Madame Rochas was introduced in 1960. It used to be one of my favorites for spring and summer. It’s a floral aldehyde, but it has more zing than Chanel No. 5. The vintage fragrance was potent, but not over-powering. The modern version is different than the vintage — no wonder that whenever on whatever rare occasions I found it and spritzed it, it wasn’t me.

Original:
Top Notes: Hyacinth, neroli, aldehydes, greens, lemon
Heart Notes: Bulgarian rose, jasmine, iris, lily of the valley, violet, orris, narcissus, tuberose
Base Notes: Amber, cedarwood, sandalwood, moss, vetiver, musk, tonka bean

Well, I didn’t think it was me for a long time. I gave it a couple of decades long break. It had been one of the bottles I had felt I’d had to use up before I could buy another one. Doing that, I always really tired of it. Ha! if I hadn’t done that, I’d have my own vintage bottle, and it would still be in good scent condition.

Sometime in the last year I found vintage spray parfum on ebay, minus the decorative outer case/bottle. Never having worn the perfume, only the edt (I think) version which was as strong as edp, I thought I’d spring for it, if it were inexpensive enough, which it turned out to be. It certainly smelled fine, but again it wasn’t me. I hated to use it up as room spray! So, I decided to wait…and try again.

Today with spring in the offing, loads of wind and plenty of sun, it just felt like a Mme Rochas kind of day. Plus it conjures up plenty of happy memories and moments. No sense whatsoever wearing anything with bad vibes, LOL!

Yep, I was right. Given the right atmosphere, it is just as beautiful, rich and full-bodied as it ever was, complete with lovely woods.

How to describe it….similar to Chamade in some respects, but brighter. Heavy on rose and jasmine but blended into the woods and iris so it has a green aspect to it. There is more moss in the base than there is musk, which is a good thing for me. I picture myself walking through the woods towards a companion seeing bits of bright green spring grass and moss, with sunlight dappling through the trees, after a rain or with dew or mist on the ground. Each of those things bring me joy; having them together is a bonus.

It is long lasting and makes you happy. What more could you want! I’m glad it worked today.

Do you wear it? have you ever worn it? Why, oh why, do they tweak with perfection!

Karin

Originally posted 2007-04-16 11:54:13.

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No one ever accused me of not having expensive tastes. I was able to sample these on my recent trip, and if I had a lot of money burning a hole in my pocket, I would have bought several of them. They are not marketed exclusively for men or women, but all scents could be worn by anyone. I am reminded of the wonderful scents by Neil Morris, Andy Tauer or Ayala Moriel.

There are twelve to choose from and they look quite magnificent on the store counter. [1.7 oz is $165 and 8.3 oz is $450.] The latter is a huge bottle, hefty and dabs with the cap. I didn’t get near as much sillage this way. I preferred the spray. The 1.7 oz bottle has a nice hand to it and is meant to resemble a chess piece.

No matter what I think of Tom Ford and his ubiquitous ad campaigns for other fragrances, he certainly struck the right blend with these. Ahhhhhh…sigh…

Tobacco Vanille is my personal favorite, yummy and just right, not too sweet and not too heavy on the tobacco. It reminds me of a beloved uncle. And it definitely was good on me. It was the favorite of those around me. (As usual, I try a couple at a time on different arms. Then sample again on different days.)

Tobacco Vanille:
A modern take on an old world men’s club. A smooth oriental, Tobacco Vanille opens immediately with opulent essences of tobacco leaf and aromatic spice notes. The heart unfolds with creamy tonka bean, tobacco flower, vanilla and cocoa, and finishes with a dry fruit accord, enriched with sweet wood sap.

Black Violet was an interesting floral, not too sweet, but it became sweeter as it dried down. I quite liked the darker aspects that kept it from being a typical floral.

Black Violet
Crisp citrus surrounds a modern pulpy fruit accord, fused with black violets. Woody accents fold into oakmoss adding the universally comforting sensation of warmth.

Noir de Noir was another of my favorites. I like chypre and patchouli. But this is quite light, at least with my skin. I found over all it blended with my skin and got lost, compared to Japan Noir.

Noir de Noir A dark chypre oriental, this scent opens with an earthy mantle of richly woven saffron, black rose and black truffle, with hints of floralcy. Underneath, vanilla, patchouli, oud wood and tree moss soften the intensity, making the scent a sensual experience.

Japan Noir was another of my favorites. It had more sillage on me than Noir de Noir. An excellent choice.

Japan Noir: spices, purple patchouli, porto noir, night blooming jasmine, leather, amber, vetiver.

Tuscan Leather was sprayed on a card, by mistake, and handed to me as if it were Tobacco Vanille. All I could smell was leather! I thought, where is the tobacco?! (We realized our mistake.) Well, it isn’t in this fragrance, but if you like leather, this is a good one for you. I do like leather, but it is not my favorite note for me when it is dominant. I would like this on a man — or on a woman where the leather note is perfect for her chemistry.

Tuscan Leather: A chypre blend of notes brings a raw, yet reserved sensuality to Tuscan Leather for an original take on a classic leather scent. Saffron, raspberry and thyme, open to olibanum and night blooming jasmine. Leather, black suede and amberwood add an intricate richness.

I quite liked Oud Wood. It is lovely and soft. I believe it could be layered with other fragrances to add a woody accord. It is not heavy on rose, at least on me, and that is a good thing. [I also sampled Lancome's Mille et Rose -- and it was just a typical rose scent which got stronger on me and quite unpleasant. I have this trouble with rose scents and generally with Lancome scents, so don't let this put you off. I liked the bottle.]

Oud Wood: An exotic rose wood and cardamom, blended with exuberant Chinese pepper, envelope the wearer in warmth. Eventually, the center exposes a smokey blend of rare oud wood, sandalwood and vetiver. Finally, the creamy scents of tonka bean, vanilla and amber are revealed.

Purple Patchouli was not what I expected. I expected it to be heavy like the 60s — and heady. Instead, it was quite mild and more floral. I didn’t catch much spice or leather. Naming it Purple Pachouli gives the right idea.

Purple Patchouli: This 60’s inspired floral woody fragrance opens with an elegant orchid accord and wet, succulent citrus notes. The heart blends noir leather and a signature purple patchouli accord with exotic spices, supported by the intense depth of amber, Peru balsam and vetiver.

Amber, on the other hand is exactly what Amber is. You would have to try this on your skin, but it was rich and glorious. If you are looking for an amber, this is one to try, for sure.

Amber: A honey colored scent infused with the purest form of amber, joined by a tenacious refrain of African incense, labdanum, rich woods and a touch of vanilla bean.

Since I had already found a couple of favorites and did not want to wear out my welcome with the SA, I did not try the following. There will have to be another day.

Velvet Gardenia: I wish I’d seen how this differed from other gardenias. It sounds far more interesting.

Velvet Gardenia: A heady floral blend of ripened black gardenia and succulent orange deepens into a heart of jasmine, rose and muguet. Tuberose blends with dark plum, honey and beeswax, finishing with a smooth accord of incense and labdanum.

Bois Rouge: The notes sure sound like something I’d love.

Bois Rouge: This woody oriental opens with a blend of elegant citrus and spice. The luxurious heart reveals cedarwood, patchouli, jasmine and muguet. Sandalwood, vetiver, amber and refined leather are warmed by vanilla and tonka, adding lasting depth and texture.

Neroli Portofino: I don’t usually do well with orange blossom, but this might be different entirely, not to mention it has amber.

Neroli Portofino: A modern intercontinental version of an iconic fragrance theme, Neroli Portofino balances luminous citrus oils and floral notes with amber undertones that awaken the senses and leave a splashy yet substantive impression.

Moss Breches I think I did try this one. It is quite green, which I often love. I was on over load with the ones I liked. I’ll have to try this again first, rather than in the middle.

Moss Breches Dark and complex, this mystical chypre combines fresh wood and warm spice notes with the delicate essence of beeswax absolute. The scent intensifies with the addition of ingredients, such as Moroccan clary sage, Hungarian tarragon, Corsican rosemary and labdanum, patchouli and benzoin.

So there you have it. If you get a chance to try these, by all means do. I found them at Neiman Marcus. Perhaps they are in other places too.

Have you sampled these — or bought any of them?

Karin

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The beauty store in the Houston airport has two Lancome perfumes not available in the US unless they make their way to discounters — Benghal and Cyclades. They are from the Collection Voyage (travel collection.)

I loved the bottle for Cyclades and given any amount of liking of this fragrance, I would likely have popped just for the bottle.

Alas, on me both smelled very artificial and quite plasticy, getting worse to the dry down. Neither one had much personality. While Benghal is described as being inspired by the gardens of Indian palaces, a soft floral, lightly spicy with fruity accents, it hardly spoke to me at all.

Cyclades had more sillage. Which wasn’t particularly good on me. Here are the notes:

a musky floral

top notes: neroli and bergamot essence
heart: oleander and jasmine
base: white musk and vanilla hyperabsolute

In all honesty, I don’t wear any of Lancome’s fragrances. Magie Noir is perhaps the best on me. Perhaps if you are a Lancome fragrance aficionado, they will do well on you.

Have you seen or tried either of them?

Karin

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If you are looking for a sweet orange fragrance, not an orange blossom, check out the new MARC JACOBS ORANGE . It is a hefty 10 oz in a spray bottle reminiscent in some ways of a square Chanel bottle. In other words it looks and feels rich to use.

Additionally, since his splashes dissipate so quickly, you would want to spritz more often, so you would need a larger bottle than you are accustomed to.

Orange Splash is a fruity floral with top notes of bergamot, mandarin, neroli and tamarind; mid notes of water mint, freesia and white rose; and a dry down of moss, tonka bean amber, musk and blonde woods.

My first thought when I sampled this in Nordstroms, then spritzed again in SAKs, was that I wasn’t sure if it stayed sweet or not. I’m not interested in orange blossom at all, as that is strictly a scrubber on me in whichever brand I have tried it, though some are worse than others. I also wondered if it had that masculine strain that I find not-so-happy to wear. I decided not to buy it until I had tried it again, even though I really like sweet orange fragrances. I went home with a sample from Nordstroms.

My second try was yesterday, without any other spritzes that I had tried the first time when I had sampled my way through my own individual sniffa, trying out as many new ones as they had that I thought I might like after spraying a card.

The second time it stayed sweet.

I think it is the mint underneath that is keeping it somewhat green. There isn’t enough of the base notes for me to smell any mossy, woody or ambery or tonka bean dry down. That I would have particularly liked. If I had wanted to jazz up the orange, I would have simply spritzed again.

I’m wearing it again as I type. I dunno, I’d have to try it again to see if I felt it were FBW. So far, it is in the iffy range.

I think it is a perfectly adequate and lovely fragrance if you didn’t already have sweet oranges and if you particularly like mint. Somehow the combination on me is almost, but not quite, an orange blossom.

Karin

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I’m a day late in reporting what works when I wear fragrances, since the past two days I’ve reported what I wore the day before not the day of.

I like to layer up my fragrances, starting with one thing in the morning and generally layering to something different as that wears down, and so on until evening. I’m limited by how quickly what I wear dissipates. But that way I can respond to the time of day or my moods or a change of clothes, or whatever.

I’ve hit on some favorites simply by trial and error — one of which is Chanel No 5 with Coco. I now have a mix (1/2 and 1/2) in a spray bottle.

More recently the combination of NU By YVES SAINTLAURENT edp with Shalimar By Guerlain edp was mentioned at POL. Since I had both and rarely wear Shalimar, I thought it would be worth a shot. As you can see the notes are different for Nu edp vs. edt. You can find it quite reasonably. The edp is deeper and richer with more spices and woods. The edt is brighter, but just as long lasting. I’ve tried layering with both. It’s a softer layer with the edp. It is sharper with the edt.

I find the Nu is more dominant than the Shalimar, but the Shalimar warms up the Nu in either form. I think I prefer the layering to either of the single fragrances. At least it is newer feeling, pun intended.

The first time I tried this, I used the edp version of Nu, and I loved it. It was rich and warm. Yesterday, I used the edt version of Nu and it was very incensy. The incense dominated but it was softened by all the other notes. I think this will be one of my favorite ways to enjoy incense. More on that subject later. If you wish to see other things about incense, check out the posts that Helg posted around Easter. And if I’m in an incense sort of mood later, I might report some also.

I ended up layering into a sample of Tom Ford’s Black Orchid last night and that is incense that will knock you off your feet. I want to try comparing that to Le Baiser du Dragon. Maybe later today or next week. Either are a definitely later in the day sort of fragrance, at least now in spring.

Karin

Nu edt notes:
Top note: neroli, bergamot, cardamom
Middle note: White orchids, jasmine, iris absolute
Base note: vanilla, incense absolute, musks

Nu edp notes:
Top Notes: Bergamot
Middle Notes: White Orchid
Base Notes: Incense Absolut, Woody Notes, Spicy Notes

Shalimar notes:
Top Notes: Bergamot, lemon, hesperides
Heart Notes: Jasmine, iris, rose, patchouli, vetiver
Base Notes: Vanilla, incense, opopanax, sandalwood, musk, civet, ambergris, leather

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