I was very curious about testing Patou's "Vacances". The fragrances from this house tend to oscillate for me between the often unbearably intense scents of the last quarter of the 20th century and the very modern, sometimes overly minimalistic fragrances of today. However, Patou fragrances are still "real" perfumes for me, conventional, expressive, and by no means everyday scents. But I had not yet encountered "Vacances".
A lovely perfumer had included "Vacances" as a surprise in the fragrance mail. (A heartfelt thank you to her! What a rarity she left me!)
As always, I tested it without informing myself on the site and also late in the evening, confident that the scent had already been commented on by a house like Patou.
For a brief moment, it smelled unspectacularly light green-herbaceous.
Immediately followed a sweet, creamy musk scent with a similarly lovely blend of flowers leaning towards white blossoms. However, this delicate musky creamy floral mixture did not slip into a Nivea-like creaminess but was underpinned by a slightly tickling note. Perhaps Ylang-Ylang? Probably not, I noted it down for now; it would surely reveal itself upon further exploration. Somehow, "Vacances" had something oddly familiar that doesn't quite fit into today's fragrance landscape. "Vacances" is a very feminine scent.
However, as I got lost in writing emails and only occasionally sniffed at my wrist, it became very late or rather early. At some point, I noted "lilac," perhaps violet, wisteria? The herbaceous note could also be mimosa. A very fine yet expressive scent; girl-like delicate, lovely, sweet, innocent, quirky, old-fashioned-charming, and brightly shining, and yet, somehow, somehow... I know a similar scent. But which one smells so similar?
Then I went outside; it was still muggy and cloudy, no raindrop fell, as it hadn't for days. Through the clouds, I saw Jupiter already shimmering low in the south. So there would still be no rain.
But then, from the stream below, a very small, dazzlingly bright flying object buzzed onto our terrace: a firefly. It flew leisurely, doing a few somersaults and serpentine movements, and disappeared, doing a few more loops back down to the river.
Then it struck me: Météorites by Guerlain smells quite similar, namely of lilac; it is also slightly green, creamy, but it has something else in it, ending with a very fine Guerlinade. Above all, the musk note is much more subtle in "Météorites". Overall, "Météorites" is lighter, but the notes of white flowers are more dominant.
Although "Vacances" is not a loud scent, or is it? It lacks an antagonist - no citrus note banalizes "Vacances" - even if something herb-green is also present. That's how it stands in my blind test notes. I was about to shut down the PC when it occurred to me that I should still list "Vacances" here as tested.
Well: No comment, no statement, and a scent from 1936, a vintage, it has long been discontinued. What a pity, I thought.
The herbaceous green note is therefore mimosa with galbanum. The white floral scent comes from hawthorn and is softened by a very fine-scented variety of hyacinth. That's how I explain it. However, these are just my thoughts.
But I was definitely right about identifying lilac.
Such a retrospective confirmation is a small success for me.
Since I found "Vacances" beautiful and still do, I didn't want to wash it off before sleeping.
"Vacances" would be a scent for myself, a bedtime fragrance, a cuddly scent for home. Accordingly, I could already apply Météorites for comparison. I didn't want to use up the rest of the test vial for the comment test.
This morning, I could still perceive a trace of unchanged "Vacances" at the application spot from last night, so I reapplied it exactly there.
Wow, now "Vacances" has been enhanced by several notches and is much more pronounced. The whole room smells of it. The progression is the same, but the lilac is distinctly perceptible to me, the floral mixture sweeter and no longer so innocent, but lush. The girl has become a woman with curves. However, I no longer smell any white flowers. So restraint in dosing is advised.
Since the "Vacances" I tested now shows no trace of age, I assume it is a sample of the expensive "Heritage" version of it. It is a nostalgic, feminine, pure floral-musk scent.
Did "Vacances" perhaps serve as a godparent to "Météorites"?
Top Notes 
Hawthorn
Hyacinth
Heart Notes 
Lilac
Mimosa
Galbanum
Base Notes 
Musk
Turandot
DANA17
Azura
Seerose
