Liu

Liu, you have stolen my heart! My sample just arrived and I"ve dabbed it on my arm; tomorrow I shall wear it properly and report back. I am just so happily surprised that I wanted to comment right away! I am indeed one of those people who cannot wear Chanel No. 5 (or any of the Chanels, except for Bois des Iles and Cuir de Russie, so I am left not too desolate), and I have actually pouted because none of the Chanel Nos. or Coco or Chance are compatible with me. This Guerlain beauty Liu is the Chanel I have wanted to have and love since...well, forever! Liu has aldehydes that I can stomach (which is why it is hard for me to wear other brands with aldehydes as a main note. For example, I tried Arpege, and was very sad to have to pass on it because on me, it smells like feet), in fact, I love Liu's aldehydes! This radiates class, it sparkles, it has a bit of everything! A bit woody, a bit spicy (almost like a cafe au lait with cinnamon note, which is captivating), a bit floral, and a bit on the dry, crisp side. A masterpiece! My sample is the Liu from Les Parisiennes line. I am SO excited! I'll wear this tomorrow and report back, and I promise not to ramble on too long! Next day: I wore this all day, and I love it! It is going on the wish list. I have a Chant d'Aromes edc from the 1960s that reminds me of the aldehydes in Liu, but of course they are two different, separate beings. There is a wee bit of soapiness added beautifully to the sparkle of the notes, and it makes me feel like there ought to be a splash of a very dry white wine hiding in there somewhere! Again, a bit of woods, a bit of floral, but always the addicting aldehyde and someone please tell me what this absolutely divine creamy spice note that pops in and out is! It dances effortlessly with the other characters. It smells like if you had just made a batch of some whipped cream, sweetened with a bit of vanilla and a hint of cinnamon. I wonder what this is? Could it be sandalwood? Is it the rose and vanilla playing off the aldehyde creating this effect, somehow? I think a perfumer would know, but probably might not tell ;) It wore very close to the skin and I pretty much walked around with my nose glued to my wrist, all day. I love this. It will be mine!

Liu is a beautiful, abstract aldehydic floral that feels like all of the materials that went into Chanel no 5 were reorchestrated to be more plush, cuddly, and warm. In short, it definitely feels very "Guerlain does Chanel no 5," but it is definitely its own, original scent. Aldehydes dominate the top and give the whole scent a soapy profile, but in the beginning they are definitely joined by bergamot and rosemary, which is the first "Guerlainesque" trait. The jasmine, ylang ylang, rose core feels similarly balanced to no 5. Whereas no 5 goes into a civet-heavy, musky, sweet-grassy drydown, Liu goes for vanilla and woods with a smooth animalic roundedness. Liu is cozy where no. 5 is angular. Would read to many as feminine based on current associations and assumptions about perfume, but honestly the cozy, warm, dryness feels perfectly unisex in my point of view. Edited to add: after experiencing the extrait from the 70's, some additional thoughts--it's not miles away from the Les Parisiennes version, but the bergamot is sharper and brighter (which makes it feel more fully Guerlainesque as the vintage Guerlains are so bergamot heavy), and the vanilla smoother and deeper. The parfum also makes me realize that the overall scent reminds me more of vintage Arpege parfum and also a bit like Ernest Beaux's original Bois des Iles, but less sandalwood-overdose. Note that Beaux's Bois des Iles is very different than the Polge reorchestration that started in the 80's and has dictated what the current scent is. The original feels like more of a straight aldehydic floral bouquet but with a strong spicy sandalwood undercurrent. Liu is definitely less "gingerbready" than that version, but the vanilla-woods-flowers-aromatic citrus feels more in line with that vintage Chanel than with what contemporary no 5 smells like.

Bought Liu the first time a summer in the 1980' in Geneva. 20ml edition and fell in love. Eau de cologne only, sadly as it did not last long as such. Later had to buy directly from the Guerlain shop in Paris. Still EdC. Guerlain shipped when I could not visit. It was re-launched a few years back, now in eau de parfum (!) belonging The Exclusive Collection available in the Guerlain boutiques in Paris, Geneva as well as Guerlain.com, international site only it seems. Love the strength. Use the stopper as enough strength in it. It is from the same time period as Chanel no5, chypre and I like both but Liu is a notch more elegant in its scent. History (partly copied from website): An ardent aficionado of opera, Jacques Guerlain couldn’t help but fall under the spell of Puccini’s Turandot. It is difficult to resist the charm of Liu, a woman as beautiful as she is heroic, for whom he composes this olfactory poem in which aldehydes play one of their most amazing roles. The aldehydes dominate the head notes as does rose and jasmine, sensual, the fragrance mellows into calm and voluptuous notes. And vanilla quickly harmonises these accents with those of iris and wood. Website states it is a 1929 re-edition and I am not sure this means it was altered, ever so slightly or not as I can not smell any difference in the old version eau de cologne to new eau de perfume, thank heavens! Aldehyde Floral. Rare, feminine, timeless. Top notes: aldehydes. Heart notes: rose, jasmine. Base notes: vanilla, woody notes, iris.

If this review causes you to want to smack me, I can understand. It's going to sound pompous and know-it-all-ish, and I do apologize. But here goes anyway... Not long ago, I was lucky enough to make one of my dreams come true. There I was, upstairs at the Guerlain flagship shop on the Champs Elysees. I had sniffed and sampled many fragrances. Some old, some new. Time to make a decision (DH says). One scent, above the rest, kept stalking me. Liu. It would catch me unaware, all of a sudden with a citrus jasmine animalic wallop to the nose. And then turn-around and play very nice, with that gorgeous trademark Guerlain base and vanilla spiked with Rosemary. This is the one, I said. Does it remind me of Chanel No. 5? Yes and no. It does in the way that the floral notes are perfect. There is that bit of growl that both share. I adore No. 5 and feel that it is probably the most recognizable and distinctive fragrance on Earth. But the one thing it lacks (with all due respect) is that certain character that only belongs to the best Guerlains. Some intrinsic Magic. I love Liu.

As a Guerlain fan and collector, this is my FAVOURITE Guerlain! This is a beauty! Aldehydic, not too sweet, and a slight bit animalic. Compared to No.5, both have the aldehydic opening however I find that No.5 is much sweeter and warmer while Liu is more animalic, drier and not very sweet. Reminds me more of Cuir De Russie mix with No.5, that's how I would describe Liu. Perhaps vintage No.5 without the decaying of notes may smell like this, who knows, however what I described above was compared to the modern No.5 (2013 batch). I have a vintage bottle with trace amounts remaining of Liu and I have written this review based on the Modern EDP as part of the Parisiennes range, I would so love to get my hands on a bottle however at $300, theres a lot to think about for me before splashing my cash.