elegance while rustic accents conveyed by the smell of aged apples, whiskey, and discreetly smokey woody notes evocative of oak barrels create a countryside backdrop putting him in touch with his more primeval nature.

It makes me think style-wise of men wearing oily Barbour jackets with tall rubber boots taking a stroll in the dewey wee hours of the morning in the countryside after having visited their horses in their stables, slapped them on their croups for mutual encouragement, and who at the end of their meditative and regenerative walks come to port by sharing glasses of apple brandy with the local village folks as the night refuses to give way to the day. It speaks both of tradition and modernity and of our nostalgia for a simpler life in the midst of the accepted constraints created by city life.

The appeal of the perfume for me is based on the finesse of its ingredients and the interesting showcasing of a convincing apple treatment. The scent starts in a classical manner with an elegant masculine cedarey accord. A fruity side develops where apple is evident while the rest of the fruits such as pineapple and tangerine help round off the scent together with other round floral notes, for instance jasmine. The numerous ingredients listed in the description contribute to an overall impression of smoothness and seamless blending rather than appear as solo accents. The two most prominent notes to my nose are cedar and apple with some pepper discreetly emerging through the blend later on. Lavender, juniper berries bring an aromatic touch to the composition. The perfume evolves little but is not boring thanks to the appeal created by the rustic reminiscences of whiskey or apple brandy, wooden barrels, dried apples hanging in the barn, the latter accord offering still more rustic and interesting raw potatoe facets including, more specifically, the soft aroma of fresh potatoe starch.The fragrance has some body to it but is light and made luminous thanks to the discreet tartness of fruits and the fresh juicy aspects of jasmine and muguet. A faint smokiness adds interest too. It has an enduring woodsy and musky drydown albeit a discrete one.

This is a fragrance for an elegant urbanite who is at the same time at heart a traditionalist with rustic roots. I feel that women might find it a bit too much on the masculine side to adopt it without hesitation due to the typical woodsy notes and slight after-shave tonality it has, especially in the beginning. The apple accord is on the other hand more open to interpretation and done in a much more subtle way than in many other apple-centered perfumes.

The bottle as far as I can judge from the Lobogal Pour Elle one which is identical except for the color, is luxurious with a nice heft to it. It is silver color-plated heavy glass and you can see the juice through the semi-transparent lattice motif reminiscent of a lattice window

The only centuries-old monks' liquor I have available for comparison is the Green Chartreuse made by the Carthusian brothers since the 17th century. Interestingly enough, although it smells not unlike Lobogal Pour Lui when in the bottle, if only more pungent, the affnities become obvious when I dab a drop or two of Green Chartreuse on my hand. There the resemblance accentuates with the juniper berries coming forth and the underlying common accord of aged, fermented plants. The Green Chartreuse is a secret recipe based on 130 different Alpine herbs. Next to each other, I have to say that Lobogal Pour Lui smells better as a liquor-turned-perfume.

For more information about Lobogal Pour Lui, please contact: 

Bolero Trading

       tel.: + 7 495 761 85 50,  or
       e-mail: info@bolerotrading.ru

Please let me know in the comments if you would like to be included in a drawing for a sampler set of the 3 Lobogal fragrances. I will announce the winner on Monday Oct 30 in the evening. Good luck!

Sources: Press release, Barbour