liz earle perfume bombed

[LADY TIA]

I love aromatics elixir, dkny woman and joy by jean patou. I do not like the liz earle botanical essence No 1. i tried it in John Lewis and I'm glad I didn't purchase it without trying first.

its not my thing. As other have said the liz earle range has so many beautiful unique fragrances I would have thought it would mirrior one of those. i love the energising smell the most- rose, spice and beautifully uplifting- i think that is quite a sophisticated smell to so surprised she didn't do something similar.

It lasts ages on the skin but I thought it smelt like soemthing else but I'm not sure what - it certainly isn't unique.

 

[sheilaj]

to me the IB doesn't smell of much....

 

[janm]

Personally, having had a little squoosh in JL, I don't like it. But it's simply not my sort of fragrance and as others have said, perfume is such an incredibly personal thing.

To me, it really reminds me of Clinique Aromatics Elixir, which I have always disliked. Calling it grannyish is a little harsh, but it certainly errs on the side of the classic type fragrance and personally, I prefer the more modern, lighter scents. Maybe I just have an unsophisticated nose! But I know what I like.

I think the problem may be, that for some reason, people were under the impression that this fragrance was going to smell like the skin tonic. I don't really understand that, as I can't remember this ever being said. Perhaps it was just an assumption that's got a bit out of hand.
You can't please everyone though. For the legions of customers who mistakenly thought it was going to smell like the skin tonic and have been disappointed, I'm sure there are lots who love a heavier aromatic classic scent and are pleased. I'm just not one of them.

I don't think the fragrance has "bombed" so much as been a victim of a degree of misunderstanding.

if you go to the LE website and click on the picture of the perfume it has a section underneath entitled how it all began and here the perfumer himself talks about taking the IB as the starting point

http://uk.lizearle.com/index_2.php?userpage=fragrance_story

 

[tabatha]

Now this is odd.
I bought the EDP from the LE site. I don't really like it. It does not smell at all like the description and is too heady for me ..
BUT...
went to Bluewater yesterday. Tried a squirt of the EDP there and was completely different!

I liked it!

So do they very - mine is not off just stronger.

That's the only thing that bothers me. I like the perfume, but if I buy another will it smell different. I have heard Liz say before that the smell and colouring of a product might be different due to the different seasons/harvesting of products. So does this mean that the perfume will smell different each time !?!?!?

 

[craftybel]

Can't answer the technical questions, but I have tried this perfume and have to say I hated it! Strong words, I know, but as an avid fan of Liz Earle, I expected something of high quality (it is), but with a scent that at least complemented her other products. This does nothing of the sort. If you tried this first, you probably would not bother with the skincare range! It's a real old ladies type of perfume, although I have to give her credit for one thing-it did last and last, so yes-the quality is there. Unfortunately, though, I didn't want it to last-I had to wash it off as it gave me a headache. I agree with the member who said she should have sent out samples or scratch and sniff cards-this would have saved her a huge amount of negative feedback, as I, for one, would not have bought it and then left a negative review. Thank Goodness for the 30 day MBG

 

[Sarah Pocket]

Thanks to all who have warned that the new fragrance is quite a heavy one and can cause headaches. I love the smell of all Liz's face and bodycare products but am extremely picky about any perfume I use as I can't bear heavy ones. They do give me a headache (Coco Chanel, Poison, Shalimar). Glad that I dithered (for a change!).

 

[Rozzy]

I'm glad I didn't part with 40 quid

 

[Pick-a-Lily]

I don't necessarily agree that the perfume has 'bombed'. I had a look at the reviews and it seems to me that for every person who has given it 1 or 2 stars, there is another who has given it 4 or 5. Just like all perfumes, there are people who love it, people who hate it, and those who can take or leave it. It would be a really sad place if we all loved and wore the same perfume.
I'm sticking to my original plan anyway, and won't buy it until I have tried a sample and know that it's for me.

 

[LE lover]

i don't think LE will lose any sleep over this. I'm sure there are lots of people who don't like elements of her skincare range.
I will continue using all the products of hers that i love and just won't buy the perfume. As the saying goes. "you can't please all of the people all of the time, just some of the people some of the time"

 

[donna255]

That's the only thing that bothers me. I like the perfume, but if I buy another will it smell different. I have heard Liz say before that the smell and colouring of a product might be different due to the different seasons/harvesting of products. So does this mean that the perfume will smell different each time !?!?!?

This can effect the perfume, but do not expect it to suddenly smell totally different.

Example:

Shalimar quite sometime back changed bottles, from the one with ridges to a smooth same shape bottle. Many Shalimar lovers on the perfume boards started talking about the fragrance was not the same. Yes it dried down to what Shalimar should be but the top notes seemed different. Now only people who used Shalimar would really notice the difference. The Guerlain sa kept insisting nothing had been done to Shalimar they had not changed the ingredients. But still on the perfume boards the talk continued, Shalimar was different.

So one evening I went to a talk on the history of Guerlain given by Roja Dove, was the Professor of Parfum for Guerlain. Lovely talk all history and lovely stories. So I managed to corner him after the talk and asked about Shalimar and what was going on. At this period Guerlain had no family members left owning the company which had been sold to LVMH(the anti christ of the perfume world). Roja told me no Shalimar had not been tweaked(a term perfume boards use to say a perfume has been changed). But what had happened was, LVMH no longer bought their bergamot from Italy where the finest bergamot comes from. Also they no longer used sandalwood from Mysore, again the best sandalwood comes from there. They bought from elswhere as it was cheaper. So that was why Shalimar did not smell the same. Yes the ingredients where the same but the quality was not there. Roja left Guerlain not long after that.

Chanel own their own fields of jasmine in France to guarantee the quality of No5 etc.

 

[boffy]

like chanel no.5 but a dead ringer for it is coty l'amont. smells really good and you can get this for very little pounds. there is a lot of snobbery surrounding perfume it keeps up the mistique and the prices.

most perfumes are made fdrom chemicals and not oodles of essential oils as this would make them unstable and cripplingly expensive.

i had a friend who worked for a perfume factory all alchohol and chemicals.

perfume is to be enjoyed and to reflect your pesonality not to be stuffy about.some classics cost under a fiver and smell great and are fun to wear and are in the perfume hall of fame also.

 

[donna255]

like chanel no.5 but a dead ringer for it is coty l'amont. smells really good and you can get this for very little pounds. there is a lot of snobbery surrounding perfume it keeps up the mistique and the prices.

most perfumes are made fdrom chemicals and not oodles of essential oils as this would make them unstable and cripplingly expensive.

i had a friend who worked for a perfume factory all alchohol and chemicals.

perfume is to be enjoyed and to reflect your pesonality not to be stuffy about.some classics cost under a fiver and smell great and are fun to wear and are in the perfume hall of fame also.

My mum wore Coty l'Amont, it was called the poor woman's No5.
I can't wear No5, it turns into this weird plastic bag with jasmine on me.

 

[boffy]

My mum wore Coty l'Amont, it was called the poor woman's No5.
I can't wear No5, it turns into this weird plastic bag with jasmine on me.

thats me girl a poor woman lol.
"which" did a brilliant article a few years ago about perfume that smells similar to really expensive ones and that was mentioned saved me a small fortune lol

 

[mariecat]

In light of the poor reviews, it'll be interesting to watch Liz's face closely when she makes her next appearance on QVC.

 

[mariecat]

Big thanks Donna255 for sharing your knowledge of perfumes with us: brilliant!

 

[mariecat]

:spider:

It's not, it's definitely a heady, nostalgic fragrance but give it chance, it does settle to a lighter, easier wear fragrance after a short while. It's growing on me, literally as Ally Young would say, give it chance... :spider:

I'm definitely going to try to get a spray in JL. I've got a feeling from your description, Nessarose, that I might like it! (I'm not into the watery 'green' type of perfumes, but like heady florals and some not-too-musky/sandlewood scents - love patchouli too.)

 

[iclaudipuss]

I'm a Chanel girl through and through and always go back to No. 5 EDP, it works with my body chemistry brilliantly. Some perfumes turn really weird on me and can be quite unpleasant. I also adore Chanel Le Exclusives, some beautiful scents there, and Serge Lutyens, too.

 

[Almerinda]

This can effect the perfume, but do not expect it to suddenly smell totally different.

Example:

Shalimar quite sometime back changed bottles, from the one with ridges to a smooth same shape bottle. Many Shalimar lovers on the perfume boards started talking about the fragrance was not the same. Yes it dried down to what Shalimar should be but the top notes seemed different. Now only people who used Shalimar would really notice the difference. The Guerlain sa kept insisting nothing had been done to Shalimar they had not changed the ingredients. But still on the perfume boards the talk continued, Shalimar was different.

So one evening I went to a talk on the history of Guerlain given by Roja Dove, was the Professor of Parfum for Guerlain. Lovely talk all history and lovely stories. So I managed to corner him after the talk and asked about Shalimar and what was going on. At this period Guerlain had no family members left owning the company which had been sold to LVMH(the anti christ of the perfume world). Roja told me no Shalimar had not been tweaked(a term perfume boards use to say a perfume has been changed). But what had happened was, LVMH no longer bought their bergamot from Italy where the finest bergamot comes from. Also they no longer used sandalwood from Mysore, again the best sandalwood comes from there. They bought from elswhere as it was cheaper. So that was why Shalimar did not smell the same. Yes the ingredients where the same but the quality was not there. Roja left Guerlain not long after that.

Chanel own their own fields of jasmine in France to guarantee the quality of No5 etc.

That was really interesting Donna. When I met my husband (over 20 years ago) he always wore Givency Gentleman (which I loved for obvious reasons) as time passed the perfume seemd to change and become less rich, less lasting and so he changed to something else. We thought at the time that maybe the recipe had changed for some unknow reason but in reading the above I realise that it may have been the same scenario. Same ingredients, different sources.

 

[donna255]

I'm a Chanel girl through and through and always go back to No. 5 EDP, it works with my body chemistry brilliantly. Some perfumes turn really weird on me and can be quite unpleasant. I also adore Chanel Le Exclusives, some beautiful scents there, and Serge Lutyens, too.

Oh I love Serge Lutens too. SpaceNK have started stocking some or his range in Belfast. I have my eye on Chergui at the moment.

 

[Artemis]

Donna, thankyou for your really interesting and informative post about Shalimar. It has been my favourite perfume for over 40 years and I had noticed a slight change, as did one of my daughters who has a real 'nose'. I generally only wear it in Winter or in the evening, here as it's a little heavy for the sunshine. On sunny daytimes, I wear Pink Sugar, which smells like candy floss and was arrived at after much trial and error when we first arrived as most classic perfumes feel cloying in the sun. Even the lightest "green" ones seemed to change from grassy to rotting compost.Pink Sugar seems to have a hypnotic effect on people, it's probably loaded with come hither chemicals, or something!