White Linen (1978)
by Estée Lauder

Old fashioned, aldehydic and a very synthetic mess, White Linen is too high-pitched for its own good.

For a better (and much cheaper) alternative, just double the amount of fabric softener used in your laundry washes…

With its hair singeing blast of soapy aldehydes, White Linen has got to be one of the world’s most instantly recognizable perfumes. (Others include Angel, Fracas, and Chanel No. 5.) It’s also one of the most aptly named. It’s so thoroughly bleached and laundered that no hint of dirt, color, or organic matter clings to it. Hence White Linen is the ultimate in anti-sex, a chemical chastity belt of impenetrable strength. I myself have always found it harsh and vinegary, and can never quite disassociate it from women of a certain age. On the other hand, it is unique, and in its soft, powdery tonka bean and sandalwood drydown, even beautiful.

Ironically, were colored blue and labeled “_______ Sport” I could imagine White Linen appealing to the same men who try to obscure every trace of mammalian masculinity from their skin by wearing scents like Dolce & Gabbana’s Light Blue or Acqua di Gio. That said, I do not enjoy it one little bit.

Soapy but rather stale, like the scent of the discarded rinse water after you're done with the laundry. WHITE LINEN may deserve some accolades for its rather unique yet polarising character but I honestly would rather not smell it on any woman. Nevertheless I applaud Sophia Grojsman for this 1978 avant-garde creation of hers and take my hat off to anyone else who has the guts to wear it.

This fragrance stinks! There is nothing nice about this scent! Smells like floral pee!

Another classic that deserves the label because of its groundbreaking status when it was introduced… White Linen is, in a way, remarkably modern considering its date of introduction. It’s labeled an aldehydic floral but I’m not sure that the name applies. While it does have aldehydes in abundance, it doesn’t smell flowery. Primarily what I get is that piercing soapy “texture” that is the hallmark of the fragrance’s reputation: something I would call “laundry redolence.” It’s a disguised white floral / amber / cedar texture that is attractive in the sense that it’s hard to get tired of it, and, while the fragrance is not actually “clean” in itself, it does remind me of an atmosphere of cleanliness. Later in the development I get a pleasant light rose note that is not at all obtrusive, although its softness does properly place the fragrance in the feminine ranks IMO. That rose note is the only floral note that I can pick out individually.

White Linen is one classic that really hasn’t traveled the path to obsolescence… that is… unless it is applied too liberally. It is entirely too strong if used with a heavy hand, but used lightly, it is fresh and charming. (Edit of 17 October 2008 review.)

If you don't like the outburt at the beginning of White Linen, give it time. Good thngs come to those who wait. After half an hour or so, it softens. The fragrance retains a certain sharpness throughout, but cushioned within those lovely floral notes. The bath and body products might suit people who find the perfume to strong. Undeniably, this is a fragrance of great character.