New Perfume Review: Stéphane Humbert Lucas Mortal Skin +The Man Who Fell to Earth Draw

stephane humbert lucas cafleurebon 2015

Stéphane Humbert Lucas at Esxence introducing Mortal Skin (photo by Michelyn)

Michelyn met Stéphane Humbert Lucas  at Esxence and from her photo he looks like a young Serge Gainsbourg.  But I digress.  If you are not familiar with Stéphane Humbert Lucas he is known as a synesthetic perfumer. M. Lucas is the nose of SoOud (which he created with perfumer Henri Sorsana ) and Nez à Nez .  He started his first solo brand Stéphane Humbert Lucas 777 in 2013 (launched in the USA at Osswald NYC). Monthly Contributor Nancy Lichtenstein wrote about 777 Black Gemstone “If Maleficent wore a fragrance, it would be Black Gemstone by Stéphane Humbert Lucas 777.  Although the numbers in the brand’s name stand for good luck, this scent has an undeniable demonic power that burned a photographic image of Disney’s greatest villainess in my brain”

mortal skin perfume

Mortal Skin photo © Roberto Greco

 That sentence is a great segue way into Mortal Skin, the first perfume in his new Snake Collection. After dabbing on the sample, my first thought was DARK and that I can’t wear something like this, a purely artistic fragrance that pushes every boundary taking me right out of my comfort zone.

Robert Mapplethorpe Lisa Lyon with Snake

Robert Mapplethorpe Lisa Lyon with Snake

If there ever was a fragrance created as art and for art’s sake, this is it. I am not sure if it smells good, great, bad, but it is clearly one of the most unusually compelling scents of the year.

 

Vogue 2012 Virgin Galactic The SpaceShip Company Karen Elsen Steve Klein

Vogue 2012  Virgin Galactic The SpaceShip Company Karen Elsen  Photographer Steve Klein

There are perfumes which one wears for compliments, some for nostalgia or scent memory, those which just exist on a mundane plane, and a special few that push the "perfumiverse" to its limits.  Such it is with Mortal Skin – a perfume with a glittering cobra head for a flacon and which inhabits a realm somewhere between spilt calligraphic ink found in an Egyptian tomb and the interior of an alien space ship.

 The opening of Mortal Skin is powered by thunderous, black heat. The top notes are listed as blackberry, ink, frankincense and labdanum.  What come across is hot ink and an exceedingly green blackberry with the only touch of sweetness coming from the davana.  The frankincense and labdanum team up for a kind of asphalt and leather thickness that is nearly opaque.
 

Rachele Schank with snake. Shot by photographer David Page in Paris.

Rachele Schank with snake. Shot by photographer David Page in Paris.

The heart of the fragrance offers no quarter from the storm, either.  The ink accord finally breaks down and gives way to a sweet opoponax, which is held in check by a solid concrete sidewalk iris note.  There’s a raspy cardamom floating in the background as well, with the whole composition performing a  push me-pull you dance of the notes combining and blending. Mortal Skin strikes rather than undulates.  First the opoponax takes center stage, then the cardamom grabs your attention. It’s no small symbolism that this fragrance has a snake’s head as its bottle stop, because it unwinds in just the way a snake does, writhing and curling in an elliptical thrust to propel it forward. Mortal Skin’s darkness both compels and repels the wearer.  The ink accord married to the frankincense and cardamom is like visiting a daycare center where the children are all happily coloring at the activity table, and what they’ve created is indecipherable hieroglyphics and symbols drawn by an alien race that escaped Section 51.

THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH 1976 British Lion film with David Bowie

The Man Who Fell to Earth 1976 David Bowie

 At the drydown of Mortal Skin there is hints of cedar and ambergris peeking through.   But that leathery labdanum remains, joined with civet and some musk.   Darkness, darkness, and more darkness; with a pinpoint of light that blinds you if you look straight at it.   Mortal Skin for all its blackness is a thoroughly captivating style of perfumery. The strength and sillage are considerable. When you look up into the Heavens, know that we are Not Alone in the universe.  Something is lurking above the cloud layer, hovering in that darkness and waiting to speak to us. You will recognize them by their scent, Mortal Skin.

Notes: Blackberry, Ink, Frankincense Labdanum (Rockrose), Opoponax, Iris, Davana, Myrrh, Cardamom, Ambergris, Storax, Sandalwood, Labdanum (Rockrose), Civet, Atlas Cedarwood, Birch, Musk

Pam Barr, Senior Contributor

Disclosure: I received my sample from Osswald NYC

Art Direction: Michelyn Camen

mortal skin stephane humbeert lucas bottle

Mortal Skin Photo © Roberto Greco

Thanks to Stéphane Humbert Lucas  , we have a worldwide draw of  two generous samples.  To be eligible, you must be a registered reader. Please leave comment with why you would like to try Mortal Skin, where you live and what character would wear Mortal Sin (David Bowie aside). If you have a favorite perfume created by Stéphane Humbert Lucas please add that as well.   Draw closes 9/8/2015

We announce the winners on our site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

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25 comments

  • Kim M. says:

    Sounds perfect for Halloween — I’m thinking Morticia Addams: she’s very much alive, but also has a decidedly wicked take on both the sides of the veil. I think she’d rock this one, too. 🙂

    US resident.

  • ring thing says:

    I would like to try Mortal Skin because on the whole, my perfume collection is dark and brooding because I like dark and brooding! This sounds great to me. I have thought hard about a character that would wear this – I’m not knowledgeable in the fantasy realm – and I think Lee Pace’s character Joe MacMilan, from AMC’S Halt and Catch Fire, would be perfect. He is very complex and dark, but at the same time has some blinding insights. Thanks to all involved for the review and generous opportunity! I’m in the US.

  • cdb73110 says:

    I have been dying to try this scent. I love these off the wall, out of the norm, dark fragrances. I really love his whole line of scents and have been sporting Black Gemstone for a while. I have always enjoyed the ink smell and have never expierenced in an actual perfume. Excited to get my smell on. I could see Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) in Dark Shadows pulling this one off. In the USA. Thanks for a great chance.

  • fazalcheema says:

    I am intrigued by this because it seems full blown dark incensy perfume and that ink accord is also a great addition…As far as characters are concerned, i have Keanu Reeves in “the day the earth stood still’ in mind. My favorite creation from Stephane is Black Gemstone and I think Mortal Skin may have some similarities to Black Gemstone. thanks for the draw. I am in the US

  • julesinrose says:

    I think Klaus Kinski would have worn this. I’m dying to try it!! I love Black Gemstone, O Hira, and Khol de Bahrein. They are all among my very favorite fragrances. Thanks for the draw. In the US. Cheers!

  • girasole says:

    What a powerfully-written review for what sounds like an intriguing fragrance. I’m particularly drawn to the ink note (it’s actually one of my favorite smells, but not one often found in perfumery!) and the ‘concrete sidewalk iris note’. I’d love to try this! As for character, this strikes me as a Mrs. Danvers perfume (from du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’). I’m a registered reader from the US. Thanks for the great review and the draw!

  • Greennote says:

    Great lyrical review Pam (‘writhing and curling in an elliptical thrust to propel it forward’) and fabulous images as always Michelyn.

    The notes in this sound fantastic – both meanings of the word. Though, given the statement that he works (purely?) with synthetics, I had the thought that these are probably more impressions than actual ingredients. Synthetic is fine. I’m happy to be taken on an olfactory journey.

    I’m trying to think of the best Game of Thrones character to wear this, I’m drawn to saying Cersei, but I think I have to go with Daenerys, snakes and dragons and otherworldliness and all that.

    I’m in Australia.

  • Nemo says:

    Oh wow, the snakes really caught my attention! I also LOVE the smell of ink so that was the real hook 🙂 I am in the US, and I think maybe Cleopatra would have worn this. Thank you!

  • Iphigenia says:

    I find Mortal Skin very appealing for its notes like incense and labdanum and for the fact that it is an aromatic creation that takes one person out of his/her comfort zone and would love to experience it.
    A character that would like to see wearing Mortal Skin is Joan Collins as Alexis Colby or Betty Davies in Baby Jane.
    I am a registered reader in EU.

  • Foxbins says:

    I love the thought that Mortal Skin is a scent that strikes, rather than undulates. Those scents whose notes seem to push forward and then recede really captivate me. As for a character, Bellatrix Lestrange would be my guess. I’m in the USA, thanks so much for the draw!

  • Greg Sh says:

    Wow this fragrance sounds so dark and seductive. I can imagine someone with extreme confidence pulling it off. The top with blackberry, ink, frankincense and labdanum sounds really interesting to me. Very intense, in a good way.

    I can imagine someone like James Bond wearing this scent. I think it would go great with his swagger and confidence.

    I’m a Canadian reader and thanks for the fantastic draw!

  • Reg says:

    I’d like to try Mortal Skin because I’ve never smelled ink in a perfume before and because the descriptions sound as if this is a unique perfume which is pushing boundaries. I live in the EU. The perfume could be one that Sauron would wear.

  • pursejunkie says:

    O Hira is my favorite of the Humbert scents I’ve been lucky enough to sample. I’ve been wanting to try SoOud Fam and several of the 777s. I’d like to try Mortal Skin in particular because when you say things like, “asphalt and leather,” and, “concrete sidewalk iris,” you’re really speaking my language. Also, it sounds like a great scent for Nyarlathotep.
    U.S.

  • sunmisun says:

    I’ve never tried a scent by this perfumer, but this sounds so indescribably dark and unique that I’d love to try it – just to see how it is. I love that Pam can’t decide if its good, great or bad – but that it is compelling. Sounds brilliantly individual in a world of smell-alikes. As for what character might wear Mortal Skin, I could maybe see the Soul Caliber character Ivy wearing it – not necessarily becuase she’s dark, but because she’s intense, confident and gets her way. Thanks for the draw, I’m in the US.

  • MikasMinion says:

    I like most of the SHL scents I’ve tried and love both Black Gemstone and O Hira. O Hira is at the top of my wishlist if anyone ever gives me a huge was of cash to spend on perfume.
    I am longing to try Mortal Skin as I love weird perfumes and really want to sample the SHL approach to odd. I think Chlorr of the Mask from the Old Kingdom series would probably rock this scent in the underworld.
    I’m in the U.S. Thanks for the draw!

  • Wayne says:

    This sounds amazing! I’m a Batman fan, and this seems like something the seductive CATWOMAN would wear! Love to get my hands on this – living in NYC in the USA! Thanks for the draw 🙂

  • lionceau says:

    Thanks for your review Pam, Blackberry with ink sounds quite interesting. The bottle is beautiful.
    I think Loki from Thor would have worn this.
    In the U.S.

  • Lyubov says:

    I don’t know other ink-centered fragrance than Comme des Garcons 2, and Mortal Skin should be a freaking intriguing sensation with the combination of blackberry, incense, iris, myrrh, cardamom and musk – some of my ‘dark’ faves. Actually, I am curious whether this darkness is sweet, or not.
    When it comes to snakes, I can always imagine Cleopatra dying. Otherwise, it surely matches Johnny Smith from Steven King’s “The Dead Zone”.
    I am in Bulgaria (EU), and I thank you for the chance to try anything from Stephane Humbert Lucas, since I haven’t tried any of his fragrances.

  • Michelle U says:

    I would like to try Mortal Skin because it sounds dark, twisted and alluring. The notes seem amazing!

    I think Cat Woman would wear Mortal Skin.

    I am a registered reader from the EU.

    Thank you very much! Wish you all the best!

  • JazzBelle says:

    I don’t necessarily wear scent to smell good. Sometimes I wear it to create an atmosphere. I love dark scents and Mortal Skin seems to push the boundaries of the olfactory senses.

    I live in the USA. Thank you!

  • Vick G says:

    I like the sound of this a lot. The darkness makes it feels like an alluring and seductive scent. It sounds extremely well made. I’m trying to think of someone to wear this. I’m thinking of a very well dressed man in a tux. I live in Canada and thanks for the draw

  • Mim says:

    Thank you for the review and draw!
    Everything about Mortal Skin intrigues me! I’m synesthetic too, love black and snakes and unusual, compelling, not-sure-if-it’s-a-good-smell-but-I-need-to-keep-smelling-it scents. Especially ” a special few that push the “perfumiverse” to its limits.” I want to visit “a realm somewhere between spilt calligraphic ink found in an Egyptian tomb and the interior of an alien space ship.”

    Hmm…I’d second Bellatrix and maybe add Voldemort? It fits with the snakes.
    Or Curt Wild or Brian Slade from Velvet Goldmine.

    USA

  • Greg Mayne says:

    Great review! As many have said, Mortal Skin sounds excellent. Its very usual, but interesting at the same time. A sort of scent that I’d want to smell on someone. I also love the smell of ink so I totally need to smell this someday!
    Bellatrix seems like the perfect choice for this scent, as others have said.
    Canada

  • bunchofpants says:

    Pam makes this sound so amazingly compelling that there’s no way I don’t want to try it. I imagine that Miriam Blaylock (Catherine Deneuve) in The Hunger might wear it. I’m in USA.