Pure White Linen

It would be difficult for me to name my signature scent because I wear different perfume depending on the weather, an occasion, my mood, and even color of my clothes. But this comes as close to a signature scent as I could ever get. I wouldn't want to be without this perfume, since I'd wear it in warm or cool (where I live there's no extremely hot or cold), day and night. In the times I want to not offend, I apply it lightly, in the times I want to stand out, I apply a little more. This fragrance is my friend with great silage and lasting power. Actually, when I said that I'd wear it day and night, I meant that very often I put it on in the morning and it will stay until the evening, and very rarely do I want to wash it off for a more distinctly evening wear because I love the drydown. As a matter of fact, I adore all stages of this perfume, from the top notes to the drydown. I noticed that I am more likely to get a distinct smell of top fruity notes in colder weather, and they stay longer too. The floral heart makes me feel like a fairy who lives in a garden where it is forever May (maybe April in a more continental climate!). I open a secret door, close my eyes, breathe in, and all of a sudden I am in a place where all flowers bloom at once. I cannot detect individual flower notes -- it's an air where all flowers are blooming at once, fresh, fragrant and dewy. The drydown tames down the heart, but remains floral and even more fresh and airy. If this is what heliotrope smells like, I am a fan! At this point I start to experience this perfume as pure white color, as a soft and glossy white satin gown wrapping my shoulders and making a quiet shsh with every move I make. This smell is mild but distinct, and it lasts. And it lasts. And it lasts. This is the smell for a girl who one day got married in a satin dress and a bouquet of white roses and treasures this day as the happiest in her life. And here's an almost inevitable bit: a comparison with original White Linen. I already mentioned that Pure White Linen is truly white to me, and so is the original White Linen. But the white color has so many shades, and these perfumes are very different color white as well as texture. The original White Linen is white with a tint of greenish and yellow, much like linen cloth is, and more choppy in texture, like a linen cloth. And this linen cloth is seriously starched! Pure White Linen is a smooth satin, and the white color has a light hint of blueish in it -- like driven snow in the bright sunlight, like my wedding dress, like the walls in my house on the coast, like the inside of the Pure White Linen box. And by the time you trace the white embossed line on the box, you'll be enchanted into pure white understated elegance!

Crispy, fresh and glacial, Pure White Linen is perfect for warm, humid weather, its a far cry from the usual citrus and aquatic summer fragrances that are around. PWL opens with a sharp, green, ozonic blast, according to Estee Lauder's website, this has a "Cool fresh air accord" which may be what I can detect on the initial opening which melds with the dewy green notes, the ozonic feeling stays on my skin throughout wear, the green notes mellow out and gentle floral notes start to emerge; red tulip and white freesia to be specific, then the cedarwood peaks out towards the end of the drydown and rounds off the ozonic and floral notes which helps to ground and add depth to the airy accords. To me, the linen part of the name, is more of a texture than a scent, its the olfactive interpretation of how a freshly washed, line dried linen shirt feels against your skin during the hot weather, its fresh, its cool, its effortless to wear, I'll even go as far to say its great for year round wear. If you like shower fresh scents, are a fan of DKNY Women and especially if you're a fan of the sadly discontinued A Scent by Issey Miyake, this may be worth a try, it has the same ozonic greeness that A Scent has and a similar cool ozonic feeling as DKNY, simply wonderful!

Like other reviewers, I find no resemblance to White Linen in PWL. I wore White Linen and someone gifted a huge bottle of PWL to me by mistake or I would never have tried it. I disliked it - the citrus and gardenia were just too sharp, too much, and it didn’t work with my chemistry. Four hours in and it smelled as it did when first applied - nothing developed. The strength and longevity were certainly impressive, though! I tried it a few times a year (this bottle is at least twelve years old) with the same result - until today. I’m amazed by how beautiful it is! I reveled in it all day at work. Maybe I had to learn how to detect the notes and how to appreciate it, and my chemistry may have changed, too. This is not light, clean, or airy on me. It is a little heavy - the patchouli and cedar maybe, keeping it grounded. I applied it fourteen hours ago and my daughter just came home and told me I smell good. To me Pure White Linen is quite a different scent, but my experience with florals is limited. Now that I’ve fallen in love with it, I see that it’s discontinued. Punishment for not recognizing what a treasure it is sooner!

Having experimented with loud and divisive perfumes over recent weeks, I blind-bought a bottle of this and it was like a hug. Just so comforting and classic! Perhaps that is where my heart truly lies. This is a really delicate and elegant fragrance, but fresh and sweet enough that it can be worn by any age. It smells clean without smelling soapy (a personal dislike) and also evokes imagery of warm sunshine hitting your shoulders on that first hot day of the year. I adore the subtle floral notes in here - particularly the honeysuckle, which is another personal favourite. It is a proper skin scent - it stays close to you but, like Chanel Beige, smells as though it has been your scent your whole adult life. This is a class act - feminine, classy, understated, and - in my view - a safe blind buy. This will become one of my staples.

Wore this today for the first time. It's about 75F and sunny here after a late spring, so I was in the mood for light and floral. Pure White Linen is gorgeous! To be certain, I don't find much of a similarity to the original White Linen. To my nose, it smells very much like lily of the valley, jasmine, and tulip (what one thinks of, they don't really have much of a scent), with a faint whiff of juicy berry. Very fresh, very springy. It's a departure from my typical loves - L'Heure Bleue, Mitsouko, Vraie Blond. But it was just what I needed today. It will be lovely in the coming months, along with my summer stand-bys White Linen, SSS Jour Ensoleille, and SSS Leiu de Reves.