40 Days and 40 Nights of Beauty Cult Classics:


Day 2: Luctor et Emergo by People of the Labyrinths

This is a cult classic fragrance from my early days on the fragrance board on makeupalley. The "Pottle"craze was high and everyone was gushing over it. The price and demand was pretty steep. It was often sold out even though it was $180. I could not justify caving on an unsniffed purchase so I lurked on the MUA sidelines. One day I asked a few questions and a kind MUA member named Coyote told me to contact Tealeif(Autumn) to aquire a decant. I was a beginner so I had nothing to swap or offer her. Tealeif and I worked out an agreement and soon a package arrived filled with sample vials of all the fragrances that I had been reading about. One of the vials was Pottle. One whiff told me that the hype was deserved and justified. I placed a decant order with Autumn and I was off and running. Before I finished the decant, I managed to place an order with Apothia.
This was my first high end fragrance purchase.

POTL is a fragrance that incites passion or recoil with the wearer. There is no middle ground or lukewarm feelings. You either worship at it's altar or you are organizing mass bottle burnings.
The notes are slightly mysterious. There is freshly mowed grass, red hots, almonds, hay that has been warmed by the sun, tart cherries, marzipan, incense, twigs and play-doh.

Together it creates something that is addictive and wildly comforting. The whole process of wearing this fragrance is an interesting trip. It starts off with a blast of green. This is not your typical fresh grass note. This is more like piles of grass or hay being slow-roasted by the sun. There is a soothing note of marzipan and dough. I think this is where the play-doh references come into play.
Soon the drydown takes hold and you get incense, pipe and a smidge of cherries.

This is my favorite part.

POTL is often considered a gourmand fragrance but I consider it one of the great incenses. The sillage of the parfum is one of the best I have ever experienced. The scent can last for days. There is nothing like pulling out an old sweater and catching the remains of Pottle.
It feels like an old friend.
I have always considered it a masterpiece in a beaker jar.

You can purchase Pottle at Luckyscent.

http://www.luckyscent.com/

The EDP version is $195, the EDT is $145 and the body cream(I have never tried but the raves on MUA are all gushing!) retails for $135.

I own the EDP version.

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Credits: Blogdorf Goodman
Graphic: Melanie Parker
Disclaimer: I purchased this fragrance twice!