Aromatics Elixir by Clinique (1972)

Perfumes in the same fragrance family don't necessarily smell alike — or even similar.

Take Aromatics Elixir. It's categorized as a floral chypre, just like Aphrodisia, Shocking, and L'Arte di Gucci, but unlike those scents, which have varying degrees of sweetness intact and are relatively easy to love, Aromatics Elixir is dry, herby/woody, and green. You can smell the rose and florals, but their greenest and most woodland facets have been emphasized rather than their lush and sweet sides. (I could imagine it on a man as easily as I could a woman; in fact, if it came out today, it would probably be in the men's fragrance section.)

Although it's beautiful, I think Aromatics Elixir is an acquired taste, or for someone inclined toward green chypres. That might just be me, though. When I was a perfume-obsessed tween at the mall, trying on everything I could get my hands on, I remember thinking that Aromatics Elixir stunk to high heaven and I wondered who would want to smell so harsh, so unlike a flower. That was then...

Aromatics Elixir smells like a mixture of dried, pressed roses, coriander and carnation whose arid herbiness has been reconstituted with a few drops of sweet flower essences (ylang-ylang, tuberose, jasmine). This contrast between dry and sweet rests on a warming, animalic, and spicy base of sandalwood, vetiver and a heaping dose of patchouli, with its camphoraceous-medicinal, oily darkness.

Top notes: Bergamot, green notes, coriander, rosewood, aldehyde, palmarosa (a rose-scented species of lemongrass also called Indian geranium)

Heart notes: Rose de Mai, jasmine, carnation, ylang-ylang, tuberose, orris

Base notes: Patchouli, vetiver, civet, sandalwood, oakmoss, cistus, musk

(Perfumer: Bernard Chant)

This beautiful and complex seventies classic is so different in style from the prevailing taste for clean and fruity (or at least the prevailing distaste for chypres) that it surprises me it's actually still at the Clinique counter rather than behind museum glass. It has that air about it that Private Collection by Estee Lauder has, that it would rather be admired than loved, described as chic rather than pretty. Given this scent profile, the only contemporary woman I could see pulling off AE would be Chloe Sevigny, the edgy beauty who makes retro style her own.

 Who is wearing Aromatics Elixir these days? Inquiring minds want to know! In the meantime, check out some fascinating and hilarious  Basenotes reviews. As you will see, Aromatics Elixir (how great is that name, by the way?) is a love-it-or-hate-it scent.

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bbBd: [I]f you're looking for a woody, green floral that is simultaneously rich yet intricately layered then march down to your local mall and plunk down $35 for a 50ml bottle at the Clinique counter. This may just be the most interesting, most vintage-evoking perfume you can buy at the mall today. A thick layer of oakmoss covers a heart of jasmine and rose that does not relent through the base. Non-specific 'green notes' meander about and musk softens as the perfume progresses...Worried about this being too feminine? Forget it - this has more testosterone then anything at the boys' counter but still wears as a sophisticated and classy feminine.

Kevin Guyer: Like most of Bernard Chant's work for Estee Lauder, this is heavy handed...It plays its repetitive, repulsive/addictive, matronly modern duality like an angry child of a dysfunctional family.

Madame du Barry: This isn't perfume; it's Chinese herbal medicine. I dislike this cough syrup with a passion.

Kanasta: Strong, harsh, and nauseating.

 

 

 

Comments

[Anna in Edinburgh]

I love Aromatics Elixir and I'm curious about Clinique's attitude to it's stablemate, Wrappings. Why do they keep it under wraps? I'd love to try it but how to get hold of it in the UK? .... If you have some, I'd appreciate a review.

cheerio, Anna in Edinburgh

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Anna. I vaguely remember the oddly-named perfume Wrappings (is that supposed to allude to Christmas?). I don't know anything about it, but after reading its notes, I'm curious about it. I'm a green fragrance freak, so it sounds wonderful to me. It seems like Estee Lauder and Clinique have retained some wonderful vintage-y scents. We should reward them for not discontinuing them by buying up Estee, Azuree, Aliage, and Aromatics Elixir!

[moongrrl]

Wrappings is usually available as a gift set (edp and lotion) around Xmas time here in the US. It's lovely, pine-y green, flowery, and somewhat fresh without going too far in any direction. It's very distinctive and, like Aromatics Elixir, a little dab will do ya.

[moongrrl]

Sorry to post one after another, but the Wrappings gift set is up on Clinique's website right now. Click "Shop Holiday" and then "Shop Fragrance Sets". :-)

[Perfumaniac]

Thanks moongrrl. I will keep my eye out for it. :)

[Anne]

Good question. Who wears AE these days? It is SO out of fashion, SO divisive in its effect on people, and SO cheap. I marvel every time I walk past the tester at my local department store. And it seems so out of kilter (sp?) with the typical Clinique customer, who seems usually to be a conservative soul just looking for solid, reliable, inexpensive and fuss-free cosmetics and skin care products.

Well, I am a Clinique customer, and I love AE. I love green chypres. I love vintage perfumes. I love Private Collection. I can't afford Serge Lutens. Simple as that.

[Anna in Edinburgh]

Wrappings is available as an exclusive gift set in one exclusive store in London this Christmas - a fact I've brought to OH's attention. (The post and packing had better utilise gold leaf and winged chariots for the price given!)

cheerio, Anna in Edinburgh - an AE fan.

[Meliscents]

I have a funny but true story about Aromatics. For a few short months I worked at a Lancome counter and it sat between Estee Lauder & Clinique. Very few of us wore our own scents (which they obviously wanted us to do) and opted for the competition. For example, one of the Clinique SAs loved Youth Dew Nude, the Estee SA liked Tresor, while I liked AE. The funny thing is, I was threatened within an inch of my life by the Clinique counter if I sprayed it. It was a unanimous decision at that counter that it was the foulest stuff ever invented. I tried to educate them that the secret is a light application, but it was still burning torches and angry villagers if I even looked at it. Of course now that I think of it, I got the same response with Magie Noire. WOW! I was ahead of the perfume curve before I even knew there was one!! And as far as men wearing AE, they sort of have their own version in ARAMIS 900. It's almost exactly the same but not quite as tenacious and a tad bit dryer.

[Pimpinett]

I wear Aromatics Elixir. It is gloriously demanding, and I love that characteristic in fragrances. Bernard Chant is one of my favourite noses, I also love Aramis, among others.

[Perfumaniac]

Anne, thanks for "coming out" as an AE user! ;) I admitted I hated it as a child (I mean, you'd have to be an awfully sophisticated child to love this!), but I have a push-pull relationship to it now. I love its greenness, but I fight with what to me feels medicinal. Let's put it this way: after a day of sniffing niche lines at Barneys and every perfume known to womankind, my nose should have been exhausted. But AE woke it right up, and became the star of the day. These green 70s scents are so down-to-earth and tough-talking, yet exotic and beautiful. I love that combination...

Its interesting how you're reconciling Clinique's solid, reliable, and fuss-free brand with AE. Ironically, AE seems practically avant-garde as a fragrance now.

[Perfumaniac]

Anna, I'm definitely on the Wrappings trail. I'm gonna get me some at Christmas!

[Perfumaniac]

Meliscents, thanks for the Confessions of a Perfume Sales Associate story! That is hilarious that the Clinique ladies hated AE. It's beautiful, but weird and challenging, even for me! And I love Magie Noire, too. :) Thanks for the heads up on Aramis 900. I keep hearing about that. I guess it's different from Aramis, which I love. And yes, Bernard Chant rocks!

[Perfumaniac]

Pimpinett — AE is gloriously demanding, but you're right — this is a good thing! And Aramis rocks my world. :)

[Flora]

I love love LOVE this, but I no longer have any - it's just so strong. Back in its heyday I could get away with it, since everybody was wearing even bigger perfumes like Giorgio, but not now!

[Perfumaniac]

Flora, I think Meliscents is right in saying that the trick is light application. One spray is almost too overpowering! Maybe half a spray or even just the body cream early in the day will last you all day. I've already gotten compliments on it. My point? Get out your Aromatics Elixir again! You have permission. :)

[Chatelainesdreams.blogspot.com]

Oh - I had AE wayyy back, a small sample only. And it went a long way, as I could only bear to use a minute dab of a micro drop.
Nowadays I can not use it any longer- I get kind of "nose-aches" from this scent

[Vintage Lady]

I really don't know why don't like Aromatics Elixir. I like deep fragrance smells. But this one seems to me too citric or something I can't really figure out.

[Perfumaniac]

Vintage Lady, thanks for stopping by. AE is not an easy perfume, and it makes sense that not everyone likes it. I have an uneasy relationship to it and find that it's easier to like if I have very little on!

[Deborah Bloom]

Hey!

I used to wear AE when I was in my early to mid 20's (early to mid 1980's). I love your comment "AE. It's beautiful, but weird and challenging..." I loved it then and it drove the men I was around wild. I've never received so many compliments on any other perfume that I've ever worn. Maybe you have to be beautiful, but weird and challenging to love it. I certainly am...well, I'm at least attractive....

The trick is definitely a light application....one spray on your torso or decolletage, then quickly caress your wrists across that.

Something else to consider...age and hormones affect how we perceive scents and how our bodies react to them. I don't think I could wear AE today...though my husband might love it!

Question for our host....do you think that over the years they might have substituted some of the natural essences in this scent for synthetic ones? That might also account for some of the differences in people who used to like it, but now don't and vice versa.

Bloom

[kips]

Hm, I am a regular reader of your blog; it fascinates me, though to understand your conoisseurship is beyond me. I just love reading your descriptions.

I'm a one-perfume (per season) woman, and I wear AE. I can't understand why people should hate it so much. Yeah, it's strong at first spritz, like any perfume. But it calms down very quickly.

I'm 35, working class, very approachable judging from those who approach me. I've gotten quite a few compliments on AE. Even my husband likes it, and this is the first time he's approved of my choice of perfume.

I love how it's dry, soapy, sweet but not too sweet, and rich. I bought the soap, too. But OK, the body cream smelled like DEATH. I tried it on my hands first, thinking it would settle down but it almost made me sick, all day. Glad I didn't buy it.

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Deborah Bloom,

Nice last name for someone who likes perfume. ;) Glad you like AE! In doses, I like it too, although it does scare me a bit, and I usually have out there tastes! No wilting flower could wear AE, that's for sure, and I think any man who likes it is unique as well. It's got an herbal, medicinal edge...

As for your question about reformulation: I wouldn't doubt if it hasn't been reformulated. (Now that oakmoss is banned, most definitely.) I usually only review vintage versions of scents that are still out there. I'll try to get my hands on some vintage and compare. Either way, something tells me they didn't reformulate the "beautiful, weird and challenging" out of it!

[Perfumaniac]

Thanks for stopping by, kips. I think the people who hate AE do so for varying reasons. 1) It's not their type. Maybe they like straight-forward florals or Oriental fragrances that are more traditionally feminine. 2) These days, what's popular for women is either a clean, citrus scent or some fruit bomb gourmand scent. AE most definitely doesn't fit into this style. As a chypre (with bergamot, florals and a base with oak moss, patchouli, etc.), it's quite out of style, a little masculine. For those of us who love this perfume category, and I am one, this is a plus!

AE has notes that only some people can handle: carnation, oak moss, patchouli, vetiver, civet, coriander, etc. Also, I think you're right when you say it "dies down." Maybe it's the first sniff that freaks people out.

All I know is, we like what we like, and I'm glad you like Aromatics Elixir! You definitely stand out in a sea of women wearing boring perfume. :)

[Joan]

I love Aromatics Elixir! I think it smells kind of like an attic. It's sexy in a peculiar way; I always get compliments on it!

[Perfumaniac]

"Smells like an attic" is a compliment only a perfume-lover could appreciate! I love it.

[robin]

The initial spritz is so bracing, it is like an olfactory atom bomb, with people running for their lives and shouting "Clear the room!"...while off in the dark corners, one or two perverse souls close their eyes and inhale deeply, mouthing "Ooh la la" under their breaths. I enjoy Aromatics Elixir, espcially the initial stages which are so polarizing, but I can't say it's a huge favorite of mine.

I'm lately finding that for me there is a huge dividing line with the chypres that I am passionate about, and those I merely like. The dividing line is the introduction of Damascenone aromachemicals, first introduced around 1970. Aromatics Elixir, Coriandre, Rive Gauche, Tea Rose by Perfumer's Workshop, Chanel No. 19...all of them have the same distinctive Damascenone rosiness in them. I find that I prefer the murkier, warmer rose notes that came before Damascenones were introduced, like in Shiseido Zen Classic, Ma Griffe, Miss Dior, YSL Y, etc. Damascenones are definitely more realistic smelling than what came before, but they just smell so immediately identifiable and cold. I dunno. Just my two cents.