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Notes05/05/2012
Sherapop
1239 Reviews
Sherapop
Top Review
11
Even after reformulation, it's still complex...
When reviewers describe a perfume as "vintage", I'm never quite sure what they are trying to say. There seem to be at least three distinct meanings.
For some, "vintage" is a polite euphemism for "old lady," a nice way of saying that while it may have suited one's grandmother, those days are now long gone.
For others, "vintage" means something like "quirky", along the lines of MA GRIFFE or IVOIRE or some other creation that persists out of sheer stubbornness: there is nothing else like it, and no one would create such a fragrance today, but it still commands respect.
Another group appears to use "vintage" to mean "big-time real perfume masterpiece"--along the lines of MITSOUKO or ARPEGE--created by a parfumeur, not an industrial organic chemist under pressure from corporate marketers to produce something that will sell a zillion bottles only to lie idle on the vanity of most, eventually going stale.
Jean Desprez BAL A VERSAILLES is vintage in the third sense, I think. This edt is so rich and complex, with so many distinct layers to discover, that it evokes memories of a time when perfumers were primarily artists rather than savvy businessmen. My understanding is that the original perfume contained more than 300 essences, and I'm sure that the reformulation contains considerably less, yet it still smells complex.
I could not resist acquiring a bottle of BAL A VERSAILLES scent unsniffed after seeing so many references to it by so many people, including perfumers, and I must say that I was not disappointed. This deeply oriental perfume is an A1, bona fide, indisputable classic! I reach instinctively for BAL A VERSAILLES on cold wintry nights, when its big sillage and warm, deep resinousness blanket me in golden lustrous beauty!
Regarding the "skank factor", the reviews of this perfume I've seen at various websites and blogs are very polarized, but I side with those who don't find this composition dirty at all. Of course, my reference here is JOY, the Platonic Form of civet perfumes. (-:
For some, "vintage" is a polite euphemism for "old lady," a nice way of saying that while it may have suited one's grandmother, those days are now long gone.
For others, "vintage" means something like "quirky", along the lines of MA GRIFFE or IVOIRE or some other creation that persists out of sheer stubbornness: there is nothing else like it, and no one would create such a fragrance today, but it still commands respect.
Another group appears to use "vintage" to mean "big-time real perfume masterpiece"--along the lines of MITSOUKO or ARPEGE--created by a parfumeur, not an industrial organic chemist under pressure from corporate marketers to produce something that will sell a zillion bottles only to lie idle on the vanity of most, eventually going stale.
Jean Desprez BAL A VERSAILLES is vintage in the third sense, I think. This edt is so rich and complex, with so many distinct layers to discover, that it evokes memories of a time when perfumers were primarily artists rather than savvy businessmen. My understanding is that the original perfume contained more than 300 essences, and I'm sure that the reformulation contains considerably less, yet it still smells complex.
I could not resist acquiring a bottle of BAL A VERSAILLES scent unsniffed after seeing so many references to it by so many people, including perfumers, and I must say that I was not disappointed. This deeply oriental perfume is an A1, bona fide, indisputable classic! I reach instinctively for BAL A VERSAILLES on cold wintry nights, when its big sillage and warm, deep resinousness blanket me in golden lustrous beauty!
Regarding the "skank factor", the reviews of this perfume I've seen at various websites and blogs are very polarized, but I side with those who don't find this composition dirty at all. Of course, my reference here is JOY, the Platonic Form of civet perfumes. (-:
