Saturday Night Classics: Lolita Lempicka by Lolita Lempicka (Annick Menardo)1997 – Start wearing purple

 

Lolita Lempicka perfume review Annick Menardo 1997

Lolita Lempicka bottle, picture by @Nicoleta

“Start wearing purple wearing purple
Start wearing purple, for me now
All your sanity and wits, they will all vanish
I promise, it’s just a matter of time”-Gogol Bordello

Whimsical, playful, intricate, different, endearing, a bit dark, a bit goth, and sprinkled with a hefty dose of nostalgia, Lolita Lempicka is a cult classic with a devout following in which I am a proud and loud opinion. (“But we are all individuals!” pouts the part of me that is always quoting some random Monty Phyton sketch).

The bittersweet sense of childhood wonder, the mixture of fairy tales and mythical elements, and most of all, the fragrant “color scheme” lights in my mind the same (purple) pleasure centers as watching a Tim Burton movie.

movies and color palettes

Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton) colour palette via  digitalsynopsis

Have you noticed that the color palette can set the mood of a movie long before the actors have the chance to say the first line? Some quick examples: think pink, beiges, soft pastels: romantic comedies (translated as flirty florals); greys and cold greens: science fictions and documentaries (steely fougeres) orange, yellows, neons for action-adventures (solar, zesty fruity fragrances that pack a punch)… and on and on, down the endless rabbit hole of associations.

Lolita Lempicka vintage review

Perfume ad “Le premier parfum de Lolita Lempicka”

I can’t help but think of Alice in wonderland and the “Drink me” potion. Lolita Lempicka does not shrink your size, but once you take the first whiff of the intoxicating licorice, the laws of reality seem to be re-written using a sparkly, magic ink. I slide down on the indigo side of the rainbow, chewing on violet candies and wondering how can a gourmand feel both so playful and introspective at the same time.

 

Lolita Lempicka 1997 perfume review

Lolita Lempicka bottle, picture by @Nicoleta

Lolita Lempicka has this special gift of keeping you alert – when you think the path you walk on is predictable, all paved with reassuring vanilla and angelic cherries, you come to a crossroad, where anise and vetiver – grinning like a bunch of purple Cheshire cats – darken and deepen the plot just enough to make you want to relive it over and over again.

Top Notes: Ivy, Anise Seed, Heart Notes: Violet, Licorice, Amarena cherry, Base notes: Vetiver, Tonka, Vanilla, Musk

Nicoleta Tomsa, Senior Contributor

Disclosure: My own bottle, opinions are my own

What perfume would make a great “Saturday Night Classic” Do you own or have owned Lolita Lempicka  (Original)

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9 comments

  • I have so many vivid memories of colour in movies. From Surreal Purple in The Cell, to Autumn Red in Hero. Wes Anderson also creates amazing movies where colour is part of the cinematography.

    Great article. Thank you.

  • I still love Lolita Lempicka after all these years…just a bit left in my original bottle now…

  • I had own Lolita Lempicka_ Fleur Defendue and I try some other variants from brand colection and there are all a very intens aroma of ivy…for my nose…no exceptions….my Saturday night perfume is Lanvin –
    Jeanne Couture…is works great on my skin…

  • valentina says:

    I wonder if nowadays Lolita smells anything like yours that is 23 years old. I liked the connection between colors and movies. Thank you!

  • Anca Rapcea says:

    I have beutiful memories with my Lolita Lempika, It so special for me this perfume. I like very much LL Au masculin.
    Thanks!

  • Nicoleta, great review! I’ve never tried this, but it is on my list to somehow do so! Ida got the Gogol Bordello song stuck in my head a few weeks ago, it’s back in there again!

  • Amanda32828 says:

    Love Lolita lempicka has been a fan from the very beginning maybe…and after that my mom became more of a fan than me. And off course I passed along all my bottles. It bring me great memories, all happy memories.
    Thank you for a great article. Commenting from Orlando, Fl.

  • I have been very disappointed in what is being termed ‘Original’ Lolita Lempicka. I do have one of the originals for which I am sparingly using and the fragrance and ingredients are very different from what is being offered today. If anyone here knows a fragrance that is similar to the actual original, please post on this site. Thanks