Top Notes 
Bergamot
Neroli
Peach
Rosewood
Spices
Heart Notes 
Carnation
Lily
Iris
May rose
Orchid
Ylang-ylang
Base Notes 
Sandalwood
Ambergris
Benzoin
Moss
Musk
Cedar
Vetiver
07/12/2023
KathrynA66
46 Reviews
KathrynA66
Helpful Review
7
Peace, Hope & Melancholy
This is a special fragrance for me, in part because it was given to me by my husband when we were dating, back when the noble mastodon roamed free. I knew very little about fragrances, let alone their history. My mom told me L'Air du Temps Eau de Toilette was an EdT version of a famous perfume released to celebrate the peace after WWII.
I liked it anyway, but the historical significance made the scent nore interesting. It was telling a kind of story, and there was a point and a reason for the creation- to capture the joy and hope and pain which accompanied the peace at the end of that terrible war. Frances Fabron managed to do it. I understood why Mom, who was a WAAC during WWII, liked the fragrance so much, and it reflected her own feelings of happiness the war was over, her hopes for the future and her sorrow over the deaths and disabling of her friends and family and the unfathomable human losses and depth of human depravity the war revealed.
It opens bright from the citrus and neroli and a bit sweet from the florals and fruit. It has a happy, hopeful vibe, which is tamed somewhat by the spicy notes, which have a rather unexpected, slight coolness, which I think sets the tempering joy and hope with a kind of melancholy pattern of this fragrance.
The heart has a similar sense of hope and joy with the sweet florals, but again, the inclusion of lilies, a traditional funeral flowers and the iris, which puts a cool, powdery veil over the flowers, continues the very create mix of post-war hope, joy and melancholy. I think that trinity would be a difficult concept to realize properly, but it's beautifully realized here.
The base, on me, has very intimate projection and no discernable sillage trail, but it's woody, resinous, earthy and creates a sense of quiet and a kind of meditative peacefulness- the calm after the storm, maybe.
In any event, IMO, this fragrance is a significant artistic creation in the history of perfumery, as either EdT or EdP variations. L'Air du Temps Eau de Parfum captured a specific moment in human history, while managing to make a point about the sorrow accompanying any peace following a period of great human suffering and loss. I find that a rather amazing feat in any artistic medium. I'll always have this in my collection partially because it makes me think of my mom as a young woman (25 in 1948) before I knew her, partially because of my feelings about its significance and partially because it makes my husband happy I still wear it.
P.S. from your stern, old, great-auntie: yes, it's a powdery fragrance, but complaining the powder makes this feel "old lady" is just weird, considering you young whippersnappers and your penchant for iris and violet. Now, get off my lawn! ;)
I liked it anyway, but the historical significance made the scent nore interesting. It was telling a kind of story, and there was a point and a reason for the creation- to capture the joy and hope and pain which accompanied the peace at the end of that terrible war. Frances Fabron managed to do it. I understood why Mom, who was a WAAC during WWII, liked the fragrance so much, and it reflected her own feelings of happiness the war was over, her hopes for the future and her sorrow over the deaths and disabling of her friends and family and the unfathomable human losses and depth of human depravity the war revealed.
It opens bright from the citrus and neroli and a bit sweet from the florals and fruit. It has a happy, hopeful vibe, which is tamed somewhat by the spicy notes, which have a rather unexpected, slight coolness, which I think sets the tempering joy and hope with a kind of melancholy pattern of this fragrance.
The heart has a similar sense of hope and joy with the sweet florals, but again, the inclusion of lilies, a traditional funeral flowers and the iris, which puts a cool, powdery veil over the flowers, continues the very create mix of post-war hope, joy and melancholy. I think that trinity would be a difficult concept to realize properly, but it's beautifully realized here.
The base, on me, has very intimate projection and no discernable sillage trail, but it's woody, resinous, earthy and creates a sense of quiet and a kind of meditative peacefulness- the calm after the storm, maybe.
In any event, IMO, this fragrance is a significant artistic creation in the history of perfumery, as either EdT or EdP variations. L'Air du Temps Eau de Parfum captured a specific moment in human history, while managing to make a point about the sorrow accompanying any peace following a period of great human suffering and loss. I find that a rather amazing feat in any artistic medium. I'll always have this in my collection partially because it makes me think of my mom as a young woman (25 in 1948) before I knew her, partially because of my feelings about its significance and partially because it makes my husband happy I still wear it.
P.S. from your stern, old, great-auntie: yes, it's a powdery fragrance, but complaining the powder makes this feel "old lady" is just weird, considering you young whippersnappers and your penchant for iris and violet. Now, get off my lawn! ;)
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Federman
Jazzy76
Scentwitch
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