Ma Griffe by Carven (1946)

A perfume composed by a perfumer who had tragically become anosmic (unable to smell anything) may cause the perfumaniac to pause before sniffing, but oddly, Ma Griffe by Jean Carles is a pretty wonderful scent. Bright and edgy, Ma Griffe ("my claw") smells like the kind of perfume a good girl who doesn't yet know she's a bad girl would wear. (Like Reese Witherspoon's Tracy Flick in the movie Election.) An alternate name could be, "Scorpio Rising."

The aldehydes will punch you in the face like the olfactory version of a shot of Everclear, but the cinnamon and Gardenia (cinnamon and Gardenia?!) will cushion your fall. (The galbanum made me think of Bandit and Cabochard, but this is infinitely more wearable than those femme-bot perfumes.) Speaking of femme-bots, commenters in other blogs have mentioned that their grandmothers, or certain writers of novels like White Oleander, have tagged Ma Griffe as "the prostitute's perfume." I think really what they mean is that it's the perfume of a woman doesn't give a damn.

Bright, green, soft, comforting, and yet slightly dangerous — the comfort and the danger, I think, come from the same source: cinnamon — this is one of those fragrances that shouldn't work, but does. Perhaps I'm reading into this after the fact, but although Monsieur Carles composed this from his no doubt immaculate scent memory, it does give one the impression of a perfume based on cerebral rather than sensual abstraction, like a robot asking for a kiss. 

 Check out this ridiculous Ma Griffe ad from 1972 that contradicts every connotation the perfume notes give about the Ma Griffe woman as a firecracker! I can only laugh. (Source: Copy Ranter)

Top notes: Aldehydes, clary sage, galbanum, bergamot
Heart notes: Gardenia, jasmine, ylang-ylang, rose
Base notes: Cinnamon, tonka bean, vetiver.

Comments

[Rita Long]

Wow!! So much to chew on!! And, oh, dear god. That ad.... ALthough I'm of the right age to remember when a lot of advertising was in the business of trying to roll back women's progress. (We want equal treatment!! Whoops! Just kidding!!!!)

I'm gonna have to think about the connotations you've given me with "Ma Griffe," and square them with the one woman I know who does wear it ( the squarest woman like, um, EVER. Her daughter wears "Fracas" because it's "not too over the top." Um, ok, yeah, if you say so....)

And to make a scent without being able to sniff it? Well, I guess Beethoven wrote the 9th when he was completely deaf. (But is that really the same thing...?)
Great post!
-Rita @leftcoastnose

[Perfumaniac]

I love that the mother and daughter you're talking about are inadvertently wearing pretty saucy fragrances, Rita! Or maybe they're wearing the reformulated versions that don't have the same umph. And yes, regarding that ad and its implication that women have to choose either a life of spinsterhood/equality or being desirable/sexism — take your pick — is ridiculous but sadly lives on. THe idea that some loser would say, "Pardon me, miss, you smell so good, can I hold your Women's Lib sign for you?" has me laughing though. It's pretty comical.

[Flora]

Did you try the vintage Parfum yet? I finally got a tiny bottle of it in the original 1946 formmula, still sealed in a box, and it is truly astounding. Much softer and smoother than the lighter concentrations and infinitely better than the current formula. I always like Ma Griffe very much, and now I love it utterly! Green florals and green Chypres are my favorite styles, so discovering this was pure Paradise for me.

[Perfumaniac]

Flora, I have a 70s formulation of the parfum from one of those coffrets of minis, so its vintage, but I have not smelled the 40s version. I wonder how different they are...

[julie]

HI, I've been scouting ebay for cheap thrills and have a bid on Ma Griffe EDT in a green and white box.

Beethoven wrote his greatest works when he could no longer hear so the idea of a perfume from someone who can no longer smell is intriguing.

[julie]

Got the Ma Griffe. The box lacks a UPC code, so this dates back to the 70s at least, I'm guessing.

I've tried it—twice—and wonder if my purchase had turned or was a bad batch. First smell is a powerful "call the gas company, there's a leak!", which is to say mercaptan; are mercaptans used in perfumery? What follows is sour biscuit dough/ylang-ylang. After a while it joins the Intimate/Bal a Versailles family, though for me it's the relative you hope doesn't show up; she's not just unbathed, she's given up all pretense of hygiene.

Certainly interesting to experience, but I don't think I'll be holding onto this.

[julie]

a-Hah! Fragrantica lists asafoetida as a top note, a resin which has as a component none other than methyl mercaptan. I'm a bit pleased with my sleuthing but I still can't stand it? What do you make of it?

[Natalie]

Flora, what did the bottle look like of the 1940s version? I'm looking at two vintage bottles, one is more square, with gold cord rings around the neck and a glass cap. The other is a longer bottle with a picture of a woman and a dress on the label. I'm wondering which is more vintage. My grandmother who was a very stylish and desirable woman in her day (and died tragically young) apparently loved this perfume in the 1950s. Would love to smell what she loved....

[Joan]

Hi Barbara! I just found a sample of this. I hadn't thought of it as dangerous, but come to think of it, you're right. It's also very big.

Also, White Oleander is one of my favorite books. It mentions perfume a few times, come to think of it.

[John]

My mother used to wear this perfume in the 60s. Then she said they changed the formula - that was back in the 70s or so.
Does anyone know if there is a company that makes the "old" formula?

[Perfumaniac]

Hi John,

The vintage Ma Griffe is sold in abundance on various sites: miniatureperfumeshoppe.com and eBay. Good luck!

Barbara