Lalibela

Eww... >_> I usually dislike ylang ylang and patchouli, but I was hoping that I'd like them here and that the jasmine would be more domingant --- unfortunately that's not the case. Everything kind of comes together as a beachy, sunscreen-y scent, but some aspect if it, some round, doughy, fruity note turns me off to this.

I remember it well. this perfume was love at first sniff. I guess it was ca, around 2010, the perfume was launched (I peeked) in 2007 and we were in Paris, my Twinbrother with his 11 year old daughter and me, his gay twinbrother. it was a gift from him. thus I was able to buy a full bottle immediately. in Galeries Lafayette. such gift you never forget. they had a 'stand' in this ultrachique warehouse with épreuves and the various perfumes. the whole day I smelled the perfume circling around me. what lovely memory. I also remember we have laughed so much, the three of us, with the various challenges of Paris. it was my tenth visit and they were there for the first time and I immediately noticed that Bas, my twinbrother, talked as much French as me and then twice as good while never having been in France ! and I can talk my way quite through. but Bas had always had the photographic but apparently also lexicologic memory of a genius. it was humoristic. then now I always had a love for Lalibela, which name refers to the built-in orthodox Ethiopian Catholic churches IN ROCK. so you stand on a platform, a 'height', of granite, looking down on [I seem to remember ten] churches in the depths, as detaillistic and elaborate as any Orthodox but also very intrinsically and devotedly decorated churches where the inside is as detailed as the outside, where once granite or basalt was... the perfume does honour these elaborate decorations and also devotion in its sheer loveliness. I guess where I immediately fell for were the orchid, rose, jasmine, coconut smell, peony and vanilla (nothing what now so pushing is) with a footing in patchouli, incense, labdanum and tabacco. this whole arrangement of a Flower Perfume with Orientalist Base will always conquer me. the memories with which this perfume is satiated for me shall always ensure it is one of my finest perfumes. French Leather, Inlé and Luxor Oud are the others I bought thereafter. but they are expensive for 75mL. That has however never stopped me in my tracks. later they launched the Lalibela Oud but that was quite expensive. not that I minded the price but my wallet did. well I spritzed it on and you then immediately timetravel back to Paris. but foremost the whole ensemble of flowers and coconut with firm basing in patchouli, incense and labdanum give it a devotional as frivolous, Super Fashionable character. a fabulous perfume !

A friend wanted me to blind smell this. When I sprayed it, immediately I got Vanilla and a fruity note. The fruity note smelled almost certainly of Raspberry. I was getting an immediate Neroli (or white floral) accord. It started to lean into apricot territory and orange peel territory. There was this unique yet familiar blend of cocoa, clove, anise, and licorice in the center. Then with the dry down, it had a salty musk, cool spice, and that sweet apricot surrounded by sugary air. Needless to say I was pretty surprised I was close to identifying the notes correctly! I will however stand by there has to be a cocoa/chocolate scent in it. Not like a milk chocolate. But like a proper cocoa powder note. I can see why this is generically very pretty! But too youthful and sweet for my taste. I could not detect Rose at all or Patchouli. However I feel l like the Rose added texture in rounding out the fragrance and the Patchouli probably added a little of that saline. Top: Freesia, Green Notes, Fresh Jasmine Heart: Orange Flower, Ylang Ylang, Rose, Heliotrope Base: Patchouli essence, Vanilla, Musk

Benim için muhteşem bir koku. Parfüm yorumlamakta yetenekli değilim..ancak yves rocher monoi kokusunu seven bu parfümü de sever diye düşünüyorum. Montale tiare intense sipariş ettim bakalım onu da sevecek miyim :)

I've liked pretty much every Memo scent I've tried so far (Tiger's Nest, Madurai, French Leather, Irish Leather, Iberian Leather) except this one. I do not like this one. Doesn't smell much like Chopard Casmir to me, but a whole lot more like SJP Lovely, another perfume I really don't like. So, if that's your style of scent, then this may be for you. I still think it's an excellent house, as long as you can get it for a reasonable price, but you couldn't pay me to have a bottle of this particular one anywhere near me. (ETA: the drydown smells more and more like a combination of musk sticks and gin. Still don't like it.)

incredible 10/10 PLAY-DOH scent 🤩

Lovely high-end perfumery. Like a wealthy young female lawyer. Confident and very floral. Goldenish instead of pinkish and excellent blending. Not quite like Marfa, but more like Madurai. I love wearing it. Fully worth its price tag. :3

This is a completely unexpected and pleasant surprise. Love at first sniff. Sweet floral vanilla (not gourmand) with a beautiful powdery touch. Perfect blended and linear which is great for me because I love linear scents when they are so good at first spray. There is something I can't describe and why I am so addicted to it. Maybe it's because my taste has changed so much in the last few years and I wear perfumes that a few years ago I would never have thought of wearing. I can't get enough of it. Strong and long lasting. Really unique. A little more mature, but definitely not an old lady vibe. I would say for 27+. Georgeous Lalibela ❤️

@Creedaholic Because Memo keeps changing the composition of their perfumes and it's frankly annoying AF. I had my first bottle of Lalibela in 2011 and it had coconut and orchid listed, and was way more gourmand and slightly tropical in feel. It had nothing in common with NR For Her AT ALL. The new one does, it's not the same anymore. They did the same thing with Jannat and I find it very disrespectful of their customers. Here's a mini review from the Non Blonde blog, it dates from December 8th 2008, and she lists the original notes : "The last one I tested was Lalibela, named after an Ethiopian holy city which is a pilgrimage destination and has several ancient churches. Out of the note list (coconut, orchid, rose, peony, jasmine, patchouli, cistus, vanilla, tobacco leaf, incense and woods), what I'm getting in huge amounts are a dark and dirty rose and thick, heavy incense. This is a seriously gothic rose which makes the original Regina Harris oils seem like Little Miss Sunshine. The sales assistant called it "a sad rose" and I could tell he was not a fan, but I was captivated by this scent. It felt... purple, I guess. Deep, dark purple. It lasted on my skin for the rest of the day, into the night and until my shower the following morning, when I returned to the store and bought the bottle." https://www.thenonblonde.com/2008/12/memo-paris-lalibela-and-other-treats.html

Overly sweet and strangely plastic

Really unique and pleasent scent, very smooth and appealing at first, but very quickly turns to an old lady smell, not a bad one at all, but not for me. I think its the mix of jasmin, freesia and vanilla that turns antique like. But you gotta appreciate quality

Someone in the comments said that this has coconut...how come it’s not listed? 🤔 🤔 🤔

Bendeki bir önceki, hindistan cevizli olan versiyonu. Çok güzel, tatlılığı olan bir çiçek kokusu. Tam bir prenses parfümü. Bu versiyonu birazcık carnal flower'a da benziyor. Birebir aynı değiller ama aynı ailedeki kuzenler gibiler. İkisi de aynı prenseslikteler 💕. Yazın çok sıcak yerlerde biraz ağır gelebilir ancak diğer mevsimlerde severek kullanacağıma eminim.

Vintage, but RICH vintage. Wealthy, classy, luxurious, that somehow reminds me of Pure Poison. I visualise Miami Vice.. and this is something Elvira from Scarface would wear.

Very complex fragrance Not for me for now

This perfume catches the scent of white springtime flowers I've been looking for. My search is over <3

Well this is a pleasant surprise. I am trying a sample of it and I really like it. It’s beautifully blended but I get a lot of musk, vanilla, rose, orange blossom and greenery. It does remind me of NR, but is softer than that. The downside is it’s not cheap. Update - I managed to get a full bottle at a very reduced price in the run up to Xmas from a reliable grey site I use. I love it, there is a particular note within it that blends so well with the other more obvious notes. A new fave.

I think I found my new favourite perfume house 🥰 this is the first scent I tried and instantly fell in love with. I can't stop sniffing my wrist 😍 love love love it!

Creamy, vanilla, coconut floral musk. Pleasant but linear. IG/Tiktok: @wilddew_vibes

I get why people are comparing this to NR, but Lalibela “corrected”everything wrong with NR! I find NR to be extremely screechy, headache inducing, and a bit skanky. On the other hand Lalibela to me is one of the smoothest creations ever made, it’s softer and well rounded each note perfectly in harmony. It invokes a sense of comfort and warmth. I find Lalibela to be a versatile fragrance and would consider this a safe blind buy. Also patchouli haters like me, don’t fret give it a try! (This description is about the old formulation with orchid & coconut.)

Not one I'd normally go for based on notes but after I described to the lady at the counter that I love musks she gave me this. It's actually quite a nice musk, a little coconutty in the same exact way Cashmir Chopard is (I knew it reminded me of something.) I woulnd't have placed jasmine or patch to be front notes in this one, more a tonne of musk (yes narciso comparisons) some tropical creamy florals and a hint of coconut flesh. Nice one.

Laibela by Memo Paris is a musky, patchouli-laden jasmine fragrance, that is unique but on the other hand, a bit of an acquired taste. I appreciate the scent for its creativity and freshness, but find the muskiness problematic with my skin chemistry. Named for a town deep in the Amhara region of Ethiopia, this fragrance has been created to evoke the famous rock-cut monolithic churches which were important sites during medieval times and marked early Christianity in the region. This fragrance is meant to smell of creamy, exotic florals on a base of mysterious and smoky incense, resin and woods. The opening is a crisp, naturally sweet and tropical blend of jasmine, ylang ylang, freesia and orange blossom. The spicy-green patchouli accord is evident immediately, lending an earthy and musky aroma that quickly shrouds the fresh white floral accords. As the scent progresses it retains the soft, subtly sweet jasmine note but becomes increasingly musky. Rose in the heart provides a slightly jammy aroma before settling into a creamy, vanillic floral musk. Lalibela is an intriguing fragrance, one that I find myself compulsively smelling just to experience its complexity. It is a very persistent and lasting fragrance on the skin, lasting almost 9 hours and projecting quite strongly within an arm's length. I would urge sampling before purchasing as this can be a tricky fragrance to love and appreciate. It takes the wearer on an olfactory journey that is both serene and utterly captivating, but having it work with individual skin chemistry is another thing entirely.

Well, it's a blind test for me, and initially it opens up floral, feminine, pretty, without relying on too much soapy white florals, powdery bombs, or cloying sweetness. It says wear a pretty floral sundress, let's have a romantic picnic. Maybe it's my limited experience with this type of fragrance (clearly feminine and floral), but at the same time it feels common, as if I have smelled this several times before at a wedding, at a birthday, a Sunday brunch get together, or some early evening special networking event trying to be more fun than it really is. It's the woman that is always smiling, popular and sociable, who isn't afraid to douse herself in a bouquet. Or maybe it's the always busy mom, finally having a chance to dress up and smell pretty for herself, but will not put up with your sh**. Either way, this brings a friendly femininity to the front before you even get a hello in. Looking at the notes there's no surprises, except again that it is well balanced. I would agree that Jasmine may be the most prominent note, but barely, and suggesting it's a jasmine fragrance would underscore the presence of everything else. My experience with the projection and longevity mirror others, but at the price point, I'm sure you can find others. Would I buy this for my wife? No. My Girlfriend? No. My Lover? Absolutely not. But she'd probably get it for herself.

@maddy.cucu @Olgita i think the notes of Lalibela Oud is the same note as the previous notes of Lalibela.

@maddy.cucu No, you are not wrong. The notes listed currently are definetely different from before. There used to be coconut and orchid for sure, that was what this fragrance was famous for: a rose with coconut and orchid. As a longtime fan of the brand, I have noticed that Siwa has also had a change in the notes. It no longer has whiskey and popcorn as its notes. I believe that Memo is going through what many current brands do now: reformulations and dilutions. Very sad. 😔

I am tripping??? I've had this fragrance for years....and the note were definitely different back then. It had a coconut, orchid, vanilla in the notes....it is more creamy, sweeter and lotiony than what the notes are describing now. Can anyone confirm if the formula changed recently?

A solar fragrance featuring a top note of crispy sugar-water freesia. After the freesia comes a mild and easy going ylang ylang, without any animalic or spicy feel. What it brings is a friendly tropical floralcy and a silky powdery softness which then combines with the lotiony, smooth and dense texture of coconut to create a luxe sunscreen vibe. When the orange blossom comes in, it mixes with this lotion feel to create a warm solar perfume that is softly floral but with a creamy white weight. The dry down is a very pleasant warm vanilla musk lightly tinted with white flowers. I would describe this perfume as a very luxe feeling and discerning type of sunscreen fragrance. If quiet luxury wanted to wear a beach perfume. Lalibela lasts 4-5 hours on skin with arms length projection.

Lalibea...a lovely, mixed floral fragrance. And I love jasmine fragrances. But initially, I find the jasmine and (I think) coconut in Lalibela's opening somewhat overwhelming and a bit too potent. But full disclosure: coconut is not one of my favorite perfume notes. If coconut is present, I'm certainly not in for it. Because Lalibela is so well blended, the opening notes quickly & seamlessly merge with a mid-melange of gorgeous florals...orchid, rose, ylang-ylang, orange blossom. And yes there is notable indolic jasmine. Lalibela is definitely a potent, floral-centric fragrance. The dry-down, or base is less incense-y, less resinous than my experience with other Memo Paris fragrances. But the entire wear is gorgeous, start-to-finish. The drydown unfurls the listed notes with musk, patchouli, vanilla and labdanum among the most prominent. I also sense some woodiness in the base. MUST LOVE FLORALS. The heady mixture of florals performs throughout the entire wear of this perfume. I think this fragrance is lovely. But I can see how it definitely is not for everyone.

I absolutely love Memo perfumes. I recently added Lalibela to my collection along with Siwa, and both completely surprised me. When I first saw the notes, neither really stood out to me on paper, but after trying them in store, I got completely hooked. Lalibela is a gorgeous floral scent. Sweet and syrupy in the best possible way. I’m usually not a fan of patchouli, but here it’s so well blended that it doesn’t bother me at all. It just adds depth without taking over.

Category: Floral, patchouli, vanilla Notes: Sprays on a blast of orchid, jasmine and patchouli. There is definitely a touch of peony and rose there as well but they're not as prominent as the jasmine and orchid in terms of the florals, and within the hour they subside completely while the orchid and jasmine remain. With time both the coconut and the vanilla take up more space, adding a creamy warmth and a clean milky accord. The tobacco also emerges with time but remains very subtle. I thought the incense wouldn't show up at all, but it just took time, about 2-3 hours before it appeared a smoky, dry, spicy undercurrent to the milky vanilla, patchouli and florals that I'd say together with the tobacco creates an almost cigarette smoke-esque impression. Throughout my entire wear time the most prominent note of all was the patchouli - that unmistakable earthy sweetness. While it isn't overtly soapy, something about the overall scent impression reminds me of bar soap. Vibe: Smoke room at the club. Honey & almond milk soap. Cigarette smoke. Conversations with a stranger. Waiting at a bus stop late at night. The feeling of returning home alone to a silent apartment after a wild party. Stolen kiss. Cab ride. Black suede. Jazz on vinyl. Sillage: 7.5/10. Just the right amount of projection - neither smothering nor skin scent but a perfect, unmistakable presence that gets louder the closer you inch in. Longevity: 6.5/10. Honestly, for me the longevity leaves much to be desired - lasted me between 5-7 hours. For the price tag I'd expect a long lasting to eternal performance. Wear: With a gun to my head I’d say this is an evening scent, but I do believe it works for daytime use as well, maybe just not at the office. While it's not offensive or obnoxiously loud, there's a darker, seductive aspect to this that feels almost a little too daring for a professional setting. Marked feminine lean but could definitely work on a man willing to challenge gender norms. More suitable for an adult audience, I’d personally say 30-45 is the sweet spot, but could work on users as low as 25 and doesn't have an apparent upper age cap in my opinion. On first impression I'm inclined to agree that this is a spring or fall frag and I see that the general consensus is that this can become overwhelming in the summer heat but man… I really do think this would be fantastically sultry on a hot July or August evening. I'll have to test it out and report back once I've had a chance to try it properly! Overall rating: 7.5/10. Lalibela is a gorgeous floral patchouli bomb with vanilla, tobacco and incense in supporting roles. Clean, milky, sweet and intense, it is alluring and seductive without feeling skanky or provocative the way patchouli can sometimes do. That being said, I do believe you have to like patchouli, skanky or not, in order to enjoy this fragrance as it is the most prominent note in the entire composition. The overall scent impression feels weirdly soapy without even being soapy, specifically it reminds me of bar soap - I think it's that creamy, milky sensation of rubbing it against your skin perhaps, more so than the smell that it evokes. The tobacco and incense work together to unexpectedly create an almost cigarette smoke-like accord, which is something I've been searching for in other fragrances with little success. Personally I find it appealing, but if you think cigarettes reek then maybe reconsider if you're itching to blind buy this. Overall, the notes appear balanced and well-blended. In some ways this reminds me of Guerlain L’Instant (or at least the vintage version of it) as they share the same sort of springy floral vanilla DNA but this is much more sultry and dark with the added tobacco and incense whereas L’Instant remains sweet, innocent and youthful throughout. To me, this is the quintessential going-out fragrance for the woman who wants to smell grown, sexy and a little dangerous without veering too far into the trashy side of things. I love me a good slutty frag, and while it has a touch of a little something-something of the sorts it's so gentle and understated that it never really tips the scale too far in the skank direction. I do think the fragrance is a tad overpriced and I can't really justify putting out $175 for something that's only a strong like and not a love, on top of that the longevity is a problem, and yet I can acknowledge that it’s special and unique enough to consider adding it to my collection if the price was right. Who would wear it?: Kim Cattrall.