Lolita Lempicka Le Parfum 2021

It's still pretty difficult to find this particular release in the US, but recently I come across an eBay seller who was selling mini-coffrets of a purse spray and lotion of it. It wasn't labeled as "Le Parfum 2021," but you can recognize it when you see it by the packaging. The packaging for this looks similar to the original LL boxes that are yellow with the white logo with gold "Lolita Lempicka" script inside, but this release will have "Le Parfum" underneath the LL writing. This is in contrast to the Mon Premier Parfum packaging that's white with the yellow ivy leaf logo with the LL script inside, and the 2020 "Original" release which looks like MPP but has "Original" on the box. Anyway, I bought the mini-coffret, and right after first trying the spray I pretty much immediately caved and tracked down a full bottle of this to throw my money at. I even promptly let go of my small bottle of original Pacific Creation LL (please don't crucify me). In my defense, I think the PC LL I had was on the verge of turning, and I wanted it to go to someone who would actually use it before it went bad. It was getting that strong alcoholic smell in the immediate opening, although otherwise it smelled just like it should. Le Parfum 2021 smells pretty much identical to me (minus the alcoholic opening, thank goodness). The only difference so far is that I've found Le Parfum to be not quite as long-lasting, at least on skin, but I'll have to test this out more. I never myself tried the 2020 "Original" release, so I can't tell you how it compares to this. And the much-maligned Mon Premier Parfum is just a different scent altogether to me. MPP is a good fragrance, honestly, but it's closer to Guerlain's La Petite Robe Noir than it is to the original LL, and it's mostly dark cherry on a spicy, even smoky base. It's bizarre to me that they ever tried to pass it off for the original LL scent, which is much heavier in violet and iris and has a more powdery quality. At this point, if you're in the US at least, it might actually be easier and cheaper to find bottles of actual Pacific Creation LL rather than buy this. But, it's great knowing that they've brought back the original scent and bottle almost exactly as it was before, and as long as Leslie-Leonor continues to produce Le Parfum, it will help to be a safeguard against the aging bottles and ever-inflating prices of Pacific Creation LL. Also, the bottle of this looks extremely similar and is about the same color as the actual original LL bottle. It's not nearly as blue as it's shown in some of the promo images.

Lovingly wearing a small sample I have until the last drop. I truly do LOVE it. No it’s not as magical as the OG (which I owned and used up), but it satisfies the craving I have for it well enough. It does carry strongly the DNA of the OG—the notes come together undeniably as LL. Anyone who knows LL, if they can manage to pick up your ethereal trail, they will pass by you and immediately recognize it. The only problem I have is longevity... there is none sadly with Le Parfum. Went out to dinner wearing it at 6:30 (sprayed right before I walked out the house) and by the time I left the restaurant 9pm, it was gone (2.5 hours max) and the scent even disappeared from my clothes. LL has always been an addicting scent. You just want to keep sniffing your wrists and enjoy your scent bubble. But in this case to keep enjoying it after a few hours, I would have to keep reapplying. Le Parfum is more costly than Mon Premier, and at its price point and longevity it’s just not practical. I would literally empty a bottle so fast... The OG was remarkably a beast! I would love to see the brand reformulate with improved lasting power because at this rate it’s doing itself, this gorgeous fragrance and it’s legacy, and its customers a disservice. As of now, I have ordered a bottle of MP to compare to Le Parfum. I will update my review once I can test side by side. I have also scored a vintage bottle of the OG, and am waiting for its arrival too. 💜

I’m gonna be completely honest, I know there are many versions of this scent, they all smell the same to me. (I don’t count flankers like Mon premier etc, I mean only versions of the OG) A lot of people mention it’s different from the old original but I don’t detect it. I had the old one few years ago, so I can’t smell them side by side, but this version is perfectly fine to me as a full replacement of the old one. I LOVE the Lolita Lempicka vibe, the bottle is absolutely gorgeous, and I got the gift set with a teeny tiny 5ml apple bottle and it’s so stinking cute I wish I could include pictures here. The smell is mysterious, witchy, interesting, strong, and I would say quite unique, despite the age and fame of this scent, I don’t think I have ever smelled it on anyone else ever here. I mostly detect Anise, Cherry and Liquorice (well duh, right?) Simply what you see is what you get. The design goes perfectly with the scent, and I think this perfume is for a bit specific group of people, definitely not for everyone, definitely not a crowd pleaser, and definitely not a safe blind buy or gift for someone who didn’t try it.

Purchased as a blind buy and I’m in love! I made sure to get the 2021 version, as I saw it named as the most similar to the original version. It feels soft, sweet and ethereal. I get both the cherry and the anise on the initial spray (though it’s not a very loud cherry, just a touch of fruity sweetness), the slightest hint of violet (which I’m grateful for; I love background floral notes but don’t care for them dominating a fragrance), and it’s becoming a quiet licorice on the dry down. My only concern is with longevity and sillage. It seems intimate (but so many frags are on my skin) and I’m interested in seeing if friends can notice it on me later. LL puts me in the same place as ELDO’s She Is an Anomaly, even though they’re not similar compositions. Both just feel so cuddly. Edit: Received several compliments in the immediate hours following my first sprays, so thumbs up for sillage. Unfortunately I can’t smell it on my skin or clothes after about 2 1/2 hours. So sad, because I loved it! Might need to explore frags with similar notes but better longevity. Still, no regrets on this blind buy.

The bottle is like an enchanted apple, and I remember how, as a child, my hands were always reaching for its golden stem. Mesmerizing. My mother had the 1997 version and, I think, it smelled very similar to the 2021 release - though back then, of course, it was the bottle that enchanted me most. I’m nearly in tears with happiness that it was reissued and is now mine: a true treasure. That fantasy quality, that soft vintage charm of the bottle, is present in the fragrance itself. It smells of violet powder, cherry, licorice and anise - and there's something timeless about it: a little girlish, a little witchy. A fairy tale for grown-up girls. Though I don't associate it with the delicate fae maidens from the ads, the scent itself is still sweet and dense. To me, it's more a girl who has slipped away from a ball into an enchanted forest - in a lavish gown, with tousled curls, straight out of a Gothic English tale. Compared to Mon Premier, Le Parfum has more violets and spice, and less sweetness and praline