Eau de Parfum (2014)

"Soothing and comforting... blissful white heaven in a bottle." Helmut Lang EdP is a 2014 fragrance from the original Austrian brand by a creator of the same name. The brand is known for descontructivist and minimalist approach towards fashion and aesthetics, and the creator Lang went to New York City to establish its brand. After some time, he left his own brand and it was eventually acquired by Tokyo company Link Theory Holdings, and is still currently based in New York City. This fragrance is a reformulation of the original fragrance from 2000 in cooperation with Proctor & Gamble, back when the brand was not yet acquired by Link Theory Holdings. It was conceived by Maurice Roucel, a legendary figure in the perfumery world, and it became a cult classic especially after being discontinued upon brand acquisition. Since the debut of the reformulation, many have noticed subtle differences in the scent, and claim that the 2014 fragrance has been tailored to be more unisex, in contrast of the original one that was geared more towards female wearers. I didn't have the chance to truly test the original formulation, but as far as the reformulation goes, it's a perfectly unisex scent. One common comparison I often see is how this fragrance resemble Roucel's other more popular creation: Musc Ravageur by Frederic Malle. I can see the parallels between the two because of the lavender-sandalwood note; however, to me they are two essentially different fragrances, where MR is a musky tamed beast, whereas HL is a lush and heartwarming kitty. Among many fragrances I tried when I went to NYC the first time in Dec 2015, Helmut Lang was one of the very few that stuck to my mind upon first sniff. Unlike most 'clean' scents, HL sets itself apart with a subtle mix of patchouli, vanilla and sandalwood; and absence of white musk that plagues many of such fragrances. This renders the scent more creamy, fuller and heady without the synthetic feel; in fact, it's even addictive! But more importantly, it's the epitome of a comfort scent, one that puts the wearer at ease both physically and mentally. Upon second try after purchasing a full bottle from Die kleine Theatiner Parfümerie in Munich, I got imaginatively transported back to NYC and remembered what I felt when I first tried it. I get wafts of heliotrope and lavender, the latter being a key component in aromatherapy and a popular ingredient for bed sprays. Combined with vanilla, sandalwood and bits of patchouli, and I get pure comfort in perfume form, an image of clean and pure white bedsheets and linen. This perfume is perfect for slightly cooler weathers, preferably spring or autumn (although I think that thematically spring would be perfect). It's one of the best office daily-wear type of perfume I've come across, and even for wearing before going to bed. I stumbled upon this scent in a city, bought a full bottle two years later in a different city in another continent... and yet, my love for it hasn't changed one bit. Beautiful fragrance all in all. edit: I tested my bottle on paper the other day. It's bizarre; on paper, I get this mildly urinous note and I have no idea why. On my skin, this note is nowhere to be found.

Helmut Lang Eau de Parfum 2014 This scent is the embodiment of the quintessential Sunday. You’re at home, the weather’s perfect, you’ve slipped into your quality cotton sheets, you too are wearing cotton. Skin-to-skin, leisurely caresses, kisses. Breathe in hope, something lost, nostalgia, sex. Helmut Lang smells like comfort, sensuality, and an unspoken air of being up to no good. You’re feeling blissfully lazy and at ease, and you do whatever and however you please. You close your eyes, and you somehow drift... fields of purple lavender washes over you...lulling you into a lucid state. The lavender is clean, powdery, and along with heliotrope, diffuses a dreamy film of whites and beige. The effect is of sand, powder, paper and a lasting texture to the touch. A subtle green, herbal kick adds to the lavender, and that is rosemary. It awakens your memory, of the past, of the present, it brings your mind places. So does the musk. A skin-like, lived in musk is evermore present. Dirty/clean, new and old, oh the dichotomy, the duality it brings. You’ve definitely been to places, to people, with what remains of the Helmut Lang on your skin. Patchouli, sandalwood, musk suggest as to the night before, the passion and the aftermath. The after-sex. Your skin the day after has never smelled so good with jasmine, neroli, heliotrope, and lavender breathing life as your body’s heat intensifies in your daily activities. Helmut Lang settles into you just like second-skin. It meshes with your low-cut white blouse, or that unbuttoned white shirt, it becomes you for the day, and you become it. Helmut Lang Eau de Parfum is full of blurred lines, of that bead of sweat running down the décolletage, the hint of something you thought you knew, of possibilities of what you want it to be. Helmut Lang is something that’s hard to explain, something that is wildly suggestive, and maybe a secret best left untold. Until that time, I wish for the ‘future me’ to rock Helmut Lang Eau de Parfum like a devil in disguise, to anywhere and everywhere, with confidence and composure.

This was a re-release, and presumably slightly tweaked, version of the original 2000 rendition which I have not had the pleasure of smelling. But if people think this current version is inferior, then the original must have really been something else. I try really hard to avoid assigning perfumes a gender when I am testing them, but I still find things that I simply would prefer to smell on a woman than on myself. The more perfume I try, the easier it becomes for me to just smell fragrance and feel that it is something that works for me. Helmut Lang EDP was a little bit of a breakthrough for me in this sense, because the first time I wore this I decided that it was overly floral, and therefore a bit too feminine. But the beauty here is sublime, and once it seeps into you the enchantment unfolds. It opens with a soft explosion of orange blossom, lavender, and hint of heliotrope. Right from the beginning there is a foundation of borderline-clean musk, that adds heft to the ethereal nature of the flowers. I find it interesting that sites like Fragrantica don’t list musk as an official note; it is the back bone of this fragrance. A few minutes in, something really lovely happens in the heart. The orange blossom seems to bloom after the lavender and other aromatics recede, and it leaves this impression of fizzy orange flavoured musk that really becomes the soul of this fragrance. The powdery elements of the heliotrope never cross the line of suffocation, but you sense its presence as if the breeze had blown the odour back through an open window. It all comes to rest on a creamy cedar base – my guess is the atlas variety – and slowly dissipates like fog being burnt up by sunshine, as opposed to progressing through a series of accords to ita final resting place. This billowing perfume lasts on me a good part of the day and doesn’t project loudly, and yes, at first glance you might perceive it as something you are used to smelling on women. But all you manly men, sometimes you need to let yourself feel beautiful.

Oilier and more heliotropic than the more aerosolic EDC. It's a toss-up which is muskier, but anyway the musk is slightly different. More sebaceous and scalpy here and more semen-like in the EDC. For my money, the musk *is* similar to Musc Ravageur but you do not have to squint your nose so hard to perceive it here. MR smells like a rubber dog bone. There "gender" distinctions between the two formulas (EDC/EDP) have a wacky intelligence because the EDC does smell like a male secretion spent on recently hotel-laundered white sheets, and the EDP does remind me of a woman who perhaps wears baby oil for fragrance and snuck off to the gym for thirty minutes at lunch but didn't shower before sitting next to you -- not offensive, lovely, just something slightly tangibly glandular beneath another obviously clean smell. If you love this try out Piver's Heliotrope Blanc. It swaps the musk and lavender for fresh-baked sugar cookies. Or if you have a good funky white musk oil you like, do what I did and save yourself like over a hundred dollars and add a few drops to a bottle of Piver, some lavender and rosemary oil, and voila.

I think this has become my signature scent. Helmut Lang edp just always seems suitable for any occasion. There's an odd industrial/paint note that lasts for a minute or two in the opening that I can't quite put my finger on, but after that it settles into a soft lavender and jasmine baby powder kind of thing that is really pleasant. It doesn't seem to project very far, which is good for the office. Lasts around 6 hours on me. My wife is a little ambivalent about this one, but she says it smells nice enough. Probably not a compliment getter, but I dig it a lot. I've tried a ton of different designer and niche oddball stuff, and found a bunch of great fragrances, but at the end of the day I guess I just want to smell like a newborn baby in an artist's loft.

This fragrance is swoon worthy. Love the top notes lying on a base of vanilla and cedar wood. The patchouli is just right and enhances all the other ingredients. This is a clean, fresh and cozy, but sexy scent that makes you want to cuddle up to the wearer. Just right for spring and fall, in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, it is nice in the winter, but I think it would be outstanding in the spring and fall. The added warmth in the air and in your skin will only emphasize the notes of the fragrance. People will enjoy standing next to you and absolutely love hugging you. First word out of my mouth upon smelling it - "Beautiful." The reason I don't wear it more in the winter is because I cannot find a body lotion or body cream to layer it over.

Helmut Lang EDP is truly a hybrid of Labdanum 18 and Musc Ravageur. It is Labdanum 18 with a splash of MR. If L18 does not have quite enough oomph for you and MR has too much - and you "almost" love either one of them - Helmut Lang could be just what you are looking for. It has Maurice Roucel written all over it. It is soft and clean with a powdery fluffiness to it but also has a sexy musky edge. Very unisex. This is the type of scent I really gravitate toward and if I didn't already have a bottle of Labdanum and MR I would be ordering it right now. But since I have both it really feels a bit redundant. It really is THAT similar. And because I love the other two so much, this is also clearly a love for me.

This is my favorite fragrance of all time; I had the 1990s version and loved it and then was overjoyed when in the 2011 they started again. I got a bottle. But for some bizarre reason they decide to stop making it. Again. The closest dupe I can find to it is the massively over priced and hard to find 'Chanel Boy Les Exclusifs de Chanel'. It is pretty close, lacking just a bit of the 'heliotropy plastic toy playdoh' element that I love so much in Helmut Lang EDP. Its closer to the EDC version I guess but its close enough. Maybe layering Boy with a dab of Piver Heliotrope and a tiny dab of vanilla will do it.... Please Helmut Lang, get this heavenly skinscent juice in production again. I'll buy 10 bottles.

Is there any petition for the return of this wonder? I'll sign up right away... This is such a shame to discontinue for the second time such awesome masterpieces, truly unique perfumes; Maurice Roucel, under the artistic direction of the genius that is Helmut lang, succeeded to craft a quite classic, yet very singular scent. It suited perfectly the minimalist,edgy and super elegant design and universe of the label. The perfect blend of muscs, vanilla and patchouli, makes it melt perfectly with human skin, but it’s never animalic nor really dirty... Both EDC and EDP, that I liked to layer, were my signature for many years and I really miss it. Please bring it back!

After a long time experience with this perfume I have found that its opening is the most daring and interesting part. Literally I smell the plastic beach ball of my childhood and of course I cannot find a more accurate idea connected with Lang's "the outrider" world. Afterwards it evolves to more prosaic territories, a sort of sweet and slightly spicy oriental classic which makes it versatile, genderless and ageless. Do not expect to find a longevity or projection bomb, this is under control and you will not scare anyone while wearing it. As in Martin Parr's picture series: "Life's a beach"...

I love to layer this perfume with molecule 04 as it is enhanced by the sandalwood or javanol and gets even more sultry. A friend o mine fall in love with this when I wore one day last week and I fell sad for her as it's discontinued. It's a soft musk, like the smell of a baby's head, also smells like fresh laundry. What I don't understand is why they discontinue this perfect gems and keep making so many mediocre scents. The world of perfumes needs a shake up.

Absolutely comforting scent. This has some similarity to Musc ravageur, but this is much more sophisticated. MR feels more brutal and edgy. My favourite of the two is Helmut Lang EDP for sure. I'm surprised to see that many people here think it is very long lasting. I only get shorter than average longevity, and MR lasts longer on me.

If you enjoy musky fragrances but not lavender, please don't let the notes listed for this fragrance scare you away. This is the most beautiful musk I've ever encountered...and the only fragrance that I have ever loved with lavender in it.

The initial scent is quite powdery and medicinal on my skin. The first time I tried this I was turned off by the bitter opening but the dry down is so beautiful and leaves a subtle musk that I'm obsessed with.

Pure and sheer platonic love. A true gem to cherish forever.

This smells like a modernized version of Chanel No. 5. They have the rose/jasmine/vanilla/animalic combo in common. I believe vanilla must be missing from the pyramid here, as it is the strongest note I smell. You would not expect this perfume to be sweet by looking at the notes listed above, but it is sweet. I also smell an animalic note that might be a leather accord or might even be ambergris. I smell all the floral notes listed, and they blend together very harmoniously. While it's nice, I personally prefer Cuiron (2014). This is not unique and thought-provoking the way Cuiron is, and I view this EDP as more of a been-there-done-that type of crowd pleaser. (Indeed I have found other sources listing vanilla as a note)

I believe the most fitting expression for this would be "classically clean". As I haven't smelled the original, a comparison is not possible but it's a floral musky clean and powdery perfume with a very finetuned mix of lavender, patchouli, sandalwood, heliotrope and orange blossom. Strangely, it somehow reminds me of a perfume my mother used to wear ages ago, and since the only one I can recall her wearing is the Maurer & Wirtz 4711 original, that must be it - even though this seems more powerful and less feminine. Maybe it's the patchouli/rose mix ? I haven't smelled the 4711 for about 20 years though, so I can't be certain. All in all, a very fine quality perfume and with excellent longevity.

Synthetic yet cozy, the 2014 re-issue of EdP is soft, warm, and frankly, quite brilliant. It feels deceptively simple, but it’s clear that there’s a great deal of nuance. It strikes the perfect balance between powdery florals, semi-sweet musks, and balmy vanilla with just a touch of cinnamon. It’s like a creamier, more edible Labdanum 18 or a refined and less dramatic Musc Ravageur, yet it feels more accomplished than both through its seeming unfussiness. Furthermore, there’s an insinuation of a laundry motif created through the tiniest inclusion of soapy lavender that makes the scent feel abnormally clean—like a plush toy taken straight from the drier. It sits close to the skin, but not so close as to be considered a skin scent, and I could see how it could potentially be over-sprayed. However, there’s nothing belligerent about it—no harshness to the synthetics whatsoever, and it somehow keeps from being cloying even when it feels like it should be. It’s pillowy and soft but it doesn’t feel juvenile. Sadly, I never had the chance to smell the original, and I’m sure that some changes were made at some point (there's an ebanol-style sandalwood lurking in the base), but this is pure, powdery comfort. It’s probably too pricey as it stands, but it does what it does so well that I imagine it won’t be hard to rationalize the price. Total comfort in a bottle.

One of my absolute favourite fragrances of all time. I’ve left a review on the 1990s version of this. I have both. I will forever search for bottles of this in every corner of the Earth if I have to. Perfect in every way. My toddler got hold of this bottle and sprayed around 10ml out of it that just dribbled down the front of the bottle and as a result removed the lacquered finish on the label so now it’s like worn paper and I’m also terribly gutted about losing 10ml of this juice. My room did smell delightful and ethereal for around a week though! Anyway, I digress. The epitome of signature scent for me. It would be mine along with Les Baines Guerbois 1992 Purple Night and CdG Daphne if I was to choose, but I have too many bottles and cannot stop collecting perfume. Helmut Lang I beg, bring this perfume back—no reformulations!

The great news about Helmut Lang re-launching their whole range of fragrances, surprised quite a lot of us in the fragrance-sphere. Everybody was happy and concerned at the same time to discover if they messed up with these mythical fragrances and with much of my surprise, I've to say they didn't at all. Current EDP is incredibly close to the original but, if I can dare, it feels almost better. It's slightly stronger and more balanced on the sweetness and, after all these years, still feels unique enough to gain all of my support and endorsement. I've to say that I found the original musk a bit more nuanced as it felt clean but maintained a certain dirtiness typical to this ingredient whereas the current iteration feels overall woodier and cleaner. Still top-notch stuff in my book. Rating: 9/10