Lu Zhishen Pulls the Weeping Willow Upside Down

[Jenjin]

Willow boughs tangled with strawflower, patchouli root, cypress, clary sage, vetiver, ho wood, and golden musk.

[gentle-twig]

This was one of the surprise wins of my dangerously delightful shunga decants. The opening of LSPtWWUD is so resplendent: meditative yet stimulating, a collection of herbal-woody notes that are more neat bundle than wild tangle. I don’t know what willow, ho wood or strawflower smell like, but the clary sage and cypress are definitely present. There is a mentholic yet spicy herbal character along with pleasantly springy wood. My twin says “spa” but LSPtWWUD is not the kind of spa fragrance that you are gonna apply and then forget about. 

 

Gradually, the golden musk emerges, and somehow its ambery warmth doesn’t seem at all at odds with that cool, austere opening. There is a consistent airy quality to the whole scent that somehow ties everything together and creates an effect that says SHUNGA ! As it has settled, the opening lasts longer and longer into the drydown. At first it kind of turned to generic men’s fragrance with musk and vetiver after the first half hour, which was very heartbreaking. Now the fascinating opening accords linger blessedly on for the first couple hours and I’m hoping they will stick around even longer as my decant continues to settle. 

 

Although patchouli is listed in this, I am not really getting it at all. I can believe it’s there, but it is much quieter here than in any other of my oddly patchouli-heavy Luper decants. And throughout the wear I get hints of something that reminds me of lime? But it is very elusive and can’t really put my finger on what I’m smelling. 

 

This scratches the same greenish meditative itch for me as Plume of Incense, despite the lack of incense in this blend. LSPtWWUD is definitely fresher, more active, and more masculine if you care about that kind of thing; whereas Plume of Incense really toes the line between engagement and indolence. In any other release, both would be obvious full bottle buys for me, but this year’s lupers are so good that I will probably end up with only one. 

[bheansidhe]

Sniffed: this is SO pungent in the vial, about 50% sharp clean clary sage (sweeter than white sage) and 50% rooty, resinous notes I don't recognize, even though I know (and enjoy) vetiver. It's herbal, but not like tidy dried bundles, and more like you yanked a handful of autumn-dried stalks from the ground, root and all. 

 

Applied, it takes a moment to settle on my skin, where it turns into something oddly reminiscent of .... bronze? the actual metal bronze, the smell of a temple bell in your sweaty palms. It's bronze-tinged musk. There's the funky vetiver, finally, layered with the sun-warmed bronze, the clary sage, and the brown patchouli root. Willow boughs could mean salicylic acid, which would account for the tinge of aspirin bitterness amid the herbs and roots. The musk smooths everything together in the end, but it's a dark and austere smooth over a dark and thrumming base. I don't get cypress per se, but I get what Beth has described as "funeral vibes" in the mix. It doesn't smell menacing, but it smells dark and quietly unfuckwithable. 

Edited 21 hours ago by bheansidhe