Inoui

Inoui is one of the most poetic and contemplative fragrances I have experienced, not only from the 1970s, but frankly in general. While its rooted in trends of galbanum-green and woody floral chypres that were de rigueur at the time of its release, Shiseido lends a certain quiet (not to be read as "weak"), melancholy sensibility, while also having an arresting, pure gradation of its elements. Sour, bitter, sweet, cool and autumnal, it elicits emotions in me. I wear this as the buzz of life is persistent, unyielding, but Inoui represents my strong need to detach for a while, to explore the spaces in between the sentences and the phrases. The world nags and demands, and Inoui is the Bonshō bell: it all stops and I carefully examine. The most forward accords are that of pine and juniper, the masculine yang, at first seeming stoic, but when under their boughs, have warm, protective hearts, and a compassionate embrace. These are paired with the yin of freesia, nurturing and affectionate, airy and light, reminiscent of coriander and some facets even reminding me of burgundy wine. This has me thinking of the metaphor that perfume can provide: that it represents this beautiful duality in all human beings. We all have different fractions, but there's no denying that we hold both. The conifers and freesia are underlined by a peach and myrrh that resembles the confectionary and the digestif of the undergrowth. Over time, it feels like a gauzy veil, a mist through tall trees, the scent of damp cedar amongst ripe humus and the knell of organic impermanence. The myrrh lingers, an abiding warmth, an anchor to earth in the cool air. A trail, like Kōdō, a thin plume of smoke, softens and stirs, undulating in an otherwise still space. Grief and joy, pain and pleasure, one always needs to other, especially to give birth to inspiration. How remarkable that one fragrance can suggest so much for me. C'est inouï!

Does it warrant the exorbitant prices online? Maybe. Does it innovate the green genre? Maybe. But why does something inspire ‘maybe’ and yet be well-loved? I think it would be the memories and the quality of those which are imprinted with the perfume. Great perfumes bring you to places just like when perusing a splendid book. Of the kind grandiose, understated, refined and as for this one we can call oriental laced with intrigue. It’s as if how Mitsy inspired and reminded the early decades of the far east. The lemons perturb the composition, offering a sour quality until its last gasp whereas the coniferous parts set the ambience. One where you walk along the mountainous paths of Sapporo while being allowed a gaze to the towering pines hazed by fog atop. It’s truly mesmerizing as the far eastern kick sets it apart from the high browed greens and chypres of yore. Peach offers a fluffy bed which you can discern midlife whilst myrrh and civet give it a warmth. Like a swordsmith hammering malleables on a snow-covered hill. If any it reminds me of the quality Eau de Givenchy has: dry and liquory but with hints of freshly snapped twigs and non-ripe fruit. Also to some extent Metal by Rabanne. I might be biased because I liked Nightingale, Feminité du Bois and Mitsouko especially in extrait. Wishing there’d be more Nippon inspired western perfumes... This is a mischievous green oni bottled.

If there ever was a perfect fragrance for autumn, this would be the one. I believe it's the pine needles note is what I find most enthralling. It isn't a sweet little wide-eyed girl scent but that of an energetic Powerhouse Woman of the 80's who knew where she was going and would climb mountains without complaining to get there. She was a beauty who walked with the brisk gait of confidence and would go nose-to-nose with the good ol' boys in the Board room. What a classic this one was, and how devastating it was when they took it off the market. It's a chilly scent. There's nothing soft or warm about it except the memories it leaves behind. It's all business. EL's Aliage is similar to this one but simply doesn't carry off the "class" that Inoui exudes. I stocked up on this when I could and have become a hoarder. It was criminal to discontinue this classic of classics. Long live its memory.

A man sold the stock of his grandfather's long-closed perfume shop, and lo and behold, it was my lucky day: 60 ml of Inoui, the scent completely intact. Not the least bit stale, or sharp. So I got a whole bottle in my possession, unopened, the packaging still in the cellophane, and in the box the 'leaflet' that came with the perfume back then. It immediately took me back to my teenage years. I didn't even pay that much for it by today's standards: around 150 euros. Compared to the astronomical prices they still charge per milliliter here and there, a bargain. My share is mysterious oak moss and cedar. And pine softened by peach. And yes, also an ethically questionable ingredient: civet oil.

I feel very fortunate to have found a vintage mini of this glorious perfume. It opens very green and herbal, then develops into a deep, smokey pine. Many pine based perfumes can come off too sweet or too masculine. This is neither sweet nor masculine. It is total gender neutral but remains clean and fresh, yet earthy and woody at the same time. Just like a Japanese forest. It is truly the best pine I've ever encountered. If you ever come across a FB of this, grab it with both hands, then inhale slowly....

Wow! Beautiful! Like being in my favourite of all places - the damp, rich-smelling, bush, early in the morning. All the trees, floor/earth/leaves etc..... Lovely green, woody, sharp, scintillating nature! I adore it! So alive! So ravishingly herbal, and smokey and lush. It's unique, and I can't believe my luck in having been given this by a very old and dear friend, who's had it for years, un-opened!! And kept perfectly! Oh swoon!!!

Discontinued! I remember this one so well, strong, intense like nothing else. I loved it so much and have never found anything close. It was a seductive fragrance that wouldn't let go. I wanted to wear it all the time, and then it was gone, discontinued. I mourned for this one. I'd wait in line to buy this one again. Just thinking about it makes me all emotional, sad and angry and hopeful that some day it will return.

This discontinued gem was my first "adult" fragrance (this and Zen). I don't remember how it smells exactly, but I think it is in the same vein as Zen original, maybe with a slightly sweeter vibe, and the pine note adding a sharp woodsiness not in Zen. I wish they would start making this sensational perfume again! (that way you wouldn't have to spend three hundred dollars on ebay to get a bottle)

Man-magnet when my Ex wore this to work, I can attest to that. We both worked in same place. Sweet myrrh prominent from top to bottom lending a truly powerful presence both in the perfume and the room. mild peach at the top and the greens and florals are blended well. If there is Civet it is not detectable. Truly mysterious ethereal (perfect word for this) scent.

This was my first 'grown-up' perfume, given as a christmas gift some time around 1980 and I've worn it sparingly ever since. It's a fresh, conifer type scent that fades quickly (on me) to a dense-but-not-heavy cedar and myrhh scent that hangs on gently for hours.

I got this when my mom was wearing Zen, and on a Shiseido kick. She gave me Inoui because I loved it. My bottle still has a bit left in it, and I wear it once in a blue moon, just to keep it on my mind.

Inoui is a forgotten gem of the 70s. The greenness and citrus fairly sparkles; and then the scent goes piney and woodsy and sits on a genuine cedar and myrrh base that feels warm and human and skin-like. There’s a floral heart that feels warm and sunny-yellow and yearning; it never fully overtakes the greens. Inoui is unique in being sort of a “middleweight” green chypre. It has the clean-green brilliance of Chanel No. 19 or Vent Vert, softened and mussed by herbs, conifers, and oakmoss, a forest-floor tonality that it shares with “dark” green chypres like Magie Noire, Mystere, Aromatics Elixir, and Niki de Saint Phalle. Inoui, on the other hand, is perfectly in the middle, neither pale nor dark, just wonderfully balanced and peaceful. Walking in perfect stillness through a pine forest in springtime. It’s not mentioned in the notes but the base has nontrivial vanilla. Vanilla + cedar seems to make a waxy-sweet, light ruddy-brown scent that somehow reminds me of old-fashioned waxed wood floors. (Yes, this is my nemesis the Royal Bain de Champagne Smell. It still can’t destroy Inoui’s meditative beauty.)

This is another I’m rating ok because it doesn’t feel very me, but it’s one my mom would wear a lot when I was younger. I’m at my childhood home right now smelling all her perfumes. It’s so funny I was telling her all about civet the last time I was home and she was so grossed out but this is super animalic. Animalic, medicinal, but feels fun and fresh and summery. This is also a very unique smell. Not sure if it’s because I have a unique association of it being my mom’s, or if it’s because she is very unique.

I wore this and loved it back in the early 1980's. I have not smelled it in years but it is one fragrance I remember as distinctly sensual, warm, very sexy and I've not found another to match it, though Bal a Versailles comes close. I recall a smoothly blended, warm and absolutely intoxicating fragrance, aromatic with the lemon, pine, galbanum and myrrh coming most alive for me. I returned time and again to the Shiseido counter at Macy's (then Davison's) for more. Time marched on and changed, and so did I. I abandoned Inoui in favor of a new obsession, Quelques Fleurs (which I do still love as well). Upon joining Fragrantica, I searched for Inoui and was dismayed to discover its discontinuation. Why is it that we most want that which we cannot have? For seven months now I have thought about it and tried to find a perfume that could exactly replicate this. Alas, there could only ever be ONE Inoui. Imagine, then, my absolute delight when, while looking at decants available on The Perfumed Court website, I happened upon Inoui! Yes, it is available there and expensive but I ordered a 1.5ml spray vial of it. The largest size available is 8ml @$101.94. Which I am sure I WILL order in the near future. These are advertised as genuine vintage Inoui and I am ecstatic that this fine fragrance has not disappeared from the face of the earth. I will update when I receive my decant. Edit 7/15/2015 Oh no - what has happened to my nose? With bated breath I awaited the coming of my vintage decant and upon its arrival I eagerly opened it, ready to inhale at last that fragrance I once loved so well. And it was not a happy reunion. Boo! It is a sharp, pungent pine interspersed with notes of nothing else that I can detect. It smells like a Christmastime air freshener which in and of itself is not unpleasant, but it's not how I wish to personally smell.

Oh I miss this perfume! Inoui was also my first adult perfume, well actually my high school sweetheart bought me this when I was in 11th grade! What a thoughtful gift it was. I don’t know how he found it or how he decided this would be a great gift for me but boy was he right. I don’t know what started me thinking about it but I’ve always liked the Shiseido face creams and their eye cream. I recently replenished my eye cream and then I suddenly remembered Inoui. It’s a lovely perfume. I remember feeling so sexy and adult wearing it. I really enjoyed reading these reviews. They are bringing back a lot of memories for me. I too am sad that they discontinued it. I wonder if the perfumers if they ever read our reviews. Why don’t they try to bring things back that we love?. Anyway it’s been nice to remember this beautiful scent. It’s a lovely perfume. I remember feeling so sexy and adult wearing it. I really enjoyed reading these reviews. They are bringing back a lot of memories for me. I too am sad that they discontinued it. I wonder if the perfumers if they ever read our our reviews. Why don’t they try to bring things back that we love?. Anyway it’s been nice to remember this perfume. Online I saw some promotional pictures that were associated with this perfume and they were wonderful ads. The picture of the woman with that beautiful red dress, if that’s what it was. I always loved that beautiful dark red, pulsing with life, passion and energy. That’s what also drew me to this perfume. Looking at the bottle, looking at that picture. Perfume is indeed a love affair!

Update on Inoui! I found a brand new, unopened bottle of Inoui (for a HUGE price) and decided to purchase. The bottle & box were pristine with the little information leaflet included to my complete delight and just as I remembered when I received my first bottle of Inoui as a junior high schooler! But.... oh no! Once I sprayed the Inoui I felt like it smelled very syrupy sort of - definitely the scent I remembered but some odd note I don't recall. It almost made me feel sick to wear it- which is not the Inoui I knew. Maybe something was 'off', I am not sure. I was crushed!! But I still LOVE Inoui and just a spray brought me back to my Grade 8 Drama Class and all the happy memories! It is still a very unique gem :)

I agree with everyone. It was totally unique. I wore it in my 20's. I always got a bottle when I went to Japan. I remember the day which I got a big attention from someone who worked for IFF. He said it had a good projection, but not too big. He couldn't put his finger on this one, and was fascinated. Miss that top green note. Absolutely loved it. Then, trailing, gentle, quiet, floating scent which was almost like incense. It always made me to relax. I should probably write to Shieido to bring back this gem...

Inoui was my favorite perfume ever. When they discontinued it, I was heartbroken. I became obsessed trying to find out if they would bring it back. I called Shiseido's corporate offices. They told me they could no longer make it because of the "civet". I didn't even know what "civet" was, but I found out it was the musk of an animal. I searched for years to find a replacement for my beloved Inoui, and have never found anything to compare. It's nice to find others who remember the fragrance.

This was the first grown up fragrance I owned... back in junior high. Such a unique, gorgeous though 'cold' scent... there is still nothing like Inoui on the market! Prices on Ebay are astronomical for Inoui in any form. I imagine there are many others out there that miss and love this scent. I keep hoping I will stumble across some somewhere!! Absolutely adore Inoui.

I was lucky enough to pick up a bottle of Inoui, who knows how old, and it is lovely. It's a quiet, melancholic (in a good way, though) perfume worn just for myself on an overcast autumn's day. If it is a colour it is a cook blackish green and smells earthy, mossy, cool and damp. Lasts for several hours.

Such an unusual and extraordinary fragrance; cool, primordial, soothing. some smart forester/perfumer needs to get busy with the pine cones and needles.getting tired of having to rev up my scent memory to visit you Inoui. I keep pining away for you to return.

If I only could smell Inoui. Just once. Inoui, where are you! @ Thanks to dear fragrantica member Mufilia who send me a sample, I can say now that Inoui to me is warm, deep, gentle, spiritual and above all a fragrance I never ever smelled before.....

an old and small shop in Jakarta which only sells everything Shiseido still has many stocks of Inoui in 60ml and 8ml packaging. Price for the 60ml is 20 USD and 8ml..Free if you buy the 60ml. Love it...so green and mysterious.

This is a very extremely sharp strong perfume. One drop is all you need. I smell civet , chypre, vebena, redwoods, oakmoss, yling ylang, and vetiver. I have just listed my vintage bottle for sale on ebay today 11/07/2016.

Accidentally found out this one once. Totally agree with ingahoberg. No word to say, just melancholy.