Ineke Gilded Lily wears like a still life to me even though it does progress and change with wear. What I mean is that it reminds me of a painting with dense, saturated colors. It’s a dark table draped in rich embroidered velvet. On the table is a gold bowl of ripe fruits, a vase of blooming lilies and a rustic candelabra.
Gilded Lily opens with tart fruits and a sulfuric grapefruit. Underneath this is a hint of chypre – moss and patchouli. The top is rather bright with the fruits, citrus and lemon-y elemi resin. The heart is floral and mossy. Lily takes the place of a “classic” jasmine used in chypres. Despite the name, I wouldn’t call Gilded Lily a lily perfume. The lily is there but it’s not the focus as it is in such perfumes as Donna Karan Gold or Serge Lutens Un Lys. The lily in Gilded Lily is wearing a floor length coat made of moss and embellished in patchouli and has little labdanum buttons running down the front. It’s a modern chypre.
Notes listed include pineapple, rhubarb, grapefruit, elemi, Goldband Lily of Japan, patchouli, oakmoss, and labdanum. Launch year – 2010. PERFUMER– Ineke Rühland.
Give INeKe Gilded Lily a try if you like classic chypres or scents like Clinique Aromatics Elixir, Rochas Femme, Guerlain Mitsouko EDP, Estee Lauder Aliage, Lancôme Magie Noire, Sisley Eau du Soir, and/or Giorgio. Like many perfumes in this extravagant fashion, I consider Gilded Lily unisex and best suited for elegant evening wear.
Gilded Lily has above average projection and longevity. I can smell it 12 hours after application.
The 2.5 oz spray of Gilded Lily retails for $95 at Beautyhabit.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – A modern chypre. Yeah, there’s pineapple in my chypre and I like it.
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Okay I might actually try this one out with the mention of rhubarb and pineapple. I love a good pineapple note which is basically impossible to find in perfume. Sadly the scent is basically associated with pina coladas and while a good pina colada is really good I don’t want to smell like one. Sigh, some day is going to recognize that fresh pineapple has one of the most amazing scents and they will use it properly in perfumery. I also want more rhubarb scents.
Jennifer recently posted..The 80s called and they want their perfume back or Miss Dior Le Parfum and believe it or not that first part is not a put down.
From what I understand from a perfumer friend is that pineapple is almost impossible in perfume because a good pineapple is impossible to find so they do tricks with grapefruit. And I’m fine with that if the finally result reminds me of a juicy pineapple, like you said, the real deal smells amazing.
I thought for a little bit that rhubarb would be an “it” note as I saw it pop up in a few niche scents, but it didn’t hang around long. I liked its tarteness in perfumery!
I saw try this if you can. It’s not an overly fruity fragrance but it’s a modern take on an old-fashioned chypre. Plus, we are seeing fruits used in a way that isn’t fruity-floral or fruity-sugary-sweet.
Thanks for reviewing one of my favorite Ineke scents. Gilded Lily has garnered me more compliments from strange men than anything else I have worn (and,of course, I love it because it is gorgeous too). I agree that it is an evening going out scent but since the best I do is a cactus society meeting or emergency trip to the store, I can confidently say that it works for less formal evening outings just as well.
I hope the men weren’t too strange 😉
These days I have less “evening” events. I no longer reserve scents for such occasions. If I did, they’d never get worn! And yes, I have worn this to the post office, grocery, etc. and it smells great in those environments too 🙂
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