Reviews of White Linen (1978)
by Estée Lauder

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.

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.)

White Linen starts off smelling strangely Avante Garde for something so well known and traditional. Intense, bitter, soapy, snuffed-candle aldehydes screech out of the bottle like the opening chords of Penderecki's Threnody For The Victims Of Hiroshima, smelling sharply alien and devoid of life, botanical or otherwise. Of course, White Linen would be unbearable if it stayed this way, and it doesn't, quickly shifting into something I can best describe as rose-water soap. It is exceedingly soapy all the way through its drydown, but not in an unpleasant or simplistic way. Probably the closest thing to White Linen's drydown is vigorously rubbing a bar of soap on your wrist, then adding the faintest dash of floral talc. It's a sexless, synthetic, inorganic smell, but really, it's very good at doing what it does - and for that, I applaud it.

THE best perfumed body powder for warmer weather ever - clean and sparkly all day long. I can't speak to the fragrance spray, but the body powder is a spring/summer HG product for me.

Smells good from the bottle and immediately when trying it, but the scent fades on my skin almost immediately.

Yuk!...this is awful. Like old granny style soap left in a drawer for 20 years. Not sexy...not anything...except a revolting brew of nastiness.Sickeningly bad!

This is one of those scents that is just perfect for a certain time and place...and is completely wrong for just about everything else! Perfect for wearing a sailor dress or sitting on a daisy-bedecked folding chair at a garden wedding. Just right for a girls' school baccalaureate or punch and cookies on the lawn at the yacht club.

In other words: any sexless WASP gathering in the summer months wouldn't be complete without White Linen's soapy brightness. It does feel out of place almost anywhere else, though!

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, Mitsouko, 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 it 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.

A true, American classic. A Perfume Legend.

How I wish that I could find the male equivalent of White Linen, but encountering this in any circumstance is a delight. The aldehyde and citric accord in the opening lends an incredibly taut feel to the early bars of this fragrance. The wonderfully energetic mid notes evoke scenes of Edwardian ablutions in sumptuous Manor House settings, with crisp starched clothes laid out for the day ahead. This is an olfactory sorbet, cleansing the palate, then providing new, fresh tones for your own edification. A masterpiece.

White Linen is a beautiful, crisp fragrance. I love it's bright character (thanks to the aldehydes). And strangely, about an hour into it, it slighty reminds me of a churchy incense--but I've never heard anyone else say that about it! I just think White Linen is an intoxicating fragrance and I love to wear it.

WL is horrid on me-- all aldehydes and soap. It took 2 1/2 hours for it to settle down into something I don't want to scrub off, and even after four hours I just plain don't like it. I'm pretty sure I over-applied, but even with that consideration this is not something I would ever enjoy.

My nose was awakened several months ago, just out of the blue, and I went from being indifferent (if not actually hostile) to perfume to being an avid sniffer of every scent there is. Before, I disliked having anyone "impose" their choice of scent on me, and found all scents registered the same. But with my new awareness I am overly sensitive to many wonderful nuances and subtleties, and can't help wondering what will happen next? (It might disappear as suddenly as it appeared.) Anyway I love White Linen, even though I did not expect to from what I had read about it, and the image I had of EL perfumes. But it is gorgeous, especially after it settles for a few minutes. It makes me feel beautiful and joyous. That said, I do not, and would not, wear it everyday. Just on glorious and wonderful days where everything is going my way!

Way back in the 1970s my mother got free purse-spray bottles of Lauder fragrances when she purchased her Estée Lauder makeup. She'd give these bottles to me. As a child, I was already fragrance-crazed, so being gifted with a Real Woman's Perfume was thrilling. Over the years I'd been given cast-off EL minis of Youth Dew, Private Collection, Azurée, Estée Super Cologne, and Cinnabar,etc. I loved having the little bottles, but it never occurred to me to wear any of these fragrances. I believed they were obviously for Older Sophisticated Women. I was 12 when White Linen was launched. I remember watching my mother test it by spritzing the purse-spray she'd gotten with her makeup. She crinkled her nose, and claimed it would give her a headache. I remember when she smelled White Linen on me, she was astonished at how pretty it was. "You wear perfume well," she said. I agreed happily. I was thrilled with White Linen. I thought it smelled like lilac and crisp green leaves. None of the familiar woman's fragrances had smelled so natural, and summery. I treasured my White Linen because it made me feel vivacious, and quietly elegant. As a scent, it was like wearing a white eyelet blouse, and fresh flowers in my hair. I think White Linen was the groundbreaking forerunner of many popular clean-floral fragrances, but it doesn't smell outdated to me. The aldehydes in the top-notes give it a timeless refinement, and add sparkle to the unique blend of flowers, and the dewy-yet-airy feel that makes White Linen a classic. If you like YSL Paris, Calèche, Clinique Wrappings, Calandre, and/or Nocturnes de Caron, you should not miss giving White Linen a test run.

Cheap and phony, like it's trying to be clean laundry or something, but didn't quite make it. Very strong and chemical like. This would make a great bug repellent. Really. It's quite potent. It dries down, but it just stinks awful. There's nothing clean about this.

a nice pleasant fresh fragrance. It's trully classic and you can not go wrong with this one.

I like the smell, but I don't use it everyday. Somehow, it's so classic that make me older when using this.

Clean, soapy, feminine white floral -- easily a Lauder classic. Probably a better choice for casual days -- very light, airy and soft.

I never wore this when it first came out; I didn't care for it then, but I thought I would try it again. White Linen smells like an old-fashioned aldyhydic floral minus the florals--soapy, cean, bright, and high-pitched. If I had to name any notes, I would say there is some nose-tickling carnation and dry cedar, but none of it smells natural to me. It smells like a chemical designed to nullify the scent of anything it touches. I concede that it does have the aroma of freshly laundered sheets, which is a good thing, but I prefer that aroma on fabric instead of skin.

Its a really nice classic. I agree with everyone else - fresh, clean, and easily wearable.

I remember for a long time, my mum just kept to her 9 precious perfumes, and never ventured away from any of them. They're all nice perfumes, but after 18 years, it got a bit much.

So for her birthday last year, my girlfriend and I went shopping to find three small to medium sized bottles of nice, classy, non-offensive, not overly sweet, and non-fruity perfumes, just to do something nice, give her a nice suprise and get her something different.

After 4 hours of shopping, we came up with three perfumes: Paris, Fragile and White Linen.

On her birthday, she, suprisingly, took immediately to White Linen, remarking how lovely and floral it was without being over-bearing and sweet, and how nice and clean it smelled.

Couldn't put it better myself.

(btw, her '9 precious perfumes' are Chanel No. 5, Joy, Je Riviens, Aromatics Elixir, Hypnotic Poison, Opium, Rive Gauche, Youth Dew and Shalimar - in addition, she now has, thanx to me, White Linen, Paris and Fragile, all of which she adores!)

I have worn this in the past and I do like it, though I preferred the parfum to the EDT or EDP. It definitely does its name proud and evokes freshness just about as well as anything could. I would give it a glorious thumbs up .... except there is a sharpness to it that becomes unsettling after it lingers for a while. And, as with all EL fragrances, it lingers strong for way too long a period of time. I do encourage you to try it, though. It may just be the reaction her perfumes have on my skin.

I have loved this fragrance since it launch which is a huge surprise to people who know about my passion for patchouli and dark fragrances. I feel this must be my alter ego making itself felt. This is so lovely and fresh and light that you could imagine yourself on a cool spring day, wearing blue gingham, a straw hat, sandals and sipping homemade lemonade on the banks of a river. Not an everyday fragrance for me by any means, but ideal when you want to occasionally act all girly and innocent(ish)!!. Surprisingly long lasting for such a subtle scent, and does have an amazingly calming affect on my mood.

A pleasant, fresh fragrance, but somewhat "single-minded" and dries down to a pure soapy finish on me - uninteresting.

ONE OF MY ALL TIME FRAGRANCES. IT SCREAMS "SPRING". A VERY CLEAN, FRESH AND LIGHT SCENT. LAYERS WELL. A MARCH TO MAY SCENT.

Sophia Grojsman's signature is all over this scent! Clean, crisp, fresh - NEVER CLOYING! She works magic with aldehydes. White Linen lives up to its' name. I also find the assorted bath and body products in this fragrance very nice as well. An Estee' Lauder classic that I will surely enjoy throughout my lifetime!

The only Estee Lauder frangrance in my collection. Classic, deep, bright, I can wear in all moods.

The aldehydes come out slightly soapy on me, and I adore the citrus-peach in the top - so bright and sunny. Overall a very clean, optimistic fragrance and I wore it faithfully through two consecutive whole bottles, an extraordinary level of devotion for me. :) I started smelling it on a lot of old women, though, and since I was so young I distanced myself from anything that appealed to the old. Maybe I should give it another shot.

I used to wear this quite a lot, and I always got compliments when I did. Nice, crisp, balanced, well-constructed, feminine fragrance, this one.

Haven't worn it in a long time, because my tastes and preferences changed, but I might resurrect it soon. I've got a mini bottle of it in my perfume drawer, and who knows? My fondness for this fragrance may be rekindled (sometimes you do go back to an old love, even after a breakup because you drifted apart...)

Every time I wear this people notice. It has a crispness that is also a fascinating non-floral. My only problem is that it wears off quickly and I seem to have to reapply frequently. At one time they had a perfume which I loved but I can't find it now. I never get tired of it. Winter seems to be my favorite season for this one.

Not too bad but not fantastic either. The Aldehydes have a major role here in giving this fragrance its allure. It doesn't really smell like white linen but that's not really important since it's an ok scent. Femenine and long lasting, it has a powdery feel to it as well.Not very elegant but it's nice.

This was my signature fragrance for six years! Bottle after bottle and two bath powders also. A true classic. Clean fresh white linen - it certainly is. Now yearn for a more sophisticated fragrance. Ormonde Jayne maybe.....

My grandmothers favorite perfume. It doesn't work with my chemistry, but beautiful on her. I do love the bath powder too.

A lovely, girly, summery fragrance. Good for the office.