Laura Ashley No. 1

I was having an email conversation with my mother about perfumes recently, and I asked her what she had within reach... among some of the real 80's stinkers like Poison, Red Door, and Opium, she had the Laura Ashley No. 1. I told her that she should hold on to it tight because its discontinued and can cost $350-$800 for a 3.4oz on the secondary market! Well, she said she never uses it anymore, and it is an original from the 80's... so she's bringing it to me next summer when she comes to visit!! yay! I'm very excited. Especially since I have not had the chance to test it yet! I like florals when they are done well, and it seems as if this one fits that. I'll update next year when she brings me the precious potion! If I hate it, I'll be throwing it onto eBay and buying my long coveted: Guerlain Elixir Charnel Gourmand Coquin!!!!!! (I almost hope I detest the stuff) Edit: Aug 3 2012: Well my mom brought the bottle, it is 1/2" from being totally full. This bottle is beautiful, and so is the box it came in. This is the most lovely fragrance. Will have to keep it. :D I agree that this smells like a flower shop, or a garden of fresh flowers. The gardenia is front and center on this, but not in a cloying way that gardenias can be sometimes. Not as green as I was worried about either. I don't know what oak moss smells like, but if it smells like Laura Ashley No 1, then I need to explore this note more!! The daffodil is the next flower I can identify, and this is what makes this smell like late spring to me, along with that fragrant hyacinth! This is really, really lovely. THANKS MOM!!

Ahhh.... The sophisticated smell of the early 90s, when Laura Ashley clothing reached their Zenith of fabulousness, long cream tennis skirts, beautiful v neck tennis jumpers, a blue straw boating hat... Hints of Brides head Revisited... private schools.... Long summers spent in gorgeous village cottages... This shop ooooozed sophistication back then too. You could indulge the Victorian look everyday without a shred of guilt... They had lace/fine crocheted cobweb scarves in a multitude of colours, it was a cave of fabulousness...we all took it for granted, it was literally felt we'd never lose it... Sophisticted and sparkling ..... No. 1, the ORIGINAL juice. Trust me, the original is in a similar vain to Lubin's Eau Neuve, which was also doing the rounds in any discerning drug store in Paris at that time. A sophisticated lemon scent with a gorgeous soft sexy base that lasted. If you didn't know it was Laura Ashley you'd swear it was a Jean Claude Elena scent, it's THAT good. Like all good things, they took LA away... and left us with underwhelming clothing, permanent sales and ghost like pieces of interior design, it, was a very very sad thing. And of course, with it, went the perfume too. If I had infinite funds, I'd ressurect LA and the original clothing & permues, I bet everything would sell out in two weeks.

I'm sure I have the new version. IF I have ever gotten a whiff of the vintage, I don't remember. Reviews made me leery of a purchase, but then I had nothing to compare it to. I have no fondness for oak moss, leading me to believe I might prefer it more than the vintage? I find this to be a Victorian garden full of flowers. It has an old fashion charm, and truly elegant. My review must be short because as it can only be stereotypical. But I approve of this new reformulation, and will enjoy it MOST, during the spring/summer, even though I've marked all four seasons. When does a flower just not smell good? I enjoy this immensely, on this gray, cold, snowy morning but will save it for when the Robins sing. I smell a bit of lilac and lily of the valley which do not appear in the notes. I smell no vanilla which does. I agree most with the hyacinth. It's very apparent and I admire it in this perfume. I love that this is still packaged the same. I think the creamy background might display the vintage more appropriately. White, although not near as nice, might be more reflective of this pretty reformulation. I'm so very happy to have this, and received a compliment from a very young lady, and two compliments from women not fond of floral scents. This is on my love list.

I discovered this beauty in my perfume stash. I'd forgotten I had it. It really does remind one of early 1980's, when Laura Ashley clothes were in fashion. I may have put this away as it didnt suit me at the time. I was then into Body Shop fragrances & the oils sold from big glass jars with glass sticks. Frankinsence, Amber and all the heavy fragrances were the ones I wore. LA NO.1 was the total opposite of the fragrances I wore. No.1 is a beautiful fragrance. I love the scent of Hyacinth blooms so this is a perfect, "bright" floral. Strangely, I sprayed no.1 on one arm and Avon "Today" on the other arm. They complemented each other beautifully. No.1 is so well blended that I could only make out the hyacinth but not the other individual floral notes. I couldn't smell any fruits. The drydown is beautiful.

I see a lot of complaints on here about it being completely changed. Being that I've never smelled the original, I can't even imagine how it used to smell. When my mom got a bottle of this and started using it, to me I thought it smelled like something released 15-20 years ago. So you imagine my shock when I saw it was released in the 80s. The early to mid 80's of all things. Part of it does smell a bit 80s because of the peach but then it starts to smell kind of light and summery and not 80s at all. Big hair and shoulder pads and pastels don't come to mind when I smell this. From a guys point of view I think it's a very decent fragrance. I'm sure the original version beats the daylights out of this one but until I smell it, I'd say the new one is very good.

Wooooow, what an amazing floral scent!!!:))) It shares one note with my beloved Pleasures but there's much more to it than this - it's a well-balanced fruity floral, most romantic scent for June endless days and evenings! It smells like a garden after the rain - that's the most general feel that I get from it, but the longer I sniff, the more wonderful fruity notes I get - peach and bergamot, a tiny bit of white currant maybe? The notes are so perfectly blended that none of them stand out. Maybe the rose and oakmoss (both of them I love), but they are not dominating. I get the notion that I've known this perfume ever since I remember, while I've only just tested it for the first time in my life!!! This perfume will be my good friend from now on, I guess:D

I had a bottle of No.1 when I was in my teens in the early 90 ́s, and it was one of my best-kept treasures as I absolutely adored this fragrance back then. It was such a lovely, ultra-feminine and sparkling floral with warm hints of vanilla, cinnamon and musk. It had an amazing staying power too, as the scent was still there after two to three days after I had sprayed it onto my clothes...that's why it took years to actually finish the bottle and its contents! And I do remember that the bottle and its package were so cute that I didn't have the heart to throw them away, so I used to keep them as decoration long after the fragrance itself had worn out.

I was lucky enough to receive the original Laura Ashley No.1 for my sixteenth birthday. She recalled wearing it when she was in high school, about thirty years ago. She told me about how the first formulation was much better than the new one as well. She was able to find the original scent online, and it was possibly my favorite birthday gift that year. Laura Ashley No.1 has a strong citrusy smell as well as it being very floral. To me, it is a lovely addition to a warm, breezy spring day. I will always favor Laura Ashley No.1 over most fragrances. I really hope the formula goes back to the original. This fragrance should be able to live on!

I always smelled it on my mom when i was little.I still remeber holding the bottle and stroking the floral engravments that didnt fade although i tried to scratch it so much.It had an awesome scent that i still smell in my head as if I never let go.I would kill to get this perfume back,how come laura ashley stopped this perfume although everyonewas begging it to come back?I havent smelled anything like it since.Ever.I would love to write a petition to ask them to bring it back.what a shame.what a loss that we cant find it anymore.beautiful and soft ,the perfect female woman.

Got a vintage bottle so can't comment on the new formula. Many of the new formulas are watered down/aldehyde versions of classics, but that's a different story altogether. Opening notes are definitely hyacinth, gardenia and what I thought was Lilly-of-the-valley which is not listed here?? Then it settles down and you can smell some sandalwood or musk perhaps. I prefer it in a cooler temroersture and will try it in fall too. I will also use it les s frequently as would like to hold on to it as long as possible ;)

A blind buy gone right! Laura Ashley products are pretty distinctive and high end. So it was a lucky break when I snagged a bottle of this beauty cheap. From the look of the (lovely) bottle I expected a light floral, nostalgic and feminine. LA No1 turns out to be a bright, fresh and completely unisex scent. Fruity notes resembling apples support the florals while a touch of spice and wood rounds out the composition. There's a hint of musk, too. LA No1 is beautiful and I'm so glad to have it.

Walking in a garden filled with flowers in spring. That is the impression you get if you smell this. One of the best flower fragrances I've ever smelled, it smells like fresh flowers. Very pure and soft perfume without the sometimes overwhelming aquatic scent. Fits everyone who likes flowers. I don't think they still make it, I would love to have a bottle of this again. Update: I purchased one on Ebay, a 30 ml bottle eau de parfum, the smell is still marvelous, I'll be very greedy on it!

My Mom loved tending her flower garden and also this perfume. She kept the pretty bottle for years. I searched forever for a replacement, even purchased similar fragrances, to no avail. Then, I found it! Although unable to play in the dirt anymore, she's back in her garden again. Thank you! Laura Ashley ♡♡♡

I have the vintage juice. This frag takes me back to the eighties when I wore those girly girl Laura Ashley dresses and the whole store smelled of this perfume. Although this is a time capsule it is lovely enough to wear now. Spring for the vintage.

I found an unopened bottle from years ago at the back of the bathroom cabinet. I knew that I loved it back then, but I'd forgotten how much. Light, floral and charming, it goes on as a lovely, little cloud, and makes me feel ten years younger.

I have vintage and it is all HYACINTH. Sweet and lovely sweetened by the narcissus and gardenia and deepened by the sandalwood and musk that are just support but not distinct. This is not an oakmoss chypre. It is a lovely sweet floral.

This was my very first fragrance. I probably bought it in 1990/91 when I was in 6th grade. I would love to get my nose on it now. I found a body spray and it smells nothing like the original fragrance. Extremely disappointing.

Just bought a vintage version and am delighted: it brings back warm summery memories from my youth. Unfortunately haven't been able to try the reformulation so am not able to compare...

Most incredible perfume ever. Eau de parfum is the best. I wear it to bed even when I am by myself! So sad it has been dicontinued!

My absolute favorite floral perfume.