Bois Bourbon by Decennial

*****

Year: 2012

Notes: cinnamon, saffron, lavender, black rose, heliotrope, cedar, birch, oakmoss

Comment: Bois Bourbon is a Luckyscent exclusive

To commemorate its tenth anniversary, Luckyscent launched four exclusive fragrances dedicated to the city of Los Angeles, with each one reflecting a different aspect of that city.

With the exception of Lys du Desert, this collection was conceived by Jerome Epinette. Bois Bourbon focuses on LA's rich literary history and is a sweet and spicy woody affair. It commences with a suggestive booziness, accentuated by spices and a discreet molasses-like sweetness. One doesn't really detect any florals, but the gradual emergence of cedar is unmistakeable.

Later exhibiting a subtle smokiness, once again, its performance on the skin is very underwhelming. For such an important milestone, one would have expected Luckyscent to really pull out the stops.

Nuit Épicée by Decennial

*****

Year: 2012

Notes: rhubarb, cumin, violet, cistus, black amber, praline, almond, blond woods

Comment: Nuit Épicée is a Luckyscent exclusive

To commemorate its tenth anniversary, Luckyscent launched four exclusive fragrances dedicated to the city of Los Angeles, with each one reflecting a different aspect of that city.

Composed by Jerome Epinette, and inspired by the LA nightlife, Nuit Épicée is more of a woody-amber offering than a gourmand, interwoven with soft and creamy chocolate facets. Both the rhubarb and cumin are relatively subdued, but the violet is discernible from the offset. With a faint wheat-like milkiness, the almond comes more into play as the composition reveals its final act.

Like most of the Decennial fragrances, Nuit Épicée suffers from insubstantial sillage and below average staying power. It also suffers from smelling like a Nasomatto-lite clone.

Lys du Desert by Decennial

*****

Year: 2012

Notes: bergamot, green lily, rose, iris root, cistrose, cedar, ambergris

Comment: Lys du Desert is a Luckyscent exclusive

To commemorate its tenth anniversary, Luckyscent launched four exclusive fragrances dedicated to the city of Los Angeles, with each one reflecting a different aspect of that city.

With Andy Tauer at the helm, Lys du Desert is an olfactory portrait of LA's rugged desert surroundings. Lys du Desert also shares a similar olfactory concept to L'Air du Désert Marocain, thus making Andy's involvement all the more logical. However, it ultimately comes across as a mishmash of recycled past achievements.

Opening with what could be best described as a mixture of orange syrup and root beer, Lys du Desert is pretty much a pared down version of either Incense Rosé or Une Rose Chyprée, with the woody-amber foundation of L'Air du Désert Marocain grafted on. To be frank, for such a momentous occasion in Luckyscent's history, one expected something a lot more daring and unique.

Unsurprisingly, it's dry, warm and woody, with a sweet floral core. The green lily imparts a soft verdancy, during the top notes, and the ambery aspect is well-executed. Beyond that, there's just too much déjà vu – so much that it smells like a discarded prototype for an old fragrance idea. However, by comparison, one does prefer Lys du Desert over Incense Rosé (but not over the fuller and richer Une Rose Chyprée).

For its many shortcomings, Lys du Desert is still the best Decennial fragrance out of the four, which says more about Andy's skills as a perfumer than his sense of originality. Notably stronger than its siblings, both longevity and sillage still could have been a little better.

Santal Sacré by Decennial

*****

Year: 2012

Notes: elemi, ginger, frankincense, papyrus, Australian sandalwood, white musks

Comment: Santal Sacré is a Luckyscent exclusive

To commemorate its tenth anniversary, Luckyscent launched four exclusive fragrances dedicated to the city of Los Angeles, with each one reflecting a different aspect of that city.

Developed by Jerome Epinette, and based on LA's "contemplative culture of spiritual and physical health" (yes, seriously), Santal Sacré is a musky sandalwood effort, with light touches of ginger and frankincense. It's clean, soft, linear and a little creamy, with the papyrus adding a gentle moist woodiness to the proceedings. However, it hardly produces any sillage and disappears within four hours.

With the sandalwood becoming dryer, during the drydown phase, it's inoffensive but also unsatisfactory to wear. The high price tag doesn't help matters either.