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.
My life was much too humble and my style too home-grown to have any need for her Young Sophisticates line of clothing as a young girl growing up in the late 1970's. But despite my lack of a 'decent' wardrobe, I recognized Anne Klein. Originally born Hannah Golofski in the 1920's, she excelled in fashion from an early age and won several Coty awards as a young woman designer. Perhaps from her Coty connection she learned her good taste in perfumes? In any case, her three perfumes (Anne Klein I, Anne Klein II and Blazer) were all very well done and each one still has many fans. Although Helena Rubistein died almost a decade earlier (in 1965 at the age of 94!), her company had produced many perfumes from the 1930's into the 1970's and Rubinstein's company bought Blazer in or near 1974. The newer HR bottle is rounder instead of the sharp rectangular lines of the original AK version & the AK lion logo is gone. The newer HR version is simply called BLAZER. My impression is the scent is the same (but there is a price difference) and I've not sniffed the HR directly.
But BLAZER by ANNE KLEIN is a most divine green aromatic that represents an almost ideal scent. It is clean and streamlined and seems perfectly balanced, more than any other of its type that I could compare it to. As a starting point I would reference Clinique Aromatics although Clinique's fragrance is not as smooth and has a sweeter heavier patchouli base. Y (YSL), is another famous green from the 1970's that is almost the polar opposite of Blazer. If Y is green silk, Blazer is green tweed. As far as notes, not many are listed. But we know the top fragrance notes are juniper, bergamot and lavender- in addition, I smell lemon verbena, mint, clove, and especially in the base, patchouli, cedar and perhaps ambergris. The flowers are restrained and green. To my nose, geranium and marigold stand out. However, a Nell Butler copy for Chanel 22 mentions Blazer as "a clean, crispy scent with the soapiness and whiteness of Chanel 22, but pared down and less flowery." I concur it is pared down. Huge chunks of Chanel 22 - incense/leather against aldehydes, rose and iris, the sweet musky drydown have been subtracted from Blazer. What is left smells naturally clean and brisk. Blazer starts out like a tonic, juniper lavender and bergamot give it a crisp herbal and soapy start- which is followed by the clean green/white floral & spice heart. The finish is lightly green and woody.
