L'Aimant Coty for women

I don't get Chanel No.5 at all out of my lovely vintage parfum. It has a big dose of tonka that really reminds me of Replique. Maybe the recent stuff is similar, but my vintage stuff is a spicy, warm fragrance quite dissimilar to no.5.

I received l'Aimant a week ago, ordered on cheapsmells.com, below 9 euro, incredible price! I agree with the other reviews that is identical to Chanel no. 5, perhaps somewhat less overwhelming/balsamic than no. 5 but I like that. Incredible how identical the scents are. Good staying power. Lovely scent (as is Chanel no. 5).

I bought the 15ml bottle today ;) and i love the scent but I don't like the bottle that much.

This is a surprisingly nice scent which I've ignored for years thinking it was 'old ladyish'. I'm not sure if it's been reformulated or if my tastes have changed, but it seems to have lost a dreadfully cloying aspect that the 80's-90's formulation had. It's a rosy, jasmine heavy aldehydic which is feminine, timeless and expensive smelling. If I did not already have No 5 I would buy this. As it is, I fully intend to buy the matching toiletries as the Chanel ones are beyond what I'd spend on soap etc!!n Thanks for making this little gem, Coty!

I wore this many years ago (at least 45) - wore it to the big band ballroom dances in the 60's with my shoestring strap frocks with big skirts and rope petticoats & 5" stilletos. Just loved it - didn't know it was still around. I know the fellas liked it because I used to get many comments on how lovely I smelt. Now will have to go looking for a bottle and see if the old magic still works. I know that it had tremendous staying power because I could still smell it on my dress the next morning (and that was after dancing all night). Just seeing the name again has brought back lots of lovely memories.
Alexandrarae South Australia

Jasmine, jasmine - and oh - did I mention jasmine?
Smells exactly like LouLou.
I really can`t stand these toilett smelling jasmine perfumes.
It smells very expensive though, but it cost hardly nothing. Very mature scent.

Yes, legend has it that this was made to the same recipe as Chanel No. 5, and deliberately under-priced so that people would forget all about Chanel. But, the exact opposite happened: although L'Aimant was very successful, it also succeeded in increasing the demand for Chanel No. 5, the real luxury perfume -- a curious scenario in which the competition ends up actually helping your sales. So, although she was furious with Francois Coty, (a one time pal), Coco Chanel ended up laughing, all the way to the bank, literally!
I can vouch for the fact that the 2 scents are identical. If anything, L'Aimant has slightly MORE lasting power.
So, if you use L'Aimant body spray, talc and body-cream after your shower and then have a spray of Chanel No 5 parfum de toilette as a top-layer, nobody would ever guess you were wearing two different scents.

I like it! It's really cheap to buy and available everywhere, although saying that I don't know anyone else who wears it. It's definitely an Autumn or Winter scent - very soft, very soapy. Very much like Chanel No 5. It lasts a long time on the skin.

Definatley Old Lady Smell, but I'm fond of Old Lady Smell.
Reminds me a bit of Bal de versailles. Strong and almost oriental on me.
A good one to wear during the day but I've had someone make horrified choking noises at me when I came near them in it, so mabye not for everyone.

Girls under 25 - don't bother with this. It is an old lady's perfume....and I'm an old lady so it suits me just fine! Very, very pretty. I am on a learning curve about perfumes and have come to the conclusion that I really like an aldehyde note, and this has it, right up top, bringing a light and sparkly note to an otherwise rather staid floral. Simply lovely, and long-lasting. A perfume that says you accept who you are, and enjoy being that person.

I picked up a tiny bottle of this for a very cheap price to try it. It does smell a little bit like chanel no.5 and is quite nice, but it's not really my style so I passed it onto a lady who helps to care for my mum.

maybe worth a try if you like powdery scents.

Due to the time it was made, I believe this was another option for women who couldn't buy Chanel No 5. It's very similar in a linear way. It also lasts a incredibly long time... and can be overwhelming. I've kept my bottle since I was about 14 years old and I'm 28 now. I just couldn't throw it away or give it away. It reminds me of a grandmother scent that's comforting.
Update: I find jasmasid's review so interesting. I had never read about the history of this and No 5. I just always thought they smelled basically the same. Good to know that my nose wasn't fooling me.

I find this scent really interesting!!!Not in the way that you would think, with regarding to 'complex unfolding' of notes, evolving layers, sexy, verses non sexy, but just that ( to ME anyhow) that it is evades ( to me) s solid set of descriptions.

What comes out to me right off is the gentle introduction of peach ( but not peachy, only a nice waft of sweetness) and perhaps the ylang-ylang. On me, I don't get the distinct version of ANY of the notes that are listed in the description on the Fragrantica site.
In the sweetness, that I would not really call 'sweet' per se is more of a SHADING of the sandalwood and cedar. The cedar has the same subtleness in this scent as it does in Apre L'Ondee, and C'est La Vie ( you can tell that I have certain notes that I like pretty much in scents. ) ..

Do I like L'Aimant? Yes. I have heard it said that if you have fragrance on and it gets to a point that you don't smell it on yourself, that it means that the particular fragrance is 'your' fragrance.

I can not speak to its lasting value because other people seem to still smell it on my long after I don't smell it on myself anymore.

Even if it were the case that it dies on me ( don't know, since other people smell it on me...and like it... it's a keeper either way) I have worn it just for ME. You know, one of those 'bath in it and smell my wrist all day'.

It's a low financial risk to try it either way. If I ever see it in an oil, I'm going for it. Maybe I'll put it all over myself before I go to sleep at night.... My husband likes it, too... so that's a plus.