The Return of Helmut Lang’s Cultish ‘90s Perfume: Vogue.com’s Beauty Director Revisits a Signature Scent

Last week, upon hearing about the return of Helmut Lang’s cultish self-titled eau de parfum after nearly a decade out of stock, the memory of its sweet, powdery, strangely appealing fragrance suddenly came rushing back. As the first truly grown-up perfume I chose for myself after college, it had all the makings of a signature scent. For one, it didn’t smell like anything I knew—not rose or jasmine or gardenia or anything as predictable as patchouli or sandalwood. With its graphic, heavy glass black-and-white bottle, it looked great on my bedside table and (very important) seemed capable of inspiring Proustian memories, or so I thought, when misted onto the collar of a boyfriend’s sweater.

After it was discontinued in 2005, following the departure of Helmut Lang from his namesake house, I fell into a fit of despair, resorting to bootleg orders from overstock websites and, on at least one occasion, eBay—until finally, sometime in 2007, I reluctantly acknowledged that my perfume and I just couldn’t overcome the distance. In the years that followed, I moved on with Frédéric Malle’s Musc Ravageur, but I never quite forgot about that slightly maddening blend of lavender, rosemary, orange tree blossom, and woods—which, taken as the sum of its parts, somehow managed to smell nothing like its individual ingredients.

Apparently, I wasn’t alone: Blogs were erected to its memory, and over the years, more than one acquaintance or colleague has confessed to their latent Helmut Lang fragrance longings. So when the reissued bottle arrived at the Vogue offices last week, along with its slightly softer eau de toilette counterpart, I was apprehensive. Would it be a tweaked version of the original—a shadow of its former olfactory self? Thankfully no. I am here to report that, brought faithfully and accurately back to life by Maurice Roucel, the same star French perfumer who created it back in 1995, it smells utterly identical to the original—urban, elegant, strangely addictive, and somehow still timeless. In fact, the only noteworthy change is its slightly updated square glass bottle, which looks even chicer than its predecessor.

There’s more good news: Fans of the fashion house’s other discontinued cult classic fragrance—a leathery, woodsy, resinous perfume created by the nose Françoise Caron in the early 2000s and known as Cuiron—can also rediscover that forgotten scent at the company’s website or in its boutiques. Buy all three, line them up on your dressing table, and fall back in love with your long-lost olfactory flames.

Helmut Lang Eau de Parfum ($185), Eau de Cologne ($185), and Cuiron ($165) fragrances, available at helmutlang.com

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