Figaro by Lubin

Allow me to say that I truly thought Lubin's Figaro would be fig-dominant. That is my own fault as I simply pulled the trigger on the sample purchase without reading the accords. I have never been accused of being a genius when it comes to this hobby. I doubt that will ever happen in the future either.

Now, it does claim that fig is listed, but what I quickly glossed over was the fact that it reads "fig and apple"........and THAT......makes a world a difference. Maybe they should call this duo "fapple" since the apple exhibits more chutzpah than the fig.

LS has the notes listed as : Grapefruit, Bergamot, Pink peppercorns, Marine pine, Fig and Apple, Damson, Coriander leaves, Clover, Essence of vetiver, Styrax, Sandalwood and Tonka bean.

The opening of Figaro is rather good. It's a blast of citric freshness combined with peppercorn. It doesn't possess much of a bite, but lends just enough spice to enhance the accord. Within 5 minutes, this fragrance begins to lose me. So sad since the topnotes could have led into something substantial and interesting.

Once the heart accord is expected to begin, Figaro begins its downward spiral into mediocrity on my skin. It is here that it morphs into a generic representation of modern designer fragrances I encounter at the mall by the boatload. Is my snobbery rearing its pretentious head? No, not at all. Think of reformulated Nicole Miller for Men. When that masculine is as good as what I'm smelling here, there's something askew. In and of itself, Nicole Miller is fine. Figaro needs to set itself apart from economical, bargain bin releases simply due to its price point alone.

The base and drydown in each wearing afforded me a comfortable and extremely boring snoozefest. I'm usually not this harsh when doing reviews, but this scent has me very disappointed at $110 for 75ml. Suffice it to say that Figaro takes on a slightly floral tone as the wearings plod along, but never achieves any legitimate earthy wood auras. Even the tonka isn't a conventional implementation.........which is fitting in this case.

A big neutral rating from Aromi for Lubin's Figaro. A sample wearing is definitely recommended.