Top Notes 
Lemon
Peach
Heart Notes 
Green notes
Galbanum
Jasmine
Pine
Rosewood
Thyme
Base Notes 
Oakmoss
Musk
Myrrh
Vetiver
07/14/2012
jtd
484 Reviews
jtd
Helpful Review
5
The cost conundrum.
At first glance, Alliage, one of the Estée Lauder line’s inexpensive mainstays might be considered simply ‘cheap and cheerful.’ It reads, “Sport Fragrance Spray” in a functional, rather non-stylized bottle. Not exactly sexy. But cheap and cheerful implies an innocent simplicity whose grinning surface advises not digging any further. On the contrary, I’d argue that Alliage is inexpensive but sophisticated and spectacular. One of the impressive set of perfumes in the stellar-but-cheap sweepstakes.
Everyone seems to talk about Alliage’s notes, and I will as well, but briefly. I don’t get the peach. I don’t get the oakmoss. I do get a heavy green (loads of galbanum accented by vetiver) brightened by citrus rind oils (bitter orange, lime?) and florals. But since the green is already firmly in place, the floral tone is a clean, airy white jasmine bolstered by musk and what smells like rosewood. I’ve heard people lament the loss of a more heavily oakmoss-laden earlier version of Alliage, but I don’t miss Miss Moss. Alliage is wonderfully balanced just the way it is.
The cool white florals seem a dry counterpoint to the sweet galbanum. And galbanum’s lasting chalkiness lines up perfectly with a resinous base that gives depth and a slow-moving quality. Myrrh? Incense? It all feels very languid and heavy-lidded. I don’t need the bitter green that moss might add. Consider Alliage’s sibling Devin by Aramis for that.
Alliage has a cool quality that implies poise as much as temperature. Its cool impression is similar in to the effect given by mint/basil or camphorous components, but without their harshness or muscle-balm feeling. In cooler weather, Alliage feels forest-like, a bit moist. In my dry southern California heat, Alliage keeps its cool longer and more comfortably than any other perfume I’ve tried. It doesn’t blend with the skin. It’s more like a richly colored clothing accessory, like the perfect tie. It works as an accent and draws the nose’s attention. It doesn’t blend. I think this is how Alliage remains cool through drydown.
Clean and green, not so much tart as a bit sharp. This is one of the few fragrances I wear to work as an RN in a hospital. It’s cool but not quite grass-like, not quite floral. It has wonderful endurance, but after the topnotes, mild sillage. I think it just reads as quality grooming products to my patients and colleagues.
Again the price dilemma. In this case a happy one. Why does this cost so little? It sells at the same department stores that flog haphazardly brewed, blaringly marketed perfumes for 3-4 times the price. Alliage is a distinctive fragrance of high quality and name-droppable pedigree (Bernard Chant) that has been typically well maintained over the years by Estée Lauder. I could wear this forever (were I not so perfume-promiscuous, that is.)
Everyone seems to talk about Alliage’s notes, and I will as well, but briefly. I don’t get the peach. I don’t get the oakmoss. I do get a heavy green (loads of galbanum accented by vetiver) brightened by citrus rind oils (bitter orange, lime?) and florals. But since the green is already firmly in place, the floral tone is a clean, airy white jasmine bolstered by musk and what smells like rosewood. I’ve heard people lament the loss of a more heavily oakmoss-laden earlier version of Alliage, but I don’t miss Miss Moss. Alliage is wonderfully balanced just the way it is.
The cool white florals seem a dry counterpoint to the sweet galbanum. And galbanum’s lasting chalkiness lines up perfectly with a resinous base that gives depth and a slow-moving quality. Myrrh? Incense? It all feels very languid and heavy-lidded. I don’t need the bitter green that moss might add. Consider Alliage’s sibling Devin by Aramis for that.
Alliage has a cool quality that implies poise as much as temperature. Its cool impression is similar in to the effect given by mint/basil or camphorous components, but without their harshness or muscle-balm feeling. In cooler weather, Alliage feels forest-like, a bit moist. In my dry southern California heat, Alliage keeps its cool longer and more comfortably than any other perfume I’ve tried. It doesn’t blend with the skin. It’s more like a richly colored clothing accessory, like the perfect tie. It works as an accent and draws the nose’s attention. It doesn’t blend. I think this is how Alliage remains cool through drydown.
Clean and green, not so much tart as a bit sharp. This is one of the few fragrances I wear to work as an RN in a hospital. It’s cool but not quite grass-like, not quite floral. It has wonderful endurance, but after the topnotes, mild sillage. I think it just reads as quality grooming products to my patients and colleagues.
Again the price dilemma. In this case a happy one. Why does this cost so little? It sells at the same department stores that flog haphazardly brewed, blaringly marketed perfumes for 3-4 times the price. Alliage is a distinctive fragrance of high quality and name-droppable pedigree (Bernard Chant) that has been typically well maintained over the years by Estée Lauder. I could wear this forever (were I not so perfume-promiscuous, that is.)
