Lithium [3Li]
One of Those (2012)

A pointless exercise for me--I hate what people inevitably refer to as "jammy" roses--and it serves me right for letting IndieScents choose me some samples. This scent, man, it's Boogie Nights, it's 70s hustlers and gold chains and porn scenes in L.A. by the pool, coke on silver trays, El Caminos in the driveway, the guitar solo from "More Than a Feeling" in the air, even it no match for the power of Nu Lithium's polyester rose like the smog over the city itself, strong enough to choke out the sun.

Lithium, the lightest metal in the periodic table- soft, white, slightly scaly, giving a beautiful crimson light when heated. What has it do do with a rather pleasant, yet conventionally niche spicy- woody oriental fragrance? As I've already said in H review, the team at nu-be must have a sensitivity towards chemical elements very distant from my own, hence my uneasiness in smelling fragrances that mismatch so badly their name, in my opinion.
The problem, here, anyway, is not the name. The fragrance itself is so safe, so nice, so predictable that I don't get the point of it.

A sort of masculine rose, on the darker side, with a bit of a gourmand quality to it. If Mugler released A*Men Turkish Rose and maintained the same smooth quality of Pure Havane, while toning down the gourmand aspect a few degrees, I think it would be something like Lithium. Although it's not listed I get the impression of a soft dark chocolate note floating around, which is probably created by the Saffron. I don't like Rose scents in general, so this is a pass for me, but it's good quality and has very good projection with decent longevity. In sum, Lithium is one of nu_be's better offerings, presenting a dark rose scent for men with some gourmand nuances running throughout. Thumbs up, and worth exploring if you're in the market for a masculine rose.

The opening of Lithium is fairly bolder than other Nu_Be scents, it's dense and quite Lutensian, with a heart of dark rose, unusually tasty and realistic, a lot of benzoin and amber, patchouli, cocoa notes, cedar, olibanum and a suede/light leather base (in nowadays' trendy-artificial way). It soon focuses on an accord of rose, cedarwood and leather comprised within a contemporary structure of aldehydes and a range of nuances, from earthy to resinous and mossy. Silky and pleasant drydown. What the guys at Nu_Be did not manage to achieve with other scents, they somehow – partially – succeed to do here: re-make classic structures with a contemporary twist. There's a classic "richness" of an Oriental chypre canon – rose, patchouli, woods, leather, benzoin, aldehydes – with carnal and balsamic facets, just "reworked" with a more contemporary, restrained, linear and geometrical style. However, here as well – as for basically almost all other scents of this line – something is missing: a bit of "new", a touch of originality and uniqueness. Which is not a general and mandatory requirement: but it becomes so for a house like Nu_Be , with their attempt to place themselves as "avantgarde" brand. A lot of scents come in mind while sniffing Lithium (as drseid correctly notes, the first one is Declaration). Despite being pleasant and decently crafted, this smells more like a "style exercise" than a properly-said fragrance with its own personality. I'm afraid there's more smoke than fire here.

5,5-6/10

Lithium opens with a slightly fruit-laced rose before quickly transitioning to its heart accord. As the composition reaches its early heart, the rose remains though quite faint, giving way to the starring waxy iris and dirty cumin tandem additionally supported by vague sharp cedarwood and soft leather. During the late dry down the iris and cumin spice slowly recede, revealing a strong patchouli base note that takes over as star, supported by relatively tame musk and remnants of the earlier cedar and soft leather. Projection is average and longevity excellent at 10-11 hours on skin.

After Lithium's top notes burned off within ten seconds, the first thing that came to mind was I've smelled this before... Cumin spice mixed with waxy iris reveals a very heavy Cartier Declaration influence. In the case of this reviewer that is *not* a good thing as I disliked that Jean-Claude Ellena composition considerably. Yes, Lithium adds a bit of a leathery undertone to the mix, but there is not much daylight between the two compositions' heart accords. The late dry-down is where the two similar compositions go separate ways as Lithium becomes more tolerable. That said, the patchouli and musk driven late dry-down is far from exceptional and has been done better by countless other compositions. The bottom line is the $150 per 100ml bottle Lithium is a disappointing outing from nu_be that shows little innovation, failing the smell test to boot earning a "poor" 2 stars out of 5 and an avoid recommendation unless you are a fan of Declaration and have money to burn.

Musky mineral rose/suede.Great stuff although not a unique one as i detect a sort of leathery/musky version of the Histoires de Parfums Rosam (rose-saffron-woods-patchouli and other notes in common) which is probably faintier on saffron and musk, more properly rosey and finally more typically ambery/rosey/dusty medicinal. Lithium is a dark musky fragrance, immediately under my nose strong on cedarwood, saffron and leather (and with a touch of something mineral secretly hidden in the blend may be). The note of patchouli represents the dark/masculine backbone of a fragrance which starts along the trip to quit from the leathery/gassy (saffron-leather) cloud some floral sparks, a touch of sophisticated (floral/earthy) powder and a final silky musky-suede boise cushion. The latter is barely tamed in spicy gassiness, typically spicy/leathery and slightly floral/medicinal. The rose (a musky rose/suede with woody undertones) is dominant over the note of iris which i detect at distance as a sort of sophisticated floral spark mastering the background. A "huge, huge" sinister a bit dandy fragrance which i recommend for a nonconformist slightly introverted lover of the art nuveau or the new folk style.Ps. After two or three hours the aroma becomes silky (neither properly musky nor evidently leathery) in a deeply cedary (cedarwood), spicy and floral way. The spices are not "gassy" anymore. The silkiness aroused from the iris/musk combo is smooth and almost soapy. The leather is still present but is detectable as a sort of balmy suede type of feel. Probably minimal hints of amber or benzoin are cleverly blended inside and the aroma becomes intensely sophisticated, subtle and refined in a dark deep way. Really a great, great fragrance.Pros: Evocative of sinister mouldy rooms of the childhood. Arcane leather.Cons: Lack of uniqueness."