Joselyn

Now I must give my statement about this wonderful fragrance, which was my absolute favorite for many, many years; one could even speak of love for this scent.

My husband and I had almost completed a shopping Saturday and took a break at our trusted perfumery for a glass of champagne, also to sniff some new fragrances. I reached for a bottle that I had never seen before; it was the only bottle I picked up that day, aside from my husband's discovery - Grey Flannel, which, to my great surprise, is now often classified as an old man's scent. Just like First, I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw it labeled as "average and cheap." I attribute such misjudgments to the youthful age of the authors......
Both fragrances have survived the decades, are still available on the market, and are still in demand.
My husband, who had excellent taste, switched from Aramis to Grey Flannel without hesitation, and there was never a fragrance he wore more than two or three times.

Back to FIRST! Admittedly, Eau de Soir is now my first choice perfume, but I have never been without a bottle of First. Until the day I wanted to buy a new bottle and nearly dropped it in the perfumery out of shock. Clearly a victim of reformulation. Since then, I have been searching for the original, which has proven to be extremely difficult.

FIRST came, saw, and conquered. I was thrilled and immediately felt one with this fragrance, which, in my scent perception, is exceedingly noble, subtle, and also very subtly erotic. The light, fresh-fruity top note transitions slowly, almost seamlessly, into a heart of unobtrusive, densely woven floral notes, delicately dominated by hyacinth and ylang-ylang, which after a while enters into a very sensitive symbiosis on the uniquely skillfully composed base of vetiver, sandalwood, and soft musk. Oakmoss ensures that no sticky sweetness from tonka and vanilla can set in. I have never perceived honey notes in this fragrance, which, depending on the concentration, signals the absolute end for any scent for me.

Yes, that was my love for FIRST, which never quite ended.

If anyone has an older bottle of this noble nectar sitting unnoticed and unloved in a corner, please let me know; provided it is the original scent that has not been castrated. (By the way, the reformulated version is now being thrown at you for a few euros on the bay, a sad spectacle!)

… Sorry to all the moon lovers, but I had to wash off this scent after half an hour.

Since Eau de Soir has been my signature scent for years, I was very curious about Soir de Lune. Occasionally, I had it sprayed on at my perfumery, but I was always divided in my scent perception. It vaguely reminded me of its great predecessor, but from the heart note onwards, it struck me as an arbitrary sweet cheap scent. From Sisley??? That couldn't be!!!

A few weeks ago, my perfumery generously provided me with a sample, which I was able to test over three days at intervals.

As soon as the fizz of the top note transitioned to the heart, it smelled on me (or according to my scent perception) disgustingly sweet and became so cheap and honey-heavy over time that I could no longer bear it … away from me!!!!

Ropion has truly created great fragrances, but Soir de Lune is a misstep that even a great master should be allowed once.
Today, I had to pick up a gift at my perfumery and told the owner about my scent experience with Soir de Lune. To my great surprise, he smiled and said he had rarely heard anything positive about this scent from an Eau de Soir wearer. It also didn't sell very well after an initial rush.

Somewhere, I read a comparison with No 19, the great green one, which I find completely incomprehensible in relation to my scent experience, because "green" is experienced with Soir de Lune a few minutes after application, after that there is nothing green, cool, and an association with silvery moonlight seems to me pure fantasy.

Fantasies and associations are what scents should evoke, that is their legitimate reason for existence,

in this sense, I am also happy to accept the criticism from the Soir de Lune lovers for this comment, but I had to express my disappointment at least once.

Recently, I had the luck to acquire a bottle of Après Minuit Parfum.
In the meantime, I have tested the fragrance several times. In my impression, it has not changed, but it differs significantly from Joe’s description of the EdC.

The perfume shows no citrus notes at the start. I have the impression that this perfume is predominantly made from natural ingredients - and for me, it is a pure rose scent. Of course, the very volatile citrus notes may have "evaporated" after such a long time, or perhaps the perfume differs from the Eau de Cologne in that it has omitted the freshness of the citrus components.
The rose scent is clearly of natural origin, I dare to claim that even today, after such a long time, yes, the scent is very clearly identifiable to me, it is Rosa damascena Trigintipetala.
This very robust rose variety I had in my garden for many years, it is the "Bulgarian Oil Rose." During its blooming period, its scent is so intense that it wafts throughout the entire garden on the wind and even "after midnight" flows into the rooms through an open window.
Après Minuit holds this scent for hours and brings me back to the memory of standing at the window at night and inhaling this wonderful rose fragrance.
Jasmine or even lily of the valley are not perceptible to me. On the other hand, I am convinced that frankincense forms the base for this phenomenal rose scent. In this context, I had to think of the legendary rose frankincense that was produced centuries ago by monks in the monasteries of Mount Athos through laborious handwork from olibanum and rose essence. It is characterized by its wonderful rose scent. I think Florel has made this knowledge its own and has added olibanum as a base to the Bulgarian rose oil.
The scent is incredibly long-lasting, even the next morning it was still clearly present on my wrist.

I consider it - especially for rose fans - to be quite wearable even today, and if I ever feel like a very authentic rose scent, I will definitely choose the day-appropriate Après Minuit.
How sad that such wonderful fragrances take the path of all things transient!

Better than Michelangela described this fragrance bomb, it can't be done, so I will spare myself and you a rehash. Nevertheless, I must, always with a smile, think back to my own encounter with this exceedingly lascivious original scent at the beginning of the 70s while reading her truly wonderful commentary, and I have already set up a permanent search at the auction house with E. It is truly an unforgettable fragrance!

Back then, as a fresh-faced student in my first semester, I regularly made a more or less brief detour to visit my much older favorite cousin during my trips to see my parents.
She was the enfant terrible of the family and had, alongside a lifestyle not always met with goodwill by the family, diverse intellectual and artistic interests; her paintings in a strongly erotic surrealistic style were particularly frowned upon. I was immensely fascinated by all of this. Above all, I was captivated by her very unique and impressively extensive perfume collection. In particular, the Shocking bottle stirred my desire. Since it contained very little left, I reluctantly refrained from taking a small drop and settled for a sniff. What I caught a whiff of... awakened my - at that time completely uneducated and inexperienced - unrestrained desire for the topic of ingredients and their compositions.

At some point, she gifted me the bottle with the admonition to dose the contents very carefully. In my old Beetle, already inside and ready to continue my journey, I couldn't help myself and had to take a few "drops." The continuation of my journey turned into an ecstatic high for me; in my imagination, it was not my rattling Beetle that was groaning up the highway inclines. No, I was the eye-catching femme fatale, casually trailing the admiring male gazes like a comet's tail behind me in a fast sports car.

Upon my arrival at my parents' house, my visions were abruptly confronted with the raised eyebrows of my mother and the immediately following comment: "Where have you been, and what do you smell like (she used a different adjective)?" The brief hint: we are expecting guests, you need to take a shower immediately, did the rest. The battle was on! There was no time for interrogations, so I first secured my treasure and then displayed good behavior for the evening, surprisingly departing the next morning with a paternal financial boost. My mother appeared dismayed, as she had to forgo the long-overdue interrogation.

Shocking ended up in a hiding place in my student pad, and I only occasionally indulged in a few drops. Most of my fellow students were irritated and felt called to judge my taste in fragrances. After I had to hear from my then closest friend, "You smell cheap," I went into abstinence. I didn't part with the bottle and a few drops here and there for dreaming alone for many years. Had I known how sought after this exorbitantly divisive scent brew would one day become, I would never have parted with it.

Years later, I discovered Shocking you and immediately made a purchase. Expecting to encounter my Shocking in a slightly altered outfit, I was very disappointed; it wasn't really it, and I only tried it again very occasionally. My husband, who had by then gotten used to No. 19 or at best Jicky, showed disapproval. So, I gifted it to a good acquaintance who had never sniffed Shocking in its original version. She was apparently very pleased with it.

Michelangela, my compliment, you have indeed captured the essence in wonderful words with your commentary.

Joselyn

Years ago, I encountered this fantastic fragrance in my favorite perfumery, which unfortunately no longer exists, and I was captivated.

Winter, this season for so-called cozy scents, did nothing to diminish my enthusiasm for this exquisite composition of citrus and floral components on a soft balsamic base; on the contrary, this fragrance exhilarates in a very special way.

The fresh, zesty bergamot, which combines with orange and barely noticeable mint in the opening to create its citrusy, fruity, and slightly bitter character, gets right to the point and almost seamlessly merges with the floral notes of the heart. Neroli dominates sweetly and radiantly, flanked by gentle, elegant jasmine, the lovely Osmanthus fragrans with its hint of peach, and the vanilla-minty verbena. At the base lies the mysterious depth of the soft musk bed, the balsamic Indian sandalwood, and - although not mentioned, I am sure it is present - a very subtle trace of olibanum, creating an extraordinary and exceedingly luxurious blend. Always subtly enveloped by the radiant neroli, Jardin du Néroli remains very present, bright, and never intrusive for hours.

In short, my fragrance. It almost makes me nervous when the bottle approaches the last quarter of its contents. Fortunately, there is ALzD or, what takes a bit longer, my small, fine perfumery, which does not stock it but can procure it.

All the more surprising to me is that this noble fragrance, which one could certainly concede a certain addictive potential, leads such an unnoticed shadow existence here.

Admittedly, I do not belong to those fragrance junkies who must try everything new. Once I feel I have arrived at a fragrance, it stays with me for a long, long time. Of course, I enjoy trying new or previously unknown scents, but there are only a small handful that are allowed to stay. I will only part with Jardin du Néroli when higher powers intervene.

Joselyn