Reviews of Un Lys (1994)
by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

I am learning that I don't care for lily in anything more than a supporting role. The first few stages of this perfume were OK, with the lilly supported and diffused in vanilla and soft musk. But pretty soon the other notes seemed to fall away and it was lilly, lilly, lilly. To my nose, lillies are shrill and overpowering. For someone who appreciates lillies, this perfume would probably be lovely.

First I must say that I don’t consider this as a unisex fragrance. To me utterly feminine scent.

Not that complex scent obviously but well balanced smoothness. Smells very natural and images of beautiful summer days run through my mind. Well made as usual when we are talking about this perfumer.

However, to me crisp and distinctively green qualities engaged with sweet and fresh lilies doesn’t smell that compelling or even especially pleasant. I have a hard time with these white flowers in general.

Not a fan.

I admit that I suffer from "Lily Love". Un Lys is a beautiful, lean, dry lily fragrance with moderate sillage & staying power. I would have liked more Casablaca lily and less lily of the valley, but this stark lily is a lily that I could learn to love.

I really do not care for this fragrance. It is lilly overload! Truly gag-worthy!

I got a healthy sample of Un Lys in the process of bidding on a miniature bottle of Parfum Sacre that was offered with it on Ebay. I had pretty much dismissed Un Lys since I don't care for floral scents. In the meantime I had ordered the wax Serge Lutens sample set from France which arrived before the bottle did. I spread the sample on my wrist and was immediatly smitten. All I kept thinking was that if Un Lys could smell that wonderful in a weak wax sample, I couldn't wait to smell the actual liquid. When it arrived I was not dissappointed. I tend to go for scents that are spicy, woodsy and smokey like Tabac Blond, Habanita, Fumerie Turque, but Un Lys is giving them all some real competition. There is something creamy and hypnotic about this scent. This is exactly why I've learned to never say "never" when it comes to Serge Lutens.

UPDATE: in hot, humid weather there is an underlying skanky note that's absolutely gorgeous! Un Lys is full of surprises.

Ah! The vagaries of body chemistry! I envy Shycat's and how it transports Un Lys into warmed lilies for her...one me Un Lys opens sharp, harsh and almost acidic. Green. I get no lilac or any of the spiciness of rubrims or Casablancas. I do detect (on me) Muguet and a melancholy bit of amber. It's a beautifully balanced scent - but for the headiness of the real thing I prefer Ava Luxe Lily. What can I tell you.

A later edit: none of the above is true in the summertime!! The voluptuous roundness Vibert mentions - being in a room enveloped in the fragrance of thos Casablanca.- now happens in heat!!

To much Lilly for me. I love florals and esp. white flower but there is something about this scent that makes me uncomfortable. Not for me.

Oh, I recognize this smell. Every once in a while I’ve encountered q taxi here in Taiwan where the driver displays a single huge lily in a vase on the dashboard. The ambiance of the taxi is an overwhelming lily smell and after five minutes, it gets too much for me – I have to crack open the window. Un Lys is the same smell, but Un Lys has the headiness – the extreme opulence – removed from the lily note, which brings the fragrance to a tolerable level. I don’t have to crack the window for this one. I don’t get the lilac that the others mention – I get lily. As far as I’m concerned, Un Lys is all about lilies – sort of like church on Easter Sunday except that this particular lily note is fuller, more luscious, more opulent and less sharp than the Easter lily. This is the tropical, the Oriental lily, but tamed just a bit so we can enjoy its linearity and its excellent longevity. Personally speaking, lily isn’t for me. About the only florals I love are jasmine, geranium (is geranium floral?) and carnation, and that’s near the extent of my floral passion. I certainly can leave this particular scent sooner than later, but for the lily lover, this has got to be THE perfect fragrance. Un Lys is undoubtedly an achievement of genius.

A lovely, crisp, white lily fragrance, underpinned by the driest of vanillas and cooled by some very subtle green notes. Un Lys is clear, simple, and transparent in a way that few Serge Lutens fragrances are. It was made by the same Christopher Sheldrake who gave us Sa Majeste la Rose and Gris Clair, not the other guy who did Arabie, Chergui, and Ambre Sultan. This Christopher should come out more often - his work is refreshing!

This is the only SL that works on my skin and I've tried them all! It's wonderfully elegant and dries down to a romantic floral softness that is so hard to describe...absolute gem!

If you have ever pressed your nose into a freshly bloomed stem of lilac OR a newly opened bloom on a spring Easter lily, taken an extra deep breath, and marveled at these spectacular creations of nature ~ you may have the same feeling after catching a whiff of Un Lys! This is by far the most accurate and perfect floral replication I've ever experienced - BREATHTAKING!

I like it very much. It's a very true to flower fragrance, and feels quite genteel. After five hours its leaves just a trace of vanilla musk. But it is pure true lily. I try to catch the lilac note others have mentioned but cannot find it, except to the extent that a lily smells like a lilac. This is not lily of the valley. This is an armful of oriental and asiatic lilies, with their six inch blossoms and deep throats warm from the sun. There is a sense of thick, waxy petals as well as sturdy green stems. The vanilla note is ever so slightly spicy. I can't call it sweet. I can't put my finger on why, but I think it doesn't call up spring but summer, and heat. There is also an airy feel, very fresh yet not cool or moist. It is refined. Not innocent, but well heeled. Pretty Woman at the polo match. Beautiful in silk and lip gloss. No stockings.

a most simplistic (in a minimalist sense of the world) floral fantasy - a creamy bouquet of romantic feelings and bohemian tenderness. A surprising Lutens but not less fantastic as any other Lutens

It is the most 'proustian' perfume I ever owned. A very clear and distinctable smell of lilacs, but fortunately without the stickyness, the real blossoms often turn into. Though claimed to be unisex, it might appear to feminine to some of the tough guys out there, but being bathed into this scent, a man should feel uplifted enough to look down on these retentions with a smile in his misty eyes.

The illusive lilac scent can truly be found in this juice. Jessica McClintock #3 comes nowhere close (dominated by lily-of-the-valley rather than the lilac it claims to represent). Un Lys is creamy soft, but a bit simple. I want to play with layering it. It's already sweet enough, so a pinch of something green or ... hmmm?

I have died and gone to heaven -(sex included though !!!)
This is the last breath of an angel dying in paradise.
Contrary to common opinion (that only praises his orientals)Serge makes fabulous florals! Words fail me...