L'Eau Neuve - Inédite Lubin 2010

I coveted this bottle for over a year, before giving in to its good looks. It is probably one of the top 3 most striking bottles I own and it really lights up my countertop with its intriguing beauty. While I was busy coveting the bottle I had convinced myself that my chance encounter with the fragrance inside was perhaps, more significant and attractive than it really was, actually. When I tested it on a gloriously sunny day of browsing and shopping the upscale shops near Venice Beach California, 'the world was my oyster' and I felt that by wearing Inédite, I would smell like sugared almonds, pearls and princesses and attract the world to throw lavish parades in my honor.
If you've ever had a brief encounter with an intriguing, witty and stylish individual who was pleasant, perhaps slightly flirtacious, and then found yourself unable to stop thinking about said person, developing a mini-crush and fantasizing about giving them your number, laughing and chatting for hours, etc. and then you DO run into them again, only this time they are kind of aloof, you notice their voice is rather grating and they appear to be very hung-over, a little creepy and biting their fingernails nervously, they ask if they can borrow some money and inquire as to whether any authorities have contacted you about their whereabouts, leaving you to wonder where the sugar coating went?...Well, that is sort of the story with Inédite.
This fragrance name, loosely translated means previously unpublished, unreleased work, and I believe connotates a sense of 'Jamais vu' and unrequited love. The scent is suppose to bring to mind a story of “Aziyadé, a young Circassian harem girl imprisoned in an oriental palace, embodies the unreachable and sensual beauty of which every man dreams." Well, that's a bit unsettling, IMO. But, alrighty-dighty... moving on!
Inédite a complex affair that is supposed to bloom into 'sweet sugar almonds, vanilla and roses'. On my skin, this scent has outstanding sillage. One spray is more than adequate for 8 hours of wearing. This is perhaps my most elegant and sophisticated evening scent, rivaled only by Serge Lutens "Daim Blond" in my humble collection. Admittedly, sophisticated evening scents are fairly low on my priority list as I am more drawn to casual, unique woody or gourmand skin scents, in general, but every collector should have a few in each category.
Inédite is a multifaceted slightly spicy floral for me. No sign of sugared almonds, vanilla or white musk. This is not in the slightest bit sweet or gourmand to my nose. It starts out kind of clean, soapy with bergamot and dried mandarin rinds- more like a popourri mandarin than an edible mandarin note. Next, I detect a prim English garden rose, on a backdrop of spicy cinnamon, coriander, clove and a lot of pink pepper. Blessedly, lilac, which typically gives me an allergic reaction, is not detectable in this composition.
Following the spicy rose opening, I can discern a cacophony of flowers dominated by heliotrope and iris, which I am sure is what attracted me in the first place, since their is nothing finer than a good high quality iris note IMHO. The floral center is blended seamlessly with patchouli and a touch slightly dirty musk, (but not Egyptian musk). This musk becomes very animalic, almost ala Shalimar (but lacking in Shalimar's signature deep seductive incense, Opopanax, tonka bean base). Patchouli is my nemesis and with Inédite, it becomes unsettling and just funky on me in the warm weather.
After 12 hours, I am finally left with a slinky spicy rose musk with a patchouli base scent that has nothing to do with sugared almonds and is just not my type. I give this fragrance a friendly "dankeschön", acknowledge that it is perfect for someone, somewhere and admire its good looking bottle on my countertop, but will very rarely wear it- "we just lacked chemistry".

It starts with a blast of rose water with the addition of some sweet and fruity undertone which might a little bit remind you of cough syrup. As It evolves, with the addition of heliotrope and iris, It becomes a bit creamy and powdery. It also has some spicy and woody tones which, are present till the end. Situation-wise, I think this can work out in all seasons except winter and hot days in summer in none formal attire. And it lasts more than average(+5) which I think is enough.
Final verdict:
Thinking it over, the theme of this fragrance is floral, powdery, woody-spicy, with some fruity undertone. If you are looking for something different from the market hype train, with more character and personality, I think you should give this one a try.

Cinnamon, coriander, cashmere wood, patchouli, vanilla, clove - wow, what a caliber this must be! But then the test - and I was far off.

Inédite is a wonderful soft yet expressive fragrance that neither reminds me of crackling firewood nor of Christmas baking, nor does it promise tales from 1001 Nights. Still, I recognize most of the notes mentioned above and I am speechless at how one can use such heavy hitters so delicately and subtly.

At first, I still feel like this will be an oriental, albeit not a loud one. But it doesn’t take long for Inédite to become softly floral and spicy-powdery. Although "spicy" already sounds far too aggressive. But this powderiness does not remind me of tassels and theater costumes. There is nothing sweet here, and I rather get the impression of a potpourri made from the mentioned notes left in a cool room. The scent is distinctly noticeable, but it doesn’t waft in the warm air; it is heavy, but not oppressive. I can easily relate to Chanel's winter fairy tale.

Lubin becomes more and more one of my favorite brands with each new test, and I will quickly check which perfumes Thomas Fontaine is responsible for. He clearly knows his craft.

I’m going to share my notes on this fragrance now, hence the casual tone:
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Packaging: pink manufacturer sample, VERY harmless
Spraying (top note): harmless little fruit (mandarin), very plastic and juicy, but indeed harmless!
(I’m checking which company produces this little water). Well, would you look at that! Is this supposed to be a Lubin? What does Turandot find in it?
(Slowly transitioning into the heart of the fragrance, the rose develops, along with fine spices!) Well, now it’s getting a bit more interesting! Look at that! (My nose keeps lingering on my wrist).
In the base, finally, there’s soft/light wood, musk, and a powdery tone. Overall, it’s very mature, finely balanced, warm, and yet exciting.
YES, that’s how a proper Lubin should be!
And now I also understand what Turandot finds in it!
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Dear Parfumos,
please don’t let Lubin mislead you! Inédite starts off so harmless as if it couldn’t harm anyone with a perfume-loving nose, but it turns ruthless as it develops (in a positive sense!) and some might just lose their heart to it. I can’t seem to get my nose off my wrist now.

And yes, Monsieur, I think it definitely has something “manly” about it.

Update: The longevity is very good, by the way! I’ve had this wonderful base on my wrist for hours now!

EDIT (14.04.2014):
With a generous spray from the pocket atomizer, the pink pepper is immediately noticeable in the top note, quickly indicating that this fragrance is by no means as harmless as it seemed when dabbed from the small sample vial. As it develops, this pink pepper accompanies the rose and gives it a wonderful spiciness, depth, and excitement. In this phase of the fragrance, I envision a dark red rose in front of a deep, almost black velvet curtain. This is important because if the curtain were black, the contrast would be too harsh. However, the contrast is clear but not harsh at all!
In the further development, there are no differences from my previous testing. Inédite is a very beautiful, expressive, exciting fragrance with a soft, powdery-warm tone.

After finding all the Lubins I have tested so far to be exceptionally good, I found it somewhat strange that Inédite was rated so poorly on Parfumo, so I decided to test it as well. Completely different result - I find it amazing!

The top note is very spicy and unsweetened with a cocoa-like note, very stimulating and interesting. However, the development increasingly strays from the cozy path and loses the chocolate touch, becoming woodier and a bit dark-floral.
But it remains spicy and warm. The base is beautiful, patchouli-heavy, yet still powdery and soft, spicy until the drydown.

A fragrance like a winter fairy tale.