17
Helpful Review
Love Letter to a "Great Lady"
When I first got to know "Madame Rochas" at the end of the sixties, people still said - and I believe, not just in my circle - "Parföng".
Aside from water and soap, "Badedas" and nivea cream (of course, I mean "Niveacreme" - sorry!) were the ultimate at that time.
A friend of my mother's who used "Maja" soap was regarded like a rare animal. Because even "Lux soap" in yellow, green, light blue, and pink packaging was quite something. After all, Elke Sommer, Karin Dor, Nadja Tiller, and Senta Berger stood for that, with their pictures displayed in an oval on the packaging.
But "Maja" soap?
Why my mother brought home "Madame Rochas" back then, I really don't know. She was actually the "water and soap" type until almost her death. So it must have been more or less a coincidence that she came across this fragrance.
Or perhaps, and this possibility exists: she was tired of my cream perfumes from Avon and was looking for something completely different.
Well, whatever the case may be: "Madame Rochas" entered my life. What a magnificent thing it was!
Until then, my friends and I only knew the mentioned Avon scents and, of course, in keeping with the times, lavender - "ancient" and "with the stagecoach". We considered "Bamboo" a significant step towards adulthood. (We certainly fancied we already were.)
And now I came with "my Madame"! In this time of sexual revolution (which honestly interested us little) and miniskirts, this elegant French lady burst onto the scene!
I don't need to reminisce about this scent. I managed to get one of the original bottles in the beige box with Petit-Point embroidery in brown tones.
I had to glue the box just to keep it out of pure nostalgia. The fragrance was unopened and flawless. The bottle is so classic, almost neoclassical in form.
The timeless elegance of this floral chypre fascinates me time and again. What a variety of flowers and woods were almost lavishly assembled for this scent.
All of it melds together softly and without edges or corners.
No matter how often I have tried in the past months, I can never discern individual components: it is always the whole that enchants me.
Yes, this old-fashioned expression belongs to "my Madame".
The longevity is truly above average. Even after hours, "Madame Rochas" envelops its wearer wonderfully, without becoming stale or dull.
I was surprised when I read that the Rochas house launched this fragrance only in 1960.
I had assumed that it - like many fragrances from great French designers - came onto the market in the twenties or thirties.
However, it is quite possible that "Madame Rochas" is a late-born child.
Because as early as 1944, Edmont Roudnitska was asked by Marcel Rochas to create "Femme".
For me, "Madame Rochas" always evokes a luxurious, very feminine space where one can and may be "fully woman."
A room with large mirrors, big powder boxes with tassels, a gallery of bottles and jars - and several meters of wardrobe.
Even today, there are moments when twinsets and pearl necklaces are not so wrong.
"We are always playing," says Schnitzler. Wouldn't it be nice to occasionally play a role where "Madame Rochas" can be a little extra?
Or perhaps even the prompter in particularly difficult passages of life?
Aside from water and soap, "Badedas" and nivea cream (of course, I mean "Niveacreme" - sorry!) were the ultimate at that time.
A friend of my mother's who used "Maja" soap was regarded like a rare animal. Because even "Lux soap" in yellow, green, light blue, and pink packaging was quite something. After all, Elke Sommer, Karin Dor, Nadja Tiller, and Senta Berger stood for that, with their pictures displayed in an oval on the packaging.
But "Maja" soap?
Why my mother brought home "Madame Rochas" back then, I really don't know. She was actually the "water and soap" type until almost her death. So it must have been more or less a coincidence that she came across this fragrance.
Or perhaps, and this possibility exists: she was tired of my cream perfumes from Avon and was looking for something completely different.
Well, whatever the case may be: "Madame Rochas" entered my life. What a magnificent thing it was!
Until then, my friends and I only knew the mentioned Avon scents and, of course, in keeping with the times, lavender - "ancient" and "with the stagecoach". We considered "Bamboo" a significant step towards adulthood. (We certainly fancied we already were.)
And now I came with "my Madame"! In this time of sexual revolution (which honestly interested us little) and miniskirts, this elegant French lady burst onto the scene!
I don't need to reminisce about this scent. I managed to get one of the original bottles in the beige box with Petit-Point embroidery in brown tones.
I had to glue the box just to keep it out of pure nostalgia. The fragrance was unopened and flawless. The bottle is so classic, almost neoclassical in form.
The timeless elegance of this floral chypre fascinates me time and again. What a variety of flowers and woods were almost lavishly assembled for this scent.
All of it melds together softly and without edges or corners.
No matter how often I have tried in the past months, I can never discern individual components: it is always the whole that enchants me.
Yes, this old-fashioned expression belongs to "my Madame".
The longevity is truly above average. Even after hours, "Madame Rochas" envelops its wearer wonderfully, without becoming stale or dull.
I was surprised when I read that the Rochas house launched this fragrance only in 1960.
I had assumed that it - like many fragrances from great French designers - came onto the market in the twenties or thirties.
However, it is quite possible that "Madame Rochas" is a late-born child.
Because as early as 1944, Edmont Roudnitska was asked by Marcel Rochas to create "Femme".
For me, "Madame Rochas" always evokes a luxurious, very feminine space where one can and may be "fully woman."
A room with large mirrors, big powder boxes with tassels, a gallery of bottles and jars - and several meters of wardrobe.
Even today, there are moments when twinsets and pearl necklaces are not so wrong.
"We are always playing," says Schnitzler. Wouldn't it be nice to occasionally play a role where "Madame Rochas" can be a little extra?
Or perhaps even the prompter in particularly difficult passages of life?
Translated · Show original
5 Comments
When I’ve had enough of everything, I turn to “Madame” and it grounds me again. Crazy, but that's how it is!
you wrote that beautifully - we must belong to the same generation. I posted a comment yesterday about the younger "Madame," but it mainly refers to the original version.
I almost fear it was me: I found the scent repulsive back then, so I guess I should chalk up "Niveaucreme" as a kind of "Freudian slip."
How easy it is to make someone happy!