Weekly Chat- Lilac Vegetol

Hi everybody, it's your special guest commentator for the week of May 2nd, Clubman Rob, and with me I've brought along a scent that is, in a word, controversial. That scent, my friends, is Lilac Vegetal. (Or, Vegetle, Vegetel, Vegetol, or any other way you want to spell it. )

Now, the most well known Lilac Vegetol (I will hereby use this spelling, as this was the way Ed. Pinaud originally labeled his blend) is the Pinaud version, his being the original and most popular.



LV was Pinaud's first insanely popular fragrance, and it is the one that put him on the map. Here's an excerpt from a previous article I wrote concerning the history of the Pinaud company (and if you haven't read it yet and are interested in the humble origins of the Clubman line I suggest you seek it out ):

Lilac Vegetol was an unparalleled success. It was imported to every corner of the world, and a mass of imitators and counterfeiters sprang up overnight, all claiming to be the "original" Lilac Vegetol. In fact, this mass copycatting is what directly lead to the creation of the "Clubman" character- a dapper looking young gentleman that was the stereotypical Parisian socialite. As long as the mustachoid, top hat wearing dandy appeared on the label, you knew you had the genuine article.

The fortune of the Pinaud company has waxed and waned throughout the years, and along with it the noble scent of the Lilac Vegetol. Based on specimens I've spent years accumulating, I can trace the progression towards the divisive scent we have today.

I have no extant samples pre-dating the 1930's, so we can only guess at what the original smelled like via print ads of the day: A fine delicacy- used by European Royalty for many years- light, yet brilliant- a man's perfume scented delightly of Lilac, lavender, Heliotrope and Sage- The Genuine After-Shaving Lotion.

From the thirties through the fifties, the smell stayed consistently within the safe realm of florals and powders. Around the sixties, though, the scent began to morph into something a little bit more musky. The post-AII scent (70s-80s) is pretty much identical to what we have today, though the scent stayed much more consistent in glass.

Therein lies the controversy: it seems that today, no two Pinaud LV's are the same. Unlike a lot of the other Pinaud scents that were reformulated in the early 90's in order to better stabilize the fragrance for plastic bottling, the LV stayed remarkably similar to its previous formulation. Sounds good, but the sad truth is that a lot of the organic goodness tends to sour quite easily in plastic. The science behind that is a whole 'nother article/thread, though, so I'm going to keep it short and say that the bottom line is that the quality control is a bit spotty, and going to pick up a bottle off the shelf today can be a crapshoot until you go home and break the seal off.

To my nose, I smell a heavy olive base topped with an interesting array of floral extracts, with a musky drydown that features Pinaud's trademark powdery goodness. That's what MY nose smells, anyway. Other's have noted the crisp hints of ammonia, cat pee, play-doh, feces, burnt rubber, etc. I personally have never smelled anything like that. I have bought some of it that smelled... I don't know, just a little off. My remedy for that is to pry the plastic stopper off the top and leave the cap off for a couple of weeks to aerate. It does wonders for mellowing the scent and brings it back closer to the original. It still doesn't smell quite right in the plastic, but it's not bad IMO.

I'll let you guys comment on all the horrible things you've heard about Pinaud LV, and if you've never tried it, go to Walgreen's or wherever and get a bottle.

Next, we have Master's Lilac Vegetol:



This scent is typical Master; short lived, unassuming, afraid to test the waters, chemically watered down, cheap, and fairly easy to find. I'm not knocking it, but it's just a boring, synthetic smelling fragrance that people constantly cite as being better than the Pinaud. That's open to debate, of course, but I just don't see what the big deal is. If you want an inexpensive, fake floral smelling splash, go for it. It's been around since the fifties, so at least it has some historical precedent.

There are some other, less well-known versions of Lilac Vegetol still produced today, but for the most part, they tend to smell like either the Pinaud or the Masters but with a steeper price tag. One notable exception is the Galimard company, which manufactures a Lilac EDC that smells eerily like the oldest examples of the Pinaud LV I have sampled. If anyone is interested in smelling sort of like a turn of the century Parisian Dapper Dan, you may want to seek this scent out.

So that's it from me for now. Thanks to Shep for passing the mic, and I turn it over to next weeks guest MC. Thanks for reading.

 

Great write up. I guess I will have to try some of this now.

 

:happy096

Very nice write up! I might actually go out an buy a bottle now. I absolutely love the smell of lilac but I am one that have smelled it and thought something died inside of the bottle. I also assume the freshness has to be questioned since the bottles probably have been sitting on the shelves for years. I would like to get a hold of a "fresh" bottle.

 

Wow! Thanks for setting the bar so high! I guess, "It's good" isn't gonna cut it, now..... :happy102

Seriously though, thanks for that history lesson there. I've always heard bad and nasty things about the LV, so I've never dared to try it. Maybe I'll have to try some, now.... Although I wouldn't be surprised to see a flood of FS ads in the Classifieds in a few weeks! :happy102

I vote Shawn buys some and sends out samples!

Actually, maybe I will.... :signs002

 

As long as they aren't the stinky samples. I wouldn't mind trying it, but aren't going to buy a bottle based on all that I have heard about it. It sounds like it is a real shame that they decided to fiddle with the scent.

 

+1

 

First of all nice job Rob. I expected nothing less from you. As for LV I have tested the Pinaud version and experienced the typical reaction. In the bottle it does indeed smell of cat urine. Once applied it settles into wet animal hair mixed w/ baby powder. Better than cat urine for sure, but nothing I want to smell of all day either. It sounds as though in days gone by they may have had something more pleasing that might have been nice to wear. I've always heard that the Hungarian Cavalry loved this stuff and really put it on the map (this was confirmed to me by an actual Hungarian too btw). Anyway I love fresh lilac but this offering from Pinaud doesn't pass muster. Stephan makes a nice lilac splash that better fits the bill. I'll stick w/ it.

Thanks again Rob. Great job! :happy088

 

I haven't tried it, yet, due to the negative reviews I've read.

I wonder if uncapping it might "harm" the mix, since the alcohol must surely evaporate, Rob?

Thanks for your experience and your impressions!

 

Hmmmm, if it is stinky fragrances we are reviewing now, I think Jeris Musk should be next on the block!

Incidentally, are we sure that the Hungarians way back when didn't want to smell like cat pee? Kind of gives new meaning to "Eau de Toilette.":happy102

Couldn't resist. There is a drug store down the road that carries the Clubman Bay Rum, and the Lilac Vegetol. It is funny, that olive note is what I detect heavily in the Bay Rum, and didn't much care for. I never bought the LV because I have heard nothing but horrible things - maybe I'll reconsider . . . maybe.

 

Hey, buddy, I sent you that Jeris and you should be glad for it.

I mean...

uh...

...wanna buy my Lilac Vegetal?

Yeah, it stinks. And it doesn't smell like lilacs (which smell lovely). My wife, whose nose is MUCH better than mine, said LV smells like "old". And not in a good way. I got it in a trade, much like Mr. Ungrateful up there got his Jeris, and I don't know which of us got the worse deal.

 

Well, C-Rob, not quoting your entire post here, but I have to say that you're an excellent writer and your passion for Lilac Vegetal is contagious. What I mean is that despite my past experiences with Clubman's male ally cat piss... err... I mean Lilac Vegetal, I went and ordered a bottle. It arrived today and I'm as excited as a sailor on his first liberty in Hong Kong! I can't wait 'til tomorrow morning’s shave to splash it on.

If it's still as repulsive as I remember it, I'll save the bottle instead of tossing it out -- and every time a smooth talker starts crooning away about the wonders of Lilac Vegetal, I'll break it out and refresh my memory. However, if on the off chance that it's far better than I remember it, I'll publicly announce to the world (via this thread) that it's the greatest, and I have ClubmanRob to thank for reintroducing this magic potion/lotion into my life!

Back with results tomorrow!

 

Lilac Vegetal -- the results!

For starters, I ordered the smaller 6oz bottle (in case it sucked so bad that I wanted to puke...) and it looked a little crisper and greener than my last 12oz bottle. I opened the bottle and it actually smelled like Lilac (what's up with this?). After the shave I splashed it on (holy f**k, ouch, burn) but then it settled down and I caught my first wiff of what C-Rob was talking about. Gave it a little time to mellow out and damn if I wasn't floating in a:

Crisp masculine fragance
Cooling and Invigorating
Refreshing, it toned my skin
All over my body -- I felt the soft fingers of a women... 'nuff said

Anyway, from now on, I will never refuse to give any product a second chance!

Bottom line -- ClubmanRob knows his stuff. Lilac Vegetal rocks!

 

Love that stuff, can't get enough of it somedays. Just bought another bottle of Clubman-Pinaud Lustray Crew.

 

I LOVE Pinaud Bay Rum!

 

Masters bay rum is better!

 

No way, Habibi!

 

Sorry, they all suck eggs compared to Bigelow Bay Rum.

Everything else just smells like generic, boring cloves.

 

Fond memories of Mongkok... :happy102

 

I will confess that it's been some time since I tried the Pinaud version. Masters Lilac Vegetol, on the other hand, has a permanent place in the den, owing to the very bright lilac opening. I really dig it. I suppose I'll have to pick up some Pinaud this weekend.

An intriguing and old-fashioned scent, to be sure, but one that I don't find hard to like at all.

Regards,
Tim

 

I'm glad you found a decent bottle! One rule when it comes to the Pinaud LV is that "if at first you smell like pee; buy, buy, again."

Love that Crew. I wish they'd drop some of the crappier Lustray scents in favor of bringing back Crew.

And it loves you, too, Jeff!

Only if you've got your nostrils pinched shut while you're wearing it. :happy102

I like Bigelow BR, but I don't consider it a "real" Bay Rum. It's a preppy Bay Rum, too synthetic and sweet. It's still nice, but when I want a real Bay Rum I look at Pinaud and Ogallala.

I don't care much for the "lilac" in Masters version. It's too sickly sweet a lilac, compared to Pinaud's earthier, "dirty" lilac.