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Bleu Paul & Joe 2003

7.8 / 10 8 Ratings

A perfume by Paul & Joe for women, released in 2003. The scent is sweet-spicy. The production was apparently discontinued.
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Main accords

Sweet

Spicy

Oriental

Resinous

Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Bergamot

Caraway

Coriander

Ylang-ylang

Heart Notes

Caribbean magnolia

Heliotrope Jasmine

Jasmine

Rose

Base Notes

Vanilla

Patchouli

French labdanum Musk

Musk

Myrrh

Oakmoss

Sandalwood

Perfumer

Pierre Bourdon

Ratings

Scent

7.88 Ratings

Longevity

7.47 Ratings

Sillage

7.77 Ratings

Bottle

7.29 Ratings

Submitted by DonVanVliet · last update on 01/13/2019.

Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Shalimar Eau de Parfum

Reviews

2 in-depth fragrance descriptions

09/15/2013

Omni
71 Reviews

Omni

2

An Imposter in the Shalimar Shrine

I have known Shalimar since the sixties. My last affair with Guerlain was Samsara and it was a mesalliance. Obviously my skin was cheap trade to Sammy. 'Bleu' then, moth to a flame. Had to try. Housework and gardening forced me into the shower early in the evening. Fresh as a daisy Bleu got it's second outing with me in PJs. I pushed 'The Lincoln Lawyer' into the machine and got absorbed in the movie. About three quarters of the way through and with the heat of the projector in the room I felt a woman push past me. She reeked of Samsara and having completely forgotten that I had put anything on I started looking for the apparition. I started thinking of the classic scene from 'The Uninvited' where the french doors fly open and the scent of Mimosa floods the room. Of course it was me. 'Who you gonna call?'
I cannot explain why it was Samsara that sprang to mind. Perhaps it was more recent in my memory and they do share a great many notes. Bleu is, however, a homage to Shalimar, not Samsara. Did Pierre Bourdon find the Shamilar shrine or did he find Guerlainade? As with Shalimar give Bleu time to macerate on your pulse points, there's a world of difference.

11/30/2012

9Scent 7.5Longevity 9Sillage

Milou
7 Reviews

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Milou

Very helpful Review 19

Shalimar with a Twist

Since this fragrance has not yet been honored with any comments here, I take this as an opportunity to make my first attempt. This wonderful oriental evokes many images and emotions in me.
First, however, to the pragmatic: the depicted bottle no longer corresponds to the current design (I have submitted a picture of the current version). In 2009, the formerly transparent glass was tinted midnight blue, which on one hand emphasizes the name of the fragrance, but also aims to protect the contents from harmful sunlight and electric light. Personally, I like the bottle much better this way, and it does much more justice to the fragrance. For this is by no means a light, playful little water, but a wonderfully sensual oriental with considerable sillage.

In other forums, "Bleu" is often compared to Shalimar, even referred to as a fragrance twin, which I cannot fully endorse. More discerning tongues would say that Bleu is the Shalimar for teenagers. While Shalimar comes across as sublime, soft, and perfectly balanced, "Bleu" behaves like the rebellious teenage daughter wanting to break free from her overly perfect, overly beautiful, overly elegant parental home.
Perhaps a comparison can be strained in the base notes. The opening, however, is simply delightfully 'nasty'. This is how we wanted to smell in our youth, some leaning towards patchouli, others towards musk, sandalwood, or jasmine. (My God, just imagining how it must have been for our teachers to teach in classrooms that smelled so much like a hippie market... :-)! In any case, the opening heavily reminds me of my time when I roamed the hippie market in a purple skirt and wild hair, looking for incense sticks, Indian silver jewelry, and oriental fragrance oils. It was the time when we desperately wanted to distance ourselves from our parents, finding their pursuit of prosperity superficial and embarrassing. We wanted to lead an intense 'authentic' life, always pushing our limits. Some did so by immersing themselves in other realities with not entirely legal substances, others by self-harming and refusing food. Some of us are still alive, others are not.
Just as we, who have made the leap into adult life, have integrated ourselves into society as much as necessary and as well as possible and contribute to a functioning system, so does 'Bleu' calm down over time and becomes a sociable, gentle, and cuddly companion, and only if you look closely do you discover that a few sparkling rhinestone skulls are winking at you from the supposedly cozy pashmina scarf...
In short: "Bleu" starts loud, patchouli-heavy and herbal, reveals in the heart its beautiful jasmine, ylang-ylang, and rose-blossom soul nestled in heliotrope, ultimately merging with the skin in earthy, sensually sweet woody amber and musk notes.
A beautifully oriental-tinged fragrance that cannot deny its French origin - at an absolutely affordable price.

Statements

1 short view on the fragrance

Yatagan

8 years ago

7Scent 8Longevity 8Sillage

6

1

Amazingly highly rated fragrance, which is certainly due to its closeness to Shalimar. However, in my opinion, it doesn't reach the aura of the classic.

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