Log in

We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.
6.6 / 10 32 Ratings
A perfume by Kotolabo for women and men, released in 2008. The scent is woody-spicy. It is still in production.
Pronunciation Compare
Similar fragrances
We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.

Main accords

Woody
Spicy
Sweet
Smoky
Gourmand

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
Chilenean cedarChilenean cedar
Heart Notes Heart Notes
CabreuvaCabreuva
Base Notes Base Notes
CinnamonCinnamon Pivoted PlumPivoted Plum

Perfumer

Ratings
Scent
6.632 Ratings
Longevity
6.921 Ratings
Sillage
6.321 Ratings
Bottle
7.527 Ratings
Submitted by Kankuro · last update on 03/01/2025.
Source-backed & verified
Interesting Facts
The fragrance is part of the Literatura collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Reviews

3 in-depth fragrance descriptions
Mlleghoul

475 Reviews
Mlleghoul
Mlleghoul
1  
Ghost hugs from beyond
Fuegia 1833’s Biblioteca de Babel is a fragrance inspired by Jorge Luis Borge’s story describing the universe in terms of an infinite library in which books contain every possible combination of letters, spaces and punctuation mark. Everything that has been and will be thought can be found in a forsaken corner of the endless library. Some believe this story is an allegorical meditation on the endeavor to live one’s best possible life in a universe that can seem hopelessly confusing and disordered. I think I had hoped for a bit more mystery with this scent, something reminiscent of clandestine quests for esoteric knowledge, sort of like the film The Ninth Gate bottled as a scent. But with Biblioteca de Babel, what you get is a lot more straightforward and mundane. A cracked and worn leather chair with a threadbare woven blanket tossed over the back, a handmade cedar chest passed down through several generations, the sort of soap you can buy anywhere for less than a dollar, parchment scrawled not in magical inks but rather in the practical strokes of a no. 2 pencil with directions on how to install a washroom faucet. It’s not even parchment, it’s just a crumpled post-it note, thick with dust, the writing so blurry and faded with time you can barely read it anymore, but you know each word as though time has etched them on your heart. Your grandfather has been gone for twelve years now, and he never saw the faucet you eventually installed and you don’t know if he ever read Borge’s story, but you console yourself by thinking that if you had ever conversed with him about it, it might be recorded in an obscure tome tucked away in one of those imaginary rooms. It’s true, Biblioteca de Babel is not a really exciting scent, but it’s warm and familiar, sweet and safe in the way a hug is when you need it most, even when the arms are frail, even when you suspect the weight of your body is the only thing keeping the person hugging you on their feet. I would do anything to feel that hug again. And even though this cedary, sweetly vanillic, woodsy musked scent smells absolutely nothing like my grandfather, it somehow conjures the most beautiful ghost of those hugs. I'll take it.
0 Comments
Tar

261 Reviews
Tar
Tar
3  
Biblioteca of darkness flying down
Hard to write about this stupendous fragrance experience! It definitely differs from what you expects on base of note list. This is art.

BIBLIOTECA DE BABEL opens its eyes in soft light. Whipped cream, mascarpone, caramel? A totally gourmand fragrance for a while. With masculine body chemistry it exhales chestnut, roasted pine nuts, and later on both gender’s skin smells as earthy, burnt wood.

The discursive notes let themselves homogenize and the mixture grows dark, instead of cinnamon we get even more burnt wood and soil, but without now smoke and spices.

Hard to like BIBLIOTECA DE BABEL, and even harder to dislike it – so extreme, that the contrariety between this scent versus civilization must be forgiven. This is the decline of a culture, the very end of something, and creating a fragrance from this feeling is not a small achievement.
0 Comments
Florblanca

1166 Reviews
Translated · Show originalShow translation
Florblanca
Florblanca
5  
The Burning Library???
The Library of Babel (Biblioteca de Babel) by Jorge Luis Borges is a collection of short stories that all seem to share one thing in common: fascination. I may not know these stories yet, but I have become curious about this Argentine, whose literary work apparently builds on fascination.

However, the scent Biblioteca de Babel does not do justice to this fascination, in my opinion. Upon spraying, a strongly alcoholic fruit first hits my nose, which is immediately replaced by burnt milk. Unfortunately, it remains just that burnt milk, so I had to wash off the scent after an hour, even though it had already lost a lot of its strength.

Now I am even more curious about J. L. Borges' book on the Babylonian library, as the scent is a bitter disappointment.
3 Comments

Statements

8 short views on the fragrance
1
Outstanding quality as almost always with Fueguia. Raw and simple. Cinnamon like nowhere else on dark woody base. Masterpiece.
0 Comments
1 year ago
1
Not to be judged from its minimal first impression. It warms with wear into a spare, soft and subtle woodiness. Pretty bland though.
0 Comments
27
25
I don't smell anything like a library here,
only spice, cinnamon, and
above all, a whole lot of fig
in the wood.
So for me, it's a no-go.
Translated · Show originalShow translation
25 Comments
9
7
Warm mahogany wood on cinnamon leaf and spices. It feels like a warm blanket on the skin in dark times. Unfortunately, it doesn't last long.
Translated · Show originalShow translation
7 Comments
5
4
From the library, I only smell the old wooden shelves and paneling. Warm, and spiced with cinnamon. Plus a lot of dry dust. Well.
Translated · Show originalShow translation
4 Comments
5
1
Typical woody scent, the main player is cedar... that's it! Nothing special!
Translated · Show originalShow translation
1 Comment
2 years ago
2
I wouldn't have expected such disparate reviews. The combination of spicy wood with cinnamon gives me warmth and comfort.
Translated · Show originalShow translation
0 Comments
10 years ago
1
I would have guessed strawflower here. It smells more spicy than smoky. But I still feel something is missing to be convinced.
Translated · Show originalShow translation
0 Comments
More statements

Charts

This is how the community classifies the fragrance.
Pie Chart Radar Chart

Images

1 fragrance photo of the community

Popular by Kotolabo

Lemon Squash by Kotolabo Fragrant Olive (Solid Perfume) / Fragrant Orange - Colored Olive by Kotolabo Sandalwood (Eau de Parfum) by Kotolabo Fragrant Olive (Eau de Parfum) by Kotolabo Green Tea (Solid Perfume) by Kotolabo Narcissus by Kotolabo Orange Tea by Kotolabo Peach & Mango by Kotolabo Hassaku Orange by Kotolabo Sandalwood (Solid Perfume) by Kotolabo Autumn Cherry Blossom (Kosmos) / 秋桜(コスモス) by Kotolabo Sandalwood by Kotolabo Cherry Blossom by Kotolabo Green Tea (Eau de Toilette) by Kotolabo Fragrant Olive (Eau de Toilette) by Kotolabo Aloeswood / 伽羅 by Kotolabo Double Cherry Blossom / 八重桜 by Kotolabo