Tabac Libre Angelos Créations Olfactives 2020

Tabac Libre kind of reminds me of Fate Man. Not the scent 1-to-1, but it has that same sort of cedar box full of spices kind of feel. Along with the saffron, cardamom, and clove, there's a bit of dry leafy tobacco, but it's kind of like Opus XIV - Royal Tobacco to me where the tobacco is being highlighted by other notes rather than being the star of the show itself. The herbaceous green quality is set by the hay note, while any sweet/fruity/boozy aspects are basically nonexistent. Drydown is very woody cedar/oakmoss/patchouli which keeps the fragrance dry throughout its lifetime.

I was very excited about this one since it got so much hype on this site but unfortunately it doesn't reach the upper echelon of tobacco scents for me. It's got this old man/mothball quality to it that I can't get over (castoreum/oakmoss/tonka/patchouli combo possibly?). The stuffy spicy/herbaceous/woody qualities prevent the scent of the tobacco from blooming.

Really good, true tobacco. Smells like fresh, unlit cigars and pipe tobacco — dry and rich. There’s a fruity edge, mostly plum, and it stays present from beginning to end.

In the opening, I catch coffee and boozy notes — like someone accidentally spilled a brandy espresso on a cigar box, and it turned out to smell amazing. Then, as it settles, the immortelle really starts to shine. Now, you’ve got to love immortelle to enjoy this. It’s not hiding. It’s that sweet hay-meets-maple syrup note, dry and herbal, slightly spicy, and just a bit cumin-like. To me, it dominates the heart of the scent. It ends up being a 50/50 blend: tobacco and immortelle, with the fruity notes tying everything together.

The sillage and projection are airy but noticeable. It’s a cocooning scent — warm and comforting. The longevity is solid too. It lingers beautifully on skin and hair, and I catch whiffs of it throughout the day.

It’s a pleasant, wearable scent — and the price is actually decent, especially compared to some of his other offerings that seem like they were priced during a moment of artistic delusion.

The note list looks like a dare at first — mushroom, hay, moss, immortelle? Sounds like the ingredients for a cursed forest potion. But in reality, it’s smooth, slightly sweet, and just plain gorgeous.

Absolutely beautiful, I would give it 10 out of 10 if the sillage was a bit stronger. Cardamom tobacco drowing in rum, makes me think of how good is, theorically, sitting in front of a strong glass with a cigar hanging fron your mouth. I say theorically because alas, as much as I love tobacco scents, I don't love cigars nor I drink. Anyway, it evolves with a beautiful thick orris butter in which pops out hay and a bit of immortelle. I don't get strong fruity notes, but it's hay makes it up for it and it smells delicious so I won't be complaining if my skin drunk plum and raspberries honestly. I don't get a mushroom dry down, nor a particularly animalic one. Nagarmotha stands out the most during the end in my opinion. Nonetheless, beautiful tobacco!

what an evocative scent. it truly brings me straight to when I would visit those traditional tobacconist shops, that almost edible, delicious smell, deeply brown-orange and autumnal in colour and shade. all different types of tobacco; in jars, stored in ropes, in fumidors, and the delicious, aromatic stickiness inherent to it, especially the 'flavoured' tobaccos also. there's a fruitiness which opens raspberry tart, but evolves into a more plummy-cognac moistness as the fragrance settles, like a fresh pack of dried leaves. i detect ever-so-slight floral elements also, particularly the carnation and osmanthus, lending pepperiness and a suede-like texture in points. again though, the tobacco runs from opening right down the the base like a central column around which all the other notes orbit, coming in and out of focus, which is something i've noticed in cuir fleurissant and slightly less so in irida also. i'm glad this doesn't run overly sweet and cloying as a lot of tobacco fragrances do, running with vanilla or amber, which usually obliterate every note that precedes them on my skin. however, here, i feel the immortelle and the hay provide enough naturalistic, almost bucolic, herbal sweetness on their own, without needing either of those aforementioned notes. also, perhaps it is my imagination or mere suggestion, but I do pick up a little of the mushroomy-ness towards the base, which brings a clean, earth-like dimension to the scent overall. a stunning composition.

Imagery:
This fragrance evokes the feeling of walking alone through the woods. Perhaps even an enchanted forest. Brown, damp leaves cover the ground beneath your feet. It isn’t raining, but the air is humid, like a cold morning when dew blankets the flora.
As you walk, you come across a fabulous house hidden in the heart of the forest. Rustic, with stone walls, wooden details, and a thatched roof. Inside, someone is making raspberry and plum jam. What might be the next quest?

Description:
The fragrance opens with dry, brown tobacco and a strong presence of hay. At first, the combination of florals, tobacco, and hay creates the impression of precious wood. Something rare, aromatic, and refined. Cardamom plays an important role here, adding a green, fresh nuance.
As the scent develops, it becomes sweeter. What was already noticeable at the opening grows more pronounced: raspberry and plum, blended with osmanthus apricot, create the jam-like impression I mentioned earlier.
Immortelle is also quite detectable, while the remaining florals stay in the background, providing support rather than taking center stage.
In the base, the tobacco remains present until the very end of the composition, while the mushroom note suggests damp earth, though not in an overly hyper realistic way. Oakmoss and woods further enhance the outdoor atmosphere, reinforcing the feeling of a walk through the forest.
It is a wonderful fragrance especially for autumn, and for winter, but after a few hours it doesn’t project much on my skin, which is a shame.