Happy winter solstice. We’ve now officially shifted from autumn and have another bout of gales. Not much rain and not a ‘named’ storm. Just wind. I remind myself to be thankful we’re now very slowly inching back into the light.
I thought of this originally as my ‘what will I be wearing over the hols’ post. But Arpege sort of hijacked that.
Am I going to wear this on the day? I don’t know. Maybe. But maybe VB 21:50 or Perfumer H Smoke … or maybe I’ll do some weird layering … or maybe I’ll do one for gift unwrapping/cooking (probably Smoke), one for eating (probably Arpège) and one for later in the evening with the wood fire and quiet time (probably 21:50).
I bought the mini of Arpège off ebay about a month ago. I can’t recall why Arpege popped into my head at that time. It just did. Another perfumista thing, like vaguely dreaming about Une Rose (or whatever its name is now).
(Sorry about the rubbish picture. No matter which angle I tried,
I couldn’t get rid of the shadow on the gold part of the bottle.)
This was never one of mine. In fact I think the last time I even tested this was at least 20 years ago. I recall the person with me saying it was sexy as hell. I didn’t get that at the time and I still not sure I get it. It’s other things.
This was originally released in 1927. Paul Vacher and Andre Fraysse were the noses. It’s got one of those close to kitchen sink notes lists: aldehydes, lily of the valley, peach, honeysuckle, neroli, bergamot, jasine, ylang, more lotv, iris, coriander, rose, lily, geranium, camellia; sandalwood, amber, vetiver, musk, benzoin, vanilla and patchouli.
To me, this is Classical with an upper case C and up the wazoo. Whether or not my version is ‘vintage’ (I’m sure someone will be able to tell from the little bottle and box – see pic – it was really hard, for some reason, to get rid of the shadow on the bottle) it’s certainly old skool.
The opening is the treat for me. I know I rag on aldehydes but in this they are perfection, along with a sigh of powdery iris, and a whisper of peach.
Onward, I get big white florals but so, so balanced. No one is shouty. They just all get along, like the best of friends. I believe I can discern the ylang and lotv, plus a bit of jasmine. Even the rose isn’t trying very hard.
And as in the open, there’s iris – a bit powdery, a tad scratchy.
I want to say there’s an herbal aspect, perhaps the geranium, but I may be talking myself into it.
Drydown is luscious sandalwood-vanilla, with a bit of powderiness. But none of this is ever raising its hand and saying ‘me, me, look at me’.
Longevity is … strange. Like I smell it and then I don’t. It really helps to get some of this on the sleeve when you dab on skin.
It certainly calls for a dab at the notch of your throat.
I do wonder how vintage this is and what anything newer might smell like.
My 5ml came from some guy somewhere in the north of Ireland who did label it as vintage. Oh, and it’s EdP.
And I wonder if this was a free-be from a Lanvin shop in France. Like Lutens did those mini bottles a good while ago.
Right. So, help me out. Is this ‘vintage’? Why might the guy have had it in his stock?
NB: I read somewhere that Balmain’s fragrance marque was purchased by (you guessed it) Estee Lauder and things are coming back (if they were gone? I’m not sure). Certainly the bottle design I’ve seen is different from the Ivoire I remember. I do see a sample of Ivoire in my future. I don’t know anything about the brand’s other perfumes. There is a decent sample set on the US site. I haven’t checked the UK one. I’ve got other fish to fry at the moment.
Pics: Mine, pexels, Wiki
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