SOTD: Fleur d'Interdit

Spring is on in a big way- suddenly we're surrounded by lilacs, cherry blossoms, the amaryllis is getting ready to burst forth it's show of fiery blooms- just too wonderful. But time has prevented me posting here (or reading elsewhere)- but all that should change this weekend... In the meantime, just one spritz of the [original, amber] Fleur d'Interdit (1996) by Givenchy.  The Vintage Perfume Vault, where the scent of yesterday's vogue lives.

The Faces of Givenchy L'Interdit

If you are intrigued by the thought of smelling as forbidden, as pure and austerely beautiful as Audrey Hepburn, then you should know which scent to buy. L'Interdit, the scent Givenchy had created expressly for Herpburn, has been released in three distinct versions.

Hubert de Givenchy commissioned Francis Fabron to create L'Interdit for Audrey in 1957. Does that make L'Interdit the first celebrity fragrance of modern times? While many perfumes are touted as the first celebrity fragrance, this scent lays rightful claim to ownership of the title.

Above is the original L'Interdit from 1957.  I have this version in my collection but the juice has not aged gracefully. I've heard there was a unique strawberry note wrapped up in L'Interdit but it is not apparent to my nose. I'm afraid all of the fruity top notes have all but vanished from both of the vintage examples I've encountered. But based on what I do smell, 1957 L'Interdit is the nearly twin, but more respectable, sister of Chanel No 5. If you took the upper and middle register of Chanel No 5- all the lovely aldehydic touches and the effulgent floral notes and threw them over a white-washed base, you'd have something like L'Interdit. Where No 5 offers a smoldering embrace, L'Interdit uses a light caress. The intoxicating foxy musk and civet touches that give the Chanel such luster have been replaced by refined sensations: the scent of amber scented French soap, the creaminess of the lather it creates when mixed with water on skin and the light musk of fresh cleaned skin, are used to achieve the seduction of L'Interdit.

In 2002, L'Interdit was brought back with a reinterpreted formula (noses: Jean Guichard and Olivier Gillotin) and a new look, shown above. I like the red label and gold top/gold neck band; otherwise it is identical to the older bottle, which had instead a gold foil label, a silver top/glass-neck combination. Many customers complained about this reformulation but I must confess to liking it well enough when it was first released. It struck me as a light and pretty fruity floral with leanings towards Estee Lauder's Beautiful, but done in a much sheerer style. Ultimately it failed to move me and has been ignored in a dark corner of the vault for the past several years. Such a sad fate for a scent whose only aim is to sparkle and enchant. A cross between strawberry lemonade and strawberry shampoo, the 2003 L'Interdit could have made a fine first perfume for a young girl. It's especially well suited to the mild days of spring and early summer.

Flagging sales and Givenchy's efforts to recapture history in the form of their best selling fragrances necessitated another shift for L'Interdit. In 2007, Bernard Arnault was tasked with recreating the scent for Givenchy. L'Interdit joined the Les Mythiques line where Givenchy has released new versions of all of their most widely sought-after discontinued scents (Organza Indecense, Givenchy III, Le De etc...). The feminine fragrances of the Les Mythiques line are all clad in lavender packaging as seen below.

The 2007 formula for L'Interdit is a throw back to the style of the 1957 original. The new L'Interdit is a powdery, spicy floral featuring, "red current, Bulgarian Rose and a touch of musk and incense".  While I continue to prefer Chanel No 5, I believe this version of L'Interdit is the most reliable and smells nearest to the spirit of the original, making it the one I'd choose for all my 'Audrey' moments.

The Vintage Perfume Vault, where the scent of yesterday's vogue lives.

Givenchy Organza and Chanel 22

It's been quite a while since I've had time or desire to post on anything. My animus towards vintage perfumes hasn't really diminished; my time and energy has just been focused in other directions. I don't intend to hold myself silent for the entire duration of this MEd program, but there might not be much in the way of regular posting until next summer, except during holidays. It's Fall Break this week and even so we've been living on the air conditioner until a sudden and welcomed cool down today.

Today I had a sudden craving for vintage Chanel No. 22- perfume. It's a favorite of mine although usually I just scrimp and wear the vintage 1970's EDT spray version. If you know it, you'll know I'm not really scrimping. One spray takes it as far as you'd want to go, which even in this heat is from morning to overnight and into the shower the next morning. But after wearing it a couple of times recently, today I decided I'd wear a little of the actual vintage parfum instead. Off I went in search of the coffret in which it sits along with it's siblings: Bois De Iles, Cuir De Russie and No 5. I removed the dainty oval crystal stopper and dabbed; as it settled in, the old magic returned. In this little vial the incense and vanilla of Madame Coco's true genius of a numbered fragrance have happily married the aldehydes have quieted down a bit. And it strikes me that there is something very similar between this Chanel creation and Givenchy's original Organza.

You see, I've been smelling Organza a lot lately. We've just purchased an older home in the country- the sort I've always imagined, by the way, but the point is that we bought it from a lovely lady from Spain, named Silvia. Now Silvia reminds me of what a world war II movie star would look like today, tottering on tiny high heels, surrounded by a cloud of blonde hair, long eyelashes and a generally regal bearing. From the first moment I met her, I thought she smelled really wonderful... very elegant and refined but maybe with a little hint of bombshell, too.

Generally I'm a little shy to ask new people about perfumes, but I really wanted to know what she was wearing. It was just like when you catch just a little bit of a melody when you're not really expecting it-suddenly I couldn't place a familiar scent. So finally I asked her what she was wearing and she replied, "Oh, something my husband bought for me; it's all I ever wear... it's by Givenchy... Organza, I think." But now I realize when she said it, I was expecting her to tell me it was No 22! Maybe other people have noticed the resemblance but I never did before. I even went home and discovered it's the sandalwood. I think. Sandalwood isn't something that hits you over the head with No 22 but over time I realize it's the thing that draws my nose back into the coat or scarf after I've put away after wearing it... Now I have another sleath sandal perfume to add in my arsenal, cloaked in a fine, but rich harmony of orientalized florals, just the way I tend to like them!

The Vintage Perfume Vault, where the scent of yesterday's vogue lives.