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Sortilège Le Galion 1936 Extrait

Version from 1936

8.1 / 10 54 Ratings

A popular perfume by Le Galion for women, released in 1936. The scent is floral-spicy. The longevity is above-average. The production was apparently discontinued.
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Main accords

Floral

Spicy

Animal

Chypre

Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Aldehydes

Neroli

Peach

Bergamot

Hyacinth

Strawberry

Heart Notes

Iris

Jasmine

Lilac

Lily of the valley Rose

Rose

Violet

Ylang-ylang

Base Notes

Oakmoss

Sandalwood Cedar

Cedar

Civet

Musk

Tonka bean Vanilla

Vanilla

Vetiver

Perfumer

Paul Vacher

Ratings

Scent

8.154 Ratings

Longevity

8.037 Ratings

Sillage

7.637 Ratings

Bottle

8.149 Ratings

Submitted by DonVanVliet · last update on 11/20/2025.

Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Eau de Sortilège

Sortilège Parfum de Toilette

Sortilège (2014)

A Goodnight Kiss

Fleur de Narcisse

Ombre Rose L'Original Eau de Parfum

Reviews

7 in-depth fragrance descriptions

01/25/2015

8Scent 7.5Longevity 5Sillage

Pluto
353 Reviews

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Pluto

Top Review 19

Sortilège - a Spell

Sortilège, this name came to me as a teenager and I was fascinated by it. My sister, 8 years older, was already working and told me about a colleague who wore a fragrance called Sortilège. My sister admired this colleague a little, and I imagined her and this scent to be elegant, expensive, and mysterious. Just as only teenagers can form an idea based on a name. I didn't get to know this fragrance back then, and eventually, the name faded from memory. Thanks to Angelliese's comment, the memory was revived, and I added this fragrance to my watchlist.

Now I was able to test the vintage version. The opening of the fragrance is a bit overwhelming; aldehydes and bergamot hit intensely, and civet is also immediately strong and makes the start unpleasant for me. Civet doesn’t always come out nicely on my skin; my husband bluntly calls it "cat pee." But this note quickly retreats, and a delicate soapiness with a lovely spiciness spreads. Indeed, this fragrance is elegant and mysterious, just as I had imagined it as a teenager. Sortilège means spell, and the name fits. A bouquet of flowers unfolds, all the flowers harmoniously blend into one another; I think I can recognize rose and the sharp, spicy warmth of a clove. This slightly powdery and unsweetened floral dream ends in a warm, soft, and herbal base of vanilla and wood. Sortilège, a charming, old-fashioned fragrance that reminds me a bit of classics like Chantilly and Emeraude.

The sillage is only strong at the beginning, then it recedes; the longevity is good. Sortilège is reserved for ladies, and I really mean ladies. Thanks to Titania, it’s wonderful that I got to sniff this fragrance after so many years. And indeed, it comes very close to my former impression.

09/11/2012

9Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Medusa00
846 Reviews

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Medusa00

Helpful Review 24

Allow me to introduce Morticia Addams, née Frump!

I just came in from the garden moor. There, I took a moon bath. I played badminton with some undead using citrus fruits. A special breed that only thrives during a full moon. Black fruits. Cousin Old Cabin kept sneaking in. I got him drunk on fruits soaked in strong schnapps. After that, he sank into the moor.
My beloved and hot-blooded husband brought me my black and heavy velvet stole so I wouldn't feel so chilly in the coolness of the night.
I cut black roses and, as always, neatly severed their heads. Gomez dragged me onto a gravestone that was covered with thousands - of course black - flowers. It was orgiastic.
Watching were: 2 owls, 35 bats, 4 Dutchmen in a caravan, and the Hound of Baskerville.
The icy little hand played the Symphonie fantastique Op.4 by Hector Berlioz on the piano.
Dark, dreadful passion enveloped us. Night birds fainted from the trees. Oak moss entwined us like vines. Our pumas provided us with some secretions. In radiant moonlight, we rested in a sandalwood coffin. Cousin It waved us coolness with cedar branches.
And now I am back, the moon has faded away.

A dark, very mysterious chypre. For adults only. Preferred for the vintages 1905 - 1967 and Morticia Addams.

08/23/2012

9Scent 10Longevity 7.5Sillage

Chanelle
751 Reviews

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Chanelle

Very helpful Review 10

Is it really Witchcraft?

Sortilège was one of my first fragrance experiences as a teenager, but at that time I simply didn't have the money to buy the scent. Back then, in the 80s, according to my research on the internet, the company Le Galion was already lost, and only Sortilège and Megara were still being distributed by the company Biodroga. I knew nothing about Le Galion at that time and, of course, I had no knowledge of fragrances. My previous purchases had been limited to teenage, Avon, and drugstore scents.
Sortilège opened up a completely new, different, and enchanting world for me: I smelled a fragrance for the first time that had character! From then on, nothing was the same. My axis had shifted, I was flashed, hooked, trapped, addicted. (My Melody? Pah!!! Dishwater!)
At Kaufhof, I regularly sneaked up to the tester to inhale my dose of magic, well aware that the scent was a bit too mature for me, but unable to let go, wanting more.
Sortilège was created in 1937, when every perfumer worth their salt was lavishly using aldehydes. Le Galion wanted a powdery scent, in the class of Arpége, Chanel No.5, Liu, and they got it.
Even though Habanita comes to mind, Sortilège has little in common with the gypsy woman aside from my affection and roughly the same era.
Oh yes, both can work magic! Although I immediately wonder which one is the wicked witch - and which one is the white witch, because Sortilège also possesses a lot of dark magic, especially in the base...
The top note is classically aldehydic, slightly soapy, but already velvety-powdery. The heart note develops an incredible powderiness, a floral, spicy warmth, rose-heavy, jasmine-like, which I have hardly smelled anywhere else in such beauty and intensity since then.
Sortilège is at least in this phase a masterpiece in the league of old Guerlain classics.
The base does the rest: A hymn to oak moss, heavy and erotic, a bit resinous, velvety and dark.
In the era of Sortilège, oud was not common, but as one can see from the scent, it is possible to create a fragrance that turns heads without it. Other Le Galion scents have similar quality, but unfortunately are even harder to find.

01/11/2017

10Scent 8Longevity 8Sillage

Minigolf
2584 Reviews

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Minigolf

Very helpful Review 9

Dark Radiance of Purple Velvet

Here, another wonderful chypre fragrance has crept in for me, acquired cheaply from an estate... "Sortilège," by Le Galion.
It is one of those scents that reveal their secrets only slowly or perhaps never fully.
"Sortilège" can hardly be described purely; it should be "felt".
I imagine velvet fabric. Dark violet, with the densest pile.
In soft light, the surface shimmers, the faintest fabric folds reflect a plastic pattern of highs and lows. Mystical and mysterious, woven floral patterns emerge.
The same velvet, the same color, just different light refraction due to varying pile direction.
Three-dimensional depth.
And this scent also has multiple dimensions that seem to float in different depths. On top, aldehydic veils of fruity-citrusy hyacinths that shift from green to dark blue.
In a second "layer," floral aromas linger, which in turn take on various "depths".
Iris over lilac and lily of the valley, with jasmine in between, and beneath them roses and violets, whose petals shimmer particularly velvety without being sweet.
And it gets even deeper......
Inky mosses, medieval and woody, blend with woods and earthy vetiver.
Vanilla, just a hint, provides warmth.
A pinch of civet finally ensures the softness of the velvety "hairs" of the fabric.
Dense and deeper than one would suspect at first glance.
The fingertip sinks into it.........
And the nose and senses in "Sortilège".......magical-velvety violet....

01/24/2021

MaKr
12 Reviews

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MaKr

Very helpful Review 8

Memories of Dark Green

Last week I had the opportunity to participate in the Le Galion letter walk, thank you very much, Susan.

Engaging with the scents and the information about the company has uncovered some memories:
When I was 14-16 years old, in the mid-70s, I had a Canadian pen pal.
We met during my visit to my relatives in Vancouver. (A hint of romance) Later, for Christmas, there was this perfume in his package. According to the accompanying letter, my pen pal had sought advice on which perfume would be suitable for a “young lady.”

Back then, I had almost no idea about perfume. There was 4711 (my grandma, always) and Tosca (my mother, but only on special occasions)
I had at least heard of Chanel N°5 (Marilyn Monroe)
In any case, I eagerly tried the perfume, and immediately recoiled in horror and shock.

Today I know that it was the aldehydes and the lilac right from the start.
I still have difficulties with aldehydes today, just like with lilac:
In the garden, I like it very much, less so in a vase indoors, and definitely not in perfume!
While I was already thinking about the wording for the thank-you letter, Grandma came into the room and her eyes widened: Oh, what smells so good here?

Of course, she was allowed to try it, and the scent suited her perfectly! It clung to her, merged with her skin, and surrounded her like an aura.
Today, she would be described as a “Snow White type” in terms of color: fair skin, large dark eyes, and lush dark naturally wavy hair well into old age.
One of her favorite colors in clothing was dark green. This very dark, cool fir green, which makes most people look pale, perfectly highlighted her advantages.
Of course, I gifted her the bottle, and for a long time, I associated the scent with the color dark green. Or vice versa.

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