Toujours Moi Corday 1923 Eau de Toilette

These are the moments that make up for the various blind purchases, which mostly go wrong for me!

A classic catch from the bay - I won it while bidding on a perfume from the same seller because no one else wanted it. Almost by chance. A perfume I had never heard of, that cannot be found online, which I couldn't test beforehand. In a tiny inconspicuous 1-2ml miniature bottle, the contents already dark red-brown.

What a beautiful scent!

At first, it is a bit rough (harsh, herbal, unrefined), so I initially thought it would fall into the category of toppled vintage perfumes that I could either sell again or resignedly pour down the drain - with the comforting hope of at least needing the empty bottle someday.

But this somewhat rough start lasts only briefly.

"Toujours moi," a name that initially evoked somewhat pretentious, kitschy associations for me, fortunately does not head in that direction, but instead reveals itself within a very short time as a wonderfully dry, ambery, soft, and above all infinitely warm + deep feel-good scent that easily puts all the amber compositions I know in the shade.

I don't even know what concentration it is, as the bottle gives no information - but I assume it is an EdP or even an Extrait: For at least 12 hours, it radiates a wonderfully natural amber aroma in a moderately sweet way, which is still perceptible even after 24 hours.

I also suspect a high-quality portion of patchouli in it: patchouli of the light earthy kind, which makes a perfume pleasantly rough and prevents a rather sweet, heart- or base-focused component like amber from making a perfume feel shallow and boring without appropriate counterpoints.

An indication of the extraordinary quality of the ingredients: Many hours after the warm glow of the patchouli-laden amber - when one would like to lean back and actually expects nothing new - "Toujours Moi" takes another turn: It introduces a deep dark smoky aspect alongside the deep red-brown amber tones, which I actually don't want to associate with secular incense in the classical sense, and which is correspondingly difficult to describe: Aromatic, but not in the sense of light gray church incense, nor a mundane campfire that is smoldering - almost like herbs placed in gentle embers, releasing anthracite-colored vapors that are unfamiliar.

For me, a great discovery among the truly great classics! Sometimes you can still find older bottles or minis at reasonable prices… so who wants to, can. Those who dislike blind purchases because they usually have no luck will probably never get to enjoy it. Those who like the mentioned aromas: In this case, I would dare to try it, as it could be a hit.