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Guerlain Liu and Guerlain Vega: your advice, please

post #1 of 22
7/21/12 at 10:23am
Thread Starter 
A read through the reviews and threads indicates that perhaps Vega is the overall favorite and people mention Vol de Nuit often when referring to it. VdN is not one of my favorite Guerlains as it has no "lift" to my nose and smells quite flat (although a very beautiful and high quality flat) - I prefer Philtre d' Amour, Eau du Coq, Tokyo, and Chamade. Might Liu be more my preference?

Those of you familiar with both Liu and Vega, would you please compare and contrast? which do you prefer and why? I'm looking for a vintagey, womanly fragrance and got entranced with aldehydic florals after wearing Rive Gauche, which I think is glorious! Thank you for the help!
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post #2 of 22
7/21/12 at 12:35pm
Liu. I once had a sample of Liu parfum handed it to a Chanel sa. She swore it was No5. I cannot wear No5 but Liu is a little more powdery and not so plastic like on me. If you like Chamade and Rive Gauche then it has to be Liu. No sure how the modern Liu actually compares to the one I own in the 90mls size?
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post #3 of 22
7/21/12 at 2:34pm
I have both they are quite similar both sharing an aldehyde opening along the lines of Chanel no.5 however Liu drys down to classic Guerlain Powdery vanilla whilst vega has much more of a gentle amber base. To be honest you cannot go wrong with either of these as they are both classy and beautiful fragrances.
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post #4 of 22
7/21/12 at 2:55pm
Thread Starter 
Donna - I also cannot wear No. 5, particularly the EDP. Joe - your mention of amber pretty much seals the deal. Liu it is - going to get a sample...thank you for your help!
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post #5 of 22
7/24/12 at 9:04am
Please try Liu, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
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post #6 of 22
7/24/12 at 2:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

Please try Liu, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

What he said.
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post #7 of 22
7/24/12 at 7:59pm
Your post got me to try both Vega and Liu at the Guerlain boutique. Another vote for Liu - I thought it was fantastic. It is a bit similar in parts to Chanel No 5, although I would never confuse them. Vega did not work for me at all. Neither did Sous le Vent. A shame. But I loved Liu.
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post #8 of 22
7/25/12 at 9:34pm
Mhmmm, I like them both, but maybe lean a bit towards Liu
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post #9 of 22
7/26/12 at 11:27pm
Thread Starter 
mike perez, atsu, classics lover, and arwen elf: so it's unanimous! The samples arrived today, so here goes....!
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post #10 of 22
7/27/12 at 12:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by seattlelight View Post

so it's unanimous! The samples arrived today, so here goes....!

Nope! I much prefer Vega, although I must say I have only got to know Liu in the vintage EdT (did nothing for me) and the vintage extrait (truly special, but so not Guerlain and Chanel is mostly not my style and thing). Vega - I find sexy, rich initially with an overload of ylang-ylang even creating a leather-like vibe on my skin. Sillage is strong initially, but it quickly dries down to a moderate or low level. Here's the fault, so to say - longevity and sillage are eventually moderate only, so spritzing merrily and going out 20 minutes later is the way to do. Vega is still Guerlain and the ylang-ylang dominance brings it slightly into Bois des Iles or Cuir de Russie Parfum territory for me. Vega always almost prompts a positive comment when I wear it, just to add here.
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post #11 of 22
8/21/12 at 10:21am
I just heard last week from the mgr of Guerlain in Las Vegas that Liu is officially 86ed, D/C ed, or otherwise slated for destruction...so add that to the pile along with Sous Le Vent and Vetiver Pour Elle and all the other ones...
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post #12 of 22
8/21/12 at 10:25am
Guerlain is releasing Liu powder in the 2012 Holiday collection. Remember last year is was Vol de Nuit? So it will look like the classic Liu vintage bottle but be a powder with a balloon puffer. I have actually seen the photos on a beauty blog.
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post #13 of 22
8/21/12 at 10:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fleurine View Post

I just heard last week from the mgr of Guerlain in Las Vegas that Liu is officially 86ed, D/C ed, or otherwise slated for destruction...so add that to the pile along with Sous Le Vent and Vetiver Pour Elle and all the other ones...

I'm shocked. I had a fairly long chat with the SA in Paris about Liu a few weeks ago and he gave no indication it was about to be discontinued. I knew I should have bought another bottle as backup. Maybe not too late...
Thanks for the info, Fleurine.
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post #14 of 22
8/21/12 at 12:15pm
This makes me wonder even more what the status of Vega is.
Well, my feeling with Guerlain is that some know more than others (that's called 'internal communication'). I have an email address in case someone wants an 'official statement' regarding Liu.
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post #15 of 22
8/21/12 at 1:51pm
Thread Starter 
Anything the least bit refined that actually smells great has gone or is going away (Philtre - that STILL irks me, Vet pour Elle, Sous le vent, Mitsouko fleur de lotus never really made it out into the big world) and we're getting way too many variations on Shalimar. Rhetorical question: just how many variations of that sugar-amber water/alcohol mixture can people want? Are we up to five or six? Seven and still counting? (Original, Shal light, Eau de Shal, Ode, Initial, L'eau initial, I know I'm forgetting some....) A Shalimar for everyone!! woo hoo!! Okay, rant over.

Best to get some Liu and Vega while they're still around, apparently. I sampled both and am having trouble making up my mind!
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post #16 of 22
8/21/12 at 2:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by seattlelight View Post

...we're getting way too many variations on Shalimar. Rhetorical question: just how many variations of that sugar-amber water/alcohol mixture can people want? Are we up to five or six? Seven and still counting? (Original, Shal light, Eau de Shal, Ode, Initial, L'eau initial, I know I'm forgetting some....) A Shalimar for everyone!! woo hoo!! Okay, rant over...

Amen!

You didn't forget any - however technically Guerlain also released five (5) other 'versions' of the original juice as Limited Edition releases with slightly different packaging/boxes and names: Eau de Shalimar Flower; Shalimar Charms edition & Eau de Shalimar Charms edition; Shalimar Fourreau du Soir and Shalimar extrait de parfum in Bacarrat quadrilobe flacon 2011 edition

My apologies in derailing the thread. Back to Liu and Vega...
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post #17 of 22
8/21/12 at 8:07pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

Amen!

You didn't forget any - however technically Guerlain also released five (5) other 'versions' of the original juice as Limited Edition releases with slightly different packaging/boxes and names: Eau de Shalimar Flower; Shalimar Charms edition & Eau de Shalimar Charms edition; Shalimar Fourreau du Soir and Shalimar extrait de parfum in Bacarrat quadrilobe flacon 2011 edition

My apologies in derailing the thread. Back to Liu and Vega...

Oh, yes - in those beautiful bottles, too. Makes me envious. My apologies to folks who collect all of the variations - I just feel kind of left out of all the fun!
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post #18 of 22
8/22/12 at 5:29am
The plot thickens.
I wrote to Guerlain Paris asking for confirmation that Liu is being discontinued. Here's the response:

Monsieur,

J’ai bien reçu votre mail du 22/08/2012 et je vous remercie de l’intérêt que vous portez Ã* la Maison Guerlain.

J'ai le plaisir de vous informer que LIU de la Gamme Les Parisiennes est toujours disponible. En effet, ce Parfum n'est pas actuellement en cours de suppression.

Vous trouverez aussi des informations sur le site internet www.guerlain.com.

Je vous remercie de votre fidélité et de votre confiance en GUERLAIN.

Je vous prie de croire, Monsieur, Ã* l'expression de mes salutations distinguées.

xxxxxx
Responsable du Service Relation Clientèle.

So, it seems at least in Paris, Liu is still available and is not up for the chop.
Perhaps it is just in the States that it is being withdrawn (?).
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post #19 of 22
8/22/12 at 6:07am
Good news, G. ^^
I assume the second sentence is the stronger statement than 'toujours disponible'.
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post #20 of 22
8/22/12 at 6:12am
^ Yes. I should have included my own message, but it basically asked if they could confirm that Liu has been or is about to be discontinued. I guess she was responding to both parts.
Let's hope it is true !
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post #21 of 22
8/22/12 at 9:43am
Well that's good news. This is the email I got.

Hello --------,

You are correct ! On my new order form is says Lui is being discontinued...that must be the reason my orders have been so sporadic.

Just wanted to let you know...

Have a wonderful weekend!
Jorganne



Jorganne Magness
Store Manager
Guerlain
The Shoppes at the Palazzo
702-732-7008 boutique
702-732-1008 fax

So maybe they do d/c different products in the USA. Jorganne told me that she did not know of Sous Le Vent being discontinued, but Vetiver Pour Elle for sure is d/c. Basically, I stopped believing Guerlain PR after the Mon Precieux Nectar EdP/Parfum thing. I believe BN'ers much more than them.
Hopefully, Vega and Liu are safe, but I did pick up a bottle of Liu (at a discounter!?) to be on the safe side. I still think Sous Le Vent will start to disappear here, although who really knows...
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post #22 of 22
9/18/12 at 10:32am
I like Vega better...I mean, if you are going to wear a No.5 clone, and Liu is definately a No.5 clone (albeit beautiful in it's own right) then just wear the glory that is No. 5.
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Female Fragrance Discussion › Guerlain Liu and Guerlain Vega: your advice, please