I'd ordered a new 50ml bottle of the original Libre EDP on a famous UK beauty webshop and discovered a few seconds too late - I'd peeled off the foil, making it unreturnable - they'd made a mistake in sending me the EDT. Normally an expensive mistake because EDT's famously get eaten ASAP by my skin. (The longest lasting EDT to date - and I'm 45 so not just starting a perfume journey - gave me 4hrs [Burberry Brit], the rest barely makes 1, or even 2).
I decided to test the initially unwanted liquid and... amazed. Never in my life have I been able to smell an Eau de Toilette past the 3-4hr mark, but one spray on the top of my lower arm in warm weather lasted 8 hours. A definite skin scent the final 3 of the eight hours, but remarkable nonetheless for an EDT on my very dry, perfume eating skin. That in itself made me reconsider my thought to sell it and test the actual fragrance for scent a bit more, because initially that wàs disappointing. (Check original first week review further below. Directly underneath is a review of the next season macerated perfume).
Edit: JULY 2023: WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES.
Switching out my true winter fragrances for my Spring & Summer collections has given me quite a few nice surprises, but none so much as Libre Eau de Toilette.
You can read the original review starting with "September 2022" too, but I think I'm now holding the "Real Libre EDT. That first review was written after a few tries shortly after its arrival. Not only did I deal with the disappointment of receiving the wrong fragrance and not being able to return it anymore, but after I had posted this review my experience with it became worse. After a week or 3 it had apparently recovered from its trip overseas and gave me "the tea". In this case both the figurative and the literal: suddenly all I got was a strong bergamotty opening, followed by a mere whiff of Orange blossom and then a major blast of tea that remained most of the perfume duration time. Tea, particularly the Jasmine tea I used to drink at the Chinese restaurant I worked at shortly before going to uni, is yummy. But I prefer not to smell like it.
I did keep it though, not entirely sure what to do anymore. When switching my fragrances I sprayed a few - leading to keeping several I initially wanted to sell because they'd blossomed from initial 'meh's to very nice perfumes. The Libre was, as said earlier, the biggest surprise. This wasn't the fragrance of the first 2 weeks, and definitely not the Jasmine tea strong juice afterwards. No, what I got was a liquid much darker than its EDP sister and thàt came through in the smell.
The Vanilla must have macerated big time in the period October to June because... wow. Libre EDT doesn't have a typical EDT vibe anymore. The cologne dna that the EDP has is nowhere to be found. If anything, I would say EDT's running towards the Intense. Just in a much smoother, more elegant way. The tea is still there, but that note is no longer the main accord, but simply part of a gorgeously blended whole. The lavender is only noticeable if you have a very good nose and still then it is pretty vague and just there at the start. Bergamot has stopped screaming and it's now just a part of a freshly sweet opening that lasts but 2, or less, minutes before going into the Jasmine- tea- orange blossom heart - a heart that flows straight into the base and remains part of the dry down.
The middle pyramid Jasmine is sultry, seductive and somehow innocent at the same time. The white flower gives a luscious scent, but isn't indolic or overpowering in the least. The Orangeblossom gives EDT a tad freshness and goes perfectly hand in hand with the Jasmine. Together with the tea they aren't just part of the heart, but giving Heart to this fragrance.
All that time the Vanilla is already part of the entire concoction, both sweetening and smoothing the entire heady perfume. The ambergris and Musk aren't noticeable as separate notes but blended to perfection and give, together with vanilla, a similar backbone to the one Intense has.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but the EDT - with now much better projection too - has pushed EDP and Intense off their pedestals and taken first place. This fragrance is everything I want from its pyramid and even the tea has earned that spot by giving EDT a freshness and difference that's not just needed in warm weather, but seperates this fragrance from the others in the line. My Libre love has renewed. What's more: I have a new entry in my Top 5 SS perfumes. Yes it has something typical fresh AND something different, but overall Libre EDT gives sultry, smooth & sweet... thàt is the Tea!
[SEPTEMBER 2022... What about the scent? >> Initial first week review:
Well it is both a bit of a disappointment AND a nice surprise. Disappointing because on my skin it has nothing of the original classy sexiness and boldness Libre had/has. When I'm wearing Libre I feel like anyone could be my b*tch and love it. Had I still been working as an editor-in-chief of a magazine in a man's world (l interviewed politicians, other leaders & influentials in the transport, -and environmental sector and was the only female manager in the entire publishing house) this would've been my signature office scent. The EDT...not so much. It's not giving me any of the lavender and even the opening is strangely missing any of the citrus notes. In other words: I'm sorely missing versatility.
What DO I get? My two favourite flowers in perfume: Orangeblossom and jasmine. I get a whiff of tea, but more like you're sniffing a handful of jasmine and orangeblossoms close to your nose and someone happens to put a pot of jasmine tea on a table in the same room. That whiff disappears after an hour and then the rest of the heart remains almost too overpowering for the base.
For a white floral enthusiast Libre Eau de Toilette is still nice to have, even when it misses complexity. I deem it a particularly good scent for spring and summer. It does have a lightness, despite some sweetness. If you're not into all those fresh laundry/ citrusy/ aldehyde-salt fragrances, this one could be perfect for you ~ in a wide variety of ages. When the weather gets colder its performance decreases a lot, but it does well in 20°C and up.
Libre EDT is a well performing Eau de Toilette but still performs the least out of all the Libre perfumes. But that should not come as a surprise, the rest being all EDP's. To put it all together: On me this Libre is white floral sweet with a tiny honey tinge. I do not get the citrusy start, nor the much hoped for lavender, nor the feared strong tea note so many claim to pull out mostly - I get it but a small and short-lived whiff. For that reason I think even Libre lovers should get a decant/sample/trip to the store first. If you love the idea of tea you might not get it, and if you despise it it might be all you smell. Not to mention what'll happen to the topnotes.
As the title already mentioned : I'll keep it. Had I not gotten it by mistake I do not think it would have ended up in my collection though. Once my 50ml is finished, or maybe even sooner, I'll go seek new summer scents. I fear Libre EDT, predominantly as a result of the way it smells with my skin chemistry, is too linear & could get boring fast. And the last thing I want is ruining my love for jasmine, orange blossom, and most importantly: my love for Libre.]
Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
PetitePinup
BertolucciK
