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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