Alexandrea

I became acquainted with "First" in February 1992, when my then friend took me to his parents for breakfast and I discovered an impressive bottle parade on the ledge in the bathroom. I didn't sniff, after all, you don't just go to other people's things. In the bathroom, however, there was a delicate soapy scent in the air that I did not associate with the perfume.
Two weeks later I noticed that the scent of the bathroom clung to my boyfriend's mother - and that in a much increased concentration: we drove together in a car to a birthday party. Wow, the Sillage almost beat me to death back then and I had to endure that for over an hour in the car. Madame had dieselled herself before the departure, so that she absolutely still "smells good" on arrival. What should I say: the dose makes the poison and after the car ride was my attitude to First: bähhhh!

In the meantime, many years have passed in the country, the friend of former times is now my husband. My mother-in-law wears "her perfume" at our wedding, all family celebrations and other occasions. Since then the (empty) bottle collection has grown steadily and I have made peace with "First".
In 1992 I was 18 years old and tended towards softer perfumes, although these were not exactly age-appropriate, such as Lagerfeld's "Chloé" and "Paloma Picasso".
Today the range of perfumes that attract my attention is much wider and I also appreciate "First". I got a little sample from my mother-in-law and now I want to get to the bottom of the scent.

"First" starts incredibly soapy-dry. I can't perceive any sweetness and frankly I'm still holding my breath. Raspberry, mandarin and peach I can't see, but aldehydes and bergamot. The black currant should reinforce the impression of initial "dustiness". Also the carnation comes to the fore and it remains with a strict, harsh overall impression. After about 30 minutes, however, an exciting development begins, because now the more feminine fragrance components come to light, the Koofnote gradually recedes a little. A spring bouquet of lily of the valley, roses, daffodils and hyacinths unfolds its bouquet and becomes increasingly supple through tuberose. Unfortunately Vetiver comes to the fore shortly afterwards. I don't like vetiver... this fragrance unfortunately dominates every perfume that my husband gave to his sister-in-law in the past: Grey Flannel, Prada's Infusion d'Homme or Elite by Floris. In "First" Vetiver doesn't penetrate quite blatantly to the surface as with the men's fragrances, but it is still quite present. Vetiver belongs probably to her favorites.
All fragrance components that set softer accents remain very subtle: Ylang-ylang, amber, sandalwood, vanilla and honey... I can barely make them out. Nevertheless "First" gets a bit softer and warmer with time.
The soapy spiciness combined with classic flowers remains the same throughout.

Pretty interesting, because I haven't noticed this course with my mother-in-law yet (but I don't stick my nose to her wrist or neck all the time ;-))

The fragrance is clearly oldschool and with its course it puts me in a really different time:
As a young teenager, I devoured L.M. Montgomery's Anne on Green Forks novel: For me the scent of Prince Edward Island (idyllic island of Canada) fits to the turn of the century: Women wore long skirts, frills, brooches and artfully put up hair, with the clamp it went then to the church celebration. Sufragettes belong to England, but also fit well into the picture: Ridge, elegant, distant and powerful. And for those of you who know the book series: I imagine "First" more in Marilla or Diana Barry's mother than in Diana or Anne ;-
There are days when women do not want to smell "sweet", be it flowery, smoothy or sugar sweet. Sometimes it takes superior elegance, energy and strength. "First" is doing fine!
Apart from Vetiver, that something bothers me about First, I do not want to smell like my husband's ma, I have other perfumes for such days. But unlike in the past, I can now understand why my daughter-in-law discovered this fragrance for herself: She was almost 50 when he came onto the market, mother of 6 children, since the 50s and 60s "despite children" fully employed and basically had a busy life. But when she went out and bought socks, she went (to the sorrow of my husband and his brothers and sisters) and went into town with her hat and mittens. She was and is a personality, "First" fits perfectly to our "Queen Mum" ;-)

that was my idea of "my" new summer fragrance My perfume collection is (still) quite manageable, although I have already added the scents of my daughter (living in the household). Mother and daughter, however, should perhaps not necessarily smell the same, even if they still get along so well - it still requires a certain demarcation. Clothes can be combined and staged in different ways, but that tends to be difficult with perfumes. Well, I digress...
Back to the search for "my" summer perfume. This should meet a few criteria that contradict my other preferences: no Wummser, moderate sillage and a socially acceptable composition of the fragrance components, the people with whom I share a room, no headaches gives - and also not highly polarized, he should please me of course anyway. Thought processes that remind me spontaneously of the old Ü-egg advertising.
So I thought about where the fragrance journey should go, had no plan and unceremoniously rolled my Pröbchenkiste on the left. A fragrance pleased me while testing quite well: Yves Saint Laurents Saharienne. The citrusy prelude appealed to me and I looked at Parfumo, what the community has to say about the perfume. Already during this time Saharienne evaporated quite quickly, which I find in principle not so bad.The comments and reviews confirmed my impression. Ok, for summer fragrances it is quite tolerable, calmly prefer to re-spray - that's what I thought until I determined the price! For the course, a perfume must last longer and must not go to the drydown after a good hour. So I clicked through the fragrances and sounded out which perfumes contained them and at some point I stranded then at "Live in Love".

The fragrance pyramid I liked right away quite well - but, what misfortune, the production was apparently discontinued. Hm, nevertheless times Aunt Google ask and the told me then: larger unit for relatively small money available!!! Bingo!!! I ordered blindly and shortly thereafter my bottle arrived. What can I say: I was immediately very taken!

The fragrance
On my skin smells "Live in Love" pleasantly fresh, the citrus notes act invigorating, but there is more that captivates me. Unfortunately, I can generally identify only a few fragrance notes flawlessly, but I can at least paraphrase what associations I have with "Live in Love" and why I like it so much. Above all, I notice that the white flowers stay in the foreground, while the green components only subtly underline them. Thus, the fragrance smells more complex and adult than many a teenywässerchen, but on my skin definitely neither harsh nor scratchy.
"Live in Love" smells wonderfully spring-like. I am fascinated by this lightness, which ,as already said, very refreshing, but by no means "Clean". The sillage is moderate, so that I no one zwangsbedufte, the shelf life with a good 3 -4 hours is not top, but ok and by the current pricing policy is also the Nachsprühen justifiable. Drydown: with me remain whitewood and a touch of amber, overall very soft, light and unobtrusive.

"Live in Love" makes a good mood and elated - and that's exactly the kick I need when I'll be back tomorrow in the centrally ventilated and overheated classroom to motivate my schwerpubertierenden 8s in the last hour of school to cooperate.
So, and since my kiddies in the "trial phase since purchase" do not turn up their noses or even biting comments after me, I reorder - in the event that "Live in Love" is currently only sold off.

Flacon
Joahh, is ok - with units over 50 ml many flacons lose their charm. From the design point of view, it is for my sensation no blast, but also does not look cheap.

Conclusion
Live in Love shimmers like a sparkling Tauperle on a petal on a spring morning ... evaporates, however, also relatively quickly. If necessary, however, you can re-spray, which is much preferable to me for my purposes, than an overdose. With high-priced products, however, I would find that extremely annoying, but here the current price-performance ratio is really ok.

To the comparison drawn in other comments with freshly washed and dried in the sun: fits quite! I love that, only this fragrance evaporates after a short wearing time. "Live in Love" smells just as delicate, but then has something more to offer.
For me, this perfume is a suitable companion for the day and both for work, as well as for leisure perfectly suited. In the evening or on special occasions, it may then be a little more special ;-)

Update regarding shelf life:
I had now in January (2022) longing for spring and LiL behind my winter fragrances hervorgekramt. So, the is now present for a good 9 hours!
Apparently, my skin releases perfume much faster at summer temperatures - or I quickly become odor-blind :-/