Lui Mazzolari

Anyone who has been around the block for long enough has heard this name at least once: LUI. It makes the best lists of many aficionados when it comes to musks, leathers, and more recently, patchouli. I think it's all of that, depending on how old your bottle is, because this beauty has changed over the years. Frankly, I have been on the fence with it for a long time, as the various samples I tried seemed to be getting increasingly sweeter and patchouli-dominant while departing from the musk-leather-heavy emphasis this fragrance had in the past. Finally, I realized the only way to mend that is to hunt for an older falcon, as it seems to be the solution more often than not.

Smelling it from this bottle, Lui is not about the patchouli, which plays a minor role, and barely any amber. This is, first and foremost, a civet bomb. The cat slaps you over the face as soon as you spray this. But it's not the way civet usually comes across, which is sharp. Here it has this creamy, almost buttery texture, which I only encountered with another fragrance, an Italian-made gourmand, Cadavre Exquis, but devoid of that one's savory connotations. A big dose of buttery and foul-smelling civet, followed by a strong woody facet that smells like a barn scorched by the summer's heat, allowing all its aromas to rise and permeate the air. And finally, a dry and dusty leather, maybe hanging in the same barn next to a pair of leather boots to go with the picture. The patchouli and the amber accord barely breathe underneath the slab of meat and help to balance the fragrance, next to the woods, preventing it from going completely into a gore animalic show.

So, my recommendation, if you are looking for a potent musk perfume with a heavy-handed civet note, go and hunt for old bottles of LUI. I'd even say this is amazing if you want a barnyard and dry leather scent. If you want an amber-patchouli, there are a dozen better options, or you can try the modern versions of LUI, which tone down the animalics significantly. One thing is certain: LUI is pure testosterone juice and truly bad to the bone.

IG:@memory.of.scents

Lui is firstly a patchouli fragrance. If you don't like patchouli, don't bother with Lui. It opens with an animalic, barnyard scent which doesn't last very long. Although the animalic component diminishes, it remains subtly in the background. As I said, patchouli is dominant but it's supported by the animalic accord, spices and woody accords along with a musky and slighly powdery accord. Didn't really get any floral notes. It's the supporting accords which really make it testosteronic man juice. Definitely not one for the bubble gum boys. Awesome masculine patchouli, dry but with warmth and depth.

Longevity was a good 12+ hours for me. It was quite noticeable in the evening after having applied it in the morning. Projection was also strong for about an hour and then it pulled back some to be closer scent bubble. I'd like to pick up a bottle but will have to save my pennies since it is kinda pricey.

Mazzolari Lui opens with a hint of rose, but quickly turns into an outright patchouli powerhouse bomb. The patchouli dominates throughout, and mixes with hints of leather and amber along the way. I kind of liked the opening, but I am not a fan of patchouli dominant scents, and Mazzolari Lui definitely fits that description. The patchouli was just too much for me, but I did not dislike ML, and could certainly see why it gets the love from many others. If you are a patchouli powerhouse scent addict, then this is a must sniff, IMO. If you dislike patchouli as the dominant note in scents, then most likely Mazzolari Lui will not appeal to you. I give the scent a strong neutral due to its quality and its superb projection, sillage and longevity equating to a rating of 3 out of 5 stars.

We go from yesterday's review of raw and rough Santa Maria Novella Patchouli to the down and dirty Mazzolari Lui, which (agreeing with the below reviewer FragranEssence), surely is loaded with civet, castoreum and perhaps even Animalis base. This is just as much a favorite musk fragrance as it is patchouli. Musc Koublai Who? This is for me the ultimate skank musk, and the fact that patchouli is a prominent note is testament to the fact that the humble Pogostemon Cablin has an uncanny ability to amplify animalic notes.

Lui's furry, feral patchouli is ensconced in cozy woods—a prominent cedar is here, which also energizes animalic accords as well, with some sandalwood and spice (cumin, caraway, coriander surely are part of this melange) lending necessary texture. As it develops, the animals are tamed, curl up into a snuggly bed of amber, but one gets intermittent whiffs of their musks in the somewhat sweeter base that evokes the mildly nutty, round, aphrodisiac-like ambrette seed oil and it is here the patchouli begins to reveal itself completely. Hours of ambrette and patchouli bliss linger on the skin.

He had instilled fear and terror in the village for weeks. Hardly a night went by without him coming, silently from the jungle. Then the shrill bleating of a sheep or a goat, the squealing of a pig in its death throes, and then silence again. The next morning, only the bloody traces remained.

He was Dawon, the holy tiger, but all holiness comes to an end when it comes to one's own life. And so, guards with rifles were posted after the tiger attacked Bao. Bao had been lucky and survived the attack, although his right arm would likely never be the same again.

So there I stood in the darkness, the village at my back, the jungle in front of me. In my sweaty hand, I held the old, heavy carbine, much older than I was, slightly rusty at the barrel, but well-oiled and undeniably deadly. The moon provided little light, and so I listened and smelled everything around me. The spices from dinner in the village still lingered in the air. The wood was still damp from the last rain shower, and the earth was steaming. The dense jungle before me was like a black wall in the already black night.

I didn't hear him coming; he approached so quietly. But I smelled him. Sweet and warm, with the indescribable intensity that only a wild animal possesses. It smelled alluring and fearsome at the same time. Under his powerful paws, he crushed the wildflowers, so that something almost lovely also lingered in the air.

Then he suddenly stood before me. A shadow, only his two eyes glowed golden. They regarded me, and I lost myself in their unfathomable depth. Something completely foreign was looking at me: an indifference, no pity or mercy, those are human concepts, only the necessity to survive. The rifle trembled in my hand. I knew I wouldn't be able to pull the trigger. We stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. But it was probably just a moment. Then he came towards me, his animal scent enveloping me completely. I closed my eyes and awaited my end. I felt his fur against my leg, a rough tongue brushed briefly over my hand, and as silently as he had come, he disappeared again.

I left the rifle there. He was Dawon, the holy tiger; I couldn't shoot him. He had touched me and left me alive. The eye of the tiger had seen me, and now it is impossible for me to forget that this eye sees me.*

I never want to stand before him again.

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Whether a tiger is hiding in Lui, I do not know, but it is definitely a big animal. And it is wild, at least at the beginning.

It starts with sweet spices; I recognize clove, and I suspect some coumarin and cinnamon. It is warm and quite pleasant. Then comes the animalic note, likely derived from musk and amber, although I can't explicitly smell either. It hits me like a hammer; it's quite intense. Beneath it is leather and dark, damp wood. The patchouli is earthy and dark. The only bright spot in this dark, steaming brew are the flowers, which initially also come across as very spicy. The sillage at this point is also expansive, so there is no escaping. I couldn't find any citrus notes.

Over time (after about 2 hours), the scent becomes calmer and softer. The flowers are now more pronounced and no longer so spicy. The animalic note, however, remains dominant and stays in the foreground. Slightly sweet resins mix in, and it could slowly fade away.
But it doesn't for me. In the base (after about 6-7 hours), the scent becomes really intense again. The leather, which was previously only subtly perceptible, comes forward, very animalic and raw. With the woody notes, I could swear there's oud in there, but that's probably just the combination of the various notes.

I do quite like subtle animalic notes in fragrances. However, nothing here is subtle; this is hardcore animalic and surely a delight for fans. My limit has long been exceeded; I prefer to run away (even if that might not be the best survival strategy with a tiger).

If it is too strong, you are too weak...
* loosely based on Søren Kierkegaard