Ferré by Ferré Gianfranco Ferré 1991 Eau de Toilette

I was lucky a week ago. I was looking around on a website, where people sell and buy things. An item caught my eyes: a round, black bottle shaped a bit like a hand grenade with a golden top. I knew exactly what I was looking at. I just could not believe it, so I looked back and forth from picture to price. Seven Euro. Seven?! I wrote to the lady and asked her some questions: was the bottle empty? Was it the photo she sold and not the real bottle? Was the bottle or the perfume ruined it some way? We wrote back and forth a bit and I finally told her, I would be delighted to buy it. She was in the middle of moving, though, so she did not know where the bottle was at the moment. It took her a week to locate it in one of her boxes. Eventually, she found it and wrote to me, happily, that she was to send it the next day.
When I received the package I was so thrilled. I have a purse bottle of this beautiful fragrance, originally 10ml, and all of a sudden I also had a more than half full 100ml bottle! It has lost its charming tag ribbon on its journey through time, but the juice inside is unspoiled. Unharmed. Just as it was meant to be back in November 1997, when my ‘new’ bottle is from. Twenty-eight years it took it to come to me. It smells utterly divine.
There are so many registered notes in this. All I can say is, that it smells soapy/powdery with a fruity trace underneath. Spicy, creamy with a magical sandalwood note as the base. This is so warm, comforting and amazing. This is a must have - for me at least.
Sometimes Luck happens. And sometimes Luck hunts you down, puts you in a leg lock and asks you, politely but firmly, to pay attention. So - pay attention. You might miss out on something important if you do not.
Year 2, 216/365

طلبته متوقعةً أن يكون مشابهاً لعطر فيري 20. عندما وصل، رششته لأول مرة على ذراعي، وصُدمت برائحة الألدهيد القوية الشبيهة بالصابون - رائحة قديمة الطراز نوعاً ما. شعرت باليأس والندم. كانت الرائحة قوية جداً، خاصةً بالمقارنة مع رقة فيري 20. ثم، شيئاً فشيئاً، وبعد ساعة، تغيرت الرائحة تماماً، كاشفةً عن نفحات جميلة لم أكن قادرة على تمييزها. ظهرت رائحة البنفسج، وبدأ العطر يتألق، ليصبح راقياً وجذاباً، حتى امتلأت عيناي بالدموع. نعم، أكتب هذه المراجعة اليوم وأنا أبكي من جماله. لماذا تبدو الزجاجة كقنبلة؟ ألم يكن من الأفضل لو كانت على شكل سحابة بيضاء؟ ألم يكن من الأجمل لو كانت على شكل قلب، مثل عطر البنفسج "لاف لاف"؟ إنها التسعينيات بكلّ روعتها: الفن، والهوايات، والأحلام، والبراءة، والعطور التي تنبعث من ذوق رفيع، حالم، ومتطور. شكرًا لك على هذه التحفة الفنية. اليوم، حظي أنفي بالتكريم، بعد ثلاثة أيام من بلوغي الأربعين. نال أنفي التقدير الذي يستحقه.

The black ball that I am currently holding is one of two that my mother acquired during our annual trips to Italy in the early nineties. In my youth, my parents first traveled to South Tyrol for many years, then to the Adriatic, and surely my great love for Italy was born on the days when we explored one of the wonderful cities instead of the beach: Gothic city palaces and churches, Campari and espresso on the bustling piazza - Italy seemed to me, in comparison to my always rainy home in North Rhine-Westphalia, like paradise, more precisely: my paradise: culture and history in every inch.
On one of those days, we strolled through the arcades of an old Italian town equipped with a fantastic marketplace and - obviously - a good perfumery. Unfortunately, I don’t remember where that could have been, probably in the Marche, where we spent our vacation. I know that my mother bought the black ball that day. Because she liked it so exceptionally well, we returned to that perfumery a few days later and bought another black ball. My mother stored it in my bathroom in later years to always have her perfume on hand when she visited me. By now, my mother has grown very old and she cares little for perfumes as she does for many other material things. A few weeks ago, when I showed her the ball that I had kept, she remembered that she once owned it and gave it to me. Since then, I have cherished it and today I only tried it out to once again experience this scent:

It is an incredibly elegant fragrance that emanates from the ball. Because it is so black and has stood in my bathroom for many years in a cabinet, the scent has been perfectly preserved and envelops me with a tremendous, powerful wave of the most elegant aldehydes. So deep, so dark, and yet so sparkling and effervescent, this wave is like the countless sequins on a deep black evening gown when the light of grand chandeliers falls upon it. Instead of a dark, heavy mass, this fragrance seems to sparkle and float - infinitely soft and profound, rich and velvety, it lays itself over my skin. The fruity and Chypre components are hardly perceivable individually, yet the abundance of ingredients is probably responsible for the effect of moving sparkle: The scent particles unfold not all at the same speed and not with the same intensity, but all at the same time. Thus, the fragrance remains in a shimmering motion for a longer time, which is responsible for its softness: With all the depth with which it welcomes me, it caresses me.
Take a look at this pyramid: It contains everything that could characterize a fragrance: Bitter citrus notes and Chypre-like, green notes. Fruits and flowers and full blooms of all kinds. Resins and spices, woods and musk. And vanilla and tonka. This fragrance is a cornucopia of perfumery art, a kaleidoscope of the most diverse tones, nuances, impressions, associations. Fresh and marked by bright flowers, by heavy, dark blooms, and by green, soft, flowing, and sweet elements. Up to the base, which presents itself infinitely balanced, maintaining the perfect balance between resins and woods and vanilla, my nose has perceived so many different impressions simultaneously that I feel intoxicated by the beauty of the fragrance. And above all, let it be repeated, these wonderfully powdery aldehydes, which give the fragrance its grandeur and prominence, comparable especially to the famous No. 5. An evening fragrance.
How did my mother know this? Perfume was never her world, yet with this fragrance, she hit the jackpot and it became her signature. A mature, adult, and so exciting scent. I will always associate it with my mother and will only wear it on very special occasions. My mother was not a woman who experienced festive ball nights. Yet such nights are needed to wear this jewel in the future.

At some point, I rummaged through the cupboard for the little pouch with the perfume miniatures, and the journey down memory lane began: It’s still a pleasure!
Only the round bottle made of matte black glass with an almost equally large “ball pump” (I specifically looked up what this bellows is officially called), artfully wrapped in black, I couldn’t place until a few days ago.
I only knew it must have contained a fragrance from the early nineties. Back then, these pretty miniatures were in vogue, and a hint of the mysterious, opulent contents has survived here and hasn’t lost too much of its luster.
But it has indeed earned a special place in the new display case.
Recently, I strolled through Greenfan's latest comments, came across this perfectly round black bottle, and knew: “Ferré by Ferré” - exactly, that’s it!

What splendor and glitter there was in couture back then:
Three designers ensured an abundance of material, form, and color, creating a very special trend (see also the garments in “Dallas” and “Dynasty”).
Gianni Versace (What else could he have become!), Christian Lacroix, and Gianfranco Ferré:
Three “wild ones” in contrast to the already established fashion creators Yves Saint Laurent, Karl Lagerfeld, and of course, Giorgio Armani.
How well I remember the splendor, the jewel tones, the shine of the fabrics, the fashionable exuberance they brought to fashion: Their fragrances were just as lavish!
We wore and enjoyed them and their abundance quite naturally!

This fragrance is just as full-bodied and luxurious; completely without edges and corners, even oak moss - right in the middle - doesn’t scratch but rather adds depth and character this time.
Ripe and freshly scented hesperides play with velvety peaches, sweet and juicy, aldehydes provide a certain tingling in the prelude, even before the grand fragrance show begins.
And then we dive into a sea of flowers, generously embracing the already mentioned oak moss in its center.
Rich rose aromas, spicy cloves, sensually fragrant leaf bundles, adorned with a multitude of white jasmine flowers, form the heart of the fragrance.
These beauties are surrounded by lily of the valley, violets, and the herbaceous mimosa balls with their special scent charm.
How wonderfully fragrance designers can bind their heart bouquets when they have such a floral abundance at their disposal.
What a delight in scent!
And it continues just as opulently: resins and spices of all kinds and in multiple dosages, along with a lot of warm vanilla sensuality; combined with the aroma of tonka bean, create a magnificent fragrance finale: A hint of iris powder elegantly lies over everything and beautifully rounds off this composition!
“Ferré by Ferré” is ready for the final applause!!

Gianfranco Ferré didn’t live to be very old, but through this fragrance alone, he remains in memory: Radiant and graciously bowing, of course impeccably dressed in a black tuxedo, before him the red carpet, where his models just drew attention!

This nostalgia in scent is wonderful, this certain remembrance of an irretrievable colorful and lively time of life.
The sillage is lush, the long-lasting presence accompanies and brings color to the sometimes so gray everyday life!

And I am very pleased that my little bottle now has its name back.

From many commendable - and worthwhile attitudes that my parents exemplified for me, the love for scents clearly belongs to that list.

They were/are both hopeless parfumistas and opened up the realm of aromas to me.
Leaving the house unscented was unthinkable for them.

It was less about the image and much more about the feeling of life.

And both introduced me to fragrances that I would not have tried on my own.
Thus, my mom also presented me with Ferre by Ferre.

The "bombastic" bottle would not have attracted me willingly, and I tried it very hesitantly.
But what unfolded upon spraying was indeed a fragrance bomb that initially puzzled me.

Full and aldehydic, it poured down on me, leaving me in awe.
But my mom urged me to be patient - with the motto "calmness brings strength".

And my nose truly felt incredibly comfortable in this noble scent bath.
Mild green notes rise from the aldehydic foam, neroli cools, and orange and bergamot provide bright accents.
A sea of flowers follows, consisting of jasmine, clove, rose, and lily of the valley, which gains depth from the oakmoss.
The ocean waves calm down.
Piquant spices, exotic tonka bean, and soft sandalwood evoke thoughts of the Indian Ocean.

I am completely captivated by the vastness, the dimension of this fragrance.
My gaze extends to the horizon that both Ferre and my mom have broadened for me.

I dreamily turn the golden ball in my hands, like the princess in the Frog Prince once did, and think - cherchez la maman.