Empreinte Courrèges 1971 Eau de Toilette

.. 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.