I shaved the other day, and found myself with a choice between two lilac waters. Bear in mind that I also own a full vintage 1960s glass bottle of LV, which contains mostly unused fragrance that smells as new as the day it was made. The differences between the vintage and new stuff are unmistakable, as the former possesses a sweet and powdery ambergris aura that is entirely missing from the plastic-bottled version. Now that I've decanted and let sit, I was eager to see if the newer formula's pesky urine-like plastic problem had dissipated, or if it is as die-hard as the internet chatter says it is.
To my surprise, the result is inconclusive. I figured it would hew one way or the other, but it's entirely possible that I haven't given it enough time. While it smells significantly better than it did in plastic, with a fresher and more floral profile, and much more of that powdery ambergris-like base, there's still a hint of plastic tainting the lilac note. It's fainter and far less intrusive than it used to be, and I'm hoping that another six months in glass (with air in the bottle) will improve things further. One can certainly make the argument that Lilac Vegetal improves when decanted into glass.
Even if the plastic note doesn't disappear entirely, it has diminished down to a far less noticeable degree. The trick with Pinaud's products is to decant them into quality glass that allows aeration without evaporation - a tight seal is necessary. My bottle came with a pretty good cork. You could experiment and mix with witch hazel to see if that cuts the plastic note, but I'll wait on that. Lilac Vegetal is a delicate floral scent with a powder-puff cushiony drydown, pure heaven for a wetshaver, and it should be decanted if it's to be enjoyed at its best. I'll update on this later in the year.