White Linen

I have been in love with this all summer. The first time I smelled this it was in the winter and I really didn’t like the sharpness of the aldehyde-lemon opening. Fortunately, I revisited it during hot summer weather and after experimenting with more vintage fragrance and learning to love these complex compositions. From the sharp opening, to the floral-honeyed dry down this is a joy. It feels clean, crisp and entirely unisex.

I have 2 large 3 ounce vintage bottles this one I think is from 1988 or 1998 one of those the vintage have “Parfum Spray” the new ones “Eau de Parfum” I sprayed 2 sprays on my shirt and since I do not smoke anyone things are so strong now! This crap is so strong! This is not floral at all to me! This is straight soap smell! Like dove smell! As a straight man guys this would smell so clean on ya! God bless you all! Jesus Christ is Lord God and King of all! All will bow and confess that he is Lord! You have no choice!

I LOVE TO BE HIT IN THE FACE WITH ALDEHYDES. i fell in love with Dia Woman and Chanel 22 recently but was hoping for something more affordable and easier to find. stumbled on this beauty in duty free and it’s a steal! maybe the drydown is not the most exciting but it suffices my recent aldehydic craving perfectly

haters can blow me, i love me a good blast of aldehydes. <3 a gorgeous throwback to a time well before me

Hated this, then loved it, then hated it again. It's clean and effervescent then dries down to a sort of dry spiced moss. To me, the opening either smells like a refreshing carbonated soda or like bile, depending on the day. Finding it days later on fabric is especially unpleasant.

This was one of my maternal grandmother’s signature scents and for that reason is so comforting and nostalgic to me, it reminds me of being a kid and staying at her cabin on a lake in Pennsylvania. It’s exactly what the name implies and I do love the clean-ness of this scent. Good for school or work I think because it’s very mature and mostly inoffensive

White Linen is a very sharp laundry type of soapy citrusy fresh fragrance. Suitable for the heat and perfoms very well all throughout the day. It is not atl blind buy safe. Some days I find ut to be too sharp and becones overwhelming. Nice fragrance overall but will not re-purchase. The blend is not smooth.

there is similarity between Calvin Kleins Eternity (1988) and Estée Lauders White Linen (1978) and only now do I know that it is primarily the Genial Perfumeuse Ms. Sophia Grojsman. these are both fabulous perfumes and it is only now that I can first appreciate their fullness and complexity, their Floweriness (a Must for me) as well as their Aldehydic (White Linen) as Musky with the Green Notes in the beginning dancing (Eternity) characters. back then I only chose for the headiest, most vile and opulent perfumes of the 1980s (and already from 1974) with No5, No19, Miss Dior, Opium, and let me only mention the perfume(s) from Calvin Klein which lured me in: Obsession end those from Estée Lauder: Youth Dew (1958), Knowing (1988), Beautiful (1985) and the Satanic Trio Poison, Obsession and Giorgio. that is why I prejudiciously dished White Linen and Eternity because I thought (and felt, but erroneously so) they were too light after resp. Obsession and predominantly Youth Dew (therefor I even downgraded Cinnabar) and Knowing later. well that were misstakes. now wearing White Linen it is only here and at the moment, after 40 years, I can appreciate their complex fullness and especially with White Linen the lets say, Floral Chypre Aldehydic Cascade of neverending Flowers plus a Sturdy Woodiness which I love. of course I still love the more notorious 1980s Hooker Perfumes but also having a knack for the Complex, Chic, Sophisticated more Fougère-like broadness of Raw Materials and in the first place Feeling their Regality as well as Refined presence is a truly discovery after 40 years. I love(d) flowers but if you look at the flowers here and compare it with the proto Flower Bombs Giorgio and Giorgio Beverly Hills Red, with Beautiful and also, earlier still, Y, Ivoire, No19, Must de Cartier II, these Chypres Florales, particularly White Linen Strikes with entire orchards as well guirlandes of Flower after Flower. the same it is with Eternity. I am glad that I can still put that straight that these two, Eternity and White Linen, are fabulous perfumes in their own right. Ms. Sophia Grojsman obviously has her own signature. and I love these perfumes. White Linen weaves a vivid Flower Scape around me and embodies a softness (Orris) as well as a Presentism I truly am enamoured with.

I will always wear it. Such a beautiful lingering scent that I first noticed on a fellow nurse. I ordered it for myself. It’s a keeper. Not too heavy for work, just a really pleasant floral experience.

I find it strange that musk isn't listed as an ingredient--Grojsman built the aldehydic floral around it, and the musk accord is much more dominant on my skin than any of the base notes.

Some people don't enjoy aldehydic florals; ignore their disparaging comments. If you love a classic, ironed-and-starched floral-chypre, I believe you will love this. White Linen is easily worn 3 seasons of the year, being bright with spring flowers, but also green and mossy. Highly recommend.

On my quest to find the perfect, burst soap clean musk and boy oh boy is White Linen a nuke LOL! So let me start off by saying.. I adore the house of Estee Lauder as they make my signature fragrance (Pleasures).. But alas, I may well be headed on a rabbithole to collect as many of their fragrances as possible because White Linen is a win in my book. While this is definitely not in my top tier of perfumes.. I love it for what it is. I've always been perplexed by it since people have such polarizing reviews about it, most are, well bad lol. So it's nice to finally get it and try it, granted it's an INSANE blind buy but I adore vintage, floral, clean, aldehyde bombs so bring it lol now for the actual review: Yes, this is an aldehyde nuke. You need to be careful with this lol but! It doesn't bother me. I don't know if it's my appreciation for bright white flowers, screechy soapy notes and aldehydic bombs.. But White Linen doesn't bother me unless I were to spray it out and sniff it immediately (I did not do this. DO NOT DO THIS. Please I beg of you). She opens GOOD AND STRONG™ and my best advice to you is to let that cloud dissipate away from you as much as you can. I sprayed my night gown and my wrists with White Linen to see how it settles on both fabric and skin.. And I was pleasantly surprised with both outcomes. After that initial shockwave of aldehydes and lemon (I mostly get a punch of lemon-y aldehyde clean blast), it begins to bloom quickly into a floral bouquet. I mostly get that glorious, vintage carnation and clean lily of the valley. The other flowers are just there as backup singers. Then the drydown, which came on rather fast for me.. This is where I adore it! It retains that ultra clean smell.. I get lemon-y, carnation on a bed of oak moss, woods and this strange mixture of aldehyde clean and benzoin, resin-y goodness. She's cold. She's clean (The epitome of it in fact). She's quirky. She's intense. She isn't for everyone but I do not regret adding White Linen to my Estee Lauder collection.. And as someone who is exploring vintage and specifically, clean, soapy white florals.. I adore White Linen. Will I reach for her every single day? Absolutely not. In fact this won't even be a dedicated bedtime scent but my goddess, this will definitely be my secret weapon for extreme heat days and when I need to purify my body and soul with a holy fragrance spell lol. 10/10 lasting power and sillage. White Linen is NUCLEAR!!! Personal score of: 7/10 I adore it but it's not a 10/10 perfect frag for me. This is very much the: "break glass in case of stink or sweat gross" perfume nuke of them all.. Or if I'm ever to attend a white tie event, you'd best believe I'm reaching for White Linen so everyone knows I am the White Witch.

This is the worst fragrance I have ever smelled hands down. Never before had I physically gagged at a fragrance until I smelled this one.

I was so worried to buy this one because of the crazy negative reviews and I’m so glad I did 😍 I’m on a vintage kick lately (after so many gourmands, fruity florals, sweet launches. I still love them but I wanted to go deeper in history). And experience something new to me because I was a baby when this came out 😅 I thought this was going to be a crazy aldehyde but no, it just smells clean 🤷🏼♀️ Ok, this arrived today and it’s a new formulation, maybe it will be stronger later. I love green earthy fragrances as well so this it’s lovely to me and quite frankly, not that strong 😳. I think it’s great when you want to feel really fresh and awake. And plus, it’s a Sophia Grojsman creation, I just had to 😬

I truly don't understand how anyone could dislike White Linen. Even to modern noses trained on sheer, synthetic skin scents and bakery smelling nonsense, it's still anything but offensive. The opening is the smell of a brutal, unapologetic clean. It's a cold dose of aldehydes that immediately snaps you to attention. Imagine a starched white shirt, ironed by someone with a grudge against softness and the 12-hour civilian clock. It can come across as aseptic and unisex. But if you have the patience to let it develop, that serious opening melts beautifully into a soft floral musk. It's the absolute antithesis of cloying. It loses the brutality and shifts into warmth and a soapy bouquet of abstract white and pink florals. It's a very comforting fragrance. The real brilliance of White Linen is its versatility. It is perfectly appropriate for any occasion. You can wear it casually with jeans and a t-shirt, or you can pair it with formal wear for black-tie. It never suffocates. It simply presents itself as proper. You absolutely cannot go wrong with this timeless, structurally perfect masterpiece.

It has a vintage perfume smell, sometimes faintly medicinal.

(Vintage EdP, “parfum spray”, bottle c. 1987) Every time I wear White Linen I am reminded of why I love it so much, and I say it specifically in that way because, for some reason, I always end up forgetting the context and the details of why I love it. Not this time! To my nose, White Linen is an expression of all of the classic ways a person can smell “clean”. There are shimmering and cold aldehydes overlaying a very gentle tree fruit accord at the top. It smells like I’ve just washed my hands in cold, infused water. It is bracing and refreshing. This textural theme of coolness continues into the heart as well with a strong lilac note. Lilacs have always smelled to me as a cold yet rich and heady aroma - but there is a trick here, because there is an unctuous note at play that calls to mind muguet when placed in tandem with the sweet headiness of lilac. Predominantly though, the heart is rosey - Grojsman loves her roses - but with the cold lilac note, the unctuous muguet, starchy and dry orris, and some musk/civet material, there is a strong evocation of the floral animalic musk-based soaps popular in the 60s and 70s (Yardley comes to mind). It’s very much like I’m smelling a vintage soap infused with floral oils, or a vintage fabric starch. The base is a very gentle aromatic cedar and sandalwood, and quite a bit of damp oakmoss, like a spring rain has just nourished and cleaned the moss but this is far from the oakmoss-bombs popular in White Linen’s day. Again: gentle, fresh, understated, and clean. White Linen is gorgeous. What seems to be a simple and clean floral musky chypre actually has a lot intricacies, corners, and little hidden gems working underneath the surface. When you pay attention to those details that’s when White Linen puts a smile on your face, the smile of contention and the vitality of freshness like you’re being swaddled in a freshly laundered down comforter. Ahhhhhh, lovely.

This fragrance reminds me of a pale, quiet morning at your grandma's house, folding laundry or daydreaming in the backyard on the swing chair, or lying on a freshly made bed watching white shards of mid-morning sunlight fall vertically onto the wallpaper. Clean, comforting and nostalgic.

An American classic, IMO. Glad to have it in my collection for that reason, and because my grandmother owned a bottle, but one that doesn't smell right on me. Too optimistic, if that makes sense. Chenyne, it isn't necessarily about "improvement". Sometimes they reformulate just to increase the profit margin, but sometimes ingredients become too hard to get, or too expensive, or they are discovered to be harmful (carcinogenic, for example) and are banned or voluntarily abandoned.

WHITE LINEN is a perfume that I "admire," as I do most ESTEE LAUDER perfumes. BUT... it has never smelled quite "right" on... ME! Sad, because I would like to "pull off" such a crisp, unique perfume.

I like it. It's unusual - aldehydic, citrus, slightly sweet and bubbly like a fizzy drink. Good for summer. Great parameters. I tested a current formulation.

omg this ended up being a major throw away, after about two weeks of trying to like it. literally smelled like i sprayed myself with bleach. this fragrance is depressing!! sad bc I was looking for something fresh and bland yet unique, but this was TOO bland. Time to test out estee lauders pleasures next.

I recently bought a gift set of this and I have to say I'm not pleased. It does NOT smell like what I smelled back in the late 80's that made me love it. What did they do to it? This seems to be a thing with older branded perfumes. Someone gets the bright idea to "improve" on something that needed no improvement! Pisses me off. Change it back! Along with Halston, Paris, and Yvresse, Red, Society and many others. Bring back the old formulas that made us like them in the first place! Ugh!

"Ms. Grojsman, how strong would you like the aldehydes to be?" "Yes."

Disappointed. I first bought White Linen around mid l980s and I loved it. I have just acquired another bottle and it is just not the same, I honestly cant seeing me using it. One of the comments here by lagavulinx more or less sums up my thoughts on this perfume.... Its almost like there are two versions, and they are entirely different, whatever the reason.... Such a shame.

smells cheap and vintage . like clean sweat more than "white linen" 😌. the name and bottle are beautiful. the perfume is a joke. inspires nothing.

Why. would. you. Smells like the worse fabric conditioner you can imagine. In the 1980's I used to work with someone who wore this, gave me a migraine every time.

when I was 16 years old (in the 80s) I got this perfume as a present from my first boyfriend, I remember I didn’t like it back then, it was super intense! Years later, I smelled it again in a store and I thought “what was he thinking buying me such a perfume” 😅 when I reached my 50s I bought it again and I wear it occasionally when I feel like it and I love it! It is quite intense, but for me also connected to my childhood memories so it’s very personal 🥰

Stunningly well-blended soapy aldehyde bomb that harkens back to a time before perfume smelled like candy or food. Its name is apropos. Crisp white linen on a monied woman sitting on the patio of her country club eating a Cobb salad. Not office friendly for a reason - the woman who wears this doesn't have to work and wouldn't be caught dead in sensible shoes or fluorescent lighting.

Morning Breath BOMB ! All i smell is saliva and morning breath linen who my dear linen who