Vega

Vega is absolutely gorgeous. It shares much in common with its Guerlain sister, Liu. They are both very "Guerlainish" (re: vanillic, bright, more citric) takes on the famed aldehydic floral Chanel mold. Both Liu and Vega have that traditional, floral core of ylang, jasmine, and rose. Vega has more ylang and some slightly grape-ish orange blossom. It also dries down to a more resinous, incensy finale. Liu, on the other hand, has more of the Guerlain herbs (especially what reads as rosemary) in the top, and a woodier drydown. I also must say--Vega is absolutely the perfect name for a bright, shining, metallic aldehydic bouquet. I appreciate that it's been revived a couple times in the recent past and Vega is a beauty in every form I've smelled it in--vintage parfum, the newer revived parfum from the late 90's or early 2000's in the traditional "inkwell" bottle, and then the apothecary bottle EDT "Once Upon a Time" collection. It's also smelled surprisingly consistent throughout all of these incarnations. I understand why this isn't in the current Legendaires collection since they chose to stick with Liu, but I treasure the samples of it I have.

Personally, I strongly dislike this particular type of ylang ylang. It's too buttery. The softer, more watery version seems like it would work better here. BUT, Vega is overall truly exquisite. The original vintage does have civet and either gray or white ambergris in the base that aren't mentioned elsewhere online. The Carnation note is absolutely beautiful with the Iris and Orris root. It becomes a soft, spiced, powdery vanilla skin scent. It's not overwhelmingly perfume-y. It's also incredibly versatile and would wear nicely on men and women, day/night, is good for work or for a night out, and is piquant enough to be worn during summer. Blissfully cozy. Highly, highly recommend. It's worth the price and one of the few niche perfumes where it's genuinely reflecting of quality. The older the bottle, the better!

I love this! At first, I get a whiff of Johnson and Johnson Baby Oil and Chanel No.5. But I don't dislike this, I think it's quite lovely. The dry down is gorgeous - creamy, smooth, ambery/vanillic/sandalwoody with a hint of floral note. Very warm and easy to wear.

Actually starts dirtier than it ends. I get heliotrope, clove/carnation, and sandalwood as dominating notes. Agree with Roshap re: Samsara resemblnace. Then- - - ylang-ylang shows up and stays, and stays. If you love ylang-ylang, this is your fragrance.

★★★★★ I just bought it because after trying it twice. Don't know if i will wear it very often, but I had to have it in my collection; it's exceptionally different: smelling it, you travel through time and places, you forget about everything else.

a guerlain "hybrid", perhaps. goes on like liu and dries down to something slightly akin to samsara. but better than both.

Cold, advanced, futuristic. N°5 light years away. The brightest star in Alpha Lyra, 58 times brighter than the Sun. Projecting the huge sky dome on the silver screen makes me seem to be watching a movie in the back seat of a moving car. The black hole shot in time-lapse is getting bigger and bigger. It is a naked-view 3D effect. Vaga plays quickly, constantly switching the pictures of the universe, intended to show the greatest ideals of Jacques Guerlain. Released in 1936. Vaga is Jacques Guerlain's answer to the mysterious field of astronomy. As the study found, Vaga is extremely bright. At first, there was only a dazzling white light, then it converged, gradually formed a bunch, and then zoomed in. Everything you saw was colorless. The white light hit from head to toe, and my vision and sense of smell were all affected. My senses were temporarily paralyzed, and i was almost deaf and blind. Only my consciousness remained clear. Vaga is menacing, fierce and shocking. This undisguised and sharp-edged aldehyde flower is as sharp as the tip of a needle. Vaga bursts with bright rainbow lights one after another, but the humming sound of too high frequency cannot be received by human beings. Vaga is not as mundane as N°5, it is perfect and standard. Within Jacques Guerlain's set-up, aldehydes were never the protagonist, but an auxiliary, relentless aldehydes that polished the rose to reflect the metallic sheen of the machine's casing, and I had to see all the stars. The classical harmony of rose-jasmine-carnation sits on a typical Guerlain base (vanilla amber), like a star counterpoint, with a faint hint of almond powder of heliotrope. Vaga is very personality.

I think one of the other reviewers says it best-Vega spends most of its time reminding you of other fragrances rather than being distinctive in its own right. The top note is very Chanel No 5, but this is fleeting, literally a couple of minutes only. It becomes a warm, creamy sandalwood. I really don't get much in the way of white floral or jasmine, and on me the iris comes through quite distinctly. It softens into a soapy and powdery fragrance, clean and warm which brings to mind Baby powder. I like this-its family friendly, office-friendly, and wearable, just not too striking and certainly not unique. Longevity is poor on me (about 3 hours) and sillage is very soft.

Aldehydic and powdery vintage scent. A bit harsh at the first sniff, but once it hits the skin it starts to develop quite nicely. It softens and powdery iris along with orange flower blooms. There's some jasmine, ylang ylang and sandalwood hanging around as well. Terrific perfume with moderate timeline 4-5 hours.

I am reviewing pure extrait in 30 ml gold bottle (assume tester). It definitely sends you straight to the Chanel No. 5 territory, but it is made Guerlain way. It has less ylang, less sweet, more round fuller body. Is it a must have? No. Good for collectors only (like me) :-)

Vega opens with citrus-aldehyde sparkle, then becomes pure Guerlanade: plush vanilla-amber-civet, like the soft parts of Jicky or Shalimar. A lovely, boozy hit of true sandalwood in the base. It’s often compared to Chanel No. 5, because they’re both aldehydic florals, but they don’t smell similar to me at all. Vega is light on the aldehydes and heavy on the vanilla-amber, and has none of No. 5’s formality. Vega and Chanel No. 5 are going to the same red-carpet event wearing champagne-gold dresses, but No. 5 wants to be admired from afar and Vega is a hugger. Vega is basically Shalimar’s creamy vanilla/amber/sandalwood/civet core, but with a sparkling-white aldehyde top instead of a dark smoke-and-leather base. As far as I’m concerned, Shalimar’s darkness is the fun part, but if you wanted a “light side” sister fragrance, Vega would be it.

Strangely. this fragrance spent it's entire time on my skin reminding me of other scents. The opening burst of aldehydes and green notes reminded me of Y by YSL; the next phase reminded me a bit of Chanel no 5, but more of First and Arpege; the dry-down developed what I call an oily note, reminiscent of the dry-down in Eau d'Hadrien, with an undertone of brylcreme...It had intesting moments, but at the price, I don't want to be reminded of other fragrances.

This is my most regretted Guerlain discontinuation. And it is also the only big classical floral aldehydic that I truly enjoy rather than merely appreciate in an academic way, because it's a cheerful aldehydic. Vega opens with a sparkling burst of aldehydes over a jasmine and ylang base. The aldehydes make this quite abstract, but they aren't overwhelming: somehow this fragrance gets the floral/aldehydic balance exactly right. The jasmine-ylang accord then moves forward, with a nice woody sandalwood drydown. There's a sparkle throughout this fragrance that makes me think of light reflecting off dewdrops. (The EdT is likely what you'll encounter; the very rare parfum formulation is a touch more floral and a shade less abstract). Vega's closest relatives are Liù, also by Guerlain, and Arpège. Liu has more vanilla, less ylang, and is woodier, while Vega is more resinous. Arpège is sweeter and more floral. Take Arpège, dial down the sweetness, amp up the jasmine and woods, add a touch of ylang-ylang, and increase the brightness by one-third, and you get Vega. The whole thing feels classy and timeless without being haughty, and it is sufficiently woody and abstract to be unisex. Vega is also surprisingly good natured and smiling, in contrast to the ice-queenish approach of many of the famous old aldehydics. Chanel no. 22 borders on the unwearable; it's too sweet. The 1991 Calèche is too soapy. Chanel no. 5 is a bit remote. Arpège is softer but a little mumsy. Vega is, above all, cheerful. Whenever I put this on, I can't help but smile. It always lifts my mood.

The perfume pyramid above is pretty accurate as Vega is all of those things. It is definitely has a Guerlain "personality" and to me has the Vol de Nuit aesthetic towards the middle, which I love because it's slightly mysterious, evocative and can be worn by a man or a woman. I would say that the dry down is slightly on the powdery side, but not enough to have people complaining that it's too much like baby powder. It's just slightly dry and soft like the final dry down of another vintage Guerlain: Djedi. UPDATE: in the middle of the night as I turned in my sleep I was getting whiffs of something extremely pleasant. When I was fully awake the next morning, I realized that it was the Vega on my wrists that was still projecting through the night and into the morning, even though it's just the EDT strength from a 1 ml sample. At that point it had turned into a soft and faint woody vanilla. I enjoyed Vega and every twist and turn it made from start to finish. Too bad it has become so rare and super expensive, when it does turn up. , because I'd love to own a full bottle.

(Original Edt Review) Chanel 22 + Liu : Vega ¿this was necessary? I like liu, and i know is a copy of chanel n5, but is a good reinterpretation. This one smell almost like another Chanel fragrance. Sorry I love Guerlain but in this creation Jean-Paul sold his soul to Gabrielle. I know everyone had to compete with chanel N5 but, i think that would have been more useful for Guerlain to stay true to his other fragrances, and make something different, not another copy. I much prefer Liu over this one.

What a marvelous high-quality aldehydic concoction! But quite different in character from the famous N°5. This one says: do not come closer unless you mean it.

It's like a softer, spicier version of Chanel No.5. Very smooth, polite, classic scent. Sits close to skin.

Just like Chanel No. 22 to me from the Les Exclusifs line.