Hi Posse, Jil Sander can be very hit & miss for me. I haven’t tried the whole line but there were some sporty things that got a little skin time and a couple of the masculines but none grabbed me, not in a put your money on the counter kinda way anyway. Never smelled Jil Sander No 4 in my recollection but there are a LOT of perfumistas that regard it as the Jil Sander opus. So today as you in the northern hemisphere really start to cool down I thought you could probably do with some Sun, we’re getting heaps down here and loving it..
Sun by Pierre Bourdon for Jil Sander 1989
Photo Stolen Fragrantica
Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Orange blossom, Amalfi lemon, bergamot, cassis, Palisander rosewood, fruity notes
Heart: Iris, ylang-ylang, heliotrope, rose, lily of the valley, carnation
Base: Vanilla, tonka, cedar, benzoin, styrax, amber, patchouli, sandalwood, musk
Sun by Jil Sander will always hold a special memory space in my heart. We don’t see it much in Australia but I’ve always been attracted to the bottle. It looks so simple and chemist-ish, like it’s pills & potion to bring sun into your life. The equivalent of a fragrance for vitamin D. So back in 2013 Jin & I were in Vienna, Austria and I saw the bottle at a store. It was so exciting that after I spritzed the tester and breathed in Sun I didn’t even look at the price, just grabbed the largest bottle on display and bought it. Everything I had dreamed that Sun would smell like? It was even better.
Photo Stolen WikiMedia
That night I wore Sun to Jin & my first ever dinner with Birgit and her husband (The Olfactoria’s Travels Birgit). The night was splendid, excellent company and food, talk was easy and I got to flirt outrageously with Birgit’s M. Halfway through the night M turned and asked what fragrance I was wearing and noted that Birgit had worn it earlier in their relationship. When I told them what it was Birgit was stunned, it was something she wore as they were courting and early in their marriage. The fact that it was so memorable to him moved her deeply. It was one of those rare and lovely moments when you realise how important two pwople are to each other, I’m smiling broadly now in remembrance.
Photo Stolen Pixabay
So Sun smells like creamy citrus to open, the sharpness blunted already by the resinous base. A joyful, bright, sweet and warm opening that segues beautifully into a lightly fizzy bouquet reminiscent of the smell of those Love Message Lollies. It doesn’t stay this sweet or fizzy and moves into vanilla floral woods through the heart. Slowly getting creamier and warmer into the base.
It smells much more expensive than it was, has a lovely soft yet noticeable sillage and lasts really well. Not just a happy memory but a really yummy fragrance that is now 26 years old and still smells current.
Further reading: Australian Perfume Junkies and Olfactoria’s Travels
FragranceNet has $35/75ml before coupon
If you liked this then come on over to AustralianPerfumeJunkies and continue the conversation there.
What are you hoping to spritz oodles of this spring/summer?
Portia xx
Sending perfume: not looking good:(
But the shower gel & body lotion wouldn’t be a problem. Am happy to send!
No signs of discontinuation over here, btw.
— /the/ mainstream summer fragrance —
Germany calling!
Sun discontinued? That cannot, cannot, cannot be.
Not sure about regulations on shipping to AUS from here, but will investigate (assuming a giveaway would be OK?)
Sun is supposed to be /the/ mainstream fragrance over here.
Portia I am a huge fan of everything Jil Sander discontinued but I have to say that currently available perfumes from this house are miss and miss. Sun and No4 are the last great ones. Sun smells like you need sun to smell during winter: sizzling hot! Despite the name it is very hard to pull off in the summer. No4 is a big ol’ tuberose but it is done in a uniquely cool way. I call it “tuberose ice-cream “. Get it while you can.
I love Sun! I have a backup bottle as I think it’s discontinued. I haven’t compared the notes, but I get a similar vibe from Donna Karan Gold, another discontinued perfume.
Hey tomate farcie,
Not sure about discontinuation but it’s never on shelves here in OZ.
Yes, a creamier, subtle version of Gold, I can see the connection. If you have both, when do you wear which?
Portia xx
What a charming story! So romantic! I don’t remember this one at all, but it sounds lovely.
Tammy, it was a really romantic moment. I will never forget the look of love they passed, and this is a couple with two boys, hardly newlyweds. Something to aim for. Maybe it was the Sun by Jil Sander?
Portia xx
I knew that this was a pre-perfumania staple of Birgit’s and it was really lovely to read your story of wearing it to dinner with her and M. They’re such a great couple.
Fab bottle too – it’s like a sunscreen!
Hey Tara,
Yes, it IS like a sunscreen bottle from my childhood.
B & M are a fab couple, so much fun.
Portia xx
Might have to seek out a sample of this even though a full bottle is practically free. Just got back from vacation and had a bottle of perfume waiting for me. I hoped that it would arrive before I left but it didn’t work out that way. Now I just have to pick up the dogs from the boarding place and I have to get back to reality.
Compared to some of the outrageously inflated prices that shittier fragrances than this are going for, it is free Eldarwen22. Good luck getting back to reality, I’m still looking for where I left it.
Portia xx
Howdy, Portia! What a great post, and what a sweet story about Birgit and her DH. I think I may have sniffed this way back when and liked it, so now I need to re-try it. And yes, that bottle is nice — there is something very pleasing about its sleek opacity. Thanks!
Hi Ann,
Another very happily easy wear frag from my wardrobe. I think you may like it too.
Portia xx