Pinaud Lilac Vegetal Aftershave

Better than Pinaud Clubman, but still something I will not buy again. Honestly this stuff appears to be alcohol with a little fragrance and color. The ingredients list confirmed this.

A nice scent that is unique. I can enjoy the scent, but I do think it is a bit feminine. Probably will last a while as the burn is pretty bad. Not as bad as Clubman, but pretty uncomfortable. You almost think you could pass out when you first throw it on, as your face little ignites. Too much alcohol IMO.

I wish Pinaud would try some menthol in some of their AS's to fight the alcohol burn. I put a 1 for No Alcohol Burn, since this burns like a bastard. Hopefully this is the correct use of that catagory.

Ahh yes, the aftershave everyone loves to hate

A few weeks ago, I nearly ran out of Pinaud Bay Rum; grounds for a Code Orange in my household. The local Walgreen's were both out, so I ended up ordering from Atlanta Barber Supply. They carry just about every Pinaud aftershave and/or cologne, and as much of an idiot as I am for not ordering the others, I decided to give the infamous LV a go.

It arrived, and as much as I was told that it smelled horrible out of the bottle, I couldn't help but let that be my first test.

*GAG!*

It's true - it genuinely smells like urine right out of the bottle; old, stale urine that's had rotten flowers soaked in it. The entire neighborhood has pee-peed on your lilac bushes and it hasn't evaporated yet.

Not one to be swayed, I gave it the ole Pinaud Clubman treatment: I cut it with Thayer's Witch Hazel 50/50 and immediately decanted it into glass. It became an entirely different animal rather than smelling like the wrong end of one. The urine smell was mostly gone, and the slightly artificial lilac and other floral notes were more apparent using the sniff test.

Out of the bottle however, she's still not all that great -- atleast for the first several minutes. Eventually, after 15 minutes or so, it transforms into a clean, somewhat powdery floral that is masculine and very, VERY old school. As one can deduce from my screenname, that's right up my alley. I have to say, I quite like it.

Quality and efficacy is just like any other Pinaud; a great value for the price. It's not the ambrosia of the Gods, mind you, but it's very good nonetheless. Everything else you'd come to expect from Pinaud is present here.

Currently, I'm using it both as an aftershave and an all-over body splash. It's very refreshing and I find the diluted scent very agreeable and pleasant. Unfortunately, I can't echo the sentiments that it lasts longer than other Pinauds; I'm lucky to get two hours out of it.

Pinaud Bay Rum and Musgo Real will be my standbys for the coming cooler months, but I can definitely see myself using this a lot when spring comes back 'round.

Does this make me a Lilac Vegetarian now?

When i first bought a bottle of LV i opened it and yes , it kind of smell like urine, but only in the bottle. After 30 minutes being on ur skin you start to smell those floral accords wich i like, of course i wouldn't go in public whit in unless 30 minutes pass after i applied it. But on overall i like the scent and i am planning to let open the plastic bottle to see if the urine smell goes off of it.

being it said lilac i knew it would have a floral scent, but i didn't realize it would be that strong since it said it had a masculine scent. i like the smell of flowers but not on me. since i have a skunk that comes around i poured out in the front yard hoping it would keep him away, and to honest about it i haven't smelt him around the house in a while.

I hate the smell of this stuff. By all means try it, there are some people who love it, but for me if I want a lilac A/S I go with the Master's version. I gave the shaving related aspects of the score n/a's because this product didn't spend enough time on my skin to do much of anything.

Lots of people experience a wide spectrum of "in bottle" scents, even individual posters. I've had two bottles (both thrown away pretty quickly) that could not have smelled more dissimilar to each other. The smelled like completely different products. Couple that with the claims that the glass bottle version is better, it seems to me like there is some sort of quality control issue, or the product has a short shelf life before it begins to deteriorate, or the plastic bottle is reacting with the product in extremely negative ways. The aeration idea for stinky bottles may eventually lead me to try it a third time, and if it is better I will change my review.

I love this magic V-8 juice. I don't, nay, can't understand the vitriol it inspires. But I will make up for their rancor with the intensity of my devotion.

Price--10--look at how much you get for a paltry sum.

Quality--8--great quality, just wish it came in a glass bottle instead of the plastic.

Fights Razor Burn--10--like any good alcohol-based splash, it works wonders.

Cooling Sensation--3--some because of alcohol dissipation, but not much.

Scent--9--I adore the scent. Even the "vegetal" part in the beginning--so fetchingly earthy. Then it transmogrifies into a light floral. Enchanting, light--like the whole lilac plant, roots and all.

Efficacy--10--It works wonders.

Moisturizing--5--Doesn't do too much, but doesn't detract too much.

No Alcohol Burn--5--It will burn, but this is what I crave.


A true classic which will always have its enemies, and its devotees. I am decidedly in the latter camp. No matter how many turn their backs on you, dearest Lilac, I will be here--I will always be here.

Well after reading about something as controversial as LV, I simply had to try it myself, especially since I like "old-school, classic" type stuff of ALL types. Here's my take: YES, when sniffed directly out of the bottle, there's a weird "tang" or "twang" of some sort there. I feel like this is the plastic bottle itself or else the RESULT of being in plastic, because after I transfered it to a rinsed-out GLASS bottle, most of it was gone. Also, as practically everyone else says, after you've worn it for a few minutes, it really does make a wonderful change into a real "Lilac" scent (SURPRISE) Perhaps the bad rap LV gets comes from guys who stink to start with and are trying to "cover it up" with LV-----obviously, this is not it's intended use and no AS will "cover" stink! I like that you can't really "over-apply" it like you can with Clubman. You don't need to worry about gassing anyone out with this one. It's great and I'll be buying more in the future.

I've used Clubman off and on for years, never tried this stuff till now. Good stuff, it does need to settle on the skin, but once it does, talk about old timey goodness.

I can confidently say, while wearing this, you won't smell like any other man around.

One thing that surprised me, was the alcohol burn. Jumpin Jeebus! It burned. Then it started to cool down.

Give it a try, you may just lie it, or you could PIF it on the BST!

Very nice actually. I wore it today.

I agree there is something there at the start but it soon settles to the scent of fresh lilacs.

If I could get this in UK I would wear it often.

The main issue with this aftershave seems to be the smell. I happen to love it - light, astonishingly natural smelling lilac with a base of talc. For the first few seconds on the skin it smells like the aftershave is ALIVE! It's like being in a greenhouse on a hot summer day - you smell vegetation rather than flowers. It settles into the lilac after a few seconds. Clean and masculine without being overbearing or sleazy. If you smell the bottle directly it's definitely gross, but so are most of these inexpensive fragrances.

It has a pretty severe alcohol burn - I found this much harsher than Pinaud Clubman, and more drying. But it gets the job done, is incredibly cheap (and widely available) and smells great.

I cracked open my new bottle of Lilac Vegetal today and expected to assaulted by a blast of rotting vegetation, like popping open my compost bin on a hot day. Nothing doing. Instead, there was a warm, floral scent. Lilacs, not garbage! Now admittedly I came to this bottle with low expectations. Let's be honest, I was prepared to be revolted. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised. It isn't the longest lasting scent in the world, and there is just a hint of the play-doh smell that people mentioned too. But for five bucks, I'm enjoying a hint of what it must have been like to have been a Victorian dandy.

yeah

I thought i smelt someone wearing this yesterday, but when i turned around i think it was a homeless person in the crowd. I'm not joking. I thought all the cat urine comments were unfair, so i decided to investigate. And investigate i did.
In my barbers there sat a glass bottle labelled Pinaud Lilac Vegetal for many years. Well maybe 4 years. I bought ` similar bottle of bay rum hair tonic from him a couple of times - again labelled pinuad, and it smelt fantastic. When i got the plastic one the other day it smelt almost the same, except more clovey-cinnamon and slightly cheaper. There is no clove or cinnamon in my original bottle, and it makes for a beautiful, pure bay smell. Anyway. SO the story with his Pinaud Lilac Vegetal is the same. AMAZING scent, really fresh and green. And made recently in a glass bottle. I heard the cat pee comments and thought this can't be the same stuff, perhaps as fans say, it's because of the glass bottle. So i acquired two vintage bottles of LV on ebay - glass, purportedly victorian. They smell horrid, cat pee and coal tar. The ingredients must have been quite natural as something was crystalizing in the bottom. Ok it's aged badly (another LV defence) so i bought a new one in a plastic bottle. EXACTLY the same, minus the coal tar. So don't blame the plastic, don't blame the age. This stuff is horrid. Not a failed nice smell, an actual disturbingly offensive turd baby nappy/diaper cat pee puke smell with a couple of daisies on top. Unless you find a round glass bottle of the darker green stuff, perhaps made my someone else under pinaud's name, i'd recommend avoiding this stuff. Sex Panther cologne from the Anchorman.

I admit it took a third trial before I began to appreciate this one. I enjoy making the usual "cat urine" cracks about it (my 5 year old daughter gets a kick out of this), but in truth after the first 45 minutes or so I find this one REALLY pleasant.

(okay, I've also eaten - and enjoyed - dog meat, so take it as you may)

If all of you who do not care for this "stinker" would kindly mail me your once-used/unopened bottles, I'd be set for life.

Either that, or trade me for my unused bottle of Pinaud's Special Reserve, which is known to sizzle nose hair at 7 feet.

Here's the thing about Lilac Vegetal. There are two different blends, old and new. The "play doh" smell that is so predominant in the plastic bottle is not quite so heavy in the glass bottle formulation. If you can find a glass bottle on Ebay, go for it.

If you have the plastic bottle, leave the cap off for a couple of weeks and the aeration brings the scent back to something closer to the old formulation.

Now on to the scent itself- I don't use this unless I'm planning on not being around other humans for the first twenty minutes or so of having it on. It is definitely an acquired scent, and the initial olfactory onslaught can be strong enough to turn heads, and not in a good way. But it mellows down after twenty or thirty minutes, and "lilac" is not what it smells like. (Besides, you're using a Pinaud product, which means it's made for men. You don't really want to smell like a flower do you? Oh, there are floral hints (they are very subdued) but the basic note is not unlike Italian Olive Oil mixed with regular Clubman. The trick is using just the right amount, too much and you smell like an old wino- just enough and you'll smell like a man who should be driving a Lamborghini through downtown Venice.

I don't understand the above reviews that reference "pee" and "poo poo" in regards to the scent. As I said before, the plastic bottle can be hit or miss, so aerate it if you believe you smell something septic or urinal. The main thing I've noticed in the plastic bottle is an overpowering of the olive scent, and not enough of the powdery Clubman trademark.

It is one of the longest lasting of the Pinaud AS line. I wish my Bay Rum would last as long as the Lilac Vegetal, but you don't have to worry about an additional cologne after using LV. It is more moisturizing than regular Clubman, which isn't saying a whole lot. The sting is not unbearable, though I'm one of those that prefer a nice sting to my AS.

Here's my preferred way to wear LV. I often take similar scented aftershaves and mix the two together- for instance I may use Brut AS on my neck and regular Clubman on my face. I found I get the best mileage out of Lilac Vegetal by using it on my face, and using regular Clubman on my neck. I've been wearing it like that for years, and I've received nothing but compliments from the adoring lady-folk I come in contact with.

So my bottom line: prep it correctly if needed (see above), wear it sparingly, and try cutting it with regular Clubman if you're a fan of that scent. You may be pleasantly surprised.

This is my first attempt at a review and I hope I don't get flamed too badly.

I love lilac smell, so I was interested in this one. But after reading the reviews I was very nervous about it. However, the price being so cheap I figured "what could it hurt". Well...I actually like it a lot. It has become my daily wear for about the past week and a half. Even SWMBO likes it...which I thought would not be the case given it's "unique" scent. I will agree with most of the other posters that I would not consider it a true lilac scent, but I do still think it has a clean fresh scent.

The funny part is my youngest daughter claims it smells like Play-Doh, which I have seen mentioned elsewhere about this product.

I got a bottle of this stuff and I like it. The scent lasts longer than other aftershaves. I have to say, though, that I agree with some of the posts talking about the possibility that some bottles can go rancid. I picked up a bottle of this in another store about a year ago and it smelled horrible. The bottle I bought obviously smelled much better.

I would have to agree with the negative comments on this product. I read glowing comments on commercial web sites taking about its “timeless” and “classic” smell. I really like the smell of lilacs and although I wasn't quite sure what “vegetal” was I thought I would buy a bottle at the local drug store.

I can’t detect any lilac smell at all. Initially, to me, it has a very sweet powdery smell. Sort of like baby powder. That smells eventually dissipates and what is left can only be described as a “poop” smell (yes, I’m literally talking about a sh** smell). Gag!

I have to wonder if the company is using cheap synthetic smells that simply go bad quickly. Definitely not on my rotation list.

I bought a bottle and splashed some on my face. Whew.... The poster that said it smells like urine was really on to something. I went over to my wife and asked her if she liked my new aftershave. She gagged and said it smells like the ammonia smell of a wet baby's diaper. That's exactly it I thought. She nailed it.

It may be the plastic bottle that allows Lilac Vegetal to decompose into something between a cat and a skunk, but a fresh bottle is still great. (Just opened one today that I recently got from Bestgroomingtools.com) It did keep better in the glass bottle. (I still have one that is about 30 years old...$1.79 for 12 ounces... no stink!). I noticed that the fresh stuff is green, and as it fades the color gets lighter and almost clear.

If you get a fresh bottle, it is a great, yet subtle scent, and it does smell like lilacs.