La Perla

Very classy grown up Chypre. I have only just started to appreciate the classics , chypres and aldehyde's in the past couple of years. In fact i thought i detested Aldehyde's until i discovered Vivienne Westwood "boudoir" ( must review that too!) My tastes are changing and expanding to include the whole range of frag genres , which is a good thing! I chanced across La Perla in a dusty old box of samples at a local discount store ( My fave place for finding discontinued n unusual frag samples) . I new nothing of La Perla frags at all , but it looked quite expensive/classic/classy and worth trying out. I'm so glad i did! Its a very well behaved Chypre IMO. It doesn't overpower or burn my nostrils with aldehyde's! ( That's the problem i have with some Classic perfumes. . Aldehyde overdose..eeek!) Its very well balanced and no particular note dominates. If La Perla was a lady , she would be an Upper Class , well mannered lady = young or old , who wouldn't dream of swearing or smoking in company . You would find her having afternoon tea at the Ritz rather than drinking pints and ending up drunk with her knickers showing at the end of the night ..... But she is no prude and underneath her clothes , (Chanel tweed jacket n skirt , silk blouse ) she is wearing some Agent provocateur basque n stockings ;) . There's a sensual side to this perfume , certainly not "too respectable " or boring. I really like it , and its yet another addition to my "must buy full bottle" list It also lasts well. I got a few wearings out of my tester ,and when i sprayed some on before bed it was still there in the morn ...Lovely dry-down. Very cosy and soft as a scent to wear to bed too . Very good quality for the price. Id recommend this to fledgling perfumistas who want to test scents out of there usual comfort zone , but who are scared off by heavy Musks , Civets and nose stinging Aldehyde bombs !! This perfume contains musk n aldehydes , but those parts are subtle. It doesn't smell "old lady" or stinky and I think its a good choice to ease yourself into the realm of Chypres This is the kind of perfume id wear to a job interview , or to meet a new BFs parents for the first time...In the hope i will give off an aura of been more classy than i actually am ( Lol!)

For me...this is nostalgia in a bottle. And....not because I think it smells "old" or because I knew anyone who wore it in my past. On the contrary, it is simply a gorgeous blend of notes that somehow have the ability to evoke a gazillion fond memories yet still manages to smell timeless. La Perla is a thick, heady and even moist blend of Ylang Ylang,Honey,Carnation,Vanilla and Patchouli.Of course, there are many more notes listed but these are the particular ones that stand out for me. There's a heavenly sweetness to it but also a crisp soapiness that compliment each other so well that they keep things from being too much of one or the other. As it dries down it becomes even softer and more powdery and takes on a creamy, spice cake feel. When I wear this and close my eyes, I see myself outdoors at night, in the moonlight, either on a warm summer night or bundled up during the crispness of fall or winter.Gazing up at the stars, enveloped in fond memories and cocooned by a feeling of warmth and comfort. It does,indeed,smell so similar to Paloma Picasso ( I'm doing a sniff comparison right now on each arm.) I think that the first phase is where all of the similarities lie because as they dry down, La Perla becomes softer, warmer and more powdery than PP, which becomes more "dry", soapy "uplifting" equally as beautiful but in a slightly different way. I also think that K de Krizia shares similarities with La Perla in it's powdery softness. I'm so glad that I found this scent...thank you for all of your wonderful reviews!

High hopes- It's by La Perla, after all ! New (reformulated) La Perla La Perla (2012+): Flat, stale-peppered (cheap) wood. Now linear; Absent any discernible structure nor evolution of top/heart/base notes as in original (pre-reformulation)... Now, loud, crass, hard, sharp, & harsh upon initial spray; Settles quickly to low sillage, poor longevity, & a barely-there skin scent- Total duration +/- 3 hrs. Former (original) round, rich, deep, subtly sweet, full-bodied, fresh-ground peppered, smooth, complex, artfully blended/ layered "Pearl" of chypre perfumery, is now sadly stripped of its beauty; Reduced, instead, to the irritant shard of sand within; degraded further yet to a solidified, bottom layer, hardened lump of decade-old, stale, bone dry, residual fine silt of pre-ground pepper, in a tired diner, where the shakers have never been fully emptied nor cleaned. Tragic loss. This formerly smooth, complex, elegant, Italian classic (masterpiece!) reknowned for her heavenly dry-down, was an exquisite treasure! La Perla La Perla used to be a life-long, top shelf, HG woody floral Chypre- Under-rated, under-appreciated, under-priced. Thankfully, I stocked up on 30 bottles of pre-reformulation EdP (the 100 ml. Tall bottle). A timeless, priceless gem- Now lost to reformulation- A dusty, dry, linear, 2-note stale pepper-olfactory irritant.

A perfume for life...To me it was love at first sniff, back in the Nineties (It was issued in the late Eighties, though). I was quite young at the time, but that fragrance was the hype of the moment and wearing that was a kind of status symbol. Today I would use it with more modesty, because it is a quite potent one, important, in the sense that you won't go unnoticed when wearing that (tons of compliments by men), it is easy to overdo. Or, it was. I am speaking about the original formulation, when the bottle was oyster shaped, pls see for reference the original ads posted above. La Perla is a spicy chypre with a strong, bold spicy carnation. And a hundred different notes. Animalic, deep, sexy. A powerhouse of the eighties, with a super intimate drydown, oriental with resins and a hot pachouli. It is wrapping you in a silk sheet. But the description of the notes alone does not do it justice. You should wear it for getting its real essence. It was unique, one of a kind. Gorgeous. Now, I got a new tall bottle of the edp, like the one pictured here. What a disappointment... the new formulation lacks all the depth and the animalic part. I find it soapy, loud and screechy. Very ordinary. Nothing like the real one. I never wear it, as i prefer remembering how great it was. Get the vintage one if you can.

I try out as many chypres as I can get my greedy little hands on (it's my favorite category of perfume), so stumbling upon this one last year (thanks, Sherapop!) was a special moment. I am enamored of this scent, to put it simply. Such a beautifully complex, well blended fragrance. So well blended that I have a hard time picking out the individual notes. The opening is only mildly citrusy to my nose; I pick out some sweet notes like orange blossom or jasmine almost immediately. Some spiciness from the cardomom and coriander adds a nice touch as well. The heart notes are sweet (rose, jasmine again, iris, lily of valley), but the peppercorns are also slightly noticable which seems to offset the sweetness of the florals. The honey doesn't seem to stand out as a distinct note, all accords flowing together in a soft way. The basenotes are wonderfully earthy. A musky incense seems to be buried in there among the woody elements of vetiver, patchouli, and oakmoss. Compared to many fragrances of this era, LP is soft and inviting; I never tire of it. Sillage is strong, use sparingly. Longevity is great as well, about 9 hours on me. I'd recommend this as a night time fragrance since it smells so sumptuous.

Sexy saxophone playing in the background as a lady with dark caramel brown hair and peaches and cream complexion walks languidly towards the room. Her clove colored eyes glowing with mischief as an ethereal gold and lace negligee cascades down her person. The smell of Lime and Honey Margaritas and the incense of Nag Champa on an iron wood nightstand lingering in the air... Hmm, hmm, hmm...I love this fragrance so much. Just reading the notes makes me uncomfortable. It is remarkably delicious. I get a beautiful lemonade smell, sweetened by honey, and kicked up a notch by a dash of woody spices. What you get is heady sensation and that makes you want to get more, more and more. And then shiver, and fall into the comforting smell of smoke. I can't describe it, there is so much to this fragrance I don't know where to begin. The only thing that could help you get what I see and understand why I love this fragrance is this: Careless Whisper by George Michael. Listen to that song with your eyes closed. Feel those words, listen to the notes, hear that saxophone snaking throughout. Then hear the end, that continues to linger in your head, long after the song is gone. Releeeease...

I know it's already become a cliche, but this perfume really feels like cashmere or angora on my skin. It's warm and enveloping. I also find it very luminous, athough the composition is definitely not light. It is soft indeed, but not in the sense that it fades easily or that it is transparent or watery. It's soft like quality wool. I imagine this one along with a refined angora blouse, sheer and discreetly luxurious, but with an off shoulder cut, giving the wearer a slightly neglige allure. I feel the floral side is more prominent that the chypre, but that is not an issue. It wouldn't have been so enchanting if it were formulated otherwise. Like other reviewers said, complexity is a key characteristic, but it does not make it demure or difficult, just respectable as a perfume with a personality of its own. Beautiful! Simply beautiful. Its femininity is radiant and, like it has been said before, embracing. And it's a "happy" scent, comforting, deep and softly sweet. It made a lasting impression on me from the very first time I tried it a few days ago. Love it!

How have I missed this beautiful perfume all these years? La Perla is such an amazing scent. I love chypres and already have so many (and have so many more in my Want list), but I know I'll be buying this one when my little decant is used up. (Thanks, Ms. Mary O, for sharing this gem with me!) I was a loyal Magie Noire (1980's version) and Paloma wearer for a number of years, and I do see some similarities to these scents. The soapiness of all three is similar. I find the older Magie and Paloma to be much darker (and slightly less wearable) scents than La Perla. I wore this one for an hour or so before I realized the lovely gingerbread-y smell was wafting up from my own cleavage, LOL! What sets La Perla apart from the others are the spices, the honey and the benzoin, which achieve a slightly sweet, almost foody aroma on me, tempered nicely by the flowers and patchouli. It has amazing longevity in addition to that wonderful sillage. Such a great price, too. If you're a chypre fan and haven't tried this one yet, do not hesitate to do so.

I don't know what I was expecting from La Perla LA PERLA, but this is fantastic! How they managed to create way back in 1987 a modern chypre that rivals the best of recent releases is beyond me. To my nose this is an oriental chypre with lots of patchouli and spices, incense and a very substantial base. The floral notes blend in perfectly with the oriental and chypre elements without asserting themselves individually. Yet it is the subtle florality which marks this as a truly feminine and exquisite perfume, leading me to suspect that Sophia G. may well have contributed her prodigious talents to this IFF launch. IMNSHO LA PERLA rivals 24 Faubourg in its richness and perfect blending of a multitude of notes to create a veritable symphony of scents with big sillage which is a pleasure to be ensconced within! (Excellent longevity, too.) Thank you so much, BronxBeauty for introducing me to this beauty! On my wish list!!!

This is not a review, rather: information relative to "La Perla" I hope some may find informative. I wanted to find the name(s) of the perfumer(s) of La Perla "La Perla." I am enamored of this fragrance and became curious about it's history. Mainly: I wished to find the perfumer to see what else s/he has created. According to what I found online: Pierre Wargyne is the actual perfumer. He is the creator of several well-known men's fragrances, but apparently has only created "La Perla" and had a hand in only one other fragrance for women besides this one. The other one is called "Mango Delirium," which he co-created with perfumers Rosendo Mateu and Elisabeth Vidal of the Mango line. (It's based in Spain, parent company is Puig). I don't think I'll be pursuing the "Mango Delirium," but I do wish he had--or will--create more perfumes just as outstanding as "La Perla."

Vintage La Perla is one of my favourite perfumes. I have been wearing this since I was 18 and I never get tired of it's warm, woody, sweet-sharp cloud that sings note perfect on skin. This is easily in my top 5 perfumes of all time. I have a stash of vintage that I use with abandon knowing that one day it will be gone but my addiction is so strong I HAVE to wear it. I highly recommend the pre-reform, it's a real treat. I love the oakmoss/rose/carnation notes very much. I should point out that I also have the new formulation and it's a shadow of the original glory. I am really unimpressed that yet another amazing perfume has bitten the reformulation dust. What an utter sin to take a beautiful, sexy, glorious perfume and rip the guts out of it, resulting in an entirely different perfume that shares only the name.

At once refined and rugged, La perla's perfect blend of sensuous and brisk notes indulge my senses like no other. Carnation, oak moss, honey, coriander...these are the notes that made me a believer in old school perfumery. This is the scent which most eloquently renders my feminine ideal. Dry,earthy, sexual, strong, not sweet or cheerful but intelligent and full of life. To me she is the perfect accompaniment to the indie goth look I've been partial to lately. She is an aristocrat who is at home in both bergdorfs and bathing nude in a secluded woodland stream. All fry boots and Pendleton blankets she takes her horse for a cold morning ride through the woods. When she is done with her horse, she puts the Hermes saddle on you. ;)

This is a very beautiful and elegant fragrance. Perfumes with heavy carnation notes are right up my alley. This scent is very sophisticated and imparts wave after wave of gorgeous crisp wafts of refined and delicate spicy bliss. I love it's woody comfort and stability. It's both airy and earthy and very interesting. It doesn't seem sultry to me, just womanly and confident. My bottle is the boat shaped vintage EDP with the word "Bodysilk" written under La Perla. The sillage is excellent, but not loud. I'm not getting the longevity that others report. On me the scent only lasts 4 hours but that could be due to the condition of my particular bottle. I like this one enough to search for another vintage bottle!

I discovered this gem thanks to one blogger YouTuber who reviewed it. The British guy, the owner of "Pulse of Perfumery" shop, his description is real treat, must watch. And when I tried it I asked myself exactly the same question that everyone else had. How come I have never heard about it before? For one thing, this particular company very rare in my country (which is sad). It took some time to find a person who would sell it but I got lucky. If you (like myself) really appreciate chypre fragrances this one is real gem. So spicy, so warm, gorgeous ladylike scent. I absolutely love it. Sublime pearl in the ocean of chypre fragrances. The formulation I reviewed is 8ml mini version ship-shaped bottle.

I already reviewed this some time ago, but thought I would tell you all a funny story. I was shopping one evening in a clothing store. Browsing and not really planning on buying, I was suddenly smitten by a glorious scent as a women walked past me. I am almost ashamed to say I followed (discreetly) around the shop, finally getting up the courage to stop her and ask her what perfume she was wearing. 'La Perla' was the reply, to which I confessed that this is one of my all time favourites. Funny how when you are inside a scent, you smell it differently. However, if I smell like that woman did when I wear La Perla, I will be happy. Gorgeous, ecstatic elixir.

I love La Perla and think I've reviewed this before but today I put it on and got a surprise - it smelled of VIOLETS! Mmmm! I can only think that it somehow mixed with the remnants of the Must de Cartier I had on the day before to make this strange but pleasant result.. Looking at the review below, I'm not sure if I've got the 'new' or 'old' one now, think it must be the 'old' one actually. They'd better not have messed with this masterpiece and it's such a shame if they have!! By the way - I LOVE Magie Noire and like Paloma P and I don't see the similarity with La Perla apart from maybe being relations and all beautiful masterpieces!

Just received La Perla from a blind swap less then an hour ago. As soon the first blast was over, it seemed strangely familiar, yet nothing like anything else on my shelf. Then I realised it reminds me a lot of the original Magie Noire that I got somtime around 1980! (I don't know its new formula at all) I'm actually not very good at detecting specific perfumes by name, not even if I had them myself long ago, but this time - no doubt! La Perla seems lighter and not as challenging as MN was (it wasn't wearable for everyone). I'm happy I got La Perla - a trip down memory lane, and yet not... A confident, sophisticated true perl!

Like every really good Chypre, this one is multi-faceted. It is a bit of a screamer when first it hits the skin, and the peppery jasmine mid notes are a bit on the heavy side for me. But......when it settles down for a good long snooze, is it glorious. It is one of the scents that when I am wearing it, I find myself constantly lifting my wrist to my nose to enjoy it up close. Since my mother stole Aromatics from me, this is one of my faves, very near the top of my list. Elegant, not too sweet, not too flowery, perfectly balanced, and very long lasting. I adore it.

Okay i am compelled to write another review on this perfume. I originally bought it because of the reviews I read here sometime ago. I knew I had to get it. This is a well refined classy perfume. It does not smell cheap. I think the price is very reasonable. It cost less than £40 for a 100ml. This is definitely a headturner. It embodies a woman (not a girl) that knows EXACTLY what she wants. Even though it reveals a bitter and a sweet scent, there is still something dark yet mysterious about this perfume which I find utterly sexy.

The best perfumes of all time Perfume for all times and all seasons perfume with personality notable was my signature for 11 years Every day with strangers ask me about my perfume Believed to be from the perfumes of life he chooses who will wear it as a signature We believe the nose behind the La Perla is the famous '' Russian witch '' Only she can play with so much variation Only this can make you be considered normal that the sun the moon and the stars to shine together in the same sky at the same time . This is the La Perla