Paloma Picasso Mon Parfum (1984)

After various false starts with later formulations of Paloma Picasso's signature floral/animalic chypre Mon Parfum, formulas that attempt to magnify its animal energy by raising the volume on the notes rather than letting them whisper their power, I finally got the earliest version in the white glass bottle, and let me tell you — it was a revelation.

Subtler yet more animalic than the versions in plastic black bottles, Mon Parfum roars with a savage blast of civet and aldehydes in its opening, combined with innocent and transparent rose and lily of the valley. Leafy coriander and geranium then encircle the florals, both narcotic (tuberose, jasmine, ylang-ylang) and delicate (rose, lily of the valley), transposing them into another, more haunting key.

Green, floral, woody, spicy, mossy and animalic, Paloma PIcasso is feminine in a deep-throated, non-pink wearing, tough lady way. I would argue it's one of the best chypres ever composed — it's that complex and beautiful.

Top notes: Coriander, rosewood, bergamot, green note, aldehyde

Heart notes: Rose, geranium, tuberose, jasmin, lily of the valley, ylang-ylang

Base notes: Patchouli, vetiver, amber, musk, civet, benzoin, oakmoss

If you can only find Paloma Picasso in the black plastic bottles (and they are everywhere to be found), you're still going to have a gorgeous fragrance on your hands, but what will be missing is what I got to finally experience with this Mon Parfum in the white bottle: real development and movement.

Every time I put it on I would notice another nuance, like the way that the lily of the valley and rose seemed to waltz in with civet in the opening, and other times the civet hid from me and all I could smell was aldehydes. With the later formulas, there's an everything-all-at-once quality, like a meal that was blended together, taking away your pleasure in sampling each part at your leisure. You get all the notes, but they're roughly corralled and herded into your nose;  you miss the delicate entrances, exits and  interplay of notes.

Paloma Picasso Mon Parfum has the sillage of an '80s perfume but the gravitas and depth of a '40s chypre. (People will notice you when you have this on, in other words.) When I was a teenager, a beautiful woman used to come into this French cafe where I worked. She'd order a coffee, sit down and smoke her long, brown More cigarette at a corner table (you could do that indoors back then), usually alone. This was in the '80s in Texas, so most of the other big-haired ladies smelled like Giorgio. This mysterious woman always had on Mon Parfum, and I never forgot her.

Comments

[Flora]

I just got a vintage mini of this, love it! I won't be able to wear it to the office, nor would I want to, but the next time I have a special evening out, it's being deployed!

[Perfumaniac]

Flora, its definitely not an office scent, but it would be an amazing fragrance for going out and smelling sexy, in a slightly dangerous way.

[Martha Marie]

What is the difference between classic Paloma Picasso in the black plastic bottle compared to the newer version of Paloma in the clear glass bottle with golden cap? I definitely need to know, because I suspect it's a fake.

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Martha,

There are quite a few Paloma Picasso bottles, so I can see why you're wary of this one. I think the glass bottle/gold cap might be the latest reformulation of Paloma Picasso — not fake, though. I haven't smelled it so I can't say if it's really different from the vintage.

There is the black one which you can get most easily, and then there are a couple opaque white plastic or frosted glass Paloma Picassos with light (not gold) caps. I have both, and I think the white is more beautiful and subtle, with higher quality ingredients. See the frosted bottle in the ad above? (Another light bottle looks like this: http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/rare-mini-paloma-picasso-perfume-parfume-bottle)

Where did you get your bottle? From your bottle description alone, I'd say it's not fake, but rather the newer version. (I looked on eBay, and your description seems to fit their "new" PPicasso.) But you have to use your nose to decide those things.Do you like it? That's what's most important.

[susan warner]

The bottle with the gold top is edt. Its quite ok really. More suited to the office or summr than the original. Thats it.