Parfum de Peau by Claude Montana (1986)

Known as the "King of the Shoulder Pads" and an influence on  wild designers such as the late Alexander McQueen, Claude Montana gifted the '80s with extreme, sculptural silhouettes and shoulder pads of Lady Gaga-esque proportions. But alas, the House of Montana, founded in 1979, went kaput in 1997.

You may see versions of the Montana shoulder quoted at Urban Outfitters, but if you saw an original at a Goodwill or consignment store, you'd probably get in front of a mirror and scream at a friend to check it out while you held it up to you and laughed your head off. (Or, if you live in the Mission in San Francisco, you'd buy it and wear it ironically.) But Parfum de Peau? You can wear it (in earnest) if you're daring. I definitely plan on it.

I had seen the sculptural Montana perfume bottle before and was curious about it, but now, thanks to my perfume pal Heather from London, I have an EDT sample of the unreformulated stuff. (Thanks, Heather!)

Top notes: Peach, cassis, pepper, green note, plum, cardamom

Heart notes: Ginger, Rose, Tuberose, Jasmine, Ylang-ylang, carnation, sandalwood

Base notes: Patchouli, vetiver, civet, castoreum, amber, musk, olibanum (frankincense)

Parfum de Peau starts off with tangy green notes, ripe cassis and peach, laid over a veil of pepper and spices (cardamom). The unspecified green note almost has a green pepper smell, an odd note to marry with ripe fruit! Spicy ginger, sandalwood and carnation join classic florals (rose, ylang-ylang, jasmine, tuberose) to the divine base which lasts for hours and evolves into a true "parfum de peau" (skin scent/perfume).

Depending on when I sniff my arm, Parfum de Peau gives me spicy fruit, an intense rose, or the amazing spicy-woody-powdery, animalic base that makes this perfume more of a Floriental to me than a fruity chypre as the H&R guide classifies it. (Or it's some hybrid of both.) Its animalic sweetness, warmth and sillage recalls Ungaro's Diva to me.

What makes this fruity concoction sexy rather than innocent or cloying is its animalic nature. In a recent post on the awesome blog Indie Perfumes, Lucy recounted an amazing talk she attended given by perfumer and Scent Opera creator Christophe Ludamiel. Commenter Leah reminds her that they learned that cardamom is often used in masculine scents because it's redolent of sweat/B.O., and cassis can come across as urinous, i.e. civet-like. So you can imagine that since both of those notes are in Parfum de Peau and are joined with the more obvious animalics castoreum and civet —  this is not a perfume to put on before you go to church on Sunday.

Parfum de Peau represents everything the '80s stands for in the popular imagination: it's loud, daring, and cacophanous. But you know what? It's also incredibly beautiful and I've had it on my mind since I put it on last night. Even though the version I have is an EDT, I can smell its subtle woody-ambery-powderiness on my skin more than 18 hours later.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: if we can embed vintage fashion tropes into modern clothes (skinny silhouettes, strong shoulders, etc.), why not incorporate vintage scents into our everyday life? I'll let you know if anyone tells me I smell powdery, soapy, or like an old lady — three responses I get from lay people who find a scent unfamiliar or too retro — but hopefully someone will ask, "What is that sexy-ass perfume you're wearing?" A girl can dream.

(Please note — there has been a reformulation, so if you're on the lookout for the vintage on eBay, make sure it's not in the bottle with the white cap. Unless someone corrects me, it seems that the vintage is either in the blue swirly bottle shown in the ad above [as a big bottle or a mini], or the mini has a gold or black cap. Anyone?)

 

Comments

[Heather]

I'm so happy you like it! I was shocked to read it's been classified as a fruity chypre? Definitely a floriental in my book too. It reminds me a lot of Amouage's Ubar, and I would love to know who composed the latter. Parfum de Peau is by Edouard Fléchier, who also did Poison and FM's Une Rose. Obviously he doesn't think women should smell like shrinking violets!

[Heather]

PS - Just to add, the electric blue that was used for the box and accompanying advertising is everywhere this season. I remember I had a pair of killer heels in this colour in the late 80s (which I wore to high school!?). If this colour heralds an 80s revival, then perhaps Parfum de Peau is ready for it's comeback.

[Mals86]

I bought a vintage mini (black cap) and wore it several times before deciding that, given the large stash of L'Arte di Gucci I had on hand, I didn't need PdP. To me, PdP, Diva, and L'Arte seem to be sisters - you have a rose/floral heart with a huuuge complex oriental-chypre base underneath; they're all bold, confident scents. L'Arte, with its enormous screaming hot-pink rose, is my favorite of the three, but they're all beautiful. They're not even "my" style, which tends more toward the quiet and ladylike, but I love them. (I admit to dabbing rather than spraying, though.)

[Perfumaniac]

Mals — I succumbed to your L'Arte de Gucci fixation and nabbed me a mini. Loved it so much and was just about to write about it...and my purse, with the bottle inside, was stolen at a bar. Gah! I'm on the lookout for another one...Anyway, I love the idea of those three perfumes being sisters. Now, if they were people, who would they be? I'll get back to you on that one, but chime in if you feel so inspired!

[Perfumaniac]

Heather, thanks again for turning me on to this gorgeous scent. And good to know about Edouard Fléchier. That man doesn't like his women smelling demure, that's for sure. Love it! As for '80s shoes, try to top this: I once had a pair of Norma Kamali sandals/shoes that were part gladiator shoe, part ballerina sandal I laced all the way up my calf. In lipstick red. I performed at a piano recital in them and felt like such a badass. It's no wonder I'm not flashy anymore — I got it out of my system as a teen! (Except for the flashy perfume part.)

[Nancy]

Parfum de Peau by Claude Montana (1986)
Can this item be purchased anywhere? I was lucky to be gifted with both the blue swirly bottle and the mini (back in 1986) and it stopped many to compliment the scent! The scent was amazingly sexy! Desperately seeking this amazing vintage parfum...anyone?

[Perfumaniac]

eBay, Nancy. I sent you a link...

[W]

i used this perfume in the 90's; it was great....!
can i ask u does the reformulation still smell like the original?
also is the smell the same between the original helix bottle with the blue version?
i want to buy this perfume again but not sure which one...
arent the originals on ebay old? i thought we werent suppose to use old perfume?

[Perfumaniac]

Hi, W. I agree with you: Parfum de Peau is beautiful. A reader sent me a vintage (blue helix bottle). I believe it came with a note saying that the reformulation was not as good, but I've never smelled it. For me, I always get the original. I just checked, and eBay has the blue helix bottle...

Regarding your question about old perfume...the older perfume gets, the top notes (lightest notes) are usually the first to go. They might not be as prominent or fresh as they were the year they were released. This isn't always the case though, and the 80s, in perfume years, weren't that long ago.

Does this mean we can't wear them, or that we won't get a sense of the original fragrance? From my experience, no, but there are things you have to look out for.

I have unopened sealed bottles of My Sin (1924) and Rumeur (1934) I bought on eBay that smelled incredible when I opened them. I have also bought perfumes that are only 10 years old that smelled off because whoever sold them possibly kept them in sunlight or heat (two things that can damage perfume).

So if 90-year-old perfume can still smell amazing, I'm sure 80s-era Parfum de Peau, unless it was stored in sunlight, is fine. You could also check with the seller, or see if they have a return policy. Good luck. Come back and let me know what happens...

[Dark Moss]

I post a comment just because last week I saw it (the original one) in a beauty store with a 50% discount and I remembered my youth. I wish I could also find Parfum d' Elle which I loved too but I was unlucky. I wore PdP for the first time in 1992, when I finished high school. It was very strong for a young girl, especially for a low-profile one like me, but I was charmed from the very first whiff. All I wanted to be and I was too shy to show were the perfumes I wore. Many people express their inner self with a certain outfit or hairdo or jewels. I was doing that with a perfume. PdP contained confidence, vivacity, boldness and a bit of sex appeal (or not?). And I loved it for all of them.
(And, Barbara, guess what? I put it on before I go to church on Sundays.... )

[Perfumaniac]

Dark Moss, I like the idea that some perfumes express an inner part of yourself others might not see but that you know is there. Perfume can be such a form of self-expression. I love PdP. It's complex but subtle, brash but not loud. And as for wearing Parfum de Peau to church — quite subversive, lady! :-) But with a name like "Dark Moss," how could you not be? Thanks for stopping by.

[Mary E]

The blue swirl shown is the EdP and the older version has Montana scrawled across rather than the torso gold shape on the reformulation box. My mini has a sort of small bronze colored cap which inserts upside down into the plexiglass cube. I bought the EdT older version for my sister in 1989 in London at Harrod's which she loved and wore for years.