Lei, Mazzolari

I've had the pleasure of Lei's company for a number of times and can't decide yet if it will develop into a full relationship. 

I adore patchouli in all its various characters and Lei is chock-full of patchouli, sweet, earthy and dark. I don't smell chocolate or cacao but Lei smells like a chocolate brown to me, something in the spectrum of Serge Lutens' Chergui with its amber hues, not Lei's own pale gold liquid. 

Further contributions to the warm brown imagery, come from the labdanum and vetiver. The vetiver is smoky and woody, like how it smells in Le Labo's Vetyver 46. Labdanum is a multi-faceted gem and in Lei, it plays a role in the balmy quality of the scent, further introducing a leathery note that adds to the alluring glow of Lei. It truly is an oriental scent from the first sniff. 

Lei dries to a citrus-tinged, woody vanilla base, that's as snug as a bug and reminds me of the dry down of Guerlain's Shalimar. It is because of this similarity to Shalimar that makes me wonder if I need Lei in my life. Lei has a bitterness that is downplayed by its overall sweetness whereas Shalimar is a sublime, smoky vanilla without any bitterness. 

The scent projects well from my skin for the first four hours and subsequently remains as a skin scent for much longer.