My vintage No 19 parfum circa 1980 opens on a sharp, almost poisonous smelling note of green and bitter galbanum that lasts for some time. As the sharpness fades the scent reveals layers of green and white florals mixed with the powdery goodness of orris root and a large dose of inky oakmoss and dry vetiver. The dry down is like an olfactory time machine to the 1970s in all it's mossy, clean-bitter chypre heaven. Some will call this soapy, but that's just because soap scents have modeled off of this genre of fragrances one of the ideals of cleanliness. This is glorious and an overall joy to wear for me personally. No 19 isn't generally easy to wear for modern noses because it is not en vogue at the moment and people aren't used to smelling these ingredients in women's fragrances or at all. That being said No 19 is a beautiful statement-maker of a fragrance, even if not everyone who smells it will understand that statement.
