By Tara
Have you come across the tag NSFW? It stands for “Not Suitable/Safe For Work” and denotes internet content that isn’t advisable viewing while at your office. The same warning could be applied to L’Ombre Fauve: Don’t apply liberally and set off for work unless you’re looking for more than a pay rise. This is seductive stuff.
Isn’t it funny how the most affecting perfumes can have the simplest compositions? While it’s clearly not conclusive, the only notes given for this Pierre Guillaume creation are amber, musk, woods, incense and patchouli. It was released in 2007 and is part of the Private Collection.
Despite the ominous name (“bestial shadow”), it’s not your usual animalic musk. It is much less scary and more subtle than that. Think warm, slightly salty skin.
The musk is modestly adorned in amenable amber, a tinge of mineral incense and an earthy patchouli. It’s a seducer in casual T-shirt and jeans rather than suave evening attire. It has a lived in quality to it; the same T-shirt and jeans have been worn for a couple of days now and retain the wearer’s scent.
We’re not talking about off-putting sweat or shocking skank here. It’s more sebaceous than anything else, like hair washed in the morning that has become a little oily at the roots by the end of the day. That may not sound attractive but somehow it is.
L’Ombre Fauve isn’t exactly dirty but it’s definitely not clean. It’s the intimate warmth of recently used bed sheets, a blanket encasing a naked body, the spot on the nape of the neck where hair meets skin.
The amber is not of the heavy, opaque variety. It’s fairly sheer labdanum -resinous, powdered and akin to feline fur. It softens the scratchy undertones of incense and patchouli. It’s what I wanted from Felanilla by the same brand and Le Labo’s Labdanum 18 but failed to get.
Longevity is excellent with the main notes shifting their balance over time rather than morphing. The musk is at its height in the beginning but it soon mellows and the amber sweetness comes through more and more. It finishes with a lovely, snuggly benzoin and vanilla base.
Projection is low to moderate but I don’t think this is a fragrance you’d feel the need to share with anyone outside of your personal space. Do I want to spray with abandon? No, but a little is enticingly good.
It’s the heady feeling of locking eyes with a magnetic stranger for a little too long. The static electricity of the not-so-accidental brushing of fingertips, the tension in the air resulting in a skip of the heartbeat, a quickening of the breath and dilation of the pupils.
Yes, I’ve found myself in thrall to this shadowy captivator, to the point where I want to get closer to it, stretch like a cat and luxuriate in the sensuality of it all.
OK I’ll just come right out and say it: L’Ombre Fauve is damn sexy.
Is there a perfume which makes you go weak at the knees?
Olfactoria's Travels 
Do they sell this in demijohns Tara,
I think I may need it.
Portia xx
HA! Portia, you crack me up. I’m sure PG would be happy to arrange that for you 🙂
You had me at NSFW Tara! Must try this now. xo
Hee hee, I’d be interested to know what you make of it, Sandra.
Off to Bloom we go ………. 🙂 xxxx
Great. I’ll be able to see for myself how you get on with this, Val.
Hm, you made me curious. Very. (and I liked the feline fur part 🙂 )
I think perfumes that are reminiscent of soft fur are so attractive.
This isn’t your usual thing but might be worth trying if you come across it.
What a seductive review! Felanilla works for me, a lot, but I will have to try this now.
Ha ha! I’m glad Felanilla works well for you, Sabine. Let me know what you make of this one.
I see you’re under the spell of this bestial shadow. Great review, Tara (NSFW 😀 ), and even if I like OF a lot, it doesn’t quite do the same for me. For the furry quality *I* was looking for, I loved Cologne pour le Soir, and for the sexy shadows I think I take Musc Ravageur.
It’s such a personal thing, isn’t it? What does it for one person won’t for another. That’s why I was a bit reticient about this review because not everyone will react to it the same way. You can only write your own response though.
Thanks for sharing your own furry and sexy shadow scents.
I think there is (a perfume that makes me go weak at the knees) but can’t remember it now. 🙂
Love the review – now I just need to go and smell it. 🙂
You’ll have to come back if you remember, Ines!
I can’t guarantee you’ll find L’OF as attractive as I did but I think it’s worth sampling.
Great review! I’m going to have to keep my eyes open for this one. I’d love a scent that makes me weak in the knees. It’s been a long time since I’ve smelled one that does that.
I know, it’s a rare occurrence for me too. Everyone should have at least one perfume in their collection that makes their heart beat a little faster. I hope if this doesn’t do it for you, you’ll find one that does.
Great review Tara. I looooove this perfume, I only have a sample but it is on my buy list and I want it for autumn. I think it’s super in oh so many ways and it is similar in feel to Musc Ravageur but I much prefer L’Ombre Fauve.
Thanks! I think autumn will be the perfect time for wearing L’Ombre Fauve. The heat of summer, not so much. Enjoy your bottle when you get it.
I liked Musc Ravageur a lot at first but then my feelings seemed to change
Wow, Tara, what an exquisite rendering of this animalic shape shifter. L’Ombre Fauve’ was the ver first pulling scent I came across, and I remember allowing a bunch of Swedish friends to sniff my wrist in a wine bar in Hamburg one October night and how they swooned at its purring sensuality. I even tried to recreate it with my Perfume Studio kit, such was its appeal, but though I made something ambery and earthy, it didn’t compute. Now where is my sample?
I should also mention that in winter if it is in a very cold place the juice actually goes solid, like dripping(!), which no other perfume of mine has ever done. But it softens up again in a warm room.
Thanks, V! It really does have a purring sensuality. I’m glad it gained approval from your Swedish friends.
I’m very impressed you tried to re-create it yourself, even if it wasn’t as successful as you hoped. Interesting to hear it solidifies in very cold conditions.
I just checked your post about PG at Les Senteurs to see if it was the one he licked off his hand but I see that was Coze. He did however refer to L’OF as “liquid sex”!
I’d go along with that! And how great is it to tell friends who ask that your perfume is called ‘bestial shadow’. Talk about a conversation stopper.
It is! Makes a nice change from the usual bland perfume names that’s for sure.
Gorgeous review – and spot on! This was one of my first loves on falling down the perfume rabbit hole, and I’ve got through many a sample, though never quite had the guts to spring for a bottle. There is indeed a wonderful warm fur feel to this; and the sensual animalic effect is only bolstered by the fact that the juice tends to solidify into a concrete, so to finish off samples I usually have to scrape out the vial with a cocktail & smear myself with the oily residue. Feels very cavewoman-esque!
Thanks, Figuier! I’m weighing up whether or not I need a whole bottle.
I love the thought of you slathering it on, cavewoman-style!
sorry, that’s a cocktail stick, not a cocktail! That would be physically impossible I think.
Maybe, but having a cocktail while applying would be fun 🙂
Tara, babe (can I call you babe?), this is one amazing review!! Not just because you describe the perfume in sexy tones, but it’s the way you describe it. Your tastefully sexy descriptions and the whole way this review unfolds … it’s sensuous and meaningful, at the same time, and a luxurious pleasure to read.
I’ve never tried this one, but will definitely seek it out. In the meantime, to answer your question, I’d have to say that there are several perfumes that make me go weak in the knees: Pascal Morabito Or Black, Serge Lutens Muscs Koublai Khan, Puredistance M, and Amouage Jubliation 25. Actually there’s more than that, but I’ll leave it at those four. 😀
Suzanne, I love you calling me babe!
Thank you so much for that wonderful compliment. I had asked B to tell me if I was embarrassing myself with this one. I’m glad you think I did a good job at describing it. That means a lot.
I enjoyed reading your own picks. I knew you loved MKK but not the others. I will have to look up Or Black.
This is a great fragrance, and a great review. I agree with Suzanne that you manage to talk about the “sexiness” while keeping the review tasteful. For me, I think L’Ombre Fauve suffered because my expectations were different, and maybe too high. I still think it is good, but I rarely wear it. I should revisit this one.
Thanks! That’s good to hear.
Expectations play a big part, don’t they?
Although I don’t have anything like it in my collection I’m unsure about buying a full bottle because I also fear I’d rarely find occasion to wear it.
Sold! This is going to the top of the sniff list now!
As for the perfume that makes me go weak in the knees? Tauer Lonestar Memories.
(I will refrain from cowboy jokes. There are a lot I could make right now . . .)
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