Jean Marie Farina Extra-Vieille (2012) by Roger & Gallet

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Jean Marie Farina Extra-Vieille Roger & Gallet 2012

Version from 2012

7.0 / 10 50 Ratings

A perfume by Roger & Gallet for women and men, released in 2012. The scent is citrusy-fresh. It is being marketed by L'Oréal.
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Main accords

Citrus

Fresh

Spicy

Green

Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Lemon

Bergamot

Heart Notes

Rosemary

Neroli

Petitgrain

Base Notes

Myrtle

Cedarwood

Sandalwood

Ratings

Scent

7.050 Ratings

Longevity

4.534 Ratings

Sillage

3.833 Ratings

Bottle

6.335 Ratings

Submitted by Antoine, last update on 02/14/2024.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Echt Kölnisch Wasser Eau de Cologne

Agua de Colonia Concentrada

Reviews

5 in-depth fragrance descriptions

05/30/2014

4Scent 2.5Longevity 2.5Sillage

PBullFriend
310 Reviews

PBullFriend

2

rough-edged refreshment

Perfumistas don't discuss Jean Marie Farina much. It's not unpleasant, but has little artistry to it. I don't detect anything except a rough-edged, high-pitched citrus that's similar to better-known 4711 but with poorer lasting power. (It starts to fade within a couple of minutes of hitting my skin.) If this were all I had around on a hot day, I'd store it in the refrigerator or other cool place and mist myself with it again and again, enjoying a brief citrus hit with my cooling evaporation. But there are colognes even within this same inexpensive brand that are far superior colognes in longevity and interest (Gingembre, The' Vert).[Edited for historical correction.]

09/15/2016

BrianBuchanan
363 Reviews

BrianBuchanan

Helpful Review 1

Sturdy orange cologne

A dark, sturdy, smooth bergamot - orange accord comes mounted on a dry, clumpy and woody backdrop.
This is the bland side of the petitgrain and neroli heart, and the floral business end neatly hides the crunchy sweet drydown of the orange oil in the head.
Together they give this cologne a sustained orange direction.
Spice then comes through, and cedar, and a discrete touch of musk can be found in the vetiver demerara brown base.

The original formula is some 200 years old and they've done a fine job of bringing it up to date with modern materials. It remains good and true and hardly puts a foot wrong.

While other venerable marques have opted for prestige outlets and high running costs, Roger & Gallet have stuck to a mid market strategy and sell their wares though a network of pharmacies. Extra Vielle isn't just good, at €40 for a 200ml splash bottle its a bargain.

07/21/2020

7Scent 5Longevity 3Sillage

FvSpee
323 Reviews

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FvSpee

Top Review 31

Neukölln 2: Farina Schlitzohr

The story of this "third Farina" or "Parisian Farina" (besides the genuine Kölnisch Wasser from 4711 and the competing product from Farina Gegenüber) is quite peculiar. The original father of the true Cologne Aqua Mirabilis was famously the Italian Giovanni Maria Farina, also known as Johannes or Johannis Maria Farina, who moved to Cologne, where his product began to be sold around 1720 and eventually became known as "Eau de Cologne."

However, Farina also had a great-great-nephew named Jean Marie Farina, who ended up in Paris. Since Jean Marie is the French translation of Johannes Maria and in earlier times first names were still linguistically convertible currency (people in Germany also referred to King Charles of England and King Philip of Spain, not Charles and Felipe), the rascal was able to establish his own perfume house in Paris in 1806 and claim without lying that he was selling the genuine Eau de Cologne from Giovanni Maria Farina.

In 1862, the gentlemen Roger and Gallet founded their soap and perfume company and eventually bought the shop from Jean Marie "rascal" Farina (probably from his heirs), thus acquiring the rights to the "genuine" Farina Cologne. These rights still formally belong to Roger & Gallet today. However, in 1975, the traditional house R&G was taken over by Sanofi (!) and subsequently sold by Sanofi to Gucci, and then from Gucci to L'Oréal.

This, however, does not prevent the current managers of R&G from emulating the old Jean Marie in cunningness: Although they mention on their own website that the entire company was founded only in 1862, it simultaneously states that the Cologne being reviewed here was "the founding product" of the company in 1727. Well, in the perfume sector, one should generally only believe those advertising texts that one has invented oneself.

The product being reviewed is mentioned on the R&G website (see above), but it is not offered in the online shop. However, it can be found in some online perfumeries, such as Notino and Parfumsclub, with the usual price being around 25 euros per 100-ml spray bottle, while some other suppliers are more expensive. Parfumsclub also offers, unsurprisingly given the Spanish origin of the house, a 200-ml and a 500-ml splash bottle.

I prefer Farina Extra-Vielle (something like "Farina Ancient") over Apicius, but less than Yatagan. I perceive the opening as very lemony, while also notably greenish and (a bit too) sweet. It’s like the generously sugared rim of a cocktail glass, on which sits a plump, fat, green lime wedge.

Subsequently, there are occasionally sour clouds and some with a certain sharpness, but overall, for about three hours (if you count the very, very close-to-skin phase), a fairly continuous Cologne freshness dominates with a strong herbaceous to herb-woody note. I almost think I can smell something like basil, and if Farina weren't even in the name, one might consider whether the scent would be better placed among the brown Colognes of the "colonial goods" line or at least among the green-spicy fougère border-crossing Colognes like Lehmann's "New York." But it can rightly remain in the classic category, even if it doesn't rank very high in the charts for me.

It should be noted that the scent contains almost the entire classic Farina program with neroli, lemon, bergamot, and rosemary. Lavender is missing and is indeed not detectable, just as clove and rose, which are additionally listed on the "Notino" fragrance pyramid. Neroli is substituted by petitgrain in some Colognes; here both are listed, yet from my perspective, there is no booster effect, and the whole orangey direction comes across as rather underexposed.

All in all, the overall picture does not convince me much; I find the scent development not quite rounded and harmonious and the fragrance rather a bit boring than classic. I would prefer 4711 here as more exciting, distinctive, and coherently composed. But as one can see with Yatagan (and Sven1209), this is once again very subjective.

To conclude, since farina is the Italian term for flour, one might wonder whether having Hans Maria Mehl on the national ID card could still be an asset today to make some serious profit.

08/22/2012

5Scent 5Longevity 5Sillage

Apicius
1328 Reviews

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Apicius

Very helpful Review 7

Massive Lightness in Summer

Roger & Gallet is distributed through pharmacies - so the question arises whether we also have to pay pharmacy prices for it.

The cologne seemed particularly interesting to me. It starts off very herbal, and quickly a strong acidity of lemons sets in. This initially feels quite robust, like an Italian citrus scent and not at all like a cologne. Surprisingly, it does become "cologne" after about half an hour when the sharpness of the lemon fades.

So - traditionally, a cologne is a fleeting affair. At most, the typical neroli note reaches into the heart of the fragrance. Here it is different - a neroli-like accord presents itself as a base note and does not go away.

There must be a synthetic neroli substitute, and if you're unlucky, it sticks like glue. I don't particularly appreciate encountering things in perfumes that one knows from room fragrance systems. However, in the case of Roger & Gallet, it is certainly not unpleasant; everything remains subtle and conveys a superficial impression of pleasant freshness and lightness. But actually, this accord is as dead and massive as a concrete block. It just stands there and does not change anymore.

With prices around €25 for the small 30 ml bottle, I would not classify this cologne in the discount range anymore. For about the same money, I personally feel more comfortable with Farina across the street, and for a little more, you can already step into the upper class of colognes with Guerlain's Eau du Coq.

Roger & Gallet advertises here with the name Jean Marie Farina - what would the founding father of perfumers have said about that?

07/24/2012

9Scent

Sven1209
9 Reviews

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Sven1209

5

Summer Freshness Kick Timeless and Elegant

The first time I caught a whiff of Extra Vieille was on a flight, the airline had included it in their amenity kit.
At first glance, I thought: Ah, Roger Gallet, I remember that from earlier, those were the soaps that always smelled so good.
Back then, I had Fougere, sandalwood, or rose in my scent memory.
But when I first smelled Extra Vieille:

FRESHNESS KICK, ALARM, all citrus notes on parade, jump to march march.....

The top note is very defining here, a classic eau de cologne for warm days, but much rounder and more elegant than, for example, 4711.
Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet is very similar, but it remains a bit powdery in the dry down, older in memory.
For me, Extra Vieille remains one of the best eau de cologne in the classic sense, refreshing and invigorating, timeless, quite understated, and thus a great summer companion.