Luctor et Emergo by The People of the Labyrinths
June 27th, 2006
Today I’m wearing a cult perfume called Luctor et Emergo, created by a hip Dutch fashion house The People of the Labyrinths. It was supposedly nominated as a cult fragrance by Style.com So I asked myself, what does that mean? According to Answers.com, the definition of cult can be either: 1. “A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader”; 2. “Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing”, or 3. “An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest”. I don’t know about you but I much prefer the third definition, although, in reality, I probably fall somewhere in between the second and the third.
According to the People of the Labyrinths web site, “The search for the right combination took three years. The result is a blending together of different scents into one daring, unmistakeably personal bouquet of fresh grasses, various white flowers, vanilla and precious woods without losing the characteristics of each component.” Rather vague, I’d say. My nose detects soft incense on the woodsy base of vanilla with just a hint of almond and cherry. On popular online fragrance communities, the scent has been fondly labeled as POTL (People of the Labyrinths abbreviated) and extensively compared to the smell of play-doh. Play-doh wasn’t my childhood friend, so I can’t relate to this association. It does, however, have a somewhat foody smell which to my nose is more along the lines of marzipan or cherry cough syrup (which I guess isn’t foody but it depends on how you look at it). You either love it or hate it (both with a passion). There’s no in-between. I happen to love it because, you know, I belong to that exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, artistic interest.
Luctor et Emergo comes in parfum, eau de toilette, and body cream (heavenly!) and can be purchased from Beautyhabit, Luckyscent, Lusciouscargo or directly from the POTL online shop.
Image source: www.the.people.of.the.labyrinths.nl
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23 Comments
1. Marina | June 27th, 2006 at 9:28 am
Ahhh, what are you doing to me today?? Why do you hate me so??
“A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader”; – there, that’s it, it describes perfectly what I think of the creators and worshippers of The Evil POTL.
*runs away as fast as she can, squealing in horror*
2. Ina | June 27th, 2006 at 9:30 am
LOL! I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist saying how much you hate this.
3. Elle | June 27th, 2006 at 10:05 am
I have yet to smell play-doh. I swear that one of these days I will track some down. I’m sure one of my friends w/ children must have some around. It took me over half a year to be hit by the magic of POTL, but I’m firmly in the POTL loving camp now.
4. Ina | June 27th, 2006 at 10:13 am
Elle, good to know you belong to that Exclusive Group, too.
I don’t think I’ve smelled play-doh either.
5. Judith | June 27th, 2006 at 10:18 am
Here to support Marina! Actually, I wouldn’t say I actually hate this; I just don’t like it! Play-doh and cherries–neither of which is a scent-favorite of mine. (Actually, I can’t seem to do any cherry-inflected scents, although I like the fruit:) I’m particularly annoyed that I can’t smell any incense here, which many say they do.
When I visited The Perfume Shoppe in Vancouver, I astounded Nasrin (the delightful owner) by telling her how popular it was on MUA: she doesn’t care for it either, and has a hard time selling it. Ah, well, that’s because it only appeals to that “exclusive group.”:)
6. Judith | June 27th, 2006 at 10:20 am
Actually, I’m sorry for all the “actually’s” in the last comment:)
7. Ina | June 27th, 2006 at 10:22 am
Actually, I’m surprised you don’t love this. Sorry you’re not a member of that exclusive group. Actually, I still love your comment.
8. Patty | June 27th, 2006 at 10:31 am
it’s hard for me to figure out if I like this or not. I do get the play-doh smell, and sometimes I think I like it and other times I just don’t get why anyone would even talk about this perfume, much less put it on.
Is it possible to straddle the POTL fence? I keep thinking no, so I just avoid it in case I turn into a POTL zombie.
9. Ina | June 27th, 2006 at 10:41 am
Sounds like you don’t belong to that Exclusive Club, Patty. My sympathies.
10. Marina | June 27th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
Judith,
Let’s form our very own Anti-POTL group. It will be *actually* more exclusive since it will be smaller. Patty, join us, don’t sit on that uncomfortable fence.
And…incense? what incense??
11. Ina | June 27th, 2006 at 2:09 pm
Shameless instigator!
12. Carolyn | June 27th, 2006 at 5:44 pm
I *love* POTL, but it definitely took trying it a few times for me to finally fall prey to its powers. The first few times I tested it I just couldn’t get the hype, and even got a headache at one point. But then later I found myself craving it. And the body cream is out of this world good–much grassier than the edp. So pricey but worth it!
13. March | June 27th, 2006 at 6:08 pm
I am intimately familiar with the smell of Play-Doh (part of my breeder non-elite loser-ness) and I would like to point out that I believe the famous Play-Doh accord is something that happens (or not) ON an individual person’s skin — I have smelled POTL on other (elite, hipster) people and it smells like your description, although I still find it a bit cherry-almond for my tastes (which we have confirmed are those of a straw-suckin’ hayseed). I believe POTL constructed this as some sort of skin litmus test to separate the esoteric/artistic from the rest of us.
14. Ina | June 27th, 2006 at 6:31 pm
March, I had to read your comment three times.
For some reason, I couldn’t quite follow your train of thought. LOL! I haven’t smelled POTL on anybody but myself but what you’re saying makes sense. So, you’re saying you have to be elite and hipster to pull it off?
15. Ina | June 27th, 2006 at 6:49 pm
Carolyn, I totally agree with you on the body cream! It has such an amazing lasting power, too, for a body product.
16. IrisLA | June 27th, 2006 at 7:43 pm
I don’t know which camp I fall into. I fell for the hype and purchased this even though the sample vial didn’t wow me. I figured I would grow to love it. I mean, all these sophisticated hipsters wear it, it must be superb, right? LoL!
Where am I now? I don’t love or hate it. It’s a nice, cozy comfort scent in the winter. But I am mad that I paid so much for a scent that I never grew to love. Dang all that Pottle chatter on the boards!
17. Ina | June 27th, 2006 at 8:12 pm
LOL! To be honest, I don’t reach for it often myself. But when I do, I always love it.
18. violetnoir | June 27th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
Hello there! Your blog is beautiful, Ina!
I do not like the POTL fragrance at all. There is something in it that makes my skin crawl.
But…I love, and I mean love, the body cream.
Ooh! Your review makes me want to run home and slather that stuff all over myself, it is that yummy.
Hugs!
19. Ina | June 27th, 2006 at 11:22 pm
Hi, R.! So nice to see you here!
I’ve been neglecting the cream, too. Must go dig it out! Hugs back.
20. March | June 28th, 2006 at 8:53 am
Wow, Ina, I couldn’t follow my train(wreck) of a thought, either.
What I meant to say is: I believe there is a skin-chemistry issue with POTL. On some people it smells as envisioned (grasses, flowers, woods) and on other unfortunates, like me, the smell turns into a dead ringer for Play-Doh after 30 seconds or so (for the first 30 seconds on me it’s rather nice.) There is nothing inherently wrong with the smell of Play-Doh. It’s somewhere between bread and rubber. But it’s not a smell I’m looking for in fragrance, whether by accident or deliberately.
21. Ina | June 28th, 2006 at 8:58 am
March, I agree. POTL plays games with our skin big time. I really must sniff play-doh soon to see what people are talking about.
22. Aromascope » A Maze&hellip | January 17th, 2007 at 11:22 pm
[...] Looks like The People of the Labyrinths have struggled and emerged into A Maze, their new fragrance soon to debut at Beautyhabit. Its predecessor, Luctor et Emergo, has won and shattered many a hearts. It’s also been named a cult perfume by Style.com So, now we have A Maze. What will it be like? We shall see. Meanwhile, Beautyhabit promises us this: [...]
23. Aromascope » A.Maze&hellip | January 22nd, 2007 at 7:10 pm
[...] A.Maze is the second fragrance that comes to us from the hip Dutch fashion house – People of the Labyrinths. Its predecessor, Luctor et Emergo, is anything but boring, and, while not appealing to all, is truly one of a kind, unconventional creation. Needless to say, A.Maze came into existence faced with great expectations and hopes to demonstrate the same amount (if not more) of creativity, innovation, and edge. But let me be more specific: A.Maze does not disappoint. I’m still at the point of evaluating it’s amazingness factor but one thing you can be sure of – it is not a maze. [...]