images: mes-perfumes
Barynia was released in 1985. Its name is highly romantic- Barynia means Mistress of the Household in Russian, and it is a term used with affection but never loosing it's regal affiliation- ironically you will very often find pedigreed dogs and horses bearing this name! Nevertheless, we must look beyond the name associations and take a sniff before we can begin to unravel the mysteries of this scent- that is if there are any...
image: braynia on ebay.fr
Notes for BARYNIA - 1985
Top: Amalfi Lemon, Violet, Bergamot, Aldehydes, Hyacinth,
Heart: Rose, Orris Root, Jasmine, Lily-of-the-Valley, Orchid, Tuberose
Base: Musk, Vetiver, Sandalwood, Carnation, Benzoin, Civetta
And when I smell Barynia, the questions begin... Because it reminds me of something. A lot. And that something is none other that YSL's Paris!
But no- with Barynia, I want a different story- I was thinking of a Russian Czarina, who runs away with a handsome but poor Baron, on a cold and snowy night -- but wait, the scent is dragging me back, back to... to Paris... Composed in 1983, it is hard to come up with a bigger perfume than Yves Saint Laurent's PARIS. Composed in 1983, Paris initially took over the world.
Notes for BARYNIA - 1985
image: mes-perfumes
It was no sooner released and it was everywhere. I wore it, and so did every other girl who worked at, or came into, the Mall. We all wore it. It was in every magazine and featured at large displays that loomed at every cosmetics counter and kiosk, that year and every year thereafter until, well basically, now. Only now we have Paris Parisienne- a blackberry & patchouli smog has leaked into our bottle of Paris for 2010.
above images: squidoo & polyvore
And that's the problem with Barynia. It just smells way too close to Paris to consider it as anything other than a Paris knock-off.
image: big flax
Maybe it comes with a little bit of love from Russia, as it is certainly less distinguished for it's use of the green notes and lacks some of the effervescence of Paris. It has been maybe rounded a touch. Paris looks slightly green cast, but the color of Barynia is much warmer golden orange telling that it has a more resinous base but- and while I know it can be hard to make a case for comparing notes on paper, in this case the similarities seen on paper are borne out on smelling.
image: HR in the lab, from lanceunmonde
Why did Helena Rubinstein put her name on this one when it is such a close copy cat? I wasn't paying too much attention to the industry of perfume back then, so for all I know maybe everyone was playing a game of copying the ideas of others- it certainly goes on with the releases of today.
For convenience I have gone to the trouble of gathering some of the most frequently cited notes for Paris here. Don't even get me started-- what a labyrinth task that turned out to be! Luckily, I had a bottle of Paris, a few years back, in a box that had a set of notes printed on it, which actually helped quite a bit. I re-inserted Barynia notes here so you can inspect, too.
Notes for BARYNIA - 1985
Top: Amalfi Lemon, Violet, Bergamot, Aldehydes, Hyacinth,
Heart: Rose, Orris Root, Jasmine, Lily-of-the-Valley, Orchid, Tuberose
Base: Musk, Vetiver, Sandalwood, Carnation, Benzoin, Civetta
PARIS YSL 1983
version I
Top: Green notes, Bergamot, Hyacinth, Blossom-Calyx notes
Heart notes: Violet, Rose, Orris, Jasmine, Linden, Lily, Lily of the valley, Ylang-Ylang
Base notes: Musk, Cedarwood, Moss, Sandalwood, Heliotrope
version II
Top: Violet, Bergamot
Middle: May Rose and Iris
Bottom: Vetiver, Carnation (some sources), Vanilla and Sandalwood
version III
Top: Bergamote, Geranium, Aubépine, Jacinthe
Middle notes: Mimosa, Rose, Violette, Muguet
Base notes: Bois de Cèdre, Santal, Heliotrope, Ambre
So I think you can probably see that besides the orchid/tuberose and benzion/Civetta addition to Barynia- a cozy blanket added for warmth on our Russian beauty- you have almost a dead-on 'dupe' for Paris. For some people, especially when it was released, I think Barynia may have had that little twist, or something extra, to draw them to it versus Paris. But in the light of time Paris stands out as the archetype while Barynia is just a recycled interpretation.
image: YSL and Pierre Berge's exhibit at Grand Palais in Paris
The Vintage Perfume Vault, where the scent of yesterday's vogue lives.
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