u/Scent_Insensibility

Take a look at the 80's section of your vintage collection and do that thing where you unfocus your vision, what do you see ? Blocks of black and white and gold I imagine. Occasional jewel tones maybe but much of a muchness. It's was all very rich and opulent, sexy too, but oh, so adult and serious. It was often very OTT but dripping in gold as opposed to looking like a bowl of sweeties or a fruit salad. Then SOMETHING happened in the 1990's and SOME brands totally lost the plot. This post is dedicated to them.

I have a theory that by the late 80's, it has all got too grown up. We wore suits out clubbing ffs, men CHOSE to put on ties. In the evening. To drink in wine bars. We wore serious I mean business ( as well as I REALLY mean business 🔥 ) perfumes too. I also think they realised they were missing out on a younger market who perhaps didn't want to be wearing perfumes that were wearing them ( or weren't sophisticated enough 😉 ). So fashion and perfume went hand in hand as always and in two quite different directions. One went very minimalist and led to grunge. We had CKone in white t-shirts and jeans with no make up. The other went more colourful, cute and stuck flowers on EVERYTHING. They needed their scent, too. These were for them. I think it's a trend that while not prevailant ( it was all clear, light blue H2eau for a decade ) heralded the sweeter, cutesy silliness that was to come after the millennium. However they did less with it's tongue out while taking a selfie 👅 more with it firmly in it's cheek 😉

So, what are the "WTF were they thinking ?" frags in your collection ? Or the "Nice perfume shame about the bottle" vintage edition ( or the other way around and you keep it just for fun ). Maybe they are your "I fancy something different ?" options for high days and holidays.

These are mine -

Kashaya 1993 - SO pretty and iridescent but seriously, what is it ? I daren't repeat what my partner says it looks like 🙈

Deci Dela 1994 - Actually quite beautiful always made me think of Gaudi. Or the modern trend for traditional Japanese Kintsugi. My partner says it looks a snail trail if the gastropod has been at the glitter.

Tocade 1994 - Sculptural, almost architectural. Destined to confuse hundreds of vintage collectors decades later when they try and work out the significance of the different coloured tops.

Folle Douce 1997 - Okay WTF Gres ? Is it fruit, veg, a winged insect ?

Grain de Folle 1999 - Douce wasn't not weird enough, so let's add a totally unconnected chequerboard pattern. It's getting REALLY silly now

🍉🫛💖🍠🥭

Please note: this is the pre 1990 Lentheric not brief 1990's Yardley version ( which I can't say is the same or not ) nor the current 2000's+ Taylor of London version.

TWEED WAS DESCRIBED as "fougere/chypre perfume with a distinctive herbal lavender note, a classic floral heart, resting on a woody base".

Officially the notes are :

Top notes: bergamot, neroli, fruity note, orange, geranium and violet

Middle notes: rose, jasmine, carnation, orris, narcissus, lilac, ylang-ylang, lavender and magnolia

Base notes: musk, styrax, honey, cinnamon, sandalwood, civet, leather, oakmoss, patchouli, benzoin, vanilla and vetiver.

Unofficially, Tweed is the mossy, moss I've ever smelt. It's Mossy McMossface. If you go for the parfum or even Parfum de Toilette ( nowadays it would be an EDP ) the creamy skin scent or oily roll on, then it's got the lot: oakmoss, patchouli, civet and leather, in equal quantities. It's a whole stable including the hay, the horses and the tack. Sure there's a few citrus, floral and herbal notes knocking around ( as in as actual leafy garden herbs not toothpaste or herbal tablets ) but you'd be hard-pressed to call it a Floral Chypre or even a Fougere, though technically I suppose I suppose it is ( if there's any lavender in there , it's only there in spirit ). It could definitely be masculine though. Fundamently, it's a green leather chypre and nothing but a green leather chypre.

Okay, I'm being a bit OTT. The cologne strength "essence" reveals MUCH more of the citrus top notes, the orange and the bergamot. I don't get violet, all the purple stuff has clearly gone awol but there are some spicy floral notes from the geranium and maybe ylang ylang until: Bam ! The moss is here and it's all gone 50 shades of green. Later it can soften and on the skin can even turn a bit soapy. Mainly, using the spray PdT featured on clothes, though I get: citrus - galbanum - oakmoss - civet - leather.

Yet, this subversive gem has been assigned to Granny's armoire. Ok, it's easy for my generation to think of this in terms of older relatives who wore it. I had the mickey taken out of me for buying this when I was a teen. I didn't know I was supposed to be pretending to buy it for my maiden aunt, did I ? I didn't even HAVE a maiden aunt and the one who was living in sin was my role model and wearing Aromatics Elixir. However it's a perfect example of how we should remember that these women were wearing these perfumes because they'd ALWAYS worn it and they were YOUNG once. Think Maggie Smith but not as she was in Downton ( although she was incredible in that and probably smelled amazing too ) but as subversive, uncompromising, and undoubtedly sexy Miss Jean Brodie, when she was in her prime. She definitely would have rocked Tweed.

I was trying to think of things that it reminds me of. Although the isoquinine leather note isn't as strong I'm getting Bandit and because of the citrus I'm getting Azuree, two of my favourite perfumes by two of my favourite perfumers. Both very expensive and hard to find. Tweed isn't.

To stretch the analogy further :

Imagine Downton had a remake and they set it in the 70s ( just go with me )

The house is crumbling, the tax man cometh, the NT are hovering, but, salvation ! The master of the house, confirmed bachelor, already well into his 30s ( cough ) has found himself a wealthy American bride. Lady Coralline roars up the drive in a white, leather upholstered, open top, sports car, scattering gravel and shocking the servants. She's been playing tennis and is wearing a skirt way above her knees and a flushed complexion. She's also wearing Azuree 🎾

Standing stock still with a slightly appalled expression is the Dowager Duchess, Vivian Crawley. She danced with the devil and flirted with a prince who for a moment was a king. She survived the war and is determined to keep everybody on the straight and narrow and the ancestral pile in the family. And if a hard stare doesn't do the trick, she's got a riding crop round the back. She's wearing Bandit. 🫎

And down the road - Lady Margot the fiery redhead, who takes after Grandmama, is up from Lucy Cavendish for the summer. She's wearing a tweed suit, knee high riding boots and is sitting in dark green leather armchair. Situated in the library of a men only shooting lodge. She doused herself in her secret lover's lemon cologne, to put the hounds off the scent. And she's rescued the fox.

SHE'S the one wearing Tweed 🦊

Images:

Images 1& 3: Selection of Tweed products from the 70/80's. Look for the green tweedy packaging / some red details / Lentheric name. Often referred to as the County Collection in the 80's. Look for this if you can. Later ones have a more solid slightly shaded orange/brown box with dark green label and are the more Taylor of London version.

Image 2: Early than above. The packaging was a similar but finer brown patterning and off white background. These are more likely to be 60/70's but smell the same to me. I believe this one is 70's. You can find the Bouquet / Essence in both of these packagings along with the small pure parfum which came in the little square bottle and real wood (or later plastic, faux wood ) top and a brown ribbon tied around it. However the atomiser Parfum de Toilette I believe is more commonly found in the green packaging, indicating the 70s or 80s when this strength was most popular.

Image 4: Just for fun !

Three recent, random finds that turned out to have all originated in the 1930s. At least two were reissued, possibly in the 90's. As far as I can glean though these are the 60-80's versions ( The Lubin being the later of the three ). I didn't know any of these so all blind buys.I try not to read too many reviews before buying as it's too easy to be led astray or put off. You smell things that aren't there, too. If it's cheap enough, I like to live dangerously 😆 I never gamble unless it's with perfume and never much, but, hey you've got to have some fun ! So I may check just the notes and scan the headlines. I've also often forgotten by the time it arrives 😂 Notes here are from reputable sources.

LUCIEN LELONG - INDISCRET ( 1935 )

Top: mandarin, galbanum, bergamot

Middle: tuberose, iris, carnation, orange flower, jasmine, ylang ylang, rose, geranium

Base: sandalwood, cedarwood, ambergris

I only had the vaguest brand recognition and then more for the well known, Tailspin. I was also aware they'd re-released the range quite recently but I knew very little else. This was apparently reformulated and launched again in the 1990's ( same name, different scent ) but I think this version was just before it happened.

So this was a big surprise ! I was EXPECTING a nice, little spicy, tiny bit naughty, floral. A demure smile but a cheeky wink. It's a LOT more indiscreet than that. It's Tabu level of naughtiness. It's got a LOT of spice. An Old Spice lot of spice. Which left me in more of a tailspin than if I'd bought Tailspin. Seriously, that's what it reminded me of, the flipping Old Spice that my dad wore, and I thought, that's it, I'll hang up my atomiser, I've lost my faculties !

UNTIL I went back and read some reviews, and there, on the second one: "this smells like Old Spice" !! 😅 It's clearly got a LOT of eugenol aka clove oil that's for sure. It was also bringing back something else ( and I've had to come back to add this cos it took AGES till I saw it on a post here and it clicked ) If you take away the lavender, it's Ma Liberte by Patou ! It's nutmeg, almost mace, it's that overwhelming spicy floral scent you get from a room full of lilies but it's not lilies, it's fleshier, almost milky but green *and* warm ( not listed but there's coumarin I'm sure, I don't recognise much but I can spot that ). It's ALMOST tropical, yet it's not. I guess it's the tuberose and jasmine. The flashiest and fleshiest of the florals. It's ALMOST a spicy 80's fragrance. It softens eventually, but in the first hour it was too much for a hot day like today.

CORYSE SALOME - OPERA (1932)

Top: bergamot, neroli, lemon, ylang ylang, orange blossom

Middle: rose, jasmine, lily of the valley, iris

Base: sandalwood, vetiver, vanilla, amber, orris, patchouli

Opera was apparently one of many attempts by many houses to replicate Chanel №5 ( my fellow Mod Lova has a bit of a thing for these and is planning a post ). Certainly the notes seem to bear this out. All but two top notes (lemon, orange blossom) can also be found in №5 but №5 has far more animalics ( civet ).

So is it a №5-a-like ? Well, yes. Hard to say otherwise. Once you get those sparkling, fizzy aldehydes, you can't go anywhere else. Still, it's more Lilt than champers. The florals seem similar too. There's a little rose, a little jasmine, a little LOTV, quite a lot of iris plus a pinch of spicy carnation ( nothing like in the one above ! ) It's very well mannered and well blended though, it's only during it's finale that this sings a different song. Warmer and woodier, more vanilla and balsam, much less of an animal. Quite SFW for an opera. No one dies.

Maybe if vintage Chanel from this period is a bit too much for your taste, try this. It's lovely. I just prefer my 70's №5 EDC. If Opera's a little black dress and flat pumps; №5 EDC is wearing fishnets and Doc Martens. Altogether rougher and wilder !

Fun Fact: Coryse Salome also has a fragrance called Tocade; a "playful fancy" that came out more than 35 years before the one by Rochas. Maybe that's more fun, eh ?

LUBIN - NUIT D'LONGCHAMPS ( 1934 ).

Notes MIGHT be from the later reissue (?)

Top: Sicilian bergamot, tunisian orange blossom, nutmeg, cardamom, ylang ylang

Middle: Turkish rose, dades jasmine, florentine iris, mysore sandalwood, broom absolute, lilac, violet

Base: Patchouli, haitian vetiver, tolu balsam, peru balsam, labdanum, oakmoss, musk

This was born in the 1930"s but my version at least grew up in the 70's and came of age in the 80's ( just like me !) It's another №5 a like but less so. Yes, there's aldehydes and it's quite clean and soapy ( that French soap, Marseilles ? I have a detergent that's scented with it so maybe that's why I'm getting "clean" ). Yes, it's making me think of Aperge ( the most №5-ery №5-a-like) but it's far more like Climat or even Ma Griffe. Maybe it's even №5 with a touch of №19. Then it goes warmer and woodier. I'm getting the sandalwood ( which honestly COULD be Mysore at the time, so if you like it in Samsara and mourn it's passing, maybe have a sniff, just don't expect fireworks, as there's nowhere near as much.It's a lovely, long lasting dry down, but it's subtle.

Ultimately, it's another "polite", refined, lightly modernised version of №5 and that's ok. If Opera is the LBD with Hepburn pumps, №5 70's EDC, is off to a party, this has sensible brogues and a jacket, and is on its way to work. Less of an indiscreet night at the opera, more after work dinner and drinks. That might get a little spicy later on.

So, that's my fun threesome for the weekend. I don't think I'll be looking for a second date but I'm glad we met. If you know any of them, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

If you look at her feed, you'll see my fellow Mod, Lovestra, has done some brilliant posts featuring flat layouts of several, very different perfumes, including minis. We were saying that we don't get these out and give them enough attention. We post the BIG showy stuff more. Also, I know mine are in boxes, lid shut and unloved; just oddments and oddities; bits n bobs. Some are the opposite too, they're small amounts of very precious perfume that I hide away for fear of losing or using them up, which is quite sad, too. So I decided to get a couple of them out and take some photographs.

Here are all the small things ( and the medium-sized things ) that live in a box under the stairs.

I've just listed them ( if you look at the extra images you'll see I've numbered them to make it easier ) There's too many for me to go wittering on about each one, so please just ask or even better tell me about the ones you own and particularly like. I don't know all of them that well so I'd be really keen to hear from those that do, or just that you love them !

ALL THE SMALL THINGS ( to the best of my knowledge )

- 1-5 EL Youth Dew

- 6 Milot Crepe de Chine

- 7 EL Cinnabar

- 8 EL Youth Dew

- 9 Rochas Audace

- 10 Lancôme Magie

- 11 Lancôme Climat

- 12 Halston

- 13 Myrurgia Habanita

- 14 Lancôme Fleches d'Or

- 15 Chanel №5

- 16 Dior Dior

- 17 Ungaro Diva

- 18 YSL Rive Gauche

- 19 Rochas Lumiere

- 20 Balmain Vent Vert ( #2 )

- 21 Nina Ricci

- 22 Ma Griffe

- 23 Paco Rabanne

- 24 Capucci Parque Que !

- 25 ?? ( Think I missed this one !)

- 26 EL Beautiful

- 27 Guy Laroche Fidji du Soir

- 28 EL Spellbound

- 29 EL Knowing

- 30 EL Beautiful

- 31 Weil Secret de Venus (?)

- 32 & 33 Pierre Cardin

- 34 Lancôme Magie Noire

- 35 Pierre Cardin ( og )

- 36 Houbigant Cologne (?)

- 37 & 38 Lauren by Ralph Lauren

- 39 City Emeraude

- 40, 41 & 44 Balmain Vent Vert

- 42 Miss Balmain

- 43 Balmain Jolie Madame

- 45 Mystere d'Rochas

- 46 Jil Sander ( og Parfum )

- 47 & 48 Kanebo Kyoto

ALL THE MEDIUM THINGS

- 1 Coty Muguet des Bois

- 2 Magie Noire

- 3 Guerlain Mitsouko

- 4 Guerlain L'heure Bleu

- 5 Ungaro Sensi

- 6 Coty Paris

- 7 Coty Chypre

- 8 Dior Dioressence

- 9 Lancôme Magie

- 10 Chanel №5

- 11 Myrurgia Maja

- 12 EL Youth Dew

- 13 Guerlain Mitsouko

- 14 Lanvin Rumeur

- 15 Guy Laroche Fidji

ALL THE LAUDERS ( and a Lancôme )

These are self explanatory, as they're easily identifiable. They're some of the purse sprays I've received in GWPs over the years. They're not the FIRST batch ( which I got mainly from my aunt ) which, to my astonishment, were STILL at my mum's in the box in the bottom of her wardrobe. I've just got to remember where I've put them 🤦🏼‍♀️ With them it's far harder to tell as they came in very different styles, not many had coloured lids, either. It's an interesting one because it tells you both what was the popular ( i.e what they were pushing and popping into the gifts ) but also what I used up. With the older batch it was definitely Youth Dew heavy, with this one you can see there was a lot of White Linen going on and I didn't use them very much. You can probably tell the ones I did, by their absence !

Wild Water 🌊

In the shadow of it's towering more famous sister ( mount ) Fidji, Eau Folle splashed down in 1970 but sadly seems to create barely a ripple these days. It was typical of a whole generation of sharp, green, citrus fragrances that were meant for light, funny, sunny days. It shares a DNA with the likes of Ô de Lancôme, №19, Diorella, Chamade, Climat, Cristalle, Calandre, Eau de Rochas, Private Collection and Azuree. In many ways it also has the same relationship as Quidproquo to Cabochard or Eau Libre to Rive Gauche. These were the cutting edge, unisex offerings from these brands. Less serious and business-like, they were meant for the youthful and carefree days of summer. Just clock the name and look at the adverts, this one was meant for sharing and wild abandonment. A waterfall meant for two.

It's got half a dozen citrus notes including lemon, lime, bergamot, pettigrain and verbena. Which is every citrus fragrance ever made except this has also got a period appropriate amount of oakmoss along with leather as well as unusual, spicy touches from carnation and caraway. All of which means it's not the citrus perfumes you can pick up anywhere today. This is still a serious chypre for a generation who never took their freedom granted.

I'm a bit old for the folly of youth but we sure could do with some levity and we could definitely do with some rain. So I'll be wearing this, this summer and throwing caution to the wild wind.

"The freshness of shadows, the madness of running water" Eau Folle 🌊

Another one that's been waiting in the wings for me to get my act together !

Inspired by this post https://www.reddit.com/r/vintageperfume/s/skrMhG1u1L and lots of chats with fellow Mod, u/Necessary_Piano_153, my mind went to Crepe de Chine. I've been surprised and delighted to see how much this is known and loved by several members of this Sub as I didn't know it at all other than by name, for a very long time.

Still, I'd only ever had small bottles of the parfum ( see last pic ). Wonderful but almost too precious to wear, just a dab here and there, and I started wondering what the EDT or EDC smelled like, too. Looking for information following the post above, it just fell in my lap ( the vintage perfume distribution system works sometimes !)

I bought a sealed box with very slightly torn cellophane but otherwise intact, in excellent condition with no evaporation, the screw top turned with a little bit of effort. I can't date it but I believe it's not the earliest of the Cologne versions as I've seen some older versions online ( See recent Post by u/Shorb_o_rino https://www.reddit.com/r/vintageperfume/s/zHCsVtx6xf ) and there's a later spray version that might be an EDT, but I'm not very well versed in that. By the 80's it had been released with a ready brown cap and box so it's easy to know if it's *before* then. There's a modern version to buy another brand, I believe but this is specifically about the 60/70's era.

I think with the perfume version I get why it's so much associated with Coty Chypre. When I finally smelt CC it was after I owned CdC and actually I was a bit surprised. Obviously I knew Chypres so of course I knew oakmoss but what I didn't realise was that what I was sooo familiar with WAS oakmoss BUT oakmoss PLUS.... It's always used in conjunction with other ingredients, often more greenness coming from galbanum; woodiness from patchouli or used to darken citrus or florals. I mean it's unmistakable, take it away and many fragrances do not exist anymore, they cease to be grounded, their foundations are shattered because much like "nice" or sweet florals perfumes need that dirtying up with civet ; oakmoss enriches. It reduces sweetness and adds bite, BUT there's always something *else*. It's integral but the fragrance is still the sum of it's parts. With CC there's so little else and so much more oakmoss, you're expecting *the rest*. Except that's the point. It's the baseline. It's Chypre 1.0 whereas everything else became Chypres 1.10,1.12, 1.13 etc ( if we use hair dye notation ! ) Chypre Floral, Chypre Aldehyde, Chypre Citrus...By the time I came along it was Chypre: The Next Generation ! We'd come a long way from the Origin Story.

Crepe de Chine has something *else* too - there's bitter galbanum, benzoin, leather, something animalic like ambergris; there's resins in there, too. You can see why people mention things like Femme and Mitsouko in the same breath but because the cologne is lighter so other, lighter notes are more apparent. I hesitate to say thinner but it's more *spread out*, like when you get ink that looks black but you pour water on it and the colours separate so you can see that there's really purple indigo or green in there ? Maybe with the lower concentrations of the "big boy" ingredients, you're picking up on the top and middle notes more ? It's also more gradual you're not getting the whole combination bam, straight in your face. Maybe it's that more delicate notes aren't subsumed in the Cologne.

I think with this version I'm getting more similarities later green fragrances and I can see a direct lineage to things like Vent Vert ( less spring florals, more greenery ), Ma Griffe, №19, Calandre, Chamade. This version must have been contemporary to those, too. There's only a hint of citrus in the opening ( and I don't think it's actually deteriorated because it was sealed ) but it's not O de Lancôme level citrus ( I've just bought something else that has some similarities to that but that's a story for another day ). Galbanum, obviously. Aldehydes and iris. Now, is that the powderiness ? Got to be orris root, surely. Honestly, I can't distinguish the actual florals very well but that's just my nose, it ain't that good. Geranium maybe. A bit spicy but definitely leafy. Sap like. Let's say a *melange* of florals 😉. Then I think I'm getting sandalwood and some sort of balsam or laudanum, coming through. A warm almost saltiness that must surely be ambergris as the sharper greenery fades. It's definitely not a cold scent. Combined with grassy greeness it makes me think of hay but no coumarin. Just good, green goodness 🌿

Anyone up for a bit of silly Sunday fun ?

Some of you might have seen me mention my Little Book of Perfume ( aka "My Little Naff Book of Perfumes" cos it's rather twee ) that I bought 25 years ago and was probably my first attempt to record and review perfumes. When asked when I started "collecting" I normally answer either: "no idea" or "45 years ago" depending on my mood. In that I always loved perfumes; bought perfumes and kept perfumes but there was never any attempt to be organised. This book was probably the first time I learned words like "chypre" and "aldehyde" and had something to aim for: THE GREATEST PERFUMES IN THE WORLD. Yep, that'll do...

However what it ALSO had was recommendations based on your zodiac sign. It's female only ( boo !) and rather dated but because it was written in the late 1990's everything is vintage ( yay ! ) Myself and the other mods had a go the other day and I've got to say; theirs' were really good and mine's still terrible 😆

If YOU'D like a go though please just comment with your zodiac sign and I'll reply with your recommendations. Some of it's quite funny ( possibly unintentionally so ) so don't take it too seriously. If somebody's already replied with your sign just add a +1 and I'll reply to both of you. IF we get that far, once we've done all 12 obviously, we'll call it a day.

After all , the alternative's watching the footie 🥱

( Note: Image created by me with a lil help from AI so uncredited )

EDIT: Those saying that horoscopes themselves are AI - read the post, people.

>and rather dated but because it was written in the late 1990's

You do realise the internet barely existed in the late 1990's let alone AI🤦🏼‍♀️ It's a BOOK. Made of paper. With writing in it n everything.

( This one's for Piano, as we bonded over this and a couple of others... )

Azzaro's second offering came out in 1984 and was created by Gérard Anthony ( who also did Azzaro Homme ) and Roger Pellégrino ( Leonard for Leonard and Eau de Courrréges )

I shouldn't like Azzaro №9. If I'd seen the notes written down prior to smelling it all those years ago, I don't think I would ever have bought it. I like Couture ( the OG and first Azzaro ) but most fruity florals really aren't to my taste. These days, my head starts going all Grojsman and it's game over. BUT I wouldn't have known Grojsman from Ginsberg back then ( there were times when you knew virtually nothing when you bought a perfume ) and just like the great lady's ourve, there's exceptions. Still, I'd have seen mention of pineapple, tuberose with a warm vanilla base under it and thought, nah, I'll pass, but somehow it works. It REALLY works. I mean there's other notes, a LOT of other notes. You could take away half of them and you'd have a aldehydic floral. There's wisteria, hyacinth, violet, LOTV carnation, iris and oakmoss but here's also tulip ( do tulip's smell ?) something called Dyer's Greenweed ( which is broom adjacent, I love broom !), incense, sandalwood, cedar. So it's woody too...

The thing is, it's often those perfumes which we struggle with initially, that fall between two camps, that refuse to be defined. Those are the ones that stay with us. Between the lines is where things get interesting. Is it an aldehydic floral ? Maybe an oriental floral ? No. So it IS a fruity floral" ? In fact, it's all but none of them.

Azzaro is best described as a "golden floral". It's bright sharp pineapple; fresh spring florals with LOADS of warm fuzzy mimosa giving way to oakmoss, incense on a sandalwood and vanilla base. It's bright, sharp, sunny, warm and wonderful.

Golden brown, texture like sun ..

Note: images are of my own and all genuine perfumes from my own collection. The backgrounds are created using photo editing. They feature two bottles of EDT: 200ml splash and 30ml spray along with two small samples of bath gel and body lotion.

Apologies to our Aussie and NZ friends who are in the midst of Winter ( Hi, Kodak, Homemaker & Awake 💜 ) but most of Europe and the Americas is sweltering atm - and in the UK because we're absolute wimps, we're complaining about it constantly 😆 So my question is -

What are your vintage warm weather go-to's when it's SEROUSLY scorchio ?

Do you go with the all-American classic that is Jean Nate or the oh so European 4711 ? Maybe something else entirely ?

Like many kids growing up in the UK in the 70s I was raised on 4711 , it was regarded as almost medicinal. My mum kept one of the solid push up colognes in her handbag, little glass bottles ready to sprinkle on embroidered handkerchiefs. When I started to travel, we had those new fangled sachets of tissues you've got in boxes from 10 from Boots. They were there to wipe sticky hands and hot faces; dab on temples when migraines threatened. My mum swore it was a treatment for motion sickness - but I also swear it never flaming worked 😂

As an adult I SO wanted Jean Nate though. It sounded very 50's cool and glamorous, but of course I only had the adverts in my imported magazines to lust over as it was not available here. It's not that long ago I finally got a vintage set the one you see pictured and I was over the moon. It's seriously good; bitter citrus; green with tons of oakmoss but warm and woody too. The perfume itself is actually surprisingly complex, the Ssplash may be a lot more simple. It's beautiful ! I have got the modern splash as well now ( in fact there's half a bottle of it over me at the moment !) and it's actually really nice, lots of lovely lemon, but it doesn't hold a candle to the original.

Back to 4711 -

The picture you see attached is actually a collection of freebies I got a few years ago. One of our very few last independent chemist had not survived the pandemic and closed shortly afterwards. Walking past I saw a member of staff removing the displays from the window and stopped to say how sorry I was and how much they'd be missed ( it was a great place to find old school brands like Yardley, Bronnley & Morny ). They'd been serving the community there for longer than I'd been alive . She ran inside and came out with one of those plastic baskets they use for your prescriptions, loaded up with bottles and said here take these and thank you for being a customer. We both stood there sobbing on the pavement.

Other of my special sunny summer stalwarts include -

- Eau de Rochas

- O de Lancôme

- Eau Dynamisante

In fact between those first three they've probably kept me going for the last 30-40 years of British summer times and trips to the continent !

Others include -

- Mugler og Cologne ( and a few recent flankers )

- Guerlain AA Pamplelune ( a few citrusy AAs in fact, the fact that these ARE a cologne actually helps sometimes !)

- Jo Malone Lime, Basil and Mandarin ( though currently using a supermarket dupe 🤫 )

And more recently -

Mary Greenwell Lemon ( NOT Vintage but sadly discontinued)

I'm sure you've all got favourites so I'd love to hear about them.

In the meantime I'm off to go and splash the Jean Nate 🍋🤤

Oscar de la Renta.

From the promotional blurb on release -

"In a dawn-lit garden in Santo Domingo a small boy stands barefoot in the grass. Enchanted by the myriad scents, he gazes at the crystal dewdrops that adorn each blossom. Has he discovered the secret of the flowers... does their fragrance live in the dewdrops ?"

"The boy was Oscar de la Renta, and that garden still blooms in his heart. In creating his fragrance, he recaptured that distant, perfumed dawn".

"Oscar de la Renta's new fragrance is a romantic gesture... the essence of many beloved flowers enhanced with a fantasy of rare spices and herbs. It is a new classic that celebrates the beauty of flowers, the mystery of women".

"And because Oscar loves the handiwork of man as much as the romance of woman, everything is unique. His flacon is executed by an atelier of French glass artisans founded in 1633. The petalled stopper bears a crystal dewdrop, Oscar's tribute to memory. In Paris, stationers to royalty create the richly embossed packages by hand"

OSCAR de la RENTA TALKS ABOUT HIS FRAGRANCE

"To me the most romantic and flattering setting for a woman is the magic of a garden filled with the precious fragrance of rare flowers".

"When my wife, Françoise, first wore my parfum, the fragrance surrounded her for hours and hours. I knew then that the parfum was a true "classic" in the elegant tradition of France"

And this is me talking about Oscar -

Released in 1977, created by master perfumer Jean-Louis Sieuzac, it won the FiFi Award in 1978. It's no coincidence it came out at a similar time as White Linen. There are distinct similarities but also distinctions. Both are clean, white florals. Very prim and ladylike. WL is sharper through, crystal clear but ultimately overloaded with Iso E Super and laundry musk. Oscar is more powdery and lush. WL is a workaday white shirt fresh off the line; Oscar is a bridal bouquet. A fragrant "I do" not "I'm ready for business". I used to think of it as similar to Eternity, but now I think it's more floral and less astringent. Eternity was a guarantee: you're stuck with me, love. Oscar was a promise: I will always be there.

My Oscar's. I have a couple of later ones and another the older late 80/90s one that's not pretty enough for a picture because it was what bought at the time and well used 🙈 but those pictured here are EDTs. There's a strong resemblance between the original 70's Avon/Stern splash version and the 80/90's spray; Stern/Sanofi version. The spray seems stronger with a blast of powder ( hard to say much else but powder, it's "powdery" ). Yet side by side I think the differences are minor, possibly only down to the respective ages ( the splash while bought new and sealed might have weakened slightly ) and application ( the quantity, that first whoosh as you spray, til it settles ). After 20-30 minutes, they smell pretty much alike. I think if you want the original version you can pretty confidently buy up to the 90's.

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- a 50ml EDT, screw top splash, OdlR Stern and likely first formula late 70's ( see leaflet ©1977 ) .

- a 50ml atomiser, this has a barcode so 1990-2000, as it's Stern with US dist Sanofi.

- a cosmetics set which is ©1989, is also Stern, which I got it in the early 90's with the "well used" one.

Ok VP Collective, got another one for you ! 🙏

This one isn't a particular mystery but I'd love to know if anybody has got any additional information or actually nose, sorry, KNOWS, this one and possibly owned it, or one of it's relatives, at some point. I bought it because, as you can see it has that 70s drugstore style and the same lovely shade of olive or green Alliage we talked about the other day. I couldn't resist. So blind buy time 😁

First of all, let me say, I saw the name and assumed it was connected to "Love's" by Dana. We never had this in the UK so I only know it by reputation but I know they had a special significance to certain generations of ladies ( and no doubt a few men ). That it's a Spanish brand ( we know Dana but more for Tabu ) but growing up in the US, Love's Baby Soft was often a first perfume ( just like Avon's Sweet Honesty and Pretty Peach ). So this is where my mind went. Except IS it Dana ?

I know Baby Soft had flankers such as Love's Lemon or Rainforest, so I thought maybe another range by the same brand ? Love's Older Sister as it were ( it looks a bit more low key and muted less "pastel", more young woman than teenager ). However it's not Dana AFAIK. There's no mention at all.

What it DOES say is : "Boots". Which is a massive UK chain where we all did our perfume shopping growing up ( and some still do ) and yet I've never seen it and as it seems very 70s so I feel like I should. Also "Made in the USA" ? Boots DID have its own range of perfumes over the decades but AFAIK I know this wasn't one of them and they'd more likely be Made in England back then. Then Made in the EU.

Anyway I DID find them ! On Parfumo and also foindysome adverts ! Yay !! So I know they existed, I know there was a whole range but it tells me nothing ABOUT them, not really -

- Were they sold in America or made for the English market ? When ? 70/80's ?

- is "Love's" the brand name but nothing nothing to do with Dana Love's ? Two companies using the same brand ?

I guess what I'm looking for is personal knowledge from those that do actually know them. Or just sharing a fun find !

Oh and what does it smell like ? Musk. Just musk. Nothing else really. There's nothing warm or woodsy about it or certainly nothing LEFT. It's a good musk. It smells specifically like the black banded Clarus drugstore brand of musk we had in the 70s and 80's, in the textured bottle. It smells like my mum.💜

I'm not sure if the title means much to anybody who isn't British but to everybody who IS and is over a certain age, they'll know EXACTLY what I mean. The 70s were distinguished by many things but one of them was that bathrooms across the land turned a certain muted, sickly green colour. It became synonymous with bad taste as well as the rise of the home owing middle class, thinking they were sophisticated ( those of us living in council houses bathrooms were white, enamel and very utilitarian !) So it became an object of fun and derision for a long time. Ironically things have turned full circle and you can hear of people paying loss of money at scrap merchants to put them back in. I personally always loved them and was quite sad when my mother-in-law s was finally taken out only about 10 years ago. She used to accessorised it with plastic faux tortoise shell bathroom set

Now, I'm not sure this was the inspiration for that lovely shade of green that they used for Alliage, ( though it may have helped sell it over here !) It went from a being that yellowy sage to something a bit more olive green later on ( see other images ). I imagine that and the rough hewn, linen-like texture were meant to represent natural fabrics and the landscape. Because this was the first outdoorsy "Sport" fragrance from Ms Lauder.

Created by EL in house perfumer , Bernard Chant along with Francis Camail. The story goes that inspiration struck while driving to her country club to play tennis. It marked a point where heavy, formal evening perfumes, were seemingly becoming a bit dated too. This was a fresh, casual, and very green chypre scent meant for daytime and active lifestyles. Ladies who played sports and walked, not ladies who shopped and lunched.

The name is always struck me as a bit odd. Like Azuree, it's French ( not uncommon, French was still the language of fragrance ) but in English it translates to alloy which is rather less appealing ( it's one I always laugh at when Fragrantica decides that I need the page in English, some frags do not sound great when translated, would you want to wear something called Green Wind 😆 ). It's also odd for a fragrance meant to smell of all things natural as opposed to industrial. Again the story that's entered popular culture is that it has nothing to do with metal alloys but was because the fragrance is a combination of masculine and feminine notes for the new emancipated woman. It's certainly unisex. I'm not sure if that's apocryphal but I guess it's as good a reason as any.

Also is it Aliage or Alliage? Again common wisdom appears to be that it was two ll's in Europe more so than in the US. I don't think it's that clear cut ( although I knew it as Alliage ). From what I can tell, in the US, Lauder’s trademark on Alliage expired in 1992. Whilst Aliage is currently registered to Estée Lauder, and that’s the spelling the company currently uses for the Classic version.

More importantly, what does it smell like ? Green. It smells green. They put in anything they could find in: not just galbanum and oakmoss but artemisia and vetiver. There is citrus there , a little rose, cedar and nutmeg even jasmine ( but not a great deal, I can't smell any tbh ). It's just SOO green, as to give the feeling of a meadow. It's grass. It's dry, parched sunbaked fields. It's the long hot summers of the 70's lying in the park, holding your hand to shield the sun and feeling the dry stalks tickle your bare legs. Not a care in the world It's a summertime that I think we've lost forever.

So many great green fragrances were released join the 70s and I don't think it's any coincidence that they seeped into my young consciousness and remained there. I love green fragrances. I can probably list a dozen I adore but maybe that's for others to add their favourites. Alliage is certainly mine.

Notes: images utilise AI backgrounds but all the products are genuine and my own. I've picked out what I feel are the oldest and more interesting examples out of those I own but I have included a couple tutorial pics for anybody who's interested in trying to date or wants to look for the older as opposed to the ( relatively ) newer versions. I believe most of the products here featured originate from the 70s or early 80s ( I mean just look at the price stickers.Yes "10-8" is pre decimal ! Which marks it as being from 1971 as you can see how they adjusted the price to £5 new pounds - and then reduced it to £2 because clearly it didn't sell 😆)

As the token Brit on the Mod team, I thought it's probably behoves to me to wish all our US members Happy Independence Day ! ( yes, we've gotten over it 😆 ) Both that and this Post https://www.reddit.com/r/vintageperfume/s/XtyQBI0aWp then got me thinking :

🇺🇸 WHAT PERFUME SAYS ALL AMERICAN TO YOU ? 🇺🇸

We know that there was always a tradition of European, especially French, perfumery certainly in the decades leading up to and immediately after WWII. It was only with the rise of the teenager in the 50's ( I've seen Grease, I know 😂) and London beginning to swing in the 60's, did young, fun, affordable perfumes begin to emerge. British as well as American offerings too. These became the thing to wear. Then the European brands joined in too.

Certainly when I started getting into perfume it was what I call the "New World" perfumes that I could see/smell my (just a bit) older relatives wearing. My 20yo cousin, 25 yo SIL and 30 yo aunt. They didn't want what their parents had worn. It was Smitty ( made me do it !) not Shalimar; ( sexy-young ) Charlie not Chanel. We wanted a piece of Americana, the TV shows ( I wanted to be Rhoda ) and the fashion ( you saw far more US flags than union ones on T-shirts ). We might have got a bit cool during the punk/ new wave era it but during a lot of the late 70s and 80s, America was where it was at. Later in the 80's it would me the Italian's turn with Armani and Gianni Versace and we know that French perfumery never died, we know that Guerlain and Chanel in is still the top of most people's lists, but for a period things were a little different. The young, brash upstarts had their time in the sun.

So, for me, my coming of age fragrances in the late 70's were Alliage, made for being out in the country playing tennis. Azuree while going to the beach and getting tanned and freckled. Halston dancing the night away at Studio 54. It's Lauren as seen in the linked Post. These ( and Smitty and Charlie of course !). THESE say All American to me. I guess if we go forward a little, it's something like Tommy girl....Young, fun and full of hope. The world is your lobster and the party never stops.

It doesn't even have to be an American brand (we all know Coty was French) it's just what to you FEELS like an All-American fragrance. What captured that glorious time when there really was an "American dream".

Take it away, Tim Petty: 🎵"She was an American Girl" ( or boy !)

Hoping the VP collective consciousness can riddle me this: When is White Linen, not White Linen, when it's White Linen Estée.

I feel a bit foolish asking this as I always considered myself pretty knowledgeable as regards to vintage Lauder but I'm into YD, Alliage, Azuree, PC, Estee and Cinnabar etc. The ones I had at the very beginning. White Linen I wore for awhile in the late 80's/ early 90's but tired of it quickly and never liked the modern version much ( to much of a in-your-face Persil washing powder vibe ). However, I occasionally still fancy wearing the vintage, and like having a complete Lauder back catalogue, so have bought the odd one. This was one such purchase.

From the off I really couldn't decide: fake or real ? On the one hand the box design looks and feels real, it has a slightly ribbed texture ( can't get the pic to pick this up ) and the older sand dollar motif instead of the later scallop shell. Well detailed, foiled and embossed. A simplified motif is moulded onto the glass on the back, too. On the other hand, I've never seen one of that shape; with a black top and just Estée as opposed to Estée Lauder.

One thing that's convincing is the smell. Well kind of. It lacks the really overwhelming soapy aldehydes of the modern version; it's actually far more floral, crisp lilac, hyacinth, lily and iris. It's better. It smells more like it used to do. Maybe more so. Then I started thinking - what smells kinda similar but florals than aldehyde ? Estee. Could it be ?? Am I just smelling what I want to smell. So I tried to reason it out -

How often do you get older versions of Estée called Estee Lauder ( the solids especially do this); that are called Estee, Estee Super, Estee Extract, there's a few versions. Then I thought of how Cinnabar was once called "Soft Youth Dew" ( third pic ) and AE was once called Clinique Aromatics and occupied an EL hexagonal gold collared bottle ( fourth pic ). I always thought Dazzling Silver was a play on White Linen, an attempt to update it for the Pleasures generation. Does Lauder have form with kind of thing ?

Then how WL was part of the New Romantic trio with Pavilion and Celedon ( if the universe ever gifts me them, I'll be one happy old broad ). How we have adverts of the original splash bottles. How we know sprays existed too, at some point. How the others fell by the wayside but we know very little of how long they lingered. It wasn't exactly before my time but I wasn't standing at Lauder counters aged 12. WL is just cited as circa 1978 same as Celedon and Pavillion. When did it go solo ? Did the others stop after a year or was it more like five ? I don't remember them on the shelves but see above 🤷🏼‍♀️ Did WL just carry on fully formed as the other pass beyond the veil. Could it have been an intermediate stage ? Was there ever a missing link ? A flanker ? A crossover ? A SOMETHING

It's an oddity for sure. I certainly can't find another. Google Lens can't get past the motif and the name, it just thinks it's White Linen. Which points more towards fake. I mean it would be out there somewhere. Wouldn't it. Then I remember a couple of others such as the Balmain one I mentioned not long ago I was told that it had got to be a fake, it didn't come in that bottle. Til I did some research. I've had this twice with the same perfume actually and it turns out both of them were just rare versions, there WERE others and explanations about where they came from, too. So, despite being a natural pessimist or cynic at least, I don't like to assume either way anymore !

If it IS fake bad one. Or an odd one at least. Because if you're going to do it, why replicate the motif perfectly but omit the Lauder. Most later ones have a gold top but some had white, especially the early purse sprays, none has black though. Yet the smell. That's FAR from bad. They managed to recreate it SOOO well or even do a better version.

In the end it's not a massive deal. I didn't pay much. I've got something I'll definitely wear. Yet, I'd love to solve the mystery ! So, help a Mod out 😉🙏💜

I was going to title this: "the future is bright, the futures orange" . Except the future isn't particularly bright but the past was, indeed, orange ( in places ) so...

Dior - Diorissimo ( 1956, this is far more recent though, the one before Les Creations..) This is here because weirdly it turns bright coral over time. Try to get pre 80s though when it still had a bit of animal about it. I prefer my 70's version but it wasn't orange so...

I never was a LOTValley girl, back in the day, I was definitely more a Diorella or Diorama kinda gal but maybe we change with age and I'm actively seeking out any muguet I can get my hands on these days. Perhaps wanting something simpler, who knows ? What else can I say about Diorissimo that hasn't already been said ? It's the epitome of a white floral. It's naughtier than it seems. Queen of the LOTVs, the ultimate bridal scent long before Beautiful came along. Brides might have still looked virginal in the 1970's but they wore a garter under all that white lace. Old school Diorissimo hides secrets under white flowers. New Diorissimo ? Well, without the lillal will it even exist ?

Kenzo - Kashaya ( 1993, mine's 90's ). I still have no idea what that bottle is supposed to be but I've always loved it so I kept it in my collection. Some of these were in the box I had from the closing down pharmacy that I mentioned the other day ( if anybody read that ). Hence I can date them to a few years. I'm kind of coming round to the perfume itself, as well, even though it IS a Grojsman one.

Cerruti - Image ( 2000 ) This is another from the box above. So it's the VERY first run ( but it's back and REALLY cheap currently ! ) Both this and 1881 were safe, everyday favourites of mine for a while. Which sounds like faint praise but it isn't. They're very different, the floral powdery 1881 was very feminine, ( but get the vintage with the marbled top, it has already changed enough before they've removed Illial. Grr ). This was far more unisex. Quite fresh and herbal. It always made me think of a vodka tonic for some reason ! I've seen it compared to Light Blue but I really disagree. Unless the current one's different.

Max Factor - Exuberance (1967 but these are c70/80's ) . I've been looking for an excuse to squeeze these in. Exuberance seems less well known than many other Max Fax cheapies from this era. I remember it on the shelves alongside things like Electrique, Hypnotique and Primitif. My then SIL had these ( I begged the flock cats from her, she kept the perfume 😻) whereas when I reached my teens, I was buying Call Me Maxi, Eris, Rapport, Gemninese and Blaze. She was wearing the grown up scents, I was still on a teen favourites 😆 and it's DEFINITELY adult. Leather, civet and patch. It's got a good deal of skank about it, that's for sure ! Love it !!

Lentheric - Amber. 80's cheapie, warm and resinous, if you couldn't afford Opium you bought this. It's quite lovely.

Weil - Antelope ( see previous post for the og, I believe this was the 80/90's version before it was discontinued, it was another from "the box" ). Unfortunately, it had been neutered by then and lacks some of the skank. It's the PG version. Not bad but it's strange to have an animalic like without any animal.

Lauder - Pleasures Summer Fun. I left the og Pleasures behind in the 90's but some flankers are nice. Mainly it's here because it's apricot 🍑 coloured 😆

Gres - Quidproquo ( 1975, same as the dimple splash bottle. I have both, I think they smell the same ). Gres' gender bending fragrance, hence the name, I'm sure it was supposed to be unisex I just haven't got any proof of that. They added citrus and green, herbal notes to Chant's Cabochard and basically recreated EL Azuree. I LOVE both of those, and while it just doesn't quite reach the heights of Cab and it's quite "subtle" *in comparison* to that (and Azuree, given the strength of both, I think they dialled down the leather ) it's still fantastic. Ok, it's not quite as full on isoquin-leather but it's a great combination and should have done so much better. PLEASE spread the word and anybody who loves the above frags as much as I do - grab it !

Rochas - Poupee (2004 so not really vintage though discontinued - I think ? ) Doll head + pineapple. Tuberose at it's most plastic-y. I bought it because I was still buying Rochas at this stage. I shouldn't like this, not sure I want to wear it, but it holds a weird fascination. I love the cheeky name and the orange flock top.

Lush - Karma . This is a modern Limited Edition, og is cited as Ludh c1995 but I'm sure it was earlier. I had the Cosmetics to Go version so it's actually pre 94. I know as I used to sell their products at work in the early 90's ( I was a hippie Avon lady 😂 I've still got images from the catalogue somewhere if anyone's ever interested ). Even the more recent Lush version with the white label was different though, I swear they've reduced the fizzy orangeness. That's part of the reason it's here because I think I'm going loopy, unless anybody else agrees ? It's definitely missing *something* compared to my older bottle. Even so, it's still worth getting if you love traditional patch as I do. I find Lush problematic generally, they're very hit and miss. When they were good they were very good but a lot of them are just unfinished. Unblended and unsophisticated . Like somebody threw three random essential oils in a bottle, gave em a shake and thought that will do.

Mary Greenwell - Fire ( modern but discontinued) . All the Greenwells' are different but intentionally produced in vintage styles of the 70-90's. This one is a the Diva-ish rose chypre. I really want to sing the praises of Mary Greenwell but it would break Sub rules to do so and I'd have to ban myself - because they're not vintage even though they smell like it.

Scents 💜

( Please see all images for all items, boxed and unboxed. Please note that the images have been edited . The backgrounds have been replaced but the perfumes, as always, are all genuine ! )

In many places June is Pride month. We actually have our's in the UK, on various weekends throughout the summer but June is where communities now often come together online. It occurred to me we haven't had a chance to celebrate, with all the changes and June is nearly over.

A few years ago I created the picture for a perfume sub and when it popped up as a throwback it gave me an idea - I wonder if anyone would like to do the same ? Mine's a traditional rainbow as was the original Gilbert Baker Pride flag 🏳️‍🌈 ( & the one I remember from my very first Pride 🥹 ) but as we all know, it's come on a bit and been joined by MANY more 🏳️‍⚧️....

🌈Rainbows are also a symbol of joy; good luck ; rebirth or good times coming after bad. They mean whatever you want them to mean really !! Also as you'll see mine ISN'T all vintage just mainly discontinued ( I decided to make it hard on myself and stick to one house🤦🏼‍♀️ ). I appreciate vintage aren't exactly the most colourful either, don't sweat it, just get out your most colourful scents and as long as you make some vintage, I think that will just make everyone happy, anyway !

So whether you want to reproduce the flag you identify with; pick the colours that vibe for you or just paint a rainbow....

Join in and show us YOUR true colours ❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜

These are mine -

🩷Eau de Rochas Escapade 2019

🧡Tocade 1994 (v, r)

❤️Absolu Red 2004 (d)

💚Tocadilly 1997 (v, d)

💛Byzantine 1995 (v,d)

🩵Fleur d'Eau 1996 (v,d)

💙Byzance 1987 ( v,r)

💜Les Cascades de Rochas Songe d'Iris 2013 (d)

* v vintage, d discontinued, r reformulated