Just so there's no confusion; the actual picture that you see in this review is of White Linen so don't be alarmed my review is indeed for PURE WHITE LINEN.
Sadly there's nothing exciting about the packaging and I wouldn't blame anyone for walking past it without giving it a second glance. It comes in a light blue box with a frosted plastic (yet sturdy) bottle and a T-shaped lid. Overall it's quite a clean and simple bottle and as you'll find later on it's quite fitting for this product.
I only discovered Pure White Linen 2 years ago thanks to a colleague of mine who has this as her signature perfume. I never thought much of White Linen so was extremely surprised to find that its cousin Pure White Linen was much more suitable to my tastes.
Just taking a whiff of the lid reveals how delicate this fragrance is on the skin. I imagine this is what a field full of flowers would smell like after a sun shower, crisp and refreshing with a hint of dew in the wind - too descriptive?
On my skin, it smells incredibly clean and light without any real "sweetness" to it. For a "light" fragrance it has some serious staying power - it lingers on your clothes and skin well after a full day's work plus it's an office-friendly fragrance! My colleague even had one guy ask her for the name so he could purchase it for his wife :-)
For such simple packaging the price for the 100ml EDP is quite expensive; over $NZD150.00 if I recall correctly from Life Pharmacy. As "light" as it is I wouldn't go too crazy in spritzing this because as lovely as a meadow full of flowers are you don't want to overdo the crispness by turning it into something more sharp and potpourri-like.
Starts off very green and celery like on me which I wasn't too keen on at first (sort of like Gucci Envy which I loathe)green scents just don't work well on me. However the good news is the green-ness only lasts a couple of minutes and you are soon rewarded with a fresh, crisp green apple/freesia scent on a woody base. Very clean and airy perfect for hot weather. I do miss the soft apricot that the now discontinued white linen breeze had and feel it would have been good in this version too. To me this is the only flanker in the white linen collection that truly captures the original - the classic white linen is definitely at the base of this scent, it has just been given a modern makeover and is fresher and easier to wear. I do get the impression of Nivea cream maybe the soft clean soapiness and a lilacy note is responsible for this? Glad I gave it a go. Very pleasant, fresh and easy to wear nice and crisp for summer outdoor activities and the spring time. Lovely frosted glass bottle but it is quite a magnet for fingerprints.