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Hunting for adequate replacement to a discontinued beauty!

post #1 of 16
3/4/13 at 7:15pm
Thread Starter 
So much for a name.....came to find out Lys Bleu (Prince Henri D'Orleans - 1980) has no lys in it at all! I finally found the notes for this one from a French magazine from 1984.

So...my rough translation! Created to pay hommage to today's woman, refined, elegant, seductive, with the sensiblity of french prestige. A fragrance floral, green, chypre, at times deep and vibrant.

Top - a hint of black currant, verbena, rose of may (cultivated exclusively in Provence)

Mid - tuberose, ylang-ylang, exalted by several modern and original notes of honeysuckle and tuberose (mentioned again?) which gives the pulpy taste of apricot, held together by crocus and hyacinth, which relieve the bite of clove

Base- precious woods, grey amber, musk which convey all their power and sensuality

The scent was created using over 100 different ingredients (none being lily!)

Any suggestions from the expert noses out there to what could be somewhat comparable?
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post #2 of 16
3/4/13 at 7:58pm
Sounds like a good one.
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post #3 of 16
3/5/13 at 12:54am
Not having smelled this fragrance I cannot suggest an alternative. It sounds like any number of big white florals that were created at the time. I hope you realise that the description of a fragrance (written by somebody in the Marketing Department) often has nothing to do with what is in the fragrance. Reading the above description I can point out that there is no Lily extract used in Perfumery; no Crocus (do they have a smell?), no Hyacinth, no Honeysuckle, no Apricot. What exactly are "precious woods"? Can anyone tell me? Never heard of "Grey Amber"before, either. It's all a load of Marketing BS.

I hope someone else on Basenotes can help you find an alternative, sorry that I cannot.
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post #4 of 16
3/5/13 at 1:13am
May I suggest you try typing some of the notes into the Basenotes
perfume directory and see what suggestions that throws up.
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post #5 of 16
3/5/13 at 1:24am
Grey amber is ambergris, literally. As far as I know, some broad-leaved trees (e.g. oak, linden, ash) are called "precious woods", but when talking about perfume it's marketing speech of course, just as David Ruskin said.

In perfumery it's common to create fragrances that represent flowers that either don't yield essential oils that could be used, or don't have a scent. Flower by Kenzo is a recent example of the latter. It's not a realistic representation of any flower's scent but a perfumer's vision, just like all perfumes. Cheers for that
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post #6 of 16
3/5/13 at 1:51am
Of course "grey amber" is Ambergris, DOH!!
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post #7 of 16
3/5/13 at 11:33am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by kewart View Post

May I suggest you try typing some of the notes into the Basenotes
perfume directory and see what suggestions that throws up.

Didn't want to do the legwork.. Seriously now, since there are quite a few notes, and because I am relatively new at this (but learning fast!), I figured I'd throw it out there to see if anyone knew of a frag with a similar combination of notes, realizing that even that alone will only be a starting point in my search!
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post #8 of 16
3/5/13 at 11:41am
I have a sample of that fragrance from a BN buddy. I think you shouldn't rest your hopes on finding a duplicate because that rarely happens, but if you look for a lotus (or water lily) fragrance, or a watery floral you will find something similar in style. I'll repost if I come up with anything specific to recommend.
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post #9 of 16
3/5/13 at 11:46am
I don't these would have the fruity or chypre quality that the notes of Lys Bleu would seem to suggest (or the muskiness), but, based on lilybelle's recommendation to focus on lotus or water lilly, I would suggest sampling Van Cleef & Arpels Muguet Blanc, Aftelier Perfumes Lumiere, and Aftelier Perfumes Secret Garden. They might be in the neighborhood, but, as I've not smelled Lys Bleu, either, I can't guarantee it ...
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post #10 of 16
3/5/13 at 4:20pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilybelle View Post

I have a sample of that fragrance from a BN buddy. I think you shouldn't rest your hopes on finding a duplicate because that rarely happens, but if you look for a lotus (or water lily) fragrance, or a watery floral you will find something similar in style. I'll repost if I come up with anything specific to recommend.

Oh lilybelle - are you a mind reader?! I've often thought that the fragrance reminded me of a snapshot of Monet's Waterlily's....at dusk....teeny tiny hint of spice and musk! I don't hope to find a dup or even a 90% percent match (I am stuck in the 80's and 90's....due to rules, regs, reforms, corporate bottom line....none of my fav's seem the same, even if they are still available.....and I don't even have a "nose"!)

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Quote:
Originally Posted by David Ruskin View Post

Not having smelled this fragrance I cannot suggest an alternative. It sounds like any number of big white florals that were created at the time. I hope you realise that the description of a fragrance (written by somebody in the Marketing Department) often has nothing to do with what is in the fragrance. Reading the above description I can point out that there is no Lily extract used in Perfumery; no Crocus (do they have a smell?), no Hyacinth, no Honeysuckle, no Apricot. What exactly are "precious woods"? Can anyone tell me? Never heard of "Grey Amber"before, either. It's all a load of Marketing BS.

I hope someone else on Basenotes can help you find an alternative, sorry that I cannot.

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their suggestions and comments to help me along!

However.....one thing has me confused............If notes are Marketing BS, and as David Ruskin states, there is no Lily extract.......why do we refer to them at all? Shouldn't we then only go by the sniff/sample test, and not try to label the individual components..........thus ignoring the notes?
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post #11 of 16
3/6/13 at 5:03pm
I have smelled this but did not find it to be a white floral. Gave my sample away....can't retest it. I liked it though, and I would not have liked a water lily note, nor musk. I believe I got the sample from Twolf so she may have impressions to contribute.

There are mini bottles on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trks...at=0&_from=R40
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post #12 of 16
3/7/13 at 1:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by krazyquilter View Post



First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their suggestions and comments to help me along!

However.....one thing has me confused............If notes are Marketing BS, and as David Ruskin states, there is no Lily extract.......why do we refer to them at all? Shouldn't we then only go by the sniff/sample test, and not try to label the individual components..........thus ignoring the notes?

Marketing people try to get the public interested in buying their perfume. They think that by listing all sorts of exotic and unusual notes the fragrance will appear to be more alluring. The vast majority of people buying Perfume have no idea what half the things listed are supposed to smell like. There may be a "Lily accord" in the perfume; it means a perfumer tried to make a smell like a Lily, and used it in the fragrance; it may well be that there is no such thing and an evaluator ir Marketing person thought it smelled like a Lily.

There is a difference when we try to analyse a perfume by smell, and try to work out what notes and materials are present. You do not have to recognise every material in a fragrance, and I doubt if anyone can do it. However, like a greater understanding of the structure of music, an understanding of the structure of a Perfume will, I think, bring a greater enjoyment of that Perfume. The most important thing is to like a Perfume, we not not need to label individual components, but it is fun to try, and can bring a greater enjoyment, and a greater respect of the Perfumer who created it.
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post #13 of 16
3/9/13 at 4:28pm
Welcome krazyquilter- like your user name
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post #14 of 16
3/9/13 at 5:00pm
Hi Crazyquilter! I'm glad you finally found a complete set of notes for Lys Bleu.

I put black currant, verbena and rose in the search bar on Luckyscent and two showed up. 06130 Yuzu Rouge and 06138 Lys they both sound nice and would be a good place to start. http://www.luckyscent.com/shop/secti...uzu_Rouge.html
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post #15 of 16
3/10/13 at 4:37am
30R., I replied to the OP in the PM about a month ago, and was suggesting lily-based fragrances -- also done with a light hand and transparent. Lys Bleu is by no means Rosie the Riveter, it is relaxing and -- oh yes! -- aquatic in nature, there is not much of a chypre in this floral despite the official description.
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post #16 of 16
3/15/13 at 7:52pm
Thread Starter 
Hello ladies! To add another "fragrant layer" to this search -- I have the parfum, not the EDT!

Twolf - From your initial suggestions, I had gotten as far as sampling Un Lys - Serge Lutens...pretty, linear lily fragrance, but not close. Then I happened to finally find the notes for Lys Bleu, which lead me to starting this thread.

30R - I will probably get one of the EDT's off of Ebay, just to compare to the Parfum. Have yet to see anything but minis of the EDT at this point, but I'll keep looking! But realistically, this is now so rare, I really just would like to find something similar, that is in production. (I realize from what I've read on other threads, that could just be a lot to ask for!)

Kiliwia - Thanks for pointing me to Luckyscent....I've bookmarked the site, and probably do some sampling!

I do know that I am enjoying the treasure hunt, I'm learning lots about fragrances in the meantime (I was able to find a similar floral peony fragrance to replace another discontinued one I was using!) , and appreciate all the tips and support!


Quote:
Originally Posted by Twolf View Post

30R., I replied to the OP in the PM about a month ago, and was suggesting lily-based fragrances -- also done with a light hand and transparent. Lys Bleu is by no means Rosie the Riveter, it is relaxing and -- oh yes! -- aquatic in nature, there is not much of a chypre in this floral despite the official description.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 30 Roses View Post

I have smelled this but did not find it to be a white floral. Gave my sample away....can't retest it. I liked it though, and I would not have liked a water lily note, nor musk. I believe I got the sample from Twolf so she may have impressions to contribute.

There are mini bottles on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trks...at=0&_from=R40

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kiliwia View Post

Hi Crazyquilter! I'm glad you finally found a complete set of notes for Lys Bleu.

I put black currant, verbena and rose in the search bar on Luckyscent and two showed up. 06130 Yuzu Rouge and 06138 Lys they both sound nice and would be a good place to start. http://www.luckyscent.com/shop/secti...uzu_Rouge.html

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Quote:
Originally Posted by knit at nite View Post

Welcome krazyquilter- like your user name

Oh, is that 'sew' ?!
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