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.

(EDT in vintage Black & Gold Box) This fragrance is incredibly lovely. It's not as spicy as Mitsouko or L'Heure Bleue. With my chemistry this scent is very comfortable, sort of like an old friend who really understands you. There is nothing loud or powerful about the EDT. It has great longevity but wears very close to the skin. There is something crisp and fresh in this juice that is lacking in Mitsouko and L'Heure Bleue. The sibling status is very recognizable though Unlike some others here, I can't wear Chanel No 5 in anything but pure extrait and don't find any similarities to the Chanels at all. This fragrance gives me a really nice vibe, sort of sympatico maybe.

This is a review of the Les Parisiennes version, which I had a chance to test today. Mind you this is the only time I've smelled it, but from this first impression I can say that yes, it is reminiscent of Chanel N5, but in a distinctly Guerlain way. The first burst is almost undeniably N5, but also, I feel, a bit more effervescent. As it dries down there's a hint of Shalimar, a hint of L'heure Bleue, but it remains very much itself. Right now I'm having trouble keeping my nose away from my arm.

Guerlain Liu - For years I only had a tiny sample that I cherished like no other one in my huge stash of samples. I never thought that I would be so lucky and own a BEE BOTTLE of Liu! I feel so honored, happy and in awe, to have my own Liu. It's so regal and feminine, the best aldehydic fragrance beside Chanel no.5, with the most crisp and sparkly feeling that's so perfect for Spring! I feel like I have to dress up to be worthy of wearing this beautiful perfume!

Liu by Guerlain, has been relaunched in a luxury box, with a vintage style spray to attach separately and in a concentration of eau de parfum. It is now so strong that I hesitate to attach the pump spray. A dab of the stopper is plenty! It belongs to Guerlain's Exclusive collections, Les Parisiennes. Absolutely adored by my skin!

I tried a vintage decant of Liu today and I felt a wave of pleasure flow over me and a sense of well being and balance. This was followed by sadness over what is missing in the modern perfume industry. The original Guerlains were true works of art.

(Current EdP review) Its opening is quite similar to Chanel No5, but the drydown is cleaner, woodier than No5, and also can feel guerlain's vanilla in the drydown

I hate Chanel. I love Liu. A lovely powdery floral aldehyde. But it does not last long.

This review is for the new eau de parfum from the Les Parisiennes collection. Now, this is a very interesting beauty we have here, let me just say! I acquired my bottle today, and as of yet have not been able to test it directly on my skin. I only dabbed the stopper on a piece of paper as a little test run. While Still wet on the paper card, Liu sure does remind me quite a bit of Chanel's iconic N5. Sooner than you might think however, the warm and resinous guerlinade accord kicks in and I'm instantly reminded of yet another huge classic: Shalimar. Liu is like a calmed down version of Shalimar smothered by a big dollop of N5. This phase doesn't last very long. It swiftly dries down further, leaving the N5 and Shalimar notes no more than supporting backbones in the shadow of a glorious fusion between moss, wood and dried rose petals. It now seems to have taken on a much "darker" approach all of a sudden. Together, all of the different phases makes the lovely Liu come across as a mix between N5 for the aldehydes and flowers, Shalimar for the warm vanillic touch and something akin to Vol de Nuit for the woody/mossy tones. Still, it's mostly N5's aldehyde sparkle top gradually shifting into a dark green mossy/herbal (rosemary)? dry down with traces of the opulent guerlinade holding it together. Compared to N5 though, Liu is definitely the "darker" one. Liu may very well include some of the elements belonging to these other classics but as Liu begins it's transformation in the dry down, you will begin to see how unique and complex Liu's beauty is. This is one dry down worth experiencing! When placing the two next to each other, Liu comes off as quite a bit more dry and mysterious than N5. Liu is also very unisex smelling to my nose, much more so than what N5 is. The notes pyramid doesn't really do it any justice either. Liu is a very complex scent to me, with many layers. I can't wait to see how it will evolve with my personal chemistry and I'll be back to update when I find out. PS: Luca Turin apparently labeled Liu as one of the dullest of the Guerlains.. Pfft!!! What does he know, right?! Liu is a gorgeous beauty! Right up there with the other classic Guerlain staples. One more thing, just because Jaques Guerlain MIGHT have been inspired by Chanel N5 to make Liu does not automatically make it bland, unworthy or exactly the same scent! Do every single aldehyde scent smell similar? I think not. Not everyone can be a true original! At least Liu is a great representative of the aldehyde group. Besides, Jaques made sure to put his signature Guerlain stamp all over his creation. Liu and N5 might be related in many ways belonging to the same olfactory group, still I would surely never confuse one with the other! You can just tell that N5 is a Chanel and Liu is a Guerlian! Liu, Vega and Vol de Nuit (all containing aldehydes) are my three fav "classic" Guerlains, so there! Decent lasting power, it's been well over seven hours and Liu is still here. Sillage is comfortably moderate.

As others already commented I agree that Liu is the next of kin of Chanel n.5. Just deeper I guess. Very strong on the aldheides, a warm vanilla base in the classical Guerlain way, add a damascus rose and some resins in the drydown - all the way mix plenty of aldheides of course! Very classy, sophisticated. Needs a styled woman & cool weather to go well with.

I am reviewing pure parfum from 30 ml gold tester bottle (flat spray). Interestingly, I bought it with the same bottle of Vega and if you test them wrist to wrist, you feel a big difference between them. Vega is aldehydic clean, and Liu is dirty and salty. I can not understand why animalic notes not mentioned anywhere.

It smells great. It's a gorgeous aldehydic floral. But how dare they charge 235 euros for a perfume that turns into a skin scent within two hours and totally gone in another two?!

Reminds me of Chanel no5, only better. I couldn't wear no5 because I never connected to it. Liu on another hand is the right balance. This works for me. Definitely worth trying.

A cool chypre and powdery scent, a high-class ghostly scent.

Liu's primary significance is in Jacques Guerlain's first aldehyde floral fragrance. The stage was moved to Yuan Dynasty China, named after Liu, the maidservant who died of love in Puccini's opera "Turandot", but there was no oriental characteristic in the smell. I think Liu is too conservative. Of course, Guerlain has always been conservative, yes, Guerlain always follows the tradition, both inside and outside, first-class technology, first-class connotation, Liu is an exception. Liu is restrained, hiding his inner feelings. Liu's fragrance is really in line with the character's image, very tender. But Liu's dullness was palpable. After the meager aldehyde fragrance dissipated, Liu was just a duet of jasmine and roses. The powdery iris was beaten thinly and lightly, and the vanilla vaguely formed a line, which was long and continued the fragrance. Liu has form, but vague curves.

Ok......Take Chanel #5 and triple the aldehydes !!!!!!!!!!!!! But..yeah....it is not really a #5 dupe/clone really. Just does not work for me. One of VERY FEW Guerlain's that I just do not like at all.