r/vintageperfume

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u/GaryNOVA — 18 hours ago

On a rescue mission!!

What a bummer! Half the fun are the interesting nostalgic designs of the bottles themselves😭 The juice will live on though!!! Wish me luck lol

u/Assistant71 — 1 day ago

Scent of Dolly Parton - Mary Kay Intrigue

I have admired Dolly Parton's artistic ambition since I was a little girl. To this day, Steel Magnolias is one of my favorite comfort movies. Ever since learning which perfumes she wore, I have been hunting them down. I bought a bottle of Intrigue by Mary Kay and I've been testing it.

What we know: Dolly Parton told Allure Magazine she would mix Mary Kay Intrigue (1971) with the original Tova Musk (bath oil). After Intrigue was discontinued, she said she went on eBay and purchased a ton of backup bottles.

In addition to this combination, I found some secondhand evidence she may also have worn Gendarme (1983), but it comes from rumors and it's listed among the Fashion Spot's Celebrity Scent Archive.

u/Lovastra — 1 day ago

Rumba Balenciaga

This arrived today in a job lot and oh my word it is beautiful. Plum and dried fruits, marigold, gentle florals into Oakmoss. An early Jean-Claude Ellena I had never heard of!
Researching, I see that the perfume was sold on - including the packaging - to Ted Lapidus. Is that very common?
Does anyone own both versions? Id love to know how close they are.

u/awakeiswoke — 2 days ago

What Decade Gave Us Your Most-Missed Discontinued Fragrance?

I’m curious: what discontinued fragrances do you miss most, and what era were they from?

Please share the name of the fragrance and its original launch date, if known. You may choose up to five scents from the same decade range. If you like, I’d also love to know what made each one so memorable—and whether you have found anything that comes close to replacing it. You don't HAVE to have a fragrance listed for each decade, this is just for fun.

  • 1800s - Vera Violetta/Roger et Gallet (1894)
  • 1910s - Ambre Antique/Coty (1905); L'Origan/Coty (1905); Cornubia/Penhaligon's (1910); Emeraude/Coty (1918); Maderas de Oriente/Myrurgia (1918)
  • 1920s - Toujours Moi/Corday (1924)
  • 1930s - Trophee/D'Orsay (1935)
  • 1940s - Cobra/Weil (1941); Dawamesk/Guerlain (1942)
  • 1950s -
  • 1960s -
  • 1970s - Violetta/Penhaligon's (1976)
  • 1980s - Chrysalis/Amway (1982); Vallee des Rois/Mira Takla (1988); Boucheron/Boucheron (1988); Malibu Musk/Parfums du Coeur (1989)
  • 1990s - C'est La Vie/Christian Lacroix (1990); Bhagavan/Durrani (1993); Organza Indecence/Givenchy (1999)/Asphalt Flower/MAC (1999)
  • 2000s - Oropuro/Laura Tonatto (2000); Black Cashmere/Donna Karan (2002); Amarige Mariage/Givenchy (2006); Ambre Gris/ Balmain (2008); L de Lolita Lempicka Fleur de Corail (2008)
  • 2010s - Douceur de Vanille/Les Néréides (2010); Freak/ Illamasqua (2011); Shalimar Parfum Initial L'Eau/Guerlain (2012); Sahara Noir/Tom Ford (2013); Decadence/Marc Jacobs (2015)
  • 2020s–present

I LOVE floral oriental fragrances :) spicy, fruity, sweet, resinous, woody, incensy

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u/amoderncleopatra — 2 days ago

Sharing these vintage perfumes for others to see

Before modern minimalism, perfume bottles were pure art. Deeper notes, hand-crafted glass, and pure nostalgia in every drop

u/Berdesenyo — 3 days ago

What have you been reaching for this summer? 🏝️

Top row (florals): Tosca, White Diamonds, Juicy Couture, L'Aimant

Bottom row (chypres & musks): Cabochard, Aromatics in White, Pheromone, Lovely, Jean Louis Scherrer

u/Lovastra — 3 days ago

My grandma’s Collection

So my grandma passed a few years ago and we are finally going through the last of her belongings. She had all these perfumes and I’m not sure what to do with them. Should I at least keep the bottles? Sell them? Or trash? Your help would be greatly appreciated.

u/nickelnickel_28 — 3 days ago

Anyone tried Le Galion—vintage or reboot?

Thrilled to have gotten my hands on this gorgeous vintage extrait set. For a long time I’ve wanted to smell Sortilege, a classic vintage-y aldehydic floral and legendary official perfume of The Stork Club.

It’s hard to find reliable info on Le Galion online, but looking at label designs from their ads, my guess is that this set is from the 60s?

It was sealed in cellophane when I got it, which made me hopeful that the fragrances were unscathed. I got a wave of (admittedly delightful) chypre when I opened the packaging though. Sadly there has been some evaporation, with Bourrasque the hardest hit.

I’ll take my time with this set, but I’m very interested in comparing them with the modern reboot. Apparently Le Galion has been revived sometime in the last 10 years, with many of these fragrances reissued. Curious if anyone’s smelled the modern versions too!

u/Foreign-Kangaroo-681 — 3 days ago

Showing off my LOVE -- Crown Jewels of Caron

https://preview.redd.it/7yhci6tr0sjh1.jpg?width=1022&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a34c71e449d160a10bea274ff7c6a73de77d6775

Hello everyone — first time posting here, and I’m thrilled to share three absolute jewels from my collection, all from the one and only Caron.

First, my bottle of Narcisse Noir: a pristine, still-sealed 60 ml from the 1920s (almost certainly post-1924 Pantin Crystal). The evaporation is minimal — something almost unheard of at this age — which makes it a true rarity. I keep a 1960s bottle for daily wear, and the scent is pure heaven. Indolic jasmine and orange blossom swirl with a delicate breath of narcissus jonquilla, all resting on a creamy sandalwood base laced with the warm, animalic pulse of civet and musk. It’s like stepping into a moonlit conservatory where the flowers are just beginning to open, heavy with night and desire.

Next is Le Tabac Blond, another flawless sealed 60 ml from the 1930s according to Caron’s own records. I simply couldn’t bring myself to break the seal — it’s too precious, too rare. Instead I rely on a few precious 1960s samples, and every time I wear it I’m reminded why this is one of the most intoxicating fragrances ever created. The fragrance lights a spark right off the neck with its overdosed carnation and clove and quickly smothered by the dark leather and the powdery orris root. Framed by the Mousse de Saxe base, it comes down from the fiery tip of the pyramid under the setting sun to the cool, atrovirens basement, packed with jars of honey sweet vanilla, buried in the golden sand.

Finally, Nuit de Noël — an easier find, but no less beloved. Mine is sealed and almost certainly from the 1930s; I already owned a smaller opened bottle before acquiring this one. Also built around Mousse de Saxe, it is the perfect counterpoint to Tabac Blond. Where Tabac Blond is dry, fiery, and intimidating, Nuit de Noël is soft, cold, and quietly distant. It smells of winter wind slipping through the cracks of an old house while the fire crackles in the hearth and children hurriedly hide candy wrappers before they get themselves into trouble. There’s a hushed magic to it — festive yet melancholic, intimate yet slightly out of reach.

These three Carons are the ones I return to again and again. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

And now I’m curious — what’s your favorite Caron?

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u/GreyWho — 3 days ago

I Couldn't Resist - Small Aramis New West for Her Acquisition

My holy grail of perfume. My signature scent when it came out in 1990 and for many years thereafter.

Been stalking discontinued bottles for years but absolutely didn't want to pay hundreds for it. I'm not that kind of collector lol

Found this on Mercari and was a bit hesitant at first because travel sizes were not produced for this perfume but apparently this 7.5 ml is an official sample. I assume these were used for promotional purposes.

I'll be very stingy with it that's for sure!

u/EitherCoyote660 — 3 days ago

Possible Patra Dupe?

Hey guys, not really a fragrance nerd. I'm fine with Bed, Bath, and Beyond and the most expensive perfume I own is a Kay Ali one that I got as a gift.

That being said, I really want to surprise my dad. He loves fragrances and when he was getting my opinion on some Cartier fragrance, he told me a story about how his dad used to always smell like this fragrance called PATRA and that one of his favorite memories growing up in Iraq was his dad calling him over and dabbing a couple drops of it on him when he was a kid.

It's a German cologne and I bought a vintage one (1950) online and it was very faint and was a little sour. I was gonna give it to him as a gift but it just wasn't good enough, probably due to how old it is.

I was wondering if any of you guys could point me in the direction of a good dupe. I love my dad and I really want to give him back a memory of his childhood. If anyone could help me, that'd be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance!

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u/AdHaunting5408 — 3 days ago

more like MA GRIEF/is it a factice?

Don't even know whether it's a factice or not but I got married and I got paid so I'm allowed to buy stuff now, so I bought it anyway. Swear to god I can detect a hint of scent when I sniff it real close. Also after freezing for a bit I noticed it left "legs" around the inside of the bottle, indicating some alcohol content, but does factice juice contain alcohol too?

I've tried the warm/freeze/warm method, will be buying some isopropyl alcohol tomorrow to attempt to de-gunk it. Put a good several hours into trying to open her this evening so I'm giving up for now.

My husband chipped the neck of the bottle ever so slightly when trying to lever open the bottle against my advice so I will be filing for divorce tomorrow, but I'll give it another crack after that.

u/pears_htbk — 4 days ago

Just the minis!

Gosh, how I adore this little community; I’ve finally found my people! 😂 You were all so lovely with your comments on my curio cabinet display, and several of you asked to see the minis specifically up close, so I am sharing some pictures here. It’s not super organized at the moment and I’d like to eventually move the more modern frags to a separate display, but some of my favorites/most treasured minis are the sealed Patous (Joy and 1000), the 70s Molyneux Vivre, the 2004 Valentine’s Day L’Instant de Guerlain, and the Lagerfeld Sun Moon Stars because one sniff takes my millennial brain right back to the 90s!

I have a totally different setup for my samples and decants using door hanging pocketed jewelry organizers. This glass case which I picked up at a tag sale for $20 is just for the petite pretties.💗

u/VintageByVoight — 4 days ago

Selling perfumes on eBay

I bought a bunch of old vintage perfumes at an auction. They were all seriously dirty labels, falling off, etc. they are definitely old and not counterfeit. This is my third listing getting taken down the same day listing them all. What am I doing wrong?

u/Ciassy123 — 4 days ago

Fun, Follies, Fripperies and Frolics - When the 90's went a bit Fabulous !

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

🍉🫛💖🍠🥭

u/Scent_Insensibility — 4 days ago