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8.3 / 10 13 Ratings
A popular perfume by Gather Perfume for women, released in 1967. The scent is chypreartig-floral. The production was apparently discontinued.
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Main accords

Chypre
Floral
Animal
Green
Spicy

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
AldehydesAldehydes BergamotBergamot Green notesGreen notes OrangeOrange
Heart Notes Heart Notes
GeraniumGeranium IrisIris LilyLily Lily of the valleyLily of the valley May roseMay rose Calibrated LintCalibrated Lint
Base Notes Base Notes
Bourbon whiskeyBourbon whiskey CivetCivet MuskMusk OakmossOakmoss Tonka beanTonka bean VetiverVetiver
Ratings
Scent
8.313 Ratings
Longevity
7.813 Ratings
Sillage
6.812 Ratings
Bottle
7.718 Ratings
Submitted by Lilith · last update on 05/26/2025.
Source-backed & verified

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Reviews

1 in-depth fragrance description
Kahill

2 Reviews
Kahill
Kahill
1  
Essence Rare - Houbigant - Vintage 1976 - Iceberg Bottle
Essence Rare was created by famed perfumer, Paul Schving when he was in the service of the renowned perfume company Houbigant. Essence Rare had been offered quite a while, and released again in 1976 in collector Iceberg Bottles.

"Makeup, for society ladies, was very much in demand and Houbigant's customers were the rich and the royal. Men and women of society both made great use of perfume and scented products to the extent, it is said, that the Marquis de Granford ordered his troops to put on perfume before the went into battle.
In 1775, when Houbigant opened shop, the area around Faubourg Saint-Honoré was a new district and considered very fashionable. Fine houses were being built. The Colisée was attracting fashionable society with its various diversions. The beautiful (rich) people were flocking to the district and Houbigant's wares were not overlooked." - Houbigant ref. material - http://www.perfumeprojects.com/museum/marketers/Houbigant.shtml

I have a photo that I will upload of an 8" (eight inch) high bottle of Essence Rare and I currently have this bottle. This size Essence Rare is very scarce. The enormous cologne bottle is not a spray bottle. It is 8" high with the cap on. It appears that approximately 1/8 of the perfume liquid in the bottle was used a few times by my mother. The bottle is exquisite and impressive in stature. There isn't anything like this bottle - rare and collectible on its own. It is a wonderful bonus to have it nearly full of the desirable Essence Rare by Houbigant!
My mother was a collector of exotic fragrances. This product appears to have been lightly used. I opened the bottle to smell the aroma from the bottle (but did NOT use any) and to take the picture. The entire perfume bottle is physically in excellent condition.

The bottle of the bottle is molded with Houbigant in the glass and a number 6 with a circle around it. The bottle and cap are in excellent condition. As of the date of this posting of this product, I have not seen any other sale presented of this product in this size and in this particular bottle – it is very rare.

In fact, I’ve only seen one picture of this bottle on the entire internet which was actually a magazine advertisement that an Ebay seller has (or “had) up for sale. That is the ONLY picture reference other than my own pictures and documentation of the 8” tall iceberg bottle. Some have also referred to this style of bottle as an icicle bottle – but it is the iceberg bottle. The advertisement is presented by a seller brogsy currently from this Ebay page - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360829339900 .

It was interesting to me to only be able to find this one other reference of the 8" Houbigant Iceberg Bottle almost full of vintage Essence Rare other than the one I actually have after searching the Internet for hours.
2 Comments

Statements

4 short views on the fragrance
12
9
Wonderful floral-green scent that gets under your skin and lasts a long time. Beautifully intertwined, otherworldly, thank you Minigolf ;-)
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9 Comments
4
1
Batiste and silk, linen and wool... finely woven in dense, pastel-colored and light fabric. Green. Powdery, rose. Moss! Woods & earth!!
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1 Comment
13
6
Essence Rare = The precious essence. Incredibly profound chypre. A floral, wild-animalistic masterpiece. Eruption of the senses! Perfect!
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6 Comments
8
2
Bring it back! Deep Chypre with character, I loved it, but everything I liked about it is banned today.
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2 Comments

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