When I think of La Prairie, I don't think of expensive face creams. Instead, I think of Georgette Mosbacher, the powerhouse bombshell who bought the languishing La Prairie in the 1980s, ratcheted up its profits and visibility, then sold it in 1991. Although Georgette runs Borghese Cosmetics these days, a few lessons from her book, Feminine Force: Release the Power Within to Create the Life You Deserve, apply to La Prairie's new line of fragrances, Life Threads.
Perfumer Constance Georges-Picot developed all three of the Life Threads Eaux de Parfum: Life Threads Silver, Gold, and Platinum. According to the La Prairie website, each of the fragrances represents a different time in a woman's life.
Silver is the romantic scent of the trio, capturing "dreams and aspirations". Its notes are green leaves, bergamot, tuberose, jasmine, ylang ylang, pimento, orange blossom, sandalwood, vetiver, solar musk, and moss. To me it's a buoyant tuberose scent, not as vaporous or dry as Robert Piguet Fracas, but not as fruity as Estée Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia. Silver embodies Georgette's Feminine Force Principles #25 "I expect to be treated like a lady" and #57 "I know how to interest a man".1
Gold represents the active, passionate times in life and includes notes of tangerine, plum, clove, pepper, cinnamon, coriander, rose, lily of the valley, ylang ylang, cedar, patchouli, myrrh, vanilla, and incense. The result is buzzing jasmine and spicy fruit with a smoky drydown. Gold is warm, loud, nicely balanced, and would pair nicely with a satin Scaasi gown with ruffles and a whopper bow at the shoulder. Georgette's principle #13 "My appearance is talking and I like what it is saying", unfortunately does not apply here. What Gold says to me is "My beauty routine never recovered when the Reagans left the White House." Perhaps Principle #43 is a better fit: "I make mistakes — so what?" For the same feel with a tropical twist and a much lower price tag, try Balenciaga Rumba. (Georgette might point me toward Priniciple #45 "I know I can't be a winner and a whiner at the same time".)
La Prairie classifies Platinum as a floral chypre. Its notes are plum, violet leaf, galbanum, jasmine, rose, leather, cardamom, iris, patchouli, vetiver, golden amber, oakmoss, and labdanum. Platinum is touted as the sophisticated scent of the trio. To me, more than a floral chypre, Platinum is a dry leather chypre. It's not the oily leather of Grès Cabochard or the sharp leather of Robert Piguet Bandit, but a leather with an edge of galbanum and iris to keep it clean. It doesn't last long on my skin (Principle #49 "I finish the job — then move on"), and I have other leather chypres, such as Dior Diorling, that I like better. Georgette's take? Principles #70 "My expectations always exceed my circumstances", and #3 "Life isn't fair — so what?"
All in all, although this may not be a rave review, I'm happy to see Life Threads. They seem nicely made and smell expensive, and although none are real surprises, they aren't the same pink pepper, light florals, and clean musk, or sticky fruit and patchouli fragrances that roll off the assembly line these days.
I'll let Georgette have the last word: "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and sometimes a lipstick is just a lipstick. Sometimes looking great is just looking great."2 How does that apply to this review? I'm not sure, but it sounds good.
The La Prairie Life Threads fragrances come in 50 ml bottles for $125 each, and can be found at Neiman Marcus and other La Prairie retailers. Also, I've seen testers available at internet discounters.
1. All of the Feminine Force principles are from pps. 283 to 286.
2. Ibid, p. 176.
Love the quotes! I liked Silver the best. I can see Gold selling really well, as it tries to fit in something for everyone. It reminded me intensely of something else, but I just can’t put my finger on what… to the point where it’s almost painful.
Yes…. GOLD reminded me of another scent also that I cannot pinpoint. Something from the 80’s. It’s driving me nuts!
~Dawn
Definitely something from the ’80s. It reminded me a little of Le Parfum by Sonia Rykiel, too.
You could be onto something there Angela.
When I sampled Gold, I got huge burst of something similar in smell to Vanilla Custard baby food in the top notes. It was strangely intriguing.
Did you get anything close to that?
~D
I don’t have enough experience with baby food to know, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all! (Now I’m very hungry for tapioca, by the way.)
hi there! i bet your talking bout EXCLAMATION, or DARK VANILLA. i use to wear those when i was in my 20’s. perfume was one of the first things i bought when i got paid from my first job!
It’s amazing how much we remember those old fragrances we wore at important times in our lives!
The best part of Gold, to me, is the smokiness in its base. The fruit is a deal breaker for me, though.
I love my copy of The Feminine Force! Georgette and I may not see eye to eye politically, but I’d sure love to meet her for dinner.
Would Gold appeal to a girl who, say, doesn’t mind getting stuck in an elevator with someone who liberally doused themselves with YSL Paris?
As far as sillage goes, maybe, but it doesn’t smell anything like Paris. Gold is a lot fruitier and spicier. It could be worth a try, though!
It was the description of the dress with the massive bow that got me thinking.
I can definitely see that. Especially if the dress was pink.
I’m adding this to my Amazon Wish List!
Good idea! I’m guessing the library probably doesn’t have it.
You mean I can’t “whine” and “win” at the same time? How about if I just grumble. Bah!
Silver sounds like it’s right up my alley, and I have to agree Angela, even if they aren’t earth-shattering, it’s still nice to find something that isn’t aggressively fruity these days.
You should read the rest of the Feminine Force’s 72 principles! Unfortunately, I don’t remember one reference to perfume, though.
I’ll put it on my Xmas reading list!
It’s an easy read. You should be able to read it and wrap Christmas presents at the same time.
Hi, Angela! I don’t know about the scents but I’ve got to check out this book for its nuggets of wisdom. Wow!
I cherish my copy, but I love things like this. It’s definitely worth digging up, if you can find it.
Amazon carries it, and it is in stock!
Well well well.
Ahhhhhh. Your review didn’t excite one bit of craving in me… not even to sample. Loved your spin on the “Principles” outtakes, though (much of that kind of claptrap makes me gag even when it contains [few?] kernels of truth)! Enjoy your week.
Oy, Joe, aren’t you trying to get in touch with your inner Feminine Force, lol? I’d love to see a trio of male centric frags for the different stages of men’s life… From Sex Panther to Pour Monsieur in 3 steps…. It all seems very Sinatra “It was a very good year” to me….
It seems like men’s motivational books are mostly about how to get ahead in business. Too bad! I bet George Hamilton could write a terrific The Masculine Force.
Oh, wouldn’t that be great?? I would buy it!
Me too! For the tanning tips, if nothing else.
And the “expect to be treated like a lady / know how to interest a man” seems very “I can bring home the bacon with Enjoli!” to me… I’m reducing to least common denominator, but that all seems like the very tiresome madonna/whore thing. Yawn!
She makes a point of saying–a few times–that she doesn’t split checks, either. Well, I guess she bagged a few rich husbands that way.
Probably the Platinum was my favorite, but I don’t need it, either. (Am very much enjoying my morning’s dousing in Chene, though.)
Enjoy your week, too!
Hi Angela! I’m glad you reviewed these as I’ve been curious about them. Happily – they won’t get added to my MUST try list, but if I stumble across them of course I’ll sniff them, cause, well, that’s what I do. haha Mosbacher’s book sounds unintentionally funny and your review and the quotes you included gave me my first smiles today. [ I will say the fragrances don’t sound as bad as their cheesy commercials though.]
The fragrances are fine and good, but just didn’t set my world on fire. The book, on the other hand….
Although these aren’t really on my radar, I would be interested to smell them, esp. as you comment they are not like the norm these days. The Silver and Platinum seem most interesting to me. I am still hung up on some very 80s fragrances, so I don’t need another, lol. Yes, Coco, I am talking to you.
I bet Coco gets a lot of talking to from a lot of us!
Yes, she’s been hanging out with me for a long time, and I always reach for Coco when I need to get in touch with my original fragrance self. That sounds so silly. But we are all up with women on this post today for sure!
You remind me that it’s time to do a review of Coco.
Angela – Would love to know what you think of Coco now and then. My edp dates from 1993…
I don’t have any vintage Coco to compare with (my sample is a few years old), but I do think I’ll do a review for next week. Maybe some of the commenters on that review will have some good info for you.
Those quotes are…*priceless*… The quotes and the description of Gold perfectly conjure up Sigourney Weaver in Working Girl—”Who makes it happen?” “I make it happen.” LOL!
Tempted by a good price and additional discount, I bought Silver unsniffed from one of the discounters and I really like it (and love the mod lucite bottle). The woodiness makes it, for me anyhow, a more wearable tuberose than some others. But now I won’t be able to wear it without thinking of the quotes!
I’m glad you like it! It’s nice to have a good tuberose around, in my opinion. Kind of like a secret weapon against dreariness.
Angela, we need to get together and swap books–I have Arlene Dahl’s “Always Ask a Man,” which is loaded with “wisdom.” (“And of course, whenever in doubt… Always ask a man!”) Few things can make me gag in disgust while simultaneously choking with laughter, but Arlene pulls it off.
As for the fragrances, glad I can say pass to these for now. I have unrealistic expectations of perfumes named after metals (expectation being that they should smell of said metal), and since that unrealistic expectation was already met through EL’s Dazzling Silver, I need look no more.
Always Ask a Man is already one of my favorites! I’ve read it cover to cover. I remember thinking it was so strange that it was written in the mid-1960s when fashion was changing so much, yet Arlene was still stuck in the 1950s.
I like the bottles.
The above is entirely in the spirit of not saying anything if you don’t have anything nice to say. Now that THAT’s out of the way…
Silver went total nuclear mushroom/overripe cheese on me. Like, really, REALLY dirty. Not in a good way either, but in the wrinkled-noses-subtly-checking-who-just-stepped-in-dog-poo way.
Platinum was probably the nicest of the bunch for me. Seems to be the so manieth in a series of galbanummy greens, though; Cristalle, no. 19, a scent etc.
Oh, it doesn’t sound like they worked out well on you! Too bad. Or really, good, I guess. They’re not cheap.
Nice review Angela! I briefly tried these, although the SA at Neimans grabbed the bottles away from me as if I didn’t know how to operate an atomizer without her expert assistance. She then insisted that I try them on paper. I had to sneak back (with a friend body-blocking her) to spritz them on skin. So, instead of making a sale, she simply hastened my departure from the store. I didn’t really get a good leisurely sniff.
Despite the experience, my impression was that I would probably wear Silver. Gold was a bit overbearing for me and I have no memory of Platinum whatsoever.
As for the quotes? I’ll add my own. High-end department stores just ain’t what they used to be.
We should put out our own book with our own list of principles, and your quote about department stores can joint the list.
I really don’t get fragrance SAs! I had some at NM spray into the cap so I never even got a paper to take home. Then other places they want you to coat your body with it before an introductory whiff. We need to write a manifesto to hand to these folks on what we expect/need/want when we are shopping for perfume (which would mostly say “leave me alone until I actually need you, and make sure there are plenty of strips”).
I love the idea of a manifesto! The SAs I like best are the ones who ask what kind of help I’d like. I feel bad, though, because I ask for so many samples, and I know they only have so many to give out.
I enjoy being left alone, but about a month ago, in a perfectly empty Saks, a friend and I were left to sniff while an SA didn’t even skip a beat on her very important personal phone call. She was on the phone when we came in and on the phone when we left the store, as far as I can tell. But at least I was allowed to spritz by my rules.
I guess it’s a fine line between being invisible and being overwhelmed by help. Let’s hope that phone call had more to do with her being able to get the kidney she desperately needs than with her movie plans later on.
I don’t think I could own too many interpretations of tuberose, so must check these out. Fruit in frags is rarely an issue for me, especially since today I’m wearing Pulp. Really, I don’t know if it gets much fruitier than Pulp. These look worth a sniff at least, and it’s good to know they’re original in their own way compared to most of what comes rolling off the lines these days.
I recently tried Silver Rain and was far less than pleased, so here’s hoping the Life Threads work out better on my skin.
Silver Rain is what happens when popsicles go bad, if you ask me. The Life Threads are infinitely better. Let me know what you think!
Reading this review makes me go meh (not a reflection on your writing Angela, but on the fragrances!) but I did love the quotes. She sounded like quite a woman though I don’t approve of the never splitting checks.
I was actually quite put off by the ads for this range – particularly the one for Silver which was posted here and resulted in lively discussion about its utter silliness! It’s available at David Jones here in Adelaide but I have never felt the urge to try it out – even the bottles put me off.
Thanks for the review, quotes and introducing me to Georgette Mosbacher! I look forward to reading more from you
Georgette is something else. I wish I could meet her. I glad you liked the post!
You are hilarious! I do like the final quote about cigar and lipstick though.
Thank you! I enjoyed the Feminine Force. That Georgette is a spunky gal.
You’re a scary-good writer, Angela. You raise my standards as a reader. Thank you.
Thank you! But much of the credit for the writing in this post goes to Georgette–and her ghost writer, I’m sure.
Smokey on the dry down sounds real good. Angela- have you been vin-scent hunting lately?
Yes, that smokiness was what set it apart from a lot of scents, and it was my favorite part of Gold.
As for vintage scents, I always have an eye out! It’s been a while since I’ve bought anything, though. About a month ago I picked up about a quarter ounce of Femme parfum, the new version, and I’ve been enjoying that.
You are lucky. I would love to be locked in an antique store and in trying to find my way out, imagine my shock and pleasant suprise upon discovering an entire room devoted to vintage scents! Merry Christmas to me!!
That would be a dream come true!
I liked Silver the best of the three not so good choices. They smell heavy and complicated, not in a good sense. Very La Prairie, Silver rain and all the precious metals obsession.
Each of the scents seems to be made to appeal to a different taste, and I guess that’s good, but so far I haven’t heard anyone who is wildly enthusiastic about any of them. Then again, no one seems to have dismissed them, either.
Hello Angela!
Finally these 3 have arrive to the perfume store in my neighborhood.
So I can say:
Wheew! I hope this makes sense!
They do smell expensive
They smell old fashioned to me: On silver I don’t get the tuberose but synthetic jasmine!, on Gold I get cinnamon, ylan ylang myhrr and vanilla and it is a little overbearing, and finally on platinum (I do think it is the one that tries to be the more sophisticated of the trio) I get the plum, cardamom, galbanum and oakmoss also taking over the rest (I barely get the leather!)
I love the quote about the cigar, by the way…
I think that it applies here as what I thought while coming home smelling the paper stripes with these 3 on it was “Well it IS a beauty line aimed at old ladies, what did you expect them to smell like???”
And at the same time I belive that a 60 year old woman now in the 2010’s is not *old* at all. I think the mental picture we conjured up of a 60 year old in the ’80s is what today we think a 75+ years old looks like. So I guess that what it bothers me about these 3 frags is that, in my opinion, their image of a 60 year old woman is stuck in the 80s…
Thanks for your take on these fragrances! I think your comments about them being aimed at older, wealthy women, but that older women today aren’t the same as they were in the Reagan years is really insightful.