Yesterday's Perfume

Parfum d'Été by Kenzo (1992)

When Kenzo's Parfum d'Été, or Summer Perfume, opens, a candied violet-like accord blasts out, edged with a very sharp greenness that keeps it from being cloying. That almost screeching green note becomes more herbaceous, less aritificial-smelling, giving Parfum d'Été's sweetness a touch of dried coriander or what Haarmann & Reimer call "leafy green."

Top notes: Leafy green, peach, hyacinth, rosewood

Heart notes: Lily of the valley, cyclamen, rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, orris

Base notes: Sandalwood, musk, cedar, amber

Its fruity, violet-tinged top notes smell synthetic, but not in a bad way; it just has the kind of forwardness and intensity that means some synthetic olfactory steroid is giving it some oomph.(It almost packs the punch of Poison's tuberose-grape bubble gum accord. Almost.)

I emphatically don't like sweet scents, but although Parfum d'Été is quite sweet at the beginning, it's also pitched toward green, and floating in the direction of light, transparent florals — lily of the valley, cyclamen, rose. (Those flowers bloom as the perfume progresses, warmed up by amber.)

I use the word "float" because I'm looking at the beautiful ad to your left, with a melancholy fairy — or perhaps she's just hot from summer's heat? — sitting atop what looks like an origami version of Parfum d'Été's cute little leaf bottle. (Its bottle, as I've said before, is suspiciously similar to Fille d'Eve's Lalique bottle from the 50s.) You can't see the print to the right, but it says in French, "January, February, July, July, July, July...") meaning, I guess, that summer seems never-ending.

Is Parfum d'Été a good scent for l'été? Yes, if you want more than just "clean" and "fresh" from your summer perfume. Created in the early 90s, Parfum d'Été is on the cusp between the big fruit-bombs of the 80s and the minimalism and Cult of Clean to come, represented by CKOne, Bulgari Eau Parfumée Au Thé Vert, et al. (I'm spraining my wrist with the accents aigu today!)

I like the way that you can still distinguish the predominant notes even in the dry down — the fruit, the florals sweetened by hyacinth, and the leafiness which keeps it fresh and true to its intended season. It's a charming little green fruity-floral with a quirky personality and enough subtlety to work in the summer heat.

And you can't beat the cute little bottle and box. Even the color scheme tells you everything you need to know...

(Why not get yourself some from the Miniature Perfume Shoppe before summer's gone?)

 

 

 

Woodhue by Fabergé (1944)

After being intrigued by Flambeau, I decided to grab a trio of Fabergé fragrances that were part of a cool sixties travel set that included Woodhue (with a cute wooden cap), Tigress (with a kitschy furry tiger-print cap) and Aphrodisia (with a lucite citrine-colored cap). Tigress and Aphrodisia were both originally released in 1938 and I’ll be reviewing them soon.

Spicy, vanillic and animalic, Woodhue, although the lightest in color of these three Fabergé scents, has the darker, more mysterious vibe. (I'm saying this in spite of Fabergé's advertising, which suggests that Woodhue is "for the casual you.")

As often happens with vintage perfume, Woodhue's top notes were a bit off, and in this case, initially smelled like hairspray. Soon, a vibrant orange and bergamot came roaring out, the orange note joining with sandalwood and what smelled like cinnamon or ginger, making Woodhue spicy and warm.

Top notes: orange, bergamot and citrus

Heart notes: jasmine

Base notes: sandalwood, vanilla, cedar and musk

(Notes from The Perfumed Court)

Update from 1000Fragrances writer Octavian: orris, clove, a green violet note, methyl ionone, ionones, benzoin, vanilla, opoponax, myrrh, amber accord, nitromusks, civet, sandalwood, cedar, vetiver

Woodhue was most seductive when it was in the last stages of the dry down. A delicate orris-like veil of powdery softness blended with the spices, vanilla and touch of civety musk. (The notes say musk, but I detected something civet-like darting around in the background.)

An hour or so in, a natural vanilla scent blended in with my skin to create an ambrosial, lightly-sweetened milkiness that was so comforting. Occasionally, sniffing my wrist with my nose up close to my skin, spicy orange and jasmine would pierce through the softness like rays of sunshine through a cloud.

The rocky road to this dry down is worth it, so if you get some of the old stuff, give it a chance to sputter, screech, and blow smoke like an old jalopy you started up after 50 years of its lying inert. It’ll be worth it once this scent hits its stride and the ride is smooth.

Get it on Our Favorite Auction Site (as Olfacta calls it) or wherever you can find a vintage bottle. The Vermont Country Store does not, I repeat, DOES NOT sell authentic, vintage Woodhue. It's their own reproduction. Either believe me, or wade through this exhausting debate on 100perfumes!

NOTE: Read perfume historian Octavian Coifan's Woodhue post on 1000Fragrances to discover the fascinating link between Woodhue...and Aqua Net! Also, as usual, he sniffs out the notes in detail. His finds? That Woodhue is built around a floral spicy note that sits between the jasmine-ylang "fresh rose facet of Chanel No. 5 and the soft sweet spicy carnation of l’Air du Temps." With jasmine, ylang-ylang, orris, clove, a green  violet note, methyl ionone, ionones, benzoin, vanilla, opoponax, myrrh, amber accord, nitromusks, civet, sandalwood, cedar, vetiver