Lalique White in Black Lalique 2021

Probably it was my the worst blind buy ever.
Lets jump into it: The flanker is a shame: Curved glassand a metal-like thing on the upper side, like Jimmy Choo Ice… Looks great, but until you touch it: the “metal” here is a flimsy, poor quality metal-looking shiny plastic, as well as the cap. Really ‘meh’, because they just created a great bottle, and ruined it with some cheapo parts. Less is more Lalique, less is more..

Okay, what is inside?
Terror. Pure chemical terror. After you spray it, it smells like some bergamot-citric cleaning detergent (Domestos or similar), and its sillage is brutal, and you are probably unable to wash it.
Its really-really bad.
Luckily its just the beginning - after the drydown its much better (not great, just better): It smells like cedarwood and vanilla with some spices - nothing creative, but a cheap, acceptable smell - In this price range/style the Mexx Black is a better pick.

Everybody knows Layton by now right? Your friendly everyday scent. A bit of apple, a bit of vanilla, a bit of Parfums de Marly secret sauce. Youtube influencers are hinting at this Lalique perfume that might as well be a clone. Well... it isn't. Not by far.

As a matter of fact, it's closer to two other popular perfumes I know of: "Naxos | XerJoff" and Allure Homme Eau de Toilette It's probably got something to do with the abundance of quite sharp lavender that's in all of these. It's not bad at all, it's just closer to a classic man's fougère than I expected.

The scent doesn't last very long (couple of hours max) and isn't that strong either. What'd you expect for this price, right? But hey sometimes you might get surprised. Not this time though, you get what you pay for and that's fine.

There is no doubt about it, this fragrance was inspired by Layton. I think it's a stretch to call it a clone, as it tweaks a lot of the DNA. The story goes Lalique released White many years ago, and after it was on the market for several years, PDM released Galloway, which is heavily inspired by White. Lalique wasn't very happy about this after the endless stream of people comparing the two. PDM basically cloned White and spruced it up and released it as their own product. Flash forward a few years and Lalique decided to strike back by releasing this. Crafted by Karine Dubriel-Sereni, the nose behind Gucci Pour Homme II and l'Occitane's Eau des Baux.

This is a tweak of Layton, the base has many similarities, how ever some other notes have been removed, others added. I honestly prefer the opening notes of WiB, the frankincense and lack of apple are really nice, it's not nearly as strong as Layton, in the dry down it almost has more aromatics and relies less on the wood and amber of Layton. There are shades of other fragrances that I get, I hesitate to mention them because I don't want people to have unjust associations. Eros Parfum's vanilla benzoin come to mind, but none of the mint/apple/geranium. I get some incense vibes as well.

It's a beautiful fragrance, not nearly as complex as Layton, but you can also get a 4.2oz bottle of this for $30. It's also not as long lasting, but the trade off is that this comes across more airy and can be worn in the Spring and late summer nights where I live.

It's a fine offering and definitely gives a decent enough Layton-esque experience, while also using very high quality ingredients I like many of the cheaper Middle Eastern clones.

This is a thick winter fragrance that's resinous with some spices and fruits. I think it then makes sense that I find it reminiscent of sodas like Coke and Dr. Pepper - the citrus, lavender, and vanilla, notes definitely mirror the flavor profiles of such sodas

This is a sweet winter fragrance but rather than just being a pure woody vanilla winter fragrance, it instead has a sharper and fresher kick with the pepper, citrus, lavender, etc

As far as its comparisons to Layton and other clones, I haven't tried the original. I have tried Detour Noir and I think this one smells the tiniest bit better but overall they were extremely similar to each other. The area where White in Black stands head and shoulders above Detour Noir is the bottle. This bottle has a very clean design whereas the bottle for Detour Noir looks horrible

Overall I recommend this and think it's a great cold weather fragrance

I remember how I was searching for a new fragrance and I liked the description of White in Black. When I tried it in the store, my first reaction was "meh". I tried it a couple more times before forgetting about it completely.
But then my wife presented it to me. My sweet Sophie, I cannot be more grateful. This perfume checks all my boxes: it is sweet, creamy, spicy and fresh at once. I still can't understand how I could not feel what a brilliant aroma it is. PdM fans will bash me for saying this, but Layton does not even hold a candle to WiB. Layton feels like an unfinished product with a potential, rough at the edges but forced to release. WiB is completely opposite — refined and confident. But I don't want to try match them, in the end, it's all subjective. What I want to do is to spray this fellow couple more times.

P.S. It reminds me a lot about sadly discontinued Avant Garde.