Lola is the latest perfume from Marc Jacobs. It follows the über-pleasant, über-cheerful Daisy, and is being touted as Daisy's "confident and slightly vampy older sister".
I'll start with the bottle — as was the case with Daisy, the bottle here is surely at least half the point, maybe even the whole point. Daisy's original bottle, adorned with white "retro-cool" vinyl flowers, was cute as the dickens, and while I wasn't so sure about Lola's bottle when I first saw the pictures, it turns out to be cute as the dickens too. The bright vinyl flower on the cap is absurdly large, so that the 50 ml bottle (see below right) in particular looks as though it might topple over at any moment. It made me laugh out loud as soon as I saw it in person. Again as with Daisy, it's hard to take a perfume in such a bottle too seriously.
The juice is just fine. It's pretty much exactly what it purports to be: a slightly older, slightly more sensual scent than Daisy. It seems perfectly calibrated to be Daisy's older sister, although as several people pointed out when it was announced, if the model in the Lola ad (Karlie Kloss) is Daisy's older sister, then Daisy must be about 12 years old.
Lola's opening is rather loud — lots of pink pepper, lots and lots of pear, a little whoosh of tart grapefruit to keep it under control — but it doesn't stay loud at all (the notes: pink peppercorn, pear d’anjou, ruby red grapefruit, fuchsia peony, rose, geranium, vanilla, tonka bean and creamy musk). The heart is, like Daisy's, mostly vague-ish flowers, but they're not so fresh and clean as Daisy's vague-ish flowers, and the dry down is warmer, deeper, muskier, sweeter, more vanillic. There's a tinge of something ever-so-slightly off-kilter in the dry down that I decided smelled like vinyl, but I'm probably giving it credit for more quirkiness than it warrants: as with Daisy, the quirky is pretty much reserved for the bottle design.
Like so many of the department store fragrances released over the past few years, Lola smells instantly familiar, and it no longer seems worth taking the time to figure out just which other fragrances it smells like. Suffice it to say that Lola doesn't break any new ground in terms of fragrance history. It's hard to believe it will sell as well as Daisy either: Daisy was so clean and fresh that anyone could wear it, Lola, just by virtue of being heavier and sweeter, might not be so easily adopted by anyone and everyone. Still, it's absolutely fine. Oh, did I mention the bottle is cute as the dickens?
Marc Jacobs Lola was developed by perfumers Calice Becker and Yann Vasnier. It is available in 30, 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum, in a limited edition solid perfume ring, and in matching body products. It is currently exclusive to Bloomingdale's, and is expected to go into wider distribution in mid-August.
Update: here is the 30 ml bottle of Lola (see image above), for anyone who was curious to see what it looks like. It will retail for $48 and is to launch in November 2009.
I smelled it … it was okay: floral/musky. Underwhelming… but I’m sure it will sell well.
I’m sure it will too. And when they do that bottle in black & white for a collector edition, LOL, it will sell some more…
yes I probably will be smelling this just to see how it compares to the best seller Daisy
I thought it’s little sister smelled like a very nice handsoap and every one at my school wears it
my thought is how can Marc Jacobs do it again i mean with half the would wearing Daisy is there any room left for her older sister Lola?
Perhaps 1/4 of the world will wear Daisy during the day, Lola at night?
Hi R,
Smelled this last Friday at Bloomies and while I am digging that cute bottle, I am NOT digging the juice. Not terrible, just “meh”. Your review is right on.
~Dawn
In some ways, I do think MJ would have been wiser to make some minor variation to Daisy and then just stick it in this bottle. I mean, Daisy was also pretty meh but it was awfully likable about it.
I expect better from Calice Becker. Sigh…
You can’t hardly blame Calice Becker: I’m sure this is precisely what was wanted.
Yeah, I guess maybe I should say I feel bad for Calice Becker. And any and all perfumers that get stuck with the commercial stuff. Of course, I haven’t smelled Lola yet (that sounds weird), so what do I know? I may end up loving it.
I tend to think that way too, but in all truth I don’t know a darned thing about Calice Becker, or any other perfumers, for that matter…there must be many perfumers who’d rather do a well-known Marc Jacobs scent than an obscure niche scent, right?
Yes, I suppose so. I just read Chandler Burr’s The Perfect Scent, and am hung up on the idea that perfumers do more commercial scents to pay the bills, and the niche stuff is a labor of love. But clearly that’s a skewed view. I think I just want someone to blame for the mass-marketed crap… but I guess the mass-marketed crap has its place, and I should just shut up.
It may well be that way. It’s certainly the way I’d rather look at it too!
But will also say, not directed at you Miss Kitty but just in case anyone is getting the wrong impression, that Lola really doesn’t strike me as crap — it’s not to my taste but it’s well done, and I really did mean that it seems perfectly calibrated to be Daisy’s older sister, which is in itself an accomplishment. And we all have to keep reminding ourselves that not everybody is after interesting or unusual in their perfume: there’s something to be said for something that just smells good and is well done.
There’s nothing wrong with a professional person – in any field, not just perfumery – bringing their skill and artistry to a commercial product so as to please a lot of people. (An academic, for instance, who also writes for popular magazines.) Why keep your skill and experience just for the elite?
The problem in the perfume world I suppose is that being stuck with commercial stuff means being stuck with a low budget.
Thank you, Anne Marie, that’s what I was trying to say. Not very articulate today…
Yes! I think there are a lot of perfumes that I would like, but they smell, well, like they’re cheap. Of course, there are a lot of things out there that are cheap that don’t smell cheap at all, too. But yes, the small budget and the quality of the materials is what I would think would be frustrating.
sorry for being ignorant, but what does “meh” mean? Im on the other side of the world and I;ve never heard if it, but I’ve seen it written down here so many times!!
It is basically an expression of indifference…to me it means a scent is neither good nor bad, but not worth getting worked up about either way.
I think of it as the New York version of the Parisian’s “hein. . .”
I absolutely adore that bottle. As you say, the juice hardly matters!
I’d love to see the 30 ml bottle, assuming it really exists. A cheapie 30 ml could be perfect just to get your hands on the cute bottle.
Thanks R for clearing that up for me. I had a feeling it might mean that but wasn’t sure!
It’s kind of a ‘sound effect’ spelled out phonetically like “argg” or “blechh” “ack” or “ewwww” only of course “meh” is more middle of the road….half way between “yum” and “blechh” —who says Americans aren’t easy to understand?
Hihihi, I love “ewwwww”, but never new how to spell it, thank you Daisy! I think every language has its onomatopoeia words, but I believe none has as many as American English, I love it!
lol hi Angel….the great thing about spelling sound effects is that the spelling is at the discretion of the speller…. grrr can indicate frustration but GRRRRRR can denote that level of frustration where your eyes begin to bulge and the vein on your temple is visibly throbbing. Very useful tool for expression!
I think no dialect in the history of language has been as changeable and has evolved as quickly (sometimes to its own detriment) as American English. Don’t even get me started on the reasons….because someone will surely kick my soapbox from beneath my feet and I’ll get all bruised up in the fall.
Oh by the way, Robin you may not have mentioned this …but that bottle is just cute as the dickens!
ok, no more coffee for me this afternoon…
I could use a latte. Wish I had the energy to go get one.
ahhhhh…a latte….delish! Too much trouble to leave the house for goodies like that….I’m far too lazy . What you need is Keurig single cup coffee maker (works for almost instant hot tea too!) you can slap any kind of fancy or flavored or whatever catches your eye at the time into it and then doctor them up to make your own sugar filled, cream laden, tasty concoction you want….lovely…..of course it is almost 25 paces from my computer to the kitchen…..sigh…
Nah…I don’t even drink coffee as a rule, I just like a nice latte every now and then. And it’s no fun if I have to make it myself.
Ever go to Dairy Queen and have a Mocha Moo-latte????
Verra verra yummy.
In fact, I embarrass everyone by squealing “MOO-LATTE” every time we drive past the Dairy Queen. But I don’t get to stop….I have to lose 8 lbs and glugging down coffee/icecream/chocolate confections is likely to make the pants tighter rather than looser.
No, but don’t generally like sweet coffee drinks — luckily, because I’ve already got enough sweet addictions.
More for ME then !!! Chocolate , ice cream and coffee….three of my favorite substances on Earth…..other than perfume!
oh, Robin…today I’m sampling Lubin Idole because you made it sound so interesting on the blog the other day….I’m going to have to review the notes as I don’t know what this hot-alcohol smell is…
Rum!
how could I possibly have left that off the list….RUM!
lol —oh, you mean in the Idole…..hahahaha I was still thinking with my stomach!
I make homemade iced caramel lattes that makes my husband swoon. I like em too.
new plan: every one meet at Rustic’s for caramel lattees!!!
Yes, come for cawfee and we’ll tawk.
I can’t WAAIT to smell this! I have to smell this, Queen Latifah, Forever Mariah Carey, Couture Couture and Jennifer Lopez’s My Glow, Bond’s success and Harrods and I’ll be good. I kinda wanna smell Britney’s Circus Fantasy also
Gracious, do not smell all of that in one day! Bloomies also had testers of Couture Couture, so you can knock off both of those there. I have not yet seen the Mariah or the My Glow, much less the Britney.
i just smelled at bloomies – love this juice! not really a fan of daisy – but this smells great on me
Good, always glad to see a fan show up! Did you buy it?
I tried to be dismissive of Daisy, but it is indeed very nice. Maybe not out on a limb, but sometimes you don’t want to be out there.
Exactly, sometimes you don’t want to be out there, and more to the point, most consumers NEVER want to be out there: they want something that smells nice. Daisy, IMHO, hit its mark perfectly.
I agree with nearly everyone that that bottle is cute as the dickens. I would definitely not kick it off the top of my dresser. However, the fruity/floral/vanilla/tonka/musk thing does sound terribly generic.
You know, it isn’t unusual — there are lots of similar scents — but it’s arguably not as generic as Daisy. Still, I like Daisy better.
Adorable, but … more pink pepper? Ack. Is there a global surplus on pink pepper that perfume companies are buying up? I’ll pass on even testing this, unfortunately.
I think perfumers just like it. I read something recently about how nicely it works in terms of sillage and creating a bridge between the top & base notes. I’m just getting kind of tired of smelling it in everything.
Amen.
They need to build a better bridge!
I know it’s in so many scents, but either it’s so ubiquitous or my nose is not so savvy, because I don’t even notice what the “pink pepper” accord is. I’ve never smelled something and thought, “OH, pink pepper!” I told you, I’m a philistine.
You know, it isn’t an overwhelming note — just that I do think it contributes to the “been there, smelled that” sense I get when I smell new things.
Historically, just when did the dumbing down of perfume begin?
You know, companies have always tried to copy other popular perfumes…I think that was just a bit less annoying and/or obvious when there were 200 new perfumes a year. Now that there are over 1000 and they’re all geared towards the same market, it isn’t surprising that they all smell so much alike.
Gosh, but that probably isn’t what you meant by dumbing down…that’s different, and I think it started more recently, when everybody everywhere in every industry started marketing to the very young.
My daughter is THE target demographic for this – she’s a Marc Jacobs devotee. I’ll have to get this for her. I hope I’m not tempted to keep that darn cute bottle. haha
Oh, I hope she’ll like it!
Just adding that to my nose, it definitely isn’t as “young” as Daisy.
The bottle is cute and I like Daisy just fine – haven’t bought it, but it’s nice – so I’ll definitely try it. Of course, as tempted as I am to buy it just for the bottle, it would be kind of silly since I keep them all in their boxes anyway.
LOL…I don’t know why I care either, they’re all away in a dark cabinet.
I used to be so good and kept all my perfumes in their boxes in a cabinet – but now I have a bunch of them displayed, spoiling by the minute in the light, I’m sure. But I can’t help it – i have to look at some of them.
RD: Were you the one who recently commented that sometimes you get “caught” just doing nothing but staring at your beautiful bottles? I loved that comment to no end, really… as much for the appreciation of the bottles as for the idea of being “caught” as if one were doing something evil.
somebody said they were pretending to be reading but looking at her perfume bottles. I thought that was very funny!
So nothing special a? Which of the two juices did you prefer? I cant wait to see that bottle! Marc should really do another mens scent! I LOVE Marc Jacobs for men! That was all the way back in ’02! Heres hoping he releases one sooner then later! It could be like Pine Marc Jacobs or Wood Marc Jacobs? Daisy & Lolas cool, rugged, badass older brother! JK!
I like Daisy better, but that’s just because it’s more innocuous than this one. Of them all, I like the original Marc Jacobs for women the best, and Blush second. I have not cared for the Splash series at all.
Agree…he needs to do another for men!
I like the original Marc Jacobs the best, too. I just picked up the gift set at TJ Maxx for $30 last week. I’m not really big on getting the lotion and shower gel and all that, but they didn’t have just the juice. I should check MUA and see if there are people out there who want all the lotions and shower gels from the various gift sets that I’ve acquired.
Great price!
Yeah i loved the original and blush more then daisy too. Same here w/ the splash series. Did kinda like fig seeing as how i love fig. By MJ for men covers that for me. He should try for an older age group next time around. Something like MJ for women again. Or heck, a unisex one would be nice from him.
Yes, something more mature — women or men or unisex!
It sounds perfectly “safe” and I suppose if one just wants to smell good, it is a likely candidate just as Daisy is. I don’t mind Daisy, but it is easily edged out of the want list by several other frags. It would be perfectly tolerable in an office situation, however, as I suspect this one is as well. *yawn*
This one might not be quite so office-friendly as Daisy, just because it’s stronger & sweeter.
Ohhhhhhkay. Apparently I am all alooooooone still hatin’ that tacky bottle. I mean, the flower looks to me as if it were made of Fruit Roll-ups (yes, I’ve seen it in person now, couldn’t manage to get a sniff). OTOH, looks like it would go great with braces, neon green fingernails, contrasting color bra straps, multiple piercings, and high-pitched giggling.
Please excuse my snark… it was Family Day at the fair, and there were teenage rednecks by the bazillions at the fairgrounds today, and I just have zero patience remaining with people of that age group at the moment. (The snark should wear off by tomorrow. Don’t worry.)
You’re not alone! I don’t hate the bottle, but it doesn’t do much for me for some reason. I think the Daisy bottle is much cuter.
No, snark away! And it does look like fruit roll ups. I still like the Daisy bottle better, but this one is more charming than I thought it would be. And funnier.
That’s it exactly Robin. I think the bottle is enjoyable because it’s oddly funny….I wouldn’t proudly display it on my bureau ….but I kind of want to sniff at it to see if it smells like fruit roll ups….no licking, fruit roll ups are very gross…….here eat this smashed flat, processed, sweetened, colored, flavor added, dried out like leather sheet of fruit pulp…mmmmm thanks!
OOHHHH, fruit roll-ups!
That’s one of those sweet-sour memories from childhood!
I lived for a while in the States, as a kid, and I remember those sticky, hued, fruity roll-ups: I wanted them so badly…I loved them. But I was never allowed (some kind of keeping with Italian traditions, give healthy stuff to the kid. To be noted: we could fill a pool with the chocolate around the house and there were cakes being baked on an almost daily basis: but I couldn’t care less – never been a sweet tooth – just gimme that colored roll-up!!!). I could only count on the generosity of my classmates, or – @ lunchtime- trading my slice of pizza for an inch square of that juicy verbotenness…
I might have to get that bottle after all, and try licking the flower cap!
LOL —nah, pleasant childhood memories are sometimes better left as just that. As an adult you might bite that fruit roll up and be so disgusted—it’d ruin the memories!
Yes, darn those Italian parents for giving you healthy things to eat…what were they thinking?? lol oh, and sign me up for that chocolate cake….
Nope, I still hate it. Just didn’t comment.
lol – after spending a portion of my afternoon at the Guerlain boutique at Neiman’s this just sounds really booooring. First the Tom Ford lady grabbed me and made me queasy (but I like Tom Ford much better now) and then I went and got queasy at Guerlain. All the scented cards made my purse queasy, too. I decided I actually don’t care so much for Shalimar parfum, but Vetiver Pour Elle is definitely a Holy Grail.
However, I am looking forward to seeing this bottle in person, cause I think it’s fun. It reminds me of those big crepe flowers that are kind of Mexican-ish.
Yes — those crepe flowers, exactly. (and sounds like you had a fun afternoon!)
Yes, and the SA’s are great there – worth paying retail for their services.
Did they actually have the Vetiver Pour Elle at Neiman’s? Just asking because I’m making the trek to Neiman’s and Nordies tomorrow to smell some stuff that they don’t have at the regular mall.
I also, very dangerously, just discovered that we have a Hermes store in Houston down by the Galleria. Somebody hide my charge cards!
I don’t know if they have it at Neiman’s in General but worth a try. Ours has a quite complete boutique that includes stuff you can only get in France.
Don’t like the bottle. Nope. Initial reaction was, WTH? Maybe if they’d etched or embossed the bouquet onto the bottle, even in color . . . no, can’t do it. Call me buzzkill.
$ saved.
I don’t like the shorter, squat bottle so much, but the taller, skinnier one is cute – it looks like a little vase with flowers. I don’t know that I actually have to have it though – I even like Ma Dame and was lusting after the special edition in the little leather case and I didn’t buy that either.
love the unusual huge amount of black pepper and lychee, and the great Nahema nod!
I say Great job Calice, and amazing bottle
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Could be used as a paper weight…..a pretty one. lol I agree Perfumer’s are meant to create something specific for each brand. So it’s rare when one creates something amazing and unique that will stand the test of time.
It will be interesting to see what scents are later considered the “classics” of the 2000s…hard to tell now.
I went to bloomingdales today and they’re holding this bottle everywhere I look, offering it aggressively.
One of the man almost sprayed it on me.
When I told him it smelled a lot like daisy, he said no. they’re totally different.
-.-;;;;???
I think it’s just exaggerated version of daisy.
Interesting, I thought it quite different from Daisy too!
I’m so happy they went back to putting scent strips in the magazines. The new Cosmo has like 5 of them in there! Lola was in there :). I liked it! I’ll probably only get the lotion, though
Oh good! I’ve been bad: haven’t even opened this month’s Allure yet.
I’m so Obsessed with this fragrance! I can’t wait til it gets to Macy’s! I want Marc Jacobs to become obsessed with me and make me his muse
Good luck with that
I just can’t stop thinking about this fragrance! I love Marc Jacobs! I’ve become Obsessed with this scent. I can’t wait to get the big bottle and hold it in my hands. I wanna see what the 1 oz bottle looks like. How was the lasting power, Robin???
I’ve been curious about the 30 ml too…wonder if it has a flower cap or not? If so, it’d have to be a much smaller flower.
I thought the lasting power was quite good, & better than Daisy’s.
So I finally got to try Lola at Macys 2day and I have to say, I like it alot more then Daisy. While I liked Daisy alot, I never purchased it because I wasnt madly in love with it. But I could definately see myself falling in love w/ Lola! The bottle is to freakin die for!! I mean my gosh! And the 3.4oz bottle is huge!!! You could knock someone out with that thing! I just LOVE the HUGE flower cap!! Everything about it beats everything about Daisy for me! I have to have it!
Sounds like you’re gonna buy it
I BOUGHT IT YESTERDAY, August 28th :). Everything about it is huge! The bottle is huge, the top, THE BOX! Marc really did it with this scent. I just can’t stop smiling when I look at it
Yay!
Take a look at THIS beauty
http://theglamazons.blogspot.com/2009/09/first-look-marc-jacobs-lola-solid.html
Cute! I was wondering if he’d do a solid for Lola.
Lola is a pretty frangance (the drydow reminds me of Tocada by Rochas). Somebody here mentioned something about smelling cheap. I don`t thin so. In the contrary the ingredients are quite far from smeling cheap. The only dreadful and cheap looking think is Lola`s bottle… If the white daisies were funny surprice and stylish in it`s own way this horrid hybrid is like a parody on fun-fair paper roses. The joke is not working this time. Get it a new bottle
It appears to be doing brisk business, so the bottle is working for someone!
Yes Robin, that`s a matter of business not a matter of art (not in any posh way!). But I believe perfume is a piece of art (some of them anyway
In case of Lola I think the scent has a point but the bottle spoiles it. Pitty.
By the way Robin, sorry for some mistakes in the text. I`m not native English speaker and when I want to say something (and it includes emotions) I just overlook the mistakes. Sorry!
No need to apologize, your English is very good! I didn’t like the bottles when I first saw them in pictures, but I thought in person it was very cute — but you have lots of votes on your side, many people hated it!
You know, when it was announced they said it would also be in a 30 ml bottle. I haven’t seen it yet, but dont’ see how they could put that huge flower on a 30 ml bottle — it would fall over!!
Also I thought: pitty it aims at under 20 years of age buyers. It reminds me of Lolita kind of thing. The campaign looks like it anyway. Wonder if the name Lola has anything to do with it. Don`t you know?
I don’t know, sorry.
Someone had a smalll bottle on YouTube, and it was a smaller cap. I also think it was all red and not different colors
Thanks, I’ll look for it!
I tried it on today, and agree completely with your review… if they come out with minis, I’ll get them as stocking stuffers for my nieces – the bottle is so amazingly cute!
It really is. Too bad the solid perfume ring isn’t quite cheap enough to do as a stocking stuffer!
I know! Although…. I could make that the central gift if I can’t find minis, and then bump it up a little by including samples and gwps.
As soon as I smelt this I felt that I smelt like my grandmother, it smells like her makeup very odd!
Oh, but that’s a nice association!
i just brought this today after spraying it on myself the other day in the department store i love it on my skin , my partner also loved it that being said some peoples skin make frangrances smell different to others some that smell nice on friends dont smell nice on me.
Congrats on your new bottle!
I definitely want to try this scent- a close friend told me that the scent reminded her of my personality, and I’ve never really had a scent that properly defined me. Fruity floral isn’t my biggest favorite, but I should probably try it on before saying anything, lol.
Sorry for the late reply…did you try it yet?
I could get a sniff today from a tester. It starts out sweet, and the dry down is similar to other perfumes I smelled before. Nothing original. I find it fruity floral with vanille in the dry down. Maybe I am wrong, but in the far dry down it remembers me of Ed Hardy Love kills Slowly for women. It is a scrubber for me, I get a head ache of it (also from Ed Hardy).
Oh, a scrubber — sorry you hated it so much!
I love the smell! To each their own though. When I got it home I realized I shouldn’t have spent the $ for it when I could have got a bottle of Incognito for much cheaper, and they smell about the same.
Glad you love it! It’s a wonderful bottle, so perhaps that will justify the extra cost.
Had Dasiy Loved it! Got Lola, loved the smell instantly. But did anyone else find that the scent doens’t last? You’d think after paying £50 it would stay for at least a cuple of hours?
I found it longer lasting than Daisy, but you’re not alone (see below).
From the name I was expecting something deep and spicey and sultry. It’s pleasant enough but for me much too wishy washy. I would not buy it, its so subtle you can’t even smell it after a hour. Watery, weak, plain Jane.
It’s geared too young to be spicy/sultry, I guess: Marc Jacobs seems to know just what his audience wants.
I guess there’s a new Lola coming. : ) http://fashionista.com/2011/03/is-dakota-fanning-the-face-of-marc-jacobs-new-oh-lola-fragrance/
Well, we know they’ll do a flanker eventually, right?
Haha. Yeah. I got over Lola pretty quickly so we’ll see how this flanker goes. : )
smells good.
Bought Lola as a Chanukah present for my sister. She cannot wait to receive it.
I do not really care for Lola. Find it to be fairly boring, like all of Marc Jacobs’ perfumes.