Emporio Armani Lei

I absolutely love this perfume. It was one of a couple scents I wore I college and I hadn't smelled it in a very long time until recently. My sister gifted me a vintage bottle last year and it's straight up nostalgia. I have fallen in love with the powdery/heliotrope, slight citrus, woodsy, clean vibe all over again. This makes me feel clean, put together and a little sexy. I can't believe I failed to have this for so long, I'm searching out old bottles to stock pile because I want to wear this all the time and not worry about using up my old formula. It feels like an excellent choice for a signature scent. I have figured out in my research that new formulations are not as strong, I'm not sure what year(s) the reformulation occurred. I will update my review with my info when I figure that out

Found my old vintage bottle of this from the late 90s tonight at my mom’s and brought her home with me. It’s about half full. Still smells lovely. Very vanilla cashmere. I’m honestly surprised cashmere is not listed in the notes. I’m definitely not getting much fruit or floral. Just very musky. It’s not one that I think I could wear every day but I’m happy that I was reunited with it. I’ll keep it in my collection and take it out and have a sniff when I’m feeling nostalgic.

This original version was my signature sent for 20 years. I still have a bottle 15 years old and I wear it only in special occasions (trying to save some). I tried new version. It's kind of more feminine and lasts shorter than original. It's ok to wear it during the day, but for evenings it lacks depth. I truly hope they will bring us back the old version some day. I had so many compliments from men and women both.

Woody citrus notes of vanilla. Refined elegant, timeless. Incredibly feminine.

My first actual perfume. I tried so hard to love it but it just reminds me of new car smell. I could totally imagine it on a older more sophisticated woman though.

I’m not exactly sure which bottle I have: this 2018 bottle of “Lei” or 2020’s “She” which means the same thing. My bottle is very heavy on the fresh lime smell and sandalwood, which at first don’t seem like they would go together well but they really do. Lei is a lot of people’s holy grail scent, apparently, and that’s why I blind bought it a few years ago. It’s so good. If you like unisex scents, this is great. It actually smells a lot like lotion, like your old school Eucerin or something, but with a fresh kick from the lime. I was searching my collection today for something to wear in the heat that wasn’t too sweet that might give me a headache, but that still smelled fresh and summery. While Lei doesn’t have any coconut notes, it’s definitely in the same family as KKW Body II, or Guerlain Coconut Fizz…but with lime replacing the coconut. The heliotrope and orris give it the creamy lotion edge to it. Does it knock my socks off? No. But it’s a great signature scent if you want a daily wear fragrance.

One of the weakest perfumes I've ever had - what a shame, because it smells so good! You can smell it around you for maybe 15 minutes before it dries down fully, and once it does, you're stuck to having to put face to skin... it is a really lovely perfume, strong powdery smell reminiscent of a early 2000's makeup store for mature women, silk shirts, a vanilla candle somewhere in the room. As for the bottle, it's certainly unique... stands out in my perfume cabinet at any rate for being just a vague monolith with no visible pump. Not very many fruit notes here, but that sharp tang of lime could be inferred if your nose is fast enough upon the initial spritz; Notes seem more of a powder / lily / pear / vanilla / almond from strongest -> weakest. I like it, but I really do wish it was stronger! The underbody is so weak, it makes such a little point to wear :(. Armani come back to us make an intense version.

I remember this being very sensual, so much that it was the only perfume my stripper girlfriend would wear. Heavy on the sprays, this made dudes melt at the club.

i’m going to be honest i dislike the actual scent but my mother used to wear it when i was little so i associate it with her, traveling, being at the airport, playing with it and pretending it was some tech super-spy gadget spray, just my childhood in general 🥰 very y2k imo, i don’t think either the bottle or the scent match the name. would never wear this myself but it holds nice memories.

I had a bottle of this circa 2000 (a gift) and I remember it being a chore to use up but I did it! Very powdery and aldehydic is my memory of it, I don't remember the fruity aspects such as pear and lime so they must have been very blended. In my memory it hurts my nose...

This one is so gooddddd.. it could be considered unisex these days and doesn't smell cheap. It’s a plasticy, powdery, almondy vanilla that smells very chic. Like, you don’t know what to wear but you wanna smell careless, slightly sweet but not childish, wear Lei. This is from the candy wrap edition, I haven’t tried the rebottle yet.

It's just a no for me. Not my vibe for a scent on my body. Way too barbershop smelling & definitely not feminine enough for my taste. I just can't do barbershop! 😉

Still have couple of backups of the OG formula... one of the best fragrances ever made. Miss Armani from this period

Dear Armani, we want the old formula to be back! Yes, the masculine one!!! Stop producing toned down, feminine and cheap smelling imitations of this, branding it as the same aroma. We are not idiots! It is 2024 and don't tell me you can't do new formula, smelling exactly the same as the old one. I will give you a hint....we will buy it even if it costs 200 euro. So tuck your sleeves and get to work!

If anyone interested, I have a 30ml missing 3 sprays bottle, with box and “Candy wrapper” bottle to sell or swap.

I loved the original. Couldn't afford it. Now that I can, it has been reformulated and the new one simply is not *it*. I hope to find the original that hasn't gone off.

Smells clean and powdery, with a somewhat "cool" tone to it, almost masculine, which I love. I honestl thought this smells like body lotion or face cream righr away. I can see it as a day to day fragrance, I feel like it works in any season. Also, it doesn't smell heavy and mature, nor sweet and childish. It's a good go to for almoat anyone who likes powdery, vanilla fragrances.

I love 'Lei' this is the original and best version. I think it's irreplaceable just like the OG Emporio White for her was. I used to buy them together, White for day wear and Lei for evenings. Don't know if this is helpful or not but with regards to this fragrance's reformulation, I did some detective work using Fragrantica as the only reference, so it may not be gospel. This fragrance has had three iterations. Emporio Armani 'Lei' for Women was the original version launched in 1998 in the brushed champagne gold tube and presented in that unique sealed champagne gold packet. In 2008 it was reformulated and relaunched as "For Her' with the words 'lei' and 'she' printed in black on the tube, which was a metallic gold tone, as opposed to the former brushed 'champagne' tone of gold. The 'lime' and 'tuberose' had been removed from the opening, two flowers swapped out in the heart and the base was stripped back to three notes, leaving out the 'tonka bean', 'sandalwood', 'almond' and 'amber'. The third iteration launched in 2020 returns in the brushed champagne gold tube and is boxed instead of in the cute packet of the original. The formulation appears to be a little closer to the original. The base is a little more filled out but still missing 'tonka bean' and 'sandalwood'. The heart has a couple of flowers swapped again and the top is missing 'pineapple', 'tuberose' and not sure if there's any 'mandarin, bergamot or lime' as the new formulation just says 'citrus notes' which may or may not include some of those. After analyzing each note that was removed or swapped, I'm more hopeful this most recent version restored the vibe of what I personally loved about the original fragrance. UPDATE: I ended up purchasing the latest formulation. On my skin the opening notes are not harmonizing, the dry down is linear, the heart notes are indistinct and watery and although the final skin scent is closely reminiscent of the original, it's missing the creamy milky sandalwood and sophisticated tobacco note of the tonka bean. In my opinion 'Lei' was sultry and sexier. Yet the brushed champagne gold tube holds nostalgia and remnants of that soft fluffy skin scent, so I'll keep persisting. Perhaps I'll discover more to like? If you loved the original 'Lei' or 'For Her' I recommend testing before buying to avoid disappointment.

Anybody have an Original Formulation for swap? I have many blind buys for swaps & my Perfume closet is very eclectic!

First spray is unisex, almost male-leaning. The powdery and vanille are there, but very muted. Overall I would say this smells quite perfumy?

This was my JAM back in the day. Would love to smell it today. Just seeing the bottle brings back crazy memories. LOVE …ALWAYS!

I did not realize this was discontinued! I’m on my second or third bottle since it came out in 1998—definitely one of my top go-tos of all time. I don’t reach for it as often as I once did, but I do love having it in my arsenal for when the mood strikes. This was a revolutionary fragrance when it first came out, the inspiration for lots of less expensive knockoffs, including Victoria’s Secret Dream Angels Heavenly, which came very close, but this one is top notch—the blending and quality can’t be matched by any of its cheap imitators. Recently I sampled Heeley’s Iris de Nuit and Dior’s Bois d’Argent. I found both strikingly similar to Lei, so I will probably turn to one of those when I find my bottle is empty. I can’t say they are identical, but they hit the mark just fine with my chemistry.

One of my absolute favourites! Very strong to begin with, packs a punch and could almost be a masculine scent. Fruity top notes supposedly, but they must all be perfectly blended because I can’t make out a single one. In fact, it doesn’t smell very fruity to me at all. Anyway, it’s after about 25 mins that this perfume really starts to come into its own. It then turns into a mellow creamy sweet warm spicy scent, with a hint of coffee, that lasts for hours on my skin. One could definitely overspray this, only a small amount is required. I am as likely to wear this on a night out as I am curled up on the sofa watching a film, with my wrist tucked snuggly under my cheek, near my nose. 😄 Simply gorgeous!

If anyone is looking for this I have a 1.7 that’s 85% full batch code 62PD00K -2017-12 I never wear her. Too clean for my taste but I can smell how gorgeous this is and how this would be special for others. she should go to someone whose looking for an original formula. Not sitting unused in someone’s collection. 11/4/23 She’s sold. Thank you all who messaged me.

I’ve been wearing this scent since 1998 and I love it just as much today as I did as a teenager. My all time favorite! 😍 Last week I met up with some friends I went to school with and the said oh, you still smell like YOU.

A nice 90s scent that makes for a unique choice in the present! Starts off with an aromatic kick that can be thought of as unisex or even masculine, and settles down into a fresh and creamy scent that becomes close to the skin near the end. Reminds me of a body cream, probably Nivea. It seems to fall in line with the 90s trend of unisex fragrances even though this is marketed towards women. I would not recommend this as a blind buy but I think it would be enjoyed by those who like to wear other fragrances like this. Similar to Shea from The Body Shop, except Shea is nuttier and heavier which makes it a little too much for me sometimes. Armani Lei is lighter and fresher, I think it is possible in theory to wear it in warm weather but I haven't tried it in summer heat yet. Does anybody know if Diesel Plus Plus is comparable as well? Reviews make it sound similar. Comes in a cool bottle but a little afraid of the rubber sprayer deteriorating over time and becoming sticky! I wonder why they went for this design instead of a solid sprayer with a similar mechanism.

My mom’s signature scent. I love it. Very powdery on the opening, creamy on the dry down. Reformulated version is sweeter but also very nice.

I'm wearing this since 1998. I still have an old version bottle and just realised it was discontinued. I'm really sad now as it was my favourite perfume. I will give the 2020 version a go, but I doubt it will replace the old one. Will use the one I've got really sparingly now.

I used to LOVE this perfume more than anything in the late 90s! It was my first true love fragrance. A friend would wear it and she was obsessed then I was obsessed. Bought several bottles over the years. I can’t believe they stopped making it. I wish they would bring it back. But the original formula! Another friend wore it a couple years ago she had purchased it from Amazon but it didn’t smell that great on her…

I still love this more than 20 years later. Flash back to the year 2000 in a suburb of Charlotte NC high school Latin class, senior year. One of the nice but quieter it girls excluding confidence smells like this. I ask her what it is. Immediately purchase it with my after school job money. Now I’m in my late 30s and have repurchased it and still in love with the classy clean musk girl vibes it gives and a throw back to Latin class before smart phones. It has changed slightly it’s maybe not as soft as it was before but it’s still it girl vibes to me. Good memories excellent projection. Compliment getter.