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solioniy – :
an old and small shop in Jakarta which only sells everything Shiseido still has many stocks of Inoui in 60ml and 8ml packaging. Price for the 60ml is 20 USD and 8ml..Free if you buy the 60ml. Love it…so green and mysterious.
Romus1983 – :
Wow! Beautiful! Like being in my favourite of all places – the damp, rich-smelling, bush, early in the morning. All the trees, floor/earth/leaves etc….. Lovely green, woody, sharp, scintillating nature! I adore it! So alive! So ravishingly herbal, and smokey and lush. It’s unique, and I can’t believe my luck in having been given this by a very old and dear friend, who’s had it for years, un-opened!! And kept perfectly! Oh swoon!!!
Perninnonut – :
This is a very extremely sharp strong perfume. One drop is all you need. I smell civet , chypre, vebena, redwoods, oakmoss, yling ylang, and vetiver. I have just listed my vintage bottle for sale on ebay today 11/07/2016.
nur796Bessinepome – :
Surrender to Chance has vintage decants. I’m saving my last drop. poignant blend of the loveliest green notes. A late April trail walk in Wharton State forest. Ahh…
ZoreTiekPleli – :
I wore this and loved it back in the early 1980’s. I have not smelled it in years but it is one fragrance I remember as distinctly sensual, warm, very sexy and I’ve not found another to match it, though Bal a Versailles comes close.
I recall a smoothly blended, warm and absolutely intoxicating fragrance, aromatic with the lemon, pine, galbanum and myrrh coming most alive for me. I returned time and again to the Shiseido counter at Macy’s (then Davison’s) for more. Time marched on and changed, and so did I. I abandoned Inoui in favor of a new obsession, Quelques Fleurs (which I do still love as well).
Upon joining Fragrantica, I searched for Inoui and was dismayed to discover its discontinuation. Why is it that we most want that which we cannot have? For seven months now I have thought about it and tried to find a perfume that could exactly replicate this. Alas, there could only ever be ONE Inoui.
Imagine, then, my absolute delight when, while looking at decants available on The Perfumed Court website, I happened upon Inoui! Yes, it is available there and expensive but I ordered a 1.5ml spray vial of it. The largest size available is 8ml @$101.94. Which I am sure I WILL order in the near future. These are advertised as genuine vintage Inoui and I am ecstatic that this fine fragrance has not disappeared from the face of the earth. I will update when I receive my decant.
Edit 7/15/2015
Oh no – what has happened to my nose? With bated breath I awaited the coming of my vintage decant and upon its arrival I eagerly opened it, ready to inhale at last that fragrance I once loved so well. And it was not a happy reunion. Boo! It is a sharp, pungent pine interspersed with notes of nothing else that I can detect. It smells like a Christmastime air freshener which in and of itself is not unpleasant, but it’s not how I wish to personally smell.
tgstalker – :
I was lucky enough to pick up a bottle of Inoui, who knows how old, and it is lovely. It’s a quiet, melancholic (in a good way, though) perfume worn just for myself on an overcast autumn’s day. If it is a colour it is a cook blackish green and smells earthy, mossy, cool and damp. Lasts for several hours.
retterne – :
Such an unusual and extraordinary fragrance; cool, primordial, soothing. some smart forester/perfumer needs to get busy with the pine cones and needles.getting tired of having to rev up my scent memory to visit you Inoui. I keep pining away for you to return.
Varlam04 – :
If there ever was a perfect fragrance for autumn, this would be the one. I believe it’s the pine needles note is what I find most enthralling. It isn’t a sweet little wide-eyed girl scent but that of an energetic Powerhouse Woman of the 80’s who knew where she was going and would climb mountains without complaining to get there. She was a beauty who walked with the brisk gait of confidence and would go nose-to-nose with the good ol’ boys in the Board room. What a classic this one was, and how devastating it was when they took it off the market.
It’s a chilly scent. There’s nothing soft or warm about it except the memories it leaves behind. It’s all business. EL’s Aliage is similar to this one but simply doesn’t carry off the “class” that Inoui exudes. I stocked up on this when I could and have become a hoarder. It was criminal to discontinue this classic of classics. Long live its memory.
goodday85 – :
Inoui was my favorite perfume ever. When they discontinued it, I was heartbroken. I became obsessed trying to find out if they would bring it back. I called Shiseido’s corporate offices. They told me they could no longer make it because of the “civet”.
I didn’t even know what “civet” was, but I found out it was the musk of an animal.
I searched for years to find a replacement for my beloved Inoui, and have never found anything to compare.
It’s nice to find others who remember the fragrance.
73ne4aeva – :
I agree with everyone. It was totally unique. I wore it in my 20’s. I always got a bottle when I went to Japan.
I remember the day which I got a big attention from someone who worked for IFF. He said it had a good projection, but not too big. He couldn’t put his finger on this one, and was fascinated.
Miss that top green note. Absolutely loved it. Then, trailing, gentle, quiet, floating scent which was almost like incense. It always made me to relax.
I should probably write to Shieido to bring back this gem…
krutoj – :
If I only could smell Inoui. Just once. Inoui, where are you!
seymur333 – :
I got this when my mom was wearing Zen, and on a Shiseido kick. She gave me Inoui because I loved it. My bottle still has a bit left in it, and I wear it once in a blue moon, just to keep it on my mind.
kirill721 – :
This was my first ‘grown-up’ perfume, given as a christmas gift some time around 1980 and I’ve worn it sparingly ever since. It’s a fresh, conifer type scent that fades quickly (on me) to a dense-but-not-heavy cedar and myrhh scent that hangs on gently for hours.
Epittypenry – :
I feel very fortunate to have found a vintage mini of this glorious perfume. It opens very green and herbal, then develops into a deep, smokey pine. Many pine based perfumes can come off too sweet or too masculine. This is neither sweet nor masculine. It is total gender neutral but remains clean and fresh, yet earthy and woody at the same time. Just like a Japanese forest. It is truly the best pine I’ve ever encountered.
If you ever come across a FB of this, grab it with both hands, then inhale slowly….
qwmn – :
Accidentally found out this one once. Totally agree with ingahoberg. No word to say, just melancholy.
uvl74 – :
Discontinued! I remember this one so well, strong, intense like nothing else. I loved it so much and have never found anything close. It was a seductive fragrance that wouldn’t let go. I wanted to wear it all the time, and then it was gone, discontinued. I mourned for this one. I’d wait in line to buy this one again. Just thinking about it makes me all emotional, sad and angry and hopeful that some day it will return.
elguja – :
Ah, Inoui, you are not truly dead, for you linger in the minds and hearts of those who knew you and truly loved you. You are a walk at dusk in a sweet forest, when conifers and grasses release their dewy essences. You are soft, but sturdy as an ancient redwood. You take your lovers by the hand and lead them to lie down in a bed of pine needles– always sweet and soft, never harsh.
I know that some day you will return, Inoui. Until then, I will cherish the tiny, ghostly presence I have of you.
Monsieur Lutens, etes-vous ecouter?
substitute – :
This discontinued gem was my first “adult” fragrance (this and Zen). I don’t remember how it smells exactly, but I think it is in the same vein as Zen original, maybe with a slightly sweeter vibe, and the pine note adding a sharp woodsiness not in Zen.
I wish they would start making this sensational perfume again! (that way you wouldn’t have to spend three hundred dollars on ebay to get a bottle)