Empreinte Courrèges 1971 Eau de Toilette

Robert Gonnon's less assertive contribution to the floral-IBQ chypre genre results in a radiant, elevated sensation in Empreinte (French for "footprint"). It has a different stride, calmer, with florals and fruit pushed forward, feeling light, yet substantive. Empreinte wants to counsel rather than litigate. It wants to sip tea rather than have a second cup of french roast. Empreinte is refined under the sunshine, with just a few scant clouds in the periphery.

However, it does have a bit of animal magic underneath the citrus, fruit, and florals. A sheer, creamy woodiness with a pinch of castoreum and costus keeps this from being a chaste Pollyanna. What I do appreciate is that it is airy rather than compact, caressing rather than giving a deep rub down. It's one that would be appropriate in higher temperatures. It's for these qualities that it isn't exactly an "also ran" of its time. It does in fact leave an imprint.

I've become a whore for chypres the past few months, and given the lack of options amongst current perfumery, I thought I'd have a little dalliance with vintage.

Unsuprisingly, I'm not getting much in the way of top notes, given that it's over 50 years old, but the heart and base are very pleasant. A little bit of animalic funk, but nothing untoward. It's on the lighter side, so on my skin it doesn't last too well and the projection is minimal, but it will be a great reach for summer months when I want a lighter chypre.

Empreinte was launched in 1971, but by then the hype around Correges fashion was already clearly fading. I was invited to a prom in 1967 and wore a silver mini dress, of course, with silver ankle boots (the -chen is important! They could only go up to just below the calf and were of course flat) and the inevitable hairstyle. Dyed black with bangs that had to stand up on the eyelashes and the sides trimmed straight with a ruler to earlobe height. In everyday life, the boots were made of black patent leather and were complemented by a white patent raincoat with black block stripes.

And just as straightforward, unadorned, and clean was Empreinte. The listed flowers were of course white. Romance was totally out. The fragrance also had no fruity notes, nothing citrusy, and I would compare it today to L`Eau d`Issey. I think, for our current standards, it is not particularly striking, but after fragrances like, for example, Brut/Faberge, various patchouli perfumes, or Moondrops by Revlon, such a clean and sterile scent was something extraordinary. Perhaps someone still remembers "Blazer" by Helena Rubinstein, which also fit into this scheme.

By the way, at the same time, O de Lancome was launched, which, unlike Empreinte, still exists today, albeit in a changed form.

Courrèges' Empreinte was one of the first fragrances I knew by name. The reason for this is based on the probably most famous coming-of-age film of my generation: 'La Boum: the Super Party - Parents Not Allowed', which made the then thirteen-year-old Sophie Marceau an idol for an entire generation in her first role as Vic Beretton not only in France. Much of what we found appealing about France at that time originated from La Boum: here, kisses were exchanged, and one danced the 'klammerblues'. Suddenly, it seemed desirable to duck under a shared jacket and run after a departing bus - and even fundamentally silly names like 'Pénélope' and 'Samantha' (Vic's best friend and her little sister) sounded - pronounced in French: 'Peeneelopp' and 'Ssamonnta' - somehow quite cool. I knew girls back then who would have taken a boy just because his name was Mathieu.

But because the world is not a children's birthday party, Vic's father François has an affair with the perfume saleswoman Vanessa (who seduces him at home in a bunny costume - not all French women are like that, we would learn later), in whose shop his wife Françoise (!) goes after discovering this affair and there - before she causes a bit of a scene - asks: 'Do you have Empreinte by Courrèges?' By the way, something that never occurred to me for years, oh what: decades - when she inquires about Empreinte, she had already been holding its (rather distinctive) bottle beforehand - it was quite obvious that the director was not an intimate connoisseur of perfume.

Vanessa describes Empreinte as '...so to speak glowing romance, interspersed with a slightly exotic note - very refreshing and sensually sparkling at the same time...', an assessment that I must admit I do not share with her. The fragrance was considered extremely modern at its time, and despite the numerous flowers and fruits, it has a rather austere strictness that makes it not entirely uncomplicated in combination with its powerful architecture. On a self-assured woman in her mid-thirties, I find it - or rather its relaunch for the 50th anniversary of the Courrèges house - very beautiful and almost winking Old School.

Conclusion: Richard Sanderson became a one-hit wonder of the early 80s with 'Reality', the refrain of which I quote in the title - just like later the Cook da Books with 'Your Eyes', the title song of 'La Boum II: the Party Continues'. By then, Vic had already traded Mathieu for Philippe (Pierre Cosso!) - and Courrèges' Empreinte no longer played a role, which is almost a bit of a shame because: it is a rare and fine fragrance.

.. we are in the year 1971. The little EP is just 4 years old and has no idea about this perfume or the brand Courrèges.

But one thing has already shown itself in the young EP's early childhood: the love for science fiction.

Very early on, I watched Japanese futuristic or monster movies in the cinema with my older siblings and on Sunday evenings, I watched Moonbase Alpha 1, The Girls from Outer Space, UFO, and of course, Starship Enterprise. I always managed to win the battle with my father, who wanted to watch sports, with a lot of grumbling.

Much later, I discovered the fashionable style of the early 60s.

Although I was familiar with the fashion of André Courrèges, I had not tested any fragrance from this brand until today.

Empreinte is my first fragrance experience with this brand, and it’s a hit right away.

I can imagine that this perfume was not exactly used by Lieschen Müller, because Empreinte does not come off floral on me at all. On the contrary, the scent has relatively strong, masculine traits.

The opening is soapy elegant and reminds me a bit of the Scherrer 1 that I like to use. I would venture to say that a good amount of aldehydes has been mixed into the top notes.

If flowers were used here, then only stems and leaves. The blossoms have been generously omitted. This keeps the heart note pleasantly strict and refreshingly unromantic.

With the base, a good amount of leather and some wood comes into play. I also think I can sense some spices and a bit of moss. Is this a chypre? I would say yes, but I'm not a hundred percent sure.

The longevity is fantastic, and I leave a noticeable scent trail behind me.

The style of Courrèges has been described as "hard chic," and this certainly applies to this timeless fragrance.

Spring (whom I would like to thank for the sample) mentioned in the comment of Turandot that Empreinte is likely to come back on the market. It remains to be seen whether the reissue will not be too much adapted to today's uniformity.

André, I am ready to beam!

Addendum:

What I did not know at the time of testing is that this is the reissue of the fragrance. Since I do not know the original scent, I must say, Empreinte (I hope I haven't misspelled it again) smells just as I would expect an old-school fragrance to smell.