Am I disappointed? Yes; Am I surprised? YES! (by the way, not only Lautus is described here, but all 3; the reason for this can be found in my comment)
First of all, I want to mention: This is my first comment, so please be lenient if I don't write an essay that describes the scent progression using a fantasy novel that would be a bestseller, as some others manage to do here. For now, I will stick to a sober, simple narrative style.
If you're only interested in how Lautus smells, just scroll down to "THE SCENT".
So, how did I come across the fragrance (actually the fragrance line):
"Lautus" is one of three new releases from the brand "NAVITUS PARFUMS," which I ordered in the test set offered by the brand. I must admit, I had very high expectations for these scents, as I had also tested the first collection, and I really liked all of them except one (so much that I even ordered the 100ml version of three fragrances). Since the first scents were well-received and performed accordingly, I thought the "2nd wave" would be amazing if they could deliver what was promised on paper.
Well, spoiler alert -> they definitely CANNOT!
From the marketing descriptions, this one here is the only one that somewhat comes close to what you expect when you look at the bottle and read the notes.
To give you an idea of how I assessed the scent before its arrival based on the bottle and the notes:
Fresh and sweet (because of the turquoise bottle and due to neroli, lavender, iris, amber, and vanilla), but then also not too fresh and not too sweet (because of the dark half of the bottle and the vervain, juniper berry, woods, and musk).
So, that was the initial assessment. When they arrived (which was also an absolute cheekiness, but more on that later), of course, I opened the package with joyful anticipation; all three were lying there, elegantly glowing, nestled in this velvet (I think anyone reading this description already knows the brand and how the 15ml bottles are presented).
Next to me sat a friend with whom I had ordered from NAVITUS, and we were both initially excited, even though the way it went from ordering to delivery had really dampened our spirits (as I said, more on that later).
Naturally, we both sprayed 2 sprays of each tester on our arms and checked which one we would like best:
To be honest, it was extremely difficult to find one. Not because all 3 were equally good, but rather equally disappointing/bad.
Here I want to briefly touch on the other two fragrances:
Arcanum (described as sweet and mysterious) and Opulentas (described as opulent, "for kings").
Arcanum -> has a lifeless, scratchy sweetness right after spraying (scratchy for me because it really scratches in my throat when I smell it, as this sweetness is such a strange mix of little coconut, a lot of cinnamon (but not nice cinnamon, rather cheap stuff), and this overkill of sweetness from vanilla and tonka bean). After 10 minutes, there comes a tolerable phase for 20-30 minutes where it calms down and is no longer so overpowering, which then transitions into a mix of unidentifiable bitter-sweet and smoke until the end.
Opulentas -> who knows these Arabic ouds that smell not at all noble, but just really too smoky and harsh (to put it nicely). That's exactly how this smells. You only get the apple top note on paper and only very briefly, and after that, it just smells unbearable. I really had to resist washing it off (my buddy had to wash it off too), so I could possibly find something good about it. But nothing comes. Linear progression: starts bad and ends bad. Why am I writing all this here, even though the other fragrances should actually be described on their own pages? Well, as you can probably see, I can't say a good word about either of the two, and accordingly, I want to save myself the trouble of writing multiple negative reviews (but if someone feels the need for me to go into detail about the other two, let me know in the comments). Consider it a brief excursion into the rest of the collection, but now I’ll return to the scent that this is really about.. THE SCENT:
Lautus begins, as the note pyramid suggests:
You can immediately smell neroli and lavender right after spraying. I don't know how yuzu smells, so I can't comment on that. The two previously mentioned are definitely what you smell for the first few minutes, alternating in intensity. Sometimes you get more lavender, sometimes more neroli. So far, it's actually quite pleasant, a bit refreshing (but more for a "20°C spring day"; don't misunderstand, this is not suitable for a warm summer day).
After about 5-10 minutes, the vervain joins in, taking away some of the pulsating freshness effect that the interplay of neroli and lavender had created until then.
However, what should come next, the heart notes, at least for me, are absent. Admittedly, I can't make anything of the smell of caskarilla and freesia either; perhaps they have a supportive effect for the lavender + neroli, as you can always perceive both throughout the entire scent progression. But I don't get any sharpness from the juniper. Likewise, you don't really notice the iris. So no DHI iris, more like Prada L'Homme style, which only comes into play with the base notes, and the vanilla is slightly powdered. Speaking of the base: I only get a very, very, very faint hint of sandalwood besides vanilla (emphasis on very, very, very faint), nothing more. The scent is therefore very linear; you smell the top notes from beginning to end, and these are only carried by nuances of the remaining notes.
Now, what is my problem with the scent?
In contrast to the other two fragrances in the line, it is good; it smells somewhat like you might expect. But therein lies the problem... IT IS SO DAMN BORING!!! While the fragrances from the first collection not only sounded interesting but also managed to surprise you when smelling them (they all truly have niche character), this one is so minimalist, linear, and predictable. There is no wow factor, just a "Hmm, well, it's okay." Better than the other two, but not what I expect, so for me, it's a fail. I wanted to get rid of them already, but eBay had an issue with my listing. I need to take another look at that. Now back to the delivery, which I skipped over earlier:
It took almost 5 weeks for the items to get from NY through Frankfurt customs to me. I had to pay €50 for shipping despite an order value of €700, and then I also had to pay customs! I was already wondering what costs they actually cover in this business. Perhaps this explains my even greater disappointment with the fragrances.
Well, that was my first comment. According to the website, I can't add anything more xD
