CB I Hate Perfume- In The Library

Every library I ever visited had its own scent. The tiny old children's library to which my mom took me when I was six that looked and felt like a leftover from the 1950s, the big public library that was my sanctuary throughout my youth, brightly lit and and full to the brim with enough old books that lent their scent to the place; the sharp smelling university libraries, all of them too modern and metallic; the magical British Library in London, old and new. Kindles, as awesome and life-changing as they are, do not smell the same.

I've been trying to determine if In The Library by CB I Hate Perfume has any of that old library magic. It does smell familiar and has something of an old building with wood floors going on there, but I'm not sure I smell books, leather-bound or others. The strong wood polish opening is surprising and intriguing, even before I decided that it's pleasant (and it is). Then there's old paper and more polished wood, and all of that dries down on my skin into something soft, smooth and slightly musky that doesn't smell much like a perfume (well, duh). I find a similarity between CB I Hate Perfume's Library and Miller Harris L'Air de Rien-- if you thought the latter was too dirty and carnal, In The Library might please you more, as it's cleaner and flatter.

The lasting power is medium-low. What's left on the skin after three to four hours is a faint musky sweetness that will be familiar to CBIHP fans. In The Library is somewhere between a skin scent and something I'd prefer as a candle or a reed diffuser, depending on the day.

Notes: Russian & Moroccan Leather Bindings, worn cloth and a hint of wood polish.

CB I Hate Perfume- In The Library ($12, 2ml perfume absolute) is available from cbihateperfume.com

Photo: Library in British Hill, Japan, 2008 by nami*&Chitaki on Flickr