Liu

It goes without saying that this is extremely similar to chanel no 5. This does influence my opinion on liu, but not in a negative manner. Actually, it works in liu’s favor. This is like the chanel no 5 for people who want the perfect version of it. I want to start off with saying that i have always found no5 to smell ‘animalic’ and ‘indolic’, but i might have a wrong idea of what animalic means in perfume. Its indolic in a real jasmine way, where it smells like manure in the most beautiful and elegant way possible. We all know this. A real jasmine flower smells slightly of poop and decay and that works in its favor. No one seems to mention this though! Its always considered a clean soapy fragrance and i dont agree. Soap tends to be way more fresh and serene, while no5 has claws and is a diva in the most elegant way. Its the perfect combination of extravagant and elegant. So no, i dont consider liu or no5 soapy laundry detergent scents. I WISH laundry detergent smelled this way. Maybe its a different kind of aldehyde being used? Or maybe its blended in a way where its not too clean smelling? Or maybe its a civet substitute to maintain the smell of the original formulation? I dont know. Please tell me im not alone in finding both liu and 5 to smell animalic AF The difference lies in the development of these perfumes. The only difference i could detect in the opening of liu and no5 (saying L and 5 from now on) is that L smells way more heady and powerful while 5 smells sparkly and effervescent. But they do smell the same. Its just minor tweaks The difference lies in the development. 5 goes into soapy and woody territory while maintaining a lot of its opening components. Honestly i cant say much more on tgat because everything already has been said abt 5. Liu’s development however, takes the opening and intensifies it through the jasmine. This really is very jasmine prominent. Not a fresh, clean jasmine. No, this is a very classical interpretation of jasmine. Which is the best kind honestly, i cant stand cleaned up white florals. This reminds me of turkish jasmine cologne u can find at the markets. Those already smell surprisingly luxurious, but liu makes it even more complex and powerful. This is a BEAUTIFUL aldehydic jasmine full of character. Its powdery and sparkly as well. Its also way warmer than 5, but not in an ambery manner. Idk how to describe it. Liu has sunrays inside its bottle. Sunrays with ionones, oily heady jasmine and strong aldehydes. The vanilla is slightly noticeable but guerlains vanillas are always good. Never play doughy or cheap or too gourmand. It lends well with the sunniness of liu. Yet i cannot seem to imagine myself wearing this in summer! Maybe a winter sun? It doesnt go as woody 5 and thats alright. Its nice that it creates an identity of its own. I love this and if u love no5 u will love this too! I dont think u need to get this if u already have no5 since the differences are rather minute. One major difference is the performance. Liu is way more potent, powerful and vintage smelling than modern no5. Maybe thats something to consider

First of all, the notes upstairs are incomplete, things are much more complicated than that. My first thought was how the opening resembles l'Heure Bleue. It's the combination of bergamot, neroli, violet, iris, rose and jasmin on the bed of vanilla that is the best part of the old girl. That bergamot is so distinctivly Guerlain. And the aldehydes are pure magic, the composition is so airy and transperent, while the old girl l'Heure Bleue's opening is often described as waxy fourniture polish. Liu might be a historical floral aldehyde, but she is first and foremost a Guerlain. I was smitten from the first sniff, beautiful perfumes do that. Comparaison with No 5 is inevitable, it's the closest to edt and perfume concentrations. Many forget that edp is the '80 child and shows her age more that the others. Strangly, Liu is closer relative to the original concentrations then edp. But nobody's dupe. Probably closer to the original L'Interdit from Givenchy but less fruity. L'Interdit had a lovely strawberry note. Nothing to do with that sticky tubereuse they call it now. To many, this type of perfume is the grandmother personified, it smells like soap, powder in makeup bag and hairsprey. While smelling this, you might expect to see someone with blue freshly permed hair. When I grow up, I will proudly become that old lady with blue hair. Anyway, if you like your classics and are not afraid of vintage charm and hairsprey and want something that is as bright and happy as No 5 Eau Première and L'Eau, you will love this. It's a joy to wear, it has a gorgeous effervescent quality. Beautifully transperent, light and airy. The colours I see are ivory, lemon yellow, pale blue and lilac. Everything is just so smooth, soft and pastel. I get at least 6 h out of it and that's good enough for me. Several days on clothing, I don't know, I washed them before they stopped smelling. There is a special place in my heart for perfumes that perfume my laundry basket. Big hurrah for Guerlain for bringing it, along with L'Initial, to the masses. It's beautiful. Update... It's mid June and we are having a heath stroke, wave, whatever. I sprayed it more from dispair than refreshing expectations and it's absolutely gorgeous! You know how No 5 even in edt can be suffocating at high temperatures? I think it's civet and musk...anyway, not this baby. It's even better than in springtime. I feel my melted dignity comming back to me.

It's funny but I don't find this all that similar to Chanel #5 like so many do here. Are they the same "style" of fragrance? Yes. But while the opening of both are sparkling with aldehydes and citruses particularly lemon, neroli, and bergamot after that #5 and Liu part ways. Chanel #5 stays sparkling throughout the duration of the fragrance and the lemon and neroli are much stronger for the fragrance as a whole along with it being much woodier than Liu. I own #5 premiere instead of the original. The original is nice but I find it a bit harsh and don't enjoy wearing it either in a vintage formal or in the newer formulation. Now Liu on the other hand does open sparkling with aldehydes, lemon, neroli and bergamot but it has a distinct rosemary note that I enjoy. I love the smell of rosemary and remember a time when it was used more often in womens fragrances. It is a subtle aromatic quality that is refreshing and makes this fragrance different and when it combines with what I suspect is anise it gives this perfume the smell of icicles. Or what comes to my mind is icicles. It is frosty but in a fragile way. It smells exactly like what I imagine Elsa from Frozen would smell like. Or the Snow Queen a woman with a ring of ice around her heart waiting for someone worthy to melt it. As Liu progresses as if by a miracle Liu begins to melt. The fragile blue 💙 becomes white and smells of the purest jasmine. It is so pretty, feminine,. There is a daintiness, an extremely delicate and fragile quality to this fragrance. Not in its performance, no it performed very well. But it captures the delicate and fragile innocence of the young heart of a beautiful Lady who was once guarded but now has awakened to the possibility of love. I see colors of the palest blue, violet almost as stark as pure white snow. The softest white and pearl grey feathers of a small bird. This is so beautiful, classic, timeless. It is the perfect snow musk, or snow jasmine. For me it beats #5 in any ideation hands down. I will buy this in a FB ASAP. Edit: the original Chanel #5 has a boss lady quality that just isn't me. The eau de premier version tones that down by quite a lot and that is why I really love that interpretation of #5. Liu is delicately feminine in a way #5 can never be. I always kind of found the original #5 to showy to brash and a bit snobbish. Liu has a fragility that I relate to.

If this LiU EDP (2021) is really that close to the original, that means it actually is the mother of “soapy” aldehydes+white floral compositions of today famous: Amouage Gold Man and Dia Woman/40, Xerjoff Pikovaya Dama, and MFK 724. I have worn vintage Chanel N5 EDT & Eau Premiere, and tested the EDP and else. Guerlain LiU (soapy aldehyde+ clean white florals) is actually distinguished from Chanel N5 (woody aldehyde+ animalic/indolic florals). Current LiU Edp opens with a clean&clear soapy aldehyde (like a detergent & similar most to opening of Xerjoff Pikovaya Dama), without mixing with any citruses, and indolence florals like Chanel N5. A few minutes after, the jasmine (unmistakenly it smells like a tiny dose of Jasmine Gradiflorum that Guerlain uses in Jasmin Gradiflorum Extrait 30) reveals itself slowly with its slight green indolic quality and some bits of rose petals just to keep the composition fresh. Then in the mid it smells like a baby powder with noticeable jasmine and the sparkling aldehyde glitters around it. There are some smooth sweetness to it, I think comes from the vanilla. I’d say LiU is a pure, minimalist and colder version of Chanel N5 that prominently emphasizes on the clean aldehyde and powdery jasmine. I think it is easier and has more sentimental value to wear than the diet Chanel N5: Eau Premiere I own. Simple, Classic, Minimalist, Clean.

Modern Liu is absolutely beautiful. It’s aldehydic. It’s cool. It’s creamy. Its soothing. It reminds me of how N°5 body products (cream, lotion...) used to smell some years ago. Underneath the flowers, the icy aldehydes (very smooth here), the sandalwood backbone...there’s a cosmetic creaminess that elevates it above N°5. It’s closer to Arpège. The magic of it lies in its smoothness. This, Arpège, White Linen and First, seem to be the best standing aldehydics today, while beauties such as Rive Gauche, Calandre, Caleche and many more have either been discontinued or butchered. But Liu is a lovers dream! Edit: while it shares similarities to N°5, it veers towards First, courtesy of the glorious jasmine they both share. As an aldehyde perfume, it inevitably resembles many, but that beautiful jasmine brings it close to the beauty of First.