Gems from the past: Oscar de la Renta "Pour Lui" (1980)

[Andrè Moreau]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is one of the best powerhouse ever produced, hands down. Any possible ingredient seem used in massive quantities, longevity and projection are awesome.

Top notes are aldehydes, caraway, juniper berries, lavender, galbanum, basil, sage, anise and bergamot;
Heart notes are cyclamen, carnation, patchouli, cinnamon, vetiver, cedar and geranium;
Base notes are labdanum, leather, sandalwood, musk and oakmoss.

Is it enough?
A nice definition I heard some time ago is: "Pour Lui" could be described as a sort of vintage Paco Rabanne Pour Homme on steroids. :laugh:
Anyway, if you like powerhouse scents, this is a must-try.

Beware: vintage is the best.
The vintage bottle has the lettering "Oscar de la Renta pour lui" inside an ellipse in the upper part; while "Eau de Toilette" is on bottom.
The Vintage box has the lettering "Oscar de la Renta pour lui" inside a gold ellipse.

 

[drseid]

I just purchased this quite recently and love it. I don't find it that similar to vintage Paco Rabanne pour Homme (which I also own) though I can see just a passing resemblance. To me the vintage Oscar Pour Lui is much spicier and far less green. I definitely prefer it of the two.

 

[Dimitrios]

I don't find it that similar to vintage Paco Rabanne pour Homme though I can see just a passing resemblance. To me the vintage Oscar Pour Lui is much spicier and far less green. I definitely prefer it of the two.

thank you drsied , my thoughts also ...
Andre , keep up the great effort , btw when did you discover this classic ?

 

[easyfish]

Vintage Pour Lui is an absolutely fantastic scent, love it!

 

[Andrè Moreau]

Personally, I think Oscar Pour Lui is composed by:

1/4 Paco Rabanne "pour Homme",
1/4 VanCleef&Arpels "Pour Homme" ,
1/4 "Caractère" de Daniel Hechter
and the final 1/4 Antaeus Chanel :thumbsup:

How a similar perfume could not have a sort of "love at first smell"?

"Oscar de la Renta Pour Lui.....I love it. If you're the type of guy who doesn't wear fragrances because you think it's for sissies, that's because you've never smelled this. This is a raging bull of a scent. No one will ever mistake you for wearing a woman's perfume with this. "
(Pour Monsieur)

Be careful, this type of scent (heavy, animalic, gorgeous, super-powered and nonetheless VERY elegant) is one of the most ruined by reformulationsss..... try to find a vintage bottle!

 

[hednic]

It's a wonderful scent.

 

[Ciprian]

I don't have the vintage one but I really enjoy the latest formulation very much.

Do you happend to know when was reformulated?

 

[Derbyman]

Vintage Pour Lui is an absolutely fantastic scent, love it!

I heartily second my friend Easyfish's sentiments!

Thanks again Andre for another excellent post with the usual fantastic photos - please keep treating us to these gems..!

 

[hedonist222]

Sounds divine!

 

[noggs]

One of my all-time faves.

The packaging, too, is one of my favorites. Masculine, powerful, elegant, and sexy all at once. I enjoy just looking at the vintage box and bottle. Classy stuff.

 

[Andrè Moreau]

Simply look the bottle

VINTAGE, to be always preferred : Box with GOLDEN Oscar de la Renta logo /

INTERMEDIATE VERSION: box with a GOLDEN star in the middle

MODERN: box with no golden logo.

hope my memory is still active...

 

[thatmakesscents]

Current formulation is just ok. Dry down leaves a bitter and powdery film on the skin. Not crazy about that aspect of it but the top notes do pretty well.

Not the best reformulation but definitely not the worst.

 

[sjg3839]

Thanks for the info. Great photos. Threads of this sort are very informative. Keep up the great work.

 

[Renaissance_Man]

Thank you Andre. Great post!

 

[user]

Quote:
Originally Posted by thatmakesscents /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Current formulation is just ok. Dry down leaves a bitter and powdery film on the skin. Not crazy about that aspect of it but the top notes do pretty well.

Not the best reformulation but definitely not the worst.




Got a vintage of this one, did not make a comparisson between both but... the vintage is nuclear. Sticky molecules, indeed.



I don't know about the rest of posters, but I find the vintage somehow dated in its boldness. I don't mind about this at all, but I do have the impression that the reformulation has been done with the idea in mind of updating it. Bold scents are not in fashion anymore? No way! Just not THAT kind of boldness, must admit.



In my case, I think I'll use both layered - one spray of the vintage one and two or three of the present day one. If I'd wear three or four of the vintage one, chances are I'll be lynched by those around me!



Juts my two cents.



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[smoothie72]

Another powerhouse gem from the past is Witness by Jacques Bogart.
Released in 1992, could have been from 1982. A slap in your face, long lasting, heavy scent.
So many notes mingling its hard to tell how they develop.
Top notes:
Aldehydes, orange,artemisia, corianded,lavender,basil,bergamot,lemon
Middle notes:
Honey,carnation,cinnamon,balsam fir, jasmine,rose,geranium
Base notes:
Sandalwood,amber,patchouli,musk,benzoin,vanilla,incense,cedar,& styrax.

Its such a powerful fragrance, with so much going on, its hard to notice the development of the notes.
But somehow they all play in harmony and produce a wonderful monster fragrance.


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[Franco65]

got the very first version...one hell of a nuke scent!



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[Rüssel]

Lovely perfume. Own a splash and the newer spray.



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[Oslo-Fjord]

I own the "new" version, and I think it's just as good as the vintage. This is my second favourite 80-ies powerhouse scent, right behind CHANEL Antaeus. Strong, deep, smooth, and masculine leather chypre. Wear it with a stylish white iron shirt, blazer and elegant leather shoes, and you will feel like an elegant, rich gentleman. This is pure class in a bottle. Love it!

 

[Arij]

The current formulation has been my most worn this winter. It's outstanding! It's one of those I have on backup & also have some of the vintage.

What's great about it is that others around you get a distinguished projection, while the wearer gets the full "perfumery experience" with an aldehydic ride all the all way to one of the most lush green drydowns.

It was love at first whiff in my case.

 

[rybot]

In my top 5. I own both the vintage and new, and think the reformulation has been very kind.

 

[Scentologist]

Sounds wonderful indeed. Nice pics!

 

[Ken_Russell]

Wonderful fragrance, thanks for sharing the info about it. Still having faint pleasant memories about the few times I got to test the vintage version.

 

[Franco65]

got a big vintage bottle, deep and rich like most scents from the Golden Age!

 

[JoeJoe]

Is their a way to tell the original formulation bottles...logo maybe? Size?

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[Oviatt]

I really love this scent--even in reformulation it is excellent!

 

[DerangedGoose]

How different is the original? I feel the current version is a very competent execution on a classic theme, and if anything I think extra animalics might throw off the balance. I cant say I really get much spiciness in the current version; to me it is a max-factor aldehyde bomb of a chypre.

 

[peter4ptv]

I own the "new" version, and I think it's just as good as the vintage. This is my second favourite 80-ies powerhouse scent, right behind CHANEL Antaeus. Strong, deep, smooth, and masculine leather chypre. Wear it with a stylish white iron shirt, blazer and elegant leather shoes, and you will feel like an elegant, rich gentleman. This is pure class in a bottle. Love it!

yes, not much different to be notice, it is very good reformulation i just finish my original from the 80s few years back and remember when got the one from the store was like 99% same juice as the 80s bottle.
i have see absolutely no similarity to Paco Rabanne Pour Homme.
well Paco Rabanne Pour Homme is a complete different story the current formula is disgusting synthetic crap compare to the 70s and 80s of Paco Rabanne Pour Homme not even 20% of what once use to be a great cologne.

 

[cytherian]

Very curious... this is certainly an exception, for an older powerhouse like this to have a more recent formulation that is pretty true to the original composition. I've got the vintage, as I went after that with the presumption of it being superior.

Does the latest contain a little less aldehydes? Does it feel modernized in any way?

 

[SexySmells]

Very curious... this is certainly an exception, for an older powerhouse like this to have a more recent formulation that is pretty true to the original composition. I've got the vintage, as I went after that with the presumption of it being superior.

Does the latest contain a little less aldehydes? Does it feel modernized in any way?

Not sure what the ingredient differences are in the reformulation. I have the 60ml. bottles pictured by the OP and also have a reformulation. I prefer the Vintage as it has no shrillness whatsoever. The reformulation isn't bad, it's simply not as heavy and full as the original.

 

[mikeperez23]

Wore this today, vintage juice, first time from a sample. LOVED it. Instant enjoyment from beginning to end. I can't wait to wear it again.

 

[Ifti]

Dank ! Must get a new bottle , running low, like 1ml. Will be tomorrow (today's!) SOTD

 

[Varanis Ridari]

The zombie thread apocalypse has resurrected another corpse.

 

[Trauerkraut]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is one of the best powerhouse ever produced, hands down.

An absolute stinker!

 

[AceyMan]

The zombie thread apocalypse has resurrected another corpse.

If you're calling my beloved ODLRP a corpse we need to have a sit-down <fo_real>. (But some of these five-plus years ago threads are good. And why go open a new thread when there's one already on topic that provides some seed comments, even though the posters may be dead/incarcerated/etc. <wink>)

And for @Ifti, above, or anyone who wants to restock, go for the tall, skinny 50 cc box: the last to pre-date the heavy IFRA mandates. Don't be fooled by the newest of the new, which looks an awful lot like some earlier vintages.

Pour Lui ertainly in my top ten, because the smell is glorious. It's like what Bleu de CHANEL wished it could be or would have been, in 1980. But it's so special to me that I rarely wear it--who would eat chocolate mousse every day, I ask.

/Acey

 

[mikeperez23]

...Pour Lui ertainly in my top ten, because the smell is glorious. It's like what Bleu de CHANEL wished it could be or would have been, in 1980. But it's so special to me that I rarely wear it--who would eat chocolate mousse every day, I ask.

/Acey

Yes. It does smell blue...I thought that yesterday when I sprayed it on. Like fizzy, electric blue. It positively hums in the air around you when you apply it. I love that effect.

 

[Scarce]

I used to have this in the 80s, and remember it fondly. Current version is entirely wearable if not the oakmoss bomb it once was. Unlike some others from that period though which I can't stand (Quorum, in particular) this one is still quite good, and a steal at the $20 or so you'll likely to find it. And wears exceptionally well on colder days.

 

[finsfan]

Thanks for posting this. I think this was the first real bigtime scent I got back in late 70's, early 80's. I was wearing British Sterling and Jovan Musk. My grandfather died and had some Royal Copenhagen and Royal Copenhagen Musk. I wore that and then went to the big, more expensive department store in town. Wow. Well, Calvin Klein had just come out and I got that. Found some Guerlains and they were expensive. Dior had Eau Sauvage so that was my next, and then I think it was this, Oscar. Then the Halston twins.

 

[Mikeaveli2682]

I used to have this in the 80s, and remember it fondly. Current version is entirely wearable if not the oakmoss bomb it once was. Unlike some others from that period though which I can't stand (Quorum, in particular) this one is still quite good, and a steal at the $20 or so you'll likely to find it. And wears exceptionally well on colder days.

Just got a bottle of the current formulation. First impression: one of the weakest scents in my arsenal. I've seen this compared to Van Cleef & Aprels Pour Homme but that, even in current formulation, is a foghorn compared to Pour Lui's mouse fart.

 

[DanHD]

Just happen to be wearing my vintage ODLR PL today, after reading it mentioned in the "Sweet 1980s Fragrances" or something like that.

Definitely hits you *hard* at the start but settles in nicely. Classic powerhouse feel.