Escada Margaretha Ley Escada 1990 Parfum

For many years, I only had a mini of the EDP. Unaware of the pyramid, the scent ended up in my mental drawer labeled "autumnal-woody-floral." And at the same time "very elegant - only for evenings" - which is a similarity to the floral chypres that I generally like less, but sometimes appreciate for more serious occasions - without "Margaretha Ley" being remotely a chypre.

Only since Parfumo did I realize that it is the herbaceous, scratchy charm of the hyacinth (which I know as a real bloom to be sweeter and more pleasing) that I am succumbing to here. Besides it, I can still hardly recognize anything else, perhaps the spicy clove, which I do like anyway, and maybe the orange blossom in the background - here much less sweet than I am used to.

Recently, I was able to win an extrait at auction. It was already the second attempt. The first one was not properly packaged and completely leaked because I had loosened the cap...the packaging material smelled wonderful! So, a second attempt! A noble golf-colored extrait in a heavily ornate crystal bottle...it opens a bit scratchier than the EDP yet has an elegance and allure that I can hardly resist.

Despite the spring flowers hyacinth, jasmine, iris, etc., it is still more of an autumnal perfume for me.
I can't quite understand the classification as "sweet." Sweet in the sense of sugary or gourmand, definitely not! If anything, it is a different kind of sweetness...a hard-to-describe intensity and depth...like liquid gold. Certainly not a contemporary perfume, yet in its own way beautiful - for people who do not think at all about the spirit of the times!