Nilang 2011

Nilang was originally launched in 1995 and its inspiration was the lotus flower, which is a watery flower considered sacred, closely linked to the image of Buddha and whose meaning is spiritual purity. Its rich symbolism evokes powerful meanings in diverse cultures and Lalique thought of representing this concept through an oriental and floral fragrance. In the vintage version, the bottle represented the lotus flower itself. In 2011, almost twenty years later, the market was different and perfume manufacturers were eager to conquer, with all their efforts, the Asian market and the countries of the Middle East. That's why countless mass market brands have started to launch exclusive collections only for such places. With this focus, in 2011 Lalique relaunched Nilang in two versions: a new Eau de Parfum and an Extrait de Parfum, with a bottle made of crystal, bringing the flowers on top and decorated with gold. A luxury! This review is about the 2011 EDP version. The composition also changed a bit: the vintage version had a floral power on top, lotus flower on the body and a more gourmand base, with vanilla and praline. For this reason, it is possible to find several reviews commenting on its similarity with some perfumes of the Angel line (Thierry Mugler). In this 2011 version, the lotus flower arrives at the front, along with several fruits. The floral bouquet passed to the body of the fragrance and the base became less sweet. The Extrait of Parfum version still has exuberant notes of tuberose and rose. Let's check the composition: lotus flower, peach, mandarin and melon, in the output; Freesia, water jasmine, clove and blueberries, in the body; Sandalwood, amber, vanilla, musk, praline and a touch of patchouli, in the bottom. Nilang is a fruit and floral bomb, the kind I have not felt in a long time, especially regarding the perfumes launched in the last decade. It is very common to see powerful female fragrances of the chypre and gourmand families. The fruity ones are usually more diurnal and airy. But Nilang goes against all this and it's stunning. The first time I tested, I immediately thought: "peach, peach and more peach." When it touches the skin, the nuance of peach is juicy and balanced by the aquatic content of lotus flower and melon. It could go wrong, but it's perfect. Then, as it evolves, floral nuances of jasmine and freesia are more present and impart a velvety content to the perfume. The projection is absurd and the evolution is slow. When you think you are no longer exhaling, comes the surprise: the base is dense and woody rather than sweet. On my skin, sometimes, it smells like damp wood. And to get even better, it lasts for more than ten hours. Undoubtedly, Nilang is a gem amid the crystals of Lalique.

Is it the lotus or the clove note? I can't tell but something in this perfume didn't work well at all on MY skin unfortunately 🤷 It's not a "hate" but a "dislike". I bling bought it cause I love patchouli and was curious to try something with lotus in. I'm willing therefore to sell it to someone who appreciates it more instead of having it standing here in vain. It's also not "safe" to gift it in my opinion otherwise I would have given it to somebody. So if anyone wants it, let me know. I'm located in Europe and the perfume comes together with a full tube of body lotion. By the way, I read some people finding it similar to the Angel by Thierry Mugler. Personally, I don't find any similarity whatsoever. The only thing I can say is that it is as unique and unusual as Angel is. UPDATE: I don't know what's going on with my nose but I catch myself loving perfumes that I used to dislike and not tolerating others that I thought I love! I was about to get this perfume ready to be posted on Marketplace and other websites for selling and gave it one last try as a "goodbye". I was shocked! A BEAUTIFUL and -unusual from everything else- fragrant aura surrounded me and soothed the depths of my sinuses and soul! I felt so glad that I didn't sell it and gave it a last chance and it's now one of my favourite perfumes! So beautiful & elegant, feminine, not "silly", fresh & warm and exotic & classic and airy & watery. Wow! What a treasure ☆ I'm so glad that I kept it!! ^_^ It never ceases to amaze me how differently our noses interpret fragrances in different period of times ♡

This is definitely worth picking up if you're looking for something fruity, strong and durable with personality. I don't like saying "not for under 30s", but in this case, just "mature" might be a bit flat. This scent is a little bit soapy from freesia, and while I can't find any animalic dimensions here, the ripeness of the fruits, especially the melon, combined with the patchouli makes the scent a bit dirty like animalic, reminding me of some vintage shows. The scent is not so fresh or "uplight" and can easily become overpowering too. Still, I preferred to use this in the summer, it also has a nice body of aquatic and the heat makes the scent open up beautifully. Neither I wouldn't compare this too much to Angel, this isn't a playful licorice scent, although the patchouli after the drydown is quite similar. The drydown also reminds me somehow of Guerlain's Black Perfecto too, but without that licorice. All in all ;as much as I love this scent, I'm glad to leave my bottle until next summer. Bye.

This baby deserves more attention. I like it a lot. Starts with the sweet smell and slightly musky scent, of a ripe fresh juicy cantaloupe melon. Quite rare note, I would say. And the smell lasts for a while. Then comes the patchouli and flowers. Dry down resembles to Coco Noir. But who cares? I will wear it with the pleasure anyway. So special! Soft and whispering. Powdery and slightly sweet. I love Lalique fragrances – so well balanced. Dreamy and perfectly beautiful! Have fun with it - no matter which season of the year!

Review is for the current version. I really like this! The silage and longevity are very good! And that's important to me. But of course that wouldn't even matter if it didn't smell good. But this does. It's very fresh and feminine. Very pretty and unique. I don't think I have anything else that smells like this. I think it's enchanting. Also, regarding the comments saying it smells like Angel. Hmm. Not in my opinion. If I did compare it to Angel, it might be 50% similar. But not enough to say it smells like Angel.