Lolita Lempicka (1997)
by Lolita Lempicka

The anise accord that opens Lolita Lempicka is at once less cloyingly sweet and better balanced than that of its masculine counterpart, as good an argument as any for the motto “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The scent moves on in a spicy-sweet, woody oriental direction that I find just too dry to qualify as truly “gourmand.” (A good thing, mind you.) Part of the appeal in this central accord is an almost peppery kick that derives from the juxtaposed anise and woods.

While much is made of Lolita Lempicka’s being a gloss on the original Angel, I don’t feel it has the same gaudy, overbearing, and borderline-crass character. Not that Lolita Lempicka is subtle, but it doesn’t hit me like a freight train, as Angel often does. What accounts for the difference, I suspect, is the absence in Lolita Lempicka of Angel’s stupendously lewd, rank patchouli note. The comparatively civilized blend of woods that Lolita Lempicka offers in its place makes for a much more comfortable, if perhaps less startlingly original, scent. By comparison, Lolita Lempicka is also more spicy and less sweet than Angel, which goes a long way toward making it convincing as a unisex scent. I would certainly much sooner wear this than the crude, bombastic boys’ version. The peculiarly nutty vetiver, vanilla, and soft wood drydown is likewise superior to the slobbering, gap toothed woody amber mess that closes out Lolita Lempicka au Masculin.

This one smells like a freshly popped Dr. Pepper. I love all Lolita Lempicka ones I've tried. They are high quality and long lasting.

This fragrance is currently under review.

The bottle is very pretty, but I find the perfume extremely sickening.

I used to rave about it, but after 2 weeks of wearing it, I started feeling strong nausea and vomiting sensations, and headaches whan smelling it. I washed at high temperature every single clothes items than smelled a bit like it.

I am convinced that if I spray on my wrist ans smell it, it can really make me vomit. It makes me sick to smell it from the little apple sprayer even.

Awful... I have no ideea how I could like this once...it's awful!

Lolita Lempicka

Notes: Ivy Leaves, Aniseed, Amarena Heart, Violets, Iris Roots, Vetiver, Tonka Bean, Vanilla, Musk (from sephora.com)

Lolita Lempicka is absolutely delicious upon first application--it is difficult to resist an accord of chocolate, caramelized sugar and licorice which is actually dry and a bit crisp, miles away from the typical heavy, sweet and edible vanilla gourmand. The foody notes are supported by green fruit and herbal notes which amazingly seem to evoke the sense of garden freshness and bitter roots with what are obviously synthetic ingredients. The base buzzes along on a big cloud of Iso E Super, but this is one composition where the Iso E works as a team member rather than a cheap one-dimensional filler. In the drydown, LL bears some similarities to Bulgari Black...makes sense given LL is composed by the same perfumer. LL has the same edgy vanilla-musk accord which makes BB stand out from the vanilla oriental crowd. Despite being marketed to women, I find Lolita Lempicka to be solidly unisex. LL is one of those stand-out fragrances that everybody should experience, even if you never consider adding it to your wardrobe.

I am still discovering this scent, so will write more when I've figured it out. :)
To me, it is sweet and spicey, very comforting. Strangely Im not getting the licorice note, but instead a deep fruity powdery musk, which is gorgeous! Dry down reminds me a lot of the original Anna Sui. Powdery and purple, not sexy but something to feel deliciously comforted by. As someone said, you may want to eat your wrists, that is of course after nuzzling into them like a cat with catnip. :)

Edited to add: I love this one even more, and have figured out why. This actually makes my mouth water. I don't think any other fragrance has done that.