My mother had an obsession with fragrances since she was raised in a perfume making family in the South of France. She would collect perfumes and save them in a freezer she had in her basement. No joke. She taught me that light and heat are the worst enemies of fragrances so she stored all her trove in the freezer. Even when she used a bottle, it was in the refrigerator wrapped in aluminum foil to keep light away. Her perfumes that were in pour bottles would never have air in them to form oxidation. She learned from my uncle who taught her how to put in tiny stones, like the gravel in fish tanks, in the bottles so the perfume volume would go up to the top, eliminating the air gap. It really works since she has a perfume bottle of Diorissimo from 1980 that still smells just as fresh lily of the valley. She also has two original bottles of Lou Lou from the 1980s. The smell is really strong. I remember it was one of those fragrances that you either loved or hated. It reminds me of Joop for men. You either love it or ran for the hills. The joke was that it followed you no matter how far you ran. That strong..
I totally agree with you that the 80s and 90s potions were the most rocking and were/are signatures that you wouldn't mistake for anything else! To name a few...Samsara, Maroussia, Giorgio Beverly Hills, Jaclyn Smith California, New West for Her and Organza Indecence. In fact, if I could go back to a year of perfumery perfection, it would be 1989.
I agree 80-90s were good times for perfumes most of my favs is from that time frame. Rich, loud and some of the most interesting compositions happened.
Vintage is always the way to go! :) I hope you find it! The reformulation thing really disappoints me. It makes me wish I had purchased all these fragrances when I was in my teens but...ah well!
My first perfume that I was bought in the 90s....it was a flower bomb,you could smell it from miles away..it was a force if you were brave enough to wear it,(which I did at school) you left a trail.now I'm 45 I thought I would try the reformulation,to bring back all those memories.i was gutted,I'm not sure what was done to this over the years but it smells nothing like I remember,there's a tiny familiar burst and then it turns into a poor substitute, now I'm hunting th Internet to find my vintage.😒
Thank You kindly Ouch110 for your review of the contrasting now vs. vintage scent. I have ordered a bottle of the 90's version of the Eau de Parfum and can''t wait to get a bottle of it before it was reformulated to it's current juice, I presume. Hey just a holler but I have seen the original vintagesold by some of the European perfume shops on EBAY. I was able go get mine from a shop located in Spain. Thanks again Ouch110 for your review!!
Can’t beguin to tell you how much I relate to your review . Just wanted to share a lil story. This was my mum’s perfume , sadly she passed when I was 9 and I could never remember the name of it . I m now 35 and a couple years ago , I was rushing thru Charings Cross station when I passed by this lady and a world of emotions got to me . I really never felt anything like it . I chased the scent and found the lady . By then I can’t lie , tears were in my eyes. I approached the Lady, explained my story and begged her to share the name of the perfume. She was old enough to be my mum and also got emotional. She not only gave me the name but also pulled the actual bottle from her bag and gifted it to me. She said she had children my age and could only imagine the feeling I was having. That she was overjoyed to give me a memory of my mum. I was 32 and that scent pulled me in a way I can’t put into words. It’s been my scent ever sense. Sorry for the sob story but ever so real story.
makes me really sad so many gems get reformulated yet the prices are outrageous, if they gonna reformulate scents into cheaper smelling Perfume, the price should drop
Yes! :( It is a constant annoyance but, they have to do it by law. The price though...YES..I mean..if the quality has gone down they should definitely drop the price but..they never will. So frustrating!
ouch110 Fragrance Reviews yeah! I saw how the prices skyrocketed recently after reading about it in fragrantica! I was shocked that a single 3.4 oz is almost $200.00 USD! That's ridiculous!
I sold it and got a great knock off from ParfumsBelcam for peanuts. Well, under ten dollars a 1.7 oz bottle! I wonder it one can purchase Belcam in the U.K.?
My Mum loves this perfume, reminds me so much of her and nights when she went out with friends (which wasn't much really), and she was getting all glamed up and sprayed this, I just ordered her some for Mother's day since she hasn't had it for years, and it was very expensive, but she's worth it of course, I don't have access to it now and won't be able to because she's in Germany now, but I can almost smell it in my memory.
I wore it religiously before they stopped selling it in the states. The bottle is the same for the spray version, the art deco bottle you would apply the perfume with the stopper /wand. After LouLou I went to Dune by Dior then Cashmere Mist by Donna Karan. Currently, my signature fragrance is Scandal Wood by Heretic Parfume in collaboration with Dita Von Teese. They all share some similar notes, particularly sandalwood.
I had a small bottle of parfum bought in tht duty free by my mum in, I believe 88, and it was my intro to what became my favourite scent. I recall the parfum had the pointy lid but my next bottle eau de toilette looked like yours. I still remember the smell, the first spray seemed to be wrapped in a delicious sherberty fizz of a scent. That may have been the vanilla and violet? Recently I wanted to introduce my daughter to it as she is 13, around the same age as when I first used it. Good job I asked for a tester. Unrecognisable compared to the original! I didn’t buy it. Why did they mess with it!
Is the tuberose camphorous and green like in Carnal Flower or is it bombshell boxum blonde Fracas style? I like Tuberose if it's rendered in an earthy way. Serge Lutens Tuberuese Criminelle is a favorite of mine and also I thoroughly enjoy Mandy Aftel's Cepes & Tuberose. Both are full bottle worthy IMO!!
I haven't smelled Carnal Flower before. But I have smelled Fracas...hmm...interesting question. LouLou is an abundance of things that swirl around like a typhoon! I would say the tuberose in it is a bit like Fracas. I personally like my tuberose like the tuberose in Michael Kors or Do Son by Diptyque, the kind of lighter greener version. I really do feel like there are two kinds. The kind that's in this is the heavier richer kind. But there are so many other notes going on like smoke....mint...woods..that..it just kinda needs to be smells. It's just VERY 80's! :)
Hi hope you're well my lou lou came, it's very 80's or early 90's I wore it today I liked it and it's very interesting after about five hours for me personally it's at its best sweet and insencey, but tonight I'll be wearing Estee Lauder spellbound one of my favourite perfumes ever xxx
Jennifer Boardman Yes the opening can be a swirling mass of too many things, but after a while when it gets into it's stride, the smoother tones really make it smell awesome. It's not for everyone and it's also one of the perfumes I get most scared about spraying on but, it's always fun to wear. :)
Thanks! I'ts a very tricky one, one of the ones that makes me a bit nervous but I love it all the same. It's all about confidence. Wear a little bit first!
Eden is bloody beautiful,a girlfriend of mine was wearing something that blew me away i asked her what the hell she was wearing and she said Eden,so I immediately went out and bought it...beautiful patchouli bomb.
Did they dare touch Lou Lou.,how dare they😡I wore this fragrance in the 1980s and u would think it was made to capture my essence in a perfume many people said so.ibeen meaning to purchase this again and I will the ORIGINAL only!
Love your vid, crazy bout Lou Lou. Im all for loud scents like Boucheron , Lou Lou & Bijan. Im sure you have come across Volupte by Oscar De La Renta, another flower explosion.
Vintage and modern 50 ml. bottles look the same, but the inner cartoon of the vintage box is maroon and looks higher quality than today's plain white. The bottle with pointy lid was for vintage 100 ml. splash and parfum bottles.
I will have to find some and smell it. A lot of perfumes from the 80's and 90's were so strong that they made some people nauseous, I remember friends having issues when I wore poison or auromatic elixir. My Mom wore something called Emeraude...I didn't like it. Maybe these reconfigurations are due to that reason. I know these days strong perfumes are discouraged in public places such as hospitals. I still love my auromatics elixier, I do find it a little strong, my son finds it overpowering, so I try to use a tiny amount.
No problem. Cabotine is a very good perfume, its top notes are very strong, if you survive the beginning of the fragrance, you'll feel a great green floral smell... a classic from the 90's :-) I do enjoy your reviews, greetings from Rio!
+Jacqueline Muniz I've heard lots about it. It's the one with the funny lid right? hehe. I like green smells like Eden etc so, I may give it a go. Poeple compare it to Poison Tendre which I like so, I'll give it a go! :)
I just bought it again after so many years (I used to wear the vintage one with the dropper) and I do not like the reformulation at all. To me, it does not smell like the original at all. The strong plum is gone which to me, was what it made so appealing to me. It also has a strange dry down smell. I'm really disappointed and will not be repurchasing again,
I came across Conubia by Penhaligon's that smells almost the same.I'm pretty sure you have a better nose than me and you could say a difference ,but for me they're identical. As much as I wouldn't like that,but it's actually the only fragrance that gives me headaches - I don't know why,because I love it. xoxo
I have a question if someone can help, if you love Black Opium would this be a good blind buy? I want to try it but I haven't seen this anywhere around me . I didn't see it at Macys. Thanks and love to everyone!
As a rule of thumb, there are no safe blind buys unfortunately. Lou lou is DEFFO not a safe blind buy and also nothing like Black Opium. BO is an extremely sweet gourmand syrupy perfume and this one is a full on white floral incense in a huge 80's style, almost opposite end of the spectrum.
Reformulations are made when sales dropped and they need to adjust the perfume to the changed taste of the masses or because of some new regulations forbidding partially or completely certain key ingredients or processes
This was my mother's signature perfume in the 90's. It was... There's no words to describe it, it was just so good. I have bought myself a bottle of the new formulation and it's not as strong or powerful as it used to be. Still nice, but.. I'm a bit sad about it.
I think this is one of the perfumes that the reformulation isn't SO terrible, not the same..but not terrible. I have the vintage bottle now and it's lovely. The new one is smokier.
@@ouch110 Thank you! I'm still not sure what I'm looking for, the version I bought had the original beautiful box, with a black square in the upper right corner, and it says Eau de Parfum, LouLou in blue and Cacharel under that. The square with the writing inside of it has a slim white border around it. Mine does not say "Vaporisateur" on it?
wildflower the cacharel logo should be in framed in an oblong shape. The newer versions just have the lettering with no frame. Like this item on eBay www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324222298160
