Saturday Question: What Would You Bring Back?

/ AustralianPerfumeJunkies

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Portia

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Hello Fellow Fumies,

At APJ we have a Saturday Question. Everyone gets to chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it’s a fun event each week. Taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.

The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back regularly and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them. The aim is to generate real conversation and connection even though we are scattered around the globe.

 

Over 100 responses I will draw a Secret Scent Sample Pack (from my collection)

Last Weeks Winner: Tanja

eMail me at (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with your address please

Saturday Question: What Would You Bring Back?

So many fragrances have been Discontinued, Changed or Reformulated over time that it’s hard to wrap your head around it. Anyone buying Opium, Magie Noire, Diva or Miss Dior in 2019 will be gobsmacked by how different they smell to the originals. Even some less vintage fragrance lines like CHANEL exclusives, Maison Christian Dior Collection, Serge Lutens or the Malle line have been hacked into and given refreshes. We await changes on other brands bought out by big fragrance. Then there are the slew of fragrances that have gone from the counters forever, impossible to find for less that a small countries annual GDP and then you better hope it’s not a fake or refilled.

So what are the three you REALLY wish you could have 200ml of in pristine condition? Imagine there was a perfume fairy that could grant these wishes. No question of expense or postage, snap and the three bottles appear.

My Answer:

CHANEL No 22 EdT (21st Century iteration)

I know, the EdP is still available. Yes it’s not bad. There is a lightness and buoyancy missing though. A projection and joie de vivre flattened and homogenised. Though I will continue to buy and wear CHANEL No 22 in EdP, and will get used to it and love it, a part of me will yearn for the over the top fun of the EdT. My memory of multiple spritzing it in the 31 Rue Cambon store because I thought it was going to be a soft focus fragrance like most of the range. My mate Michael’s face looking horrified and then him waterskiing in my sillage for the rest of the day and us laughing about it when the jumper smelled of No 22 for the whole holiday. Wonderful times, and special memories.

Versace Blonde EdT

Don’t worry. I do have a stash of this magnificent tuberose/jasmine/ylang village monster. It will last me a lifetime. What makes me sad is something so fabulous and glamorous, created the year before Versace Dreamer (another favourite), heralded the pinnacle of Versace fragrances. It was the diamond that came before they seemed to give up on making fine fragrance. Yes, they still make fragrance and they are not terrible but they also miss the interest, aspirational creativity and magic of the Versace mid 1990s releases.

Miss Dior EdT

Yeah, you all know how much I love my Miss Dior in vintage. It seems that DIOR, the department store perfume section of the brand anyway, is going the way of Versace. We will look back on it with sad faces and angry regret. If only they hadn’t completely changed, renamed, culled, cut and remade Miss Dior. 200ml of the original EdT in pristine condition would make me weep with joy (another thing LVMH DIOR has F#@Ked, don’t even get me started).

My Saturday Question to you is:

What Would You Bring Back?

229 thoughts on “Saturday Question: What Would You Bring Back?”

  1. Holy crappa this is a very very very hard question!!!!
    Must I limit it to three? Can’t I cheat?

    hmm let’s see…vintage Cristalle…pre-reformulation from the late 1970s with all top notes intact and the glorious basenotes that just aren’t there anymore…I remember trying it in the dept store maybe ten years ago and thinking, “why does this not smell as I remember?”……

    The first fragrance from Victoria’s Secret, Victoria….it came in a gorgeous elegant bottle and to my nose it was a gorgeous amber rose…such a compliment getter….a perfume despising former co-worker wore this to bars in college because all the men flocked to her when she wore it…yeah, it was that good…

    Sonoma Scent Studio Jour Ensoleille because it’s gone…boo hoo….as much as I love Laurie’s work I think this one has always been my favorite from the line…hoping that the new owner (whenever that happens) will bring it back

    Un Ete en Provence…it was an Escada Limited Edition from 1994….I bought my bottle during my first trip to Paris in the mid 1990s and it started my Escada bottle collection…it was an amazing fruity fragrance with a hefty base (pretty sure it had oakmoss)….it was unusual for back then as there weren’t as many fruity fragrances around

    Calyx…..vintage pristine condition because the current formulation has been neutered…..it was the most mouth puckering scent around …the current version is soft florals and anorexic fruit…

    The entire Pacifica line including Tibetan Mountain Temple (all the original scents have been discontinued)

    Tocca’s Brigitte…because, well, you know 🙂 And it was a beautiful gourmand spice with a mango,spice and panetone accord

    all the original Annick Goutals (same deal, discovered them in Paris and went berserko trying to find them in the States)…..all of the old ones (Including her very first fragrance Folavril which was inspired by her face cream…mango and tomato leaf…holy cow that was good) along with eau de Ciel (that was the bottle I bought in Paris) and eau de Camille (best green ivy honeysuckle out there)….

    five more than asked…OOPSIE…. 😉

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  2. This one is hard!! :)) so many gems were sadly discontinued. I would go with Antidote from V&R, Versus from Versace (both male and female versions) and Photo from Karl Lagerfeld (just a few of them 😀)

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  5. Miss Dior, 1889 version of Jicky, Gucci Envy and Shishido version of Feminite du Bois. Body Shop oils of Vanilla, Japanese Musk and Sandalwood. Crabtree/ Evelyn Sandalwood, Gardenia, Vanilla , Spring Rain, and their original Christmas range ,named White Christmas. Hopefully I’m not being too greedy.

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  6. I was gonna start with Envy but I’ll be original and say; Origins Spring Fever, Aspen for Women, the early Escada Summer Editions, and Sonoma Scent Studio Velvet Rose for my mom. There are a lot more, but I miss those fresh, crisp, easy scents that didn’t smell of sugar.

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    • Perfectly put…those fresh easy scents that did not smell of sugar…that is how I would describe those early Escadas….I have all my empty bottles in my basement from 1994 to 2018…..the earlier ones (pre 2002 before Escada was bought out) were definitely the better ones.

      and seeing you here reminded me of another one…the eau de Missions which I once erroneously called Eau de Minions on NST…it was a beautiful fresh citrus herbal that sold for dirt cheap at Ulta…and I am fairly certain it’s been discontinued.

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  7. I’m fairly new to perfume and haven’t experienced many of the goodies in vintage- especially the Diors. But I am hoarding a few things: Gucci Envy, everything Sonoma Scent Studio (Jour Ensoleille – why didn’t I buy a bottle instead of a travel spray!), Samsara, Emeraude. I continue to wear them but I will seriously be sad when they are gone.

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  8. Going back in time, proper Diorling would have to be near the top of any list for me, along with some early inky-oakmossed Mitsouko. And I’d find it hard to say no to a vat of Bandit if the perfume fairies were being generous (actually, any of Cellier’s originals would be fabulous, thanks.)

    From the lost treasures of recent years, I’d like to see Ostara back on the shelves and more widely worn. Wouldn’t it be great to get wafts of that around town?

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      • Oh, I’m fine for Ostara… I was thinking more generally, that I’d love to see it back in production and wildly successful.

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    • I haven’t experienced Diorling when it was in production but many years later I tried a vintage sample and almost cried so unfair it felt that it was not available any longer.

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      • I think the only way I will ever get to wear Diorling again is if the perfume fairies step in. The rare vintage bottles go for such ferocious amounts of money, and the new version is a travesty.

        It’s one of the perfumes that made me first really love perfume–Miss Dior was the other. I bought myself a houndstooth splash EDC at an airport when I was sixteen and heading back to boarding school and felt *beyond* glamorous and grown up buying that. (I lost the partial remains on a train about few months later. I moved on to other things, and when I decided to buy some more Diorling a couple of years later, I was too late. It was discontinued.

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        • You made me curious so I researched Diorling as that is one Dior I never tried. Interesting and lovely…someone wrote that it was discontinued along with Diorama? I guess then brought back but the current version is no good.

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          • crikey- Just saw an 8oz houndstooth bottle on sale on ebay (that’s the size you need!) and you are correct the prices are insane! Even the reformulated one is expensive!

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          • Yep… killed off back in 1986 😦 It may have shifted and changed and been over-perfected in my memory but I don’t think there’s anything that fills that gap. Whereas, I think the closest thing to the original over-ripeness of Diorama in sensation these days could be Jubiliation 25, even if it’s quite different.

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  9. Discontinued and especially reformulated fragrances make me weep!
    I would bring back: 1) the original Coty Emeraude from 1921, the original and most gorgeous Oriental (not the Jolly Rancher green crap at drug stores from the 80s onwards); 2) the original L’Heure Bleue by Jaques Guerlain from 1912, I can only dream how velvety beautiful this fragrance must have been; and 3) Coty L’Aimant launched in 1927 (again, not the 80’s and going forward drug store variety that would make one recoil in disgust). I wish that perfume fairy existed!
    I’ve had the honor of sampling Emeraude and L’Aimant from the 30’s and 40’s, so worthy of my adoration!
    I laughed at your sillage of No 22 Portia. I have the EDT as well and am sure I’ve stunned people in the past with my heavy sprays. I actually wore it yesterday to the gym and maybe should have reconsidered that!

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  10. For me, I would like all the Serge Lutens perfumes back in their original formulas, plus the orfginal Nina Ricci L’Air du Temps for my mom.

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  11. Yohji EdT 1996 version for my sister, vintage Apres l’Ondee, 1980’s LouLou, and all Goutals in their former glory for good measure. And Sonoma Scent Studio’s perfumes resurrected as I never had the good sense to order any of them when still around.

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  12. And it would be very nice just to smell 1970’s Charlie and Max Factor’s Blase, and 1986 Gabriela Sabatini shower cream…

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    • Charlie!!! I read that the current formulation isn’t half bad. I wore that one ..also, Jontue…anyone remember that one?

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      • I only remember Charlie! So long ago….but I still love most of its notes…oakmoss, hyacinth, aldehydes, galbanum, vetiver, sandalwood…but looking up Jontue I would have loved it! Mimosa, oakmoss, chamomile..mmm. Have you ever smelled Jontue’s current incarnation?

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  13. I would love to be able to just walk into a store and buy a giant vat of Balenciaga Le Dix Parfum. I would bathe in it. BUT, since I can still find and afford Le Dix on ebay, I’m going with:

    Shiseido Nombre Noir parfum, which I’ve only been able to buy little bits of, original Iris Gris from Jacques Fath (same), and Guerlain Coque d’Or, original 1937 formula (haven’t tried, but I ache for this).

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  14. #1 Most definitely Andy Tauer’s Orris. I think he made 200 bottles and I have one of them-thank Heavens. Here’s a description of it from Bsenotes:

    The top of Orris starts with the mix of iris, rose, pepper, cinnamon and grapefruit. The floral character is what hits my nose first followed by the tang of grapefruit and the zing of pepper and cinnamon artfully kept at a level that keeps the spices from overwhelming the florals. The iris, rose and cinnamon linger and are joined by what might be my favorite incense accord. This is is not the high mass incense or the head shop incense, this is incense from inside a Tibetan temple in which a fire is built as there is a smokiness in conjunction with the sweetness of the incense. Combine this with the now-dominant rose and cinnamon and the heart of this is incredible. Finally the woods make an appearance as a mix of sandalwood and agarwood (oud) show up and now turn this scent into a woody wonderland as the creaminess of the sandalwood complements the strength of the agarwood and brings this to a resounding crescendo at the close.

    #2 Original (1947) Vent Vert by Balmain. I so love a green (galbanum) that kicks you right in the face and this one did just that. What is out now-feh! I would not even use it as guest bathroom after poop spray. It’s insipid and an insult to what Vent Vert was.

    #3 In keeping with beloved green scents, back in the late 90s (I think), S-Perfume came out with an intense green called something like Envy or Craving. Don’t recall. Christophe Laudamiel created the line or maybe just that one particular one. There was also a scent called S-ex and a few others that, in my opinion, were crap. But this one. Holy Anointed Scholar of Thebes! So green, so fierce. I had a small bottle and I hoarded it until at long last I only had the empty bottle that I would sniff with sadness and longing.

    I think there is still an S-Perfume line on the market but I am not sure if it’s the same one. They have a scent out currently called ‘S-Ex’ which is pronounced “es-esx.” Author Chandler Burr wrote that this “a masterful, complex juxtaposition of elements that gives the scent of the genitalia of a freshly shampooed beast.” Well, Chan, no. Great copy but very deceptive. It’s so generic it isn’t even awful; just sad. Also wonder when Mr. Burr last sniffed a beast’s genitals-clean or otherwise…

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  15. I would love to have AG’s Eau de Camille back again – I wore it for so long and loved it so much. I’ve also fallen for vintage No.19, both parfum and eau de toilette, and would really like to have that available/affordable. Finally, I’d love to smell the original Chloe from the 70s – it was my first perfume (that I chose, not a present) and I remember loving it, but I can’t remember exactly what it smelled like!

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  16. I’m amending my original answer. While it would be exciting to smell and wear fresh versions of long gone vintage versions… I didn’t think about the limited edition problem and the impossibility of replenishing something I wear and adore now. So, I’d willing swap at least two of my three for 200ml of Aeon 001.

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      • Aye. Pure fantasy perfume dreams–but imagine waking up to find that the fragrance fairies had left whacking great big bottles of Diorling and Aeon on your dresser!

        (I stopped hunting for Diorling online ages back, as the £200, £300+ prices were just depressing. It looks like I missed a 2 floz bottle for £50 just four days ago. Oh well.)

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  17. I think I need to be excommunicated from the perfumista group. Nothing I want back. Even when my Exclusif EdTs are gone – and indeed I adore them, I just don’t care. There’s always more gorgeous things to wear. And no, you need not drag up a what if you run out of Vero argument. I won’t – hahahahaha. But if? Then c’est la vie. Bussis. ❤️

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    • Ha Cookie Queen, I must say I considered your option at the risk of excommunication (although in my experience perfumista’s if anything are forgiving for trespasses ;-)), but there is some pleasure to be had in that which you can’t have I think as long as it is just that, pleasure, not drama!

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    • Nah… I don’t believe you. I mean, I can see you not mourning the finished favorite if it’s not available any more but I do not see you refusing or not to be excited to buy/get it if it magically appears in the form you used to enjoy 😉

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      • A good spraying of most of SOTDs will last me until I shower at night or until the next day. I usually do take a shower or bath though – especially so I can wear something else. I would be way happy if things lasted for say 5 hours ….. One of the reasons I get on so well with the gorgeous Les Exclusifs – I get the perfect 12 hour joy from them. xxx

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        • 12 hours!!!! Wow! that is amazing longevity! I am lucky if I get three. If I super slick oil my skin I can maybe get five.

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    • I believe you Val! And no one can take that card from you. I like the attitude and mostly share it I think, but I do have a vat of Misia EDT tucked away that should last me out.

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    • I like your attitude Val and I’d be happy if I could feel the same. I have the problem that I’ve worn perfume ever since my school days and I remember too well how perfume used to inspire and excite me. The thrill is gone…

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  18. I’m no expert on reformulations, so my top three Missing in Action scents for revival are all discontinued:
    1/ FENDI THEOREMA – a scent so perfect it makes me weep to think of it being made redundant
    2/ DONNA KARAN BLACK CASHMERE – same, same…
    3/ APOTEKER TEPE : HOLY MOUNTAIN – one of the weirdest and most magical smoky incenses ever formulated.
    Well a girl can dream!

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      • …and very few vintage bottles seem to have kept their magic. Among that cluster of “classic” Dior scents, it seems to have been the most sensitive to time. (I do have a late 1970s mini that has a little pale ghost of the original still fighting to exist…)

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        • Most of the vintage doesn’t smell the same to my nose because of the degradation of the top citrus notes…but I know that some fare even worse than others…I guess Diorissimo is one of them….

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  20. I would like to smell Jil Sander Woman II and the vintage Opium again. Reminds me of the 80ies, when i wore them as signature scents. Maybe the vintage Murasaki (Shiseido), but i read they are still selling this in Japan… where i am going to in the end of March, so maybe i will sniff it there and take it as a souvenir

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  21. I only needed a minute to come up with the answer: Vol de Nuit, Chant d’Aromes and Parure and/or Tabac Blond, the way the used to be in the 70-es. I already have a stash of vintage Miss Dior, Mitsouko and Shalimar so I’ve chosen those I don’t own. Perfume gods, can you hear me 🙂 ?

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  22. I wish there was a magic machine that could produce on demand any of the discontinued or reformulated perfumes in the exact formula from the requested year. I wouldn’t mind getting the result in a plain generic bottle and pay more than the current price of the equivalent class of perfumes – as long as the scent comes out as it used to be.

    My first order would be Lancôme Climat parfum. I have a bunch of later re/issues and versions and enjoy wearing them but I would love to be able to experience it again in the formulation with which I fell in love with this perfume (70s).

    Miss Dior would be my second order. I’m not sure in what concentration though… May I have a set of parfum and EdT? 😉 I have never smelled it in the original form so I’d be fine with the 70s’ iteration.

    Believe it or not, I don’t have the third perfume that I would equally want to resurrect. I mean, I wouldn’t mind to get more of those that went away once I finish my current bottles of them, or would love to try something about what I only read. But nothing comes close to the first two on my list. One more perfume though came to mind, and I decided to take another chance at figuring out what it was since there are many not US readers here. If you have time, take a look at the first picture and the first story here on my blog that I did 4 years ago (https://undina.com/2015/01/24/four-stories-for-the-fourth-anniversary/). By chance, has anyone ever seen this perfume or knows what brand it was?

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    • OMG, Climat! What a beauty! My aunt used to wear it in the eighties.
      I’ve seen it recently in an obscure duty free shop and I almost blind bought a bottle but I knew it was the reformulation and it wasn’t cheap so I decided against it. There was no testerl I didn’t know they still produce it.

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      • The only version Lancôme has in current production is EdT, which is OK – though, I’ve never tried the original EdT so I cannot tell how much different the latest one is. Before that, several year ago Lancôme re-issued it in the EdP format in limited edition for Russian market only (3,000 bottles). It is not bad but with all the current regulations it couldn’t be the same. And my favorite version is the previous re-issue as a part of their anniversary collection (La Collection, in white boxes). You can still find those online in sets of 4 15 ml bottles, one of which is Climat. All those parfum bottles that are sold in traditional square boxes with a golden box on the front are assumed to be fake.

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        • For about six years I have been on the fence about purchasing Climat because of your love for it…but it would be a blind buy which is how I have talked myself out of it! I once saw the extrait at an online retailer for a very good price but stopped myself.

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  23. In the main, I am with Val. There isn’t really anything I’d give to have brought back. Luckily, I got to experience quite a few vintages in my youth. Michelle by Balenciaga, Tango, some Rochas beauties, Miss Dior and the Diors around in the 70s… Plus the first Poison edt to hit Aussie shores.

    Of the things I have never tried, such as Iris Gris, I have no desire to seek them out. I am actually quite content exploring current perfume production. I am feeling there is a good fortune at being alive to experience all these amazing scents coming out now. It is enough to keep me busy.

    Having said all that, I’d love to get my mits on Body Shop’s Of A Woman. I had quite a few bottles and used them up within one year. A record for me.

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  24. Oh, I fully agree on the state of Versace. It is indicative of Donatella needing to keep mass appeal to keep the house alive. Things sort of went limp after Gianni died. He understood the big is beautiful approach to life. Between Allegra and Donatella, the house of Versace has thinned down and become creatively anaemic.

    And LVMH…that is a whole post on its own, but who needs my vitriol??

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  25. Vintage Givenchy Gentleman, Ungaro Pour L’Homme I, Dior Homme original (they have messed up the Dior Homme, just like Eau Sauvage), Shiseido Feminite du Bois.

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      • I know there was reformulation in 2011 but that was still mildly acceptable. I am talking about recent Dior Homme that I smelled at Sephora about 2 weeks ago. It horrified me. I don’t know if the cold weather interfered with my nose or the bottle was spoiler but the iris was carroty, not the lipsticky iris that is trademark of dior homme…I suspect they have tried to make it less feminine by adding or increasing the amount of some notes, maybe vetiver being one of them but it just did not seem right.

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      • I love vintage Givenchy Gentleman, The bottles are here and there but I think I should have at least 400ml of it and I will keep buying more when they come at good prices. The vintages are getting quite expensive over the last 2 years but if you are patient, you can still luck out at times.

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        • Wow! that’s a lot of juice! But if you love it then it’s worth collecting especially if you can find it at a good price.

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  26. Right there with you on Chanel No. 22 EDT! Thank goodness I have one big bottle and that will last me a LONG time, as I don’t wear it every day. I wish the perfume gods would also bring back the original Diorissimo (sob!), and the 2000 version of Shiseido Zen, by Nathalie Lorson.

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  27. I have a slightly different take on this. I’d like to try the original eau de cologne mixed up by Giovanni Maria Farina, just see where it all started. I have a very early bottle of his (sadly not the original release), but no juice.

    I understand that Farina still manufacture to the original recipe, but I find it hard to believe that ingredients have not changed over several centuries and with mass-production. I’d love to smell the original. Apparently people used to drink this to ward off bubonic plague, but I think I’d stick to just wearing it.

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    • Wouldn’t it be lovely if the number of dollars was the same now Sally Anne?
      Although I think perfumes were more expensive as per household incomes back then. Difference being people only had a few, not like us perfumistas.
      Portia xx

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    • I second this. I know in the 1980s there were great perfumes were highly affordable…even some of the drugstore offerings were a thousand times better than what some of this niche brands are churning out these days for ten times the price per bottle. No 22 was sold in the dept store not as an exclusive and relatively inexpensive. Gahhh….I miss those days 😦

      and yes, Laura Ashley no 1…it’s still around but it’s been reformulated and not as good.

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  30. I’m too new to the party to play this game, but I do hope sometime to smell the older versions of the Diors and Guerlains. And any and all use of oak moss, which I love love love.

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    • Amy get your hands on some real oakmoss. Don’t know where you are but Eden Botanicals sells it (no affiliation). the smell is amazing and a perfume unto itself.

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      • Good idea Brigitte! I also have a stash of Aftelier’s Bergamoss in its liquid form and will someday spring for the solid and have a number of other naturals with real oak moss. Just bought BUBs of Dryad and Tobacco Rose in fear they will change. But I am confused about how this works with the small, independent perfumers. Will they be effected by the newer regulations? Ultimately I just go with what smells good and know that I missed some great things.

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        • If it’s an IFRA or regulatory change, Papillon & Tauer will reformulate as they are compliant. However most indie perfumers don’t reformulate unless they’re forced too, unlike the big fragrance companies.

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  31. Parfums d’Orsay discontinued Tilleul a year or two ago, a lovely summer fragrance, but I just found what must be one of the last bottles, after trying everywhere I could think of I remembered a dear wee shop in Wimbledon Village which always kept it…and they had one remaining bottle, now on its way here. Also miss the first L’Eau d’Issey from the 90s, Byzance from even earlier…

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  32. I should have included Anne Klein II, which I wore in the mid-80s and early 90s. It now goes for obscene prices on ebay. I have one mini, and a few drops left in my original big bottle. Am planning to try something that is supposed to come close, from Jeffrey Dame, called Duality.

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    • I had Anne Klein II and wore it back in the day and thunked it. I am very curious about Dame’s new fragrances and I hope to see a review on your blog. The prices of the full bottles are extraordinarily reasonable so if the fragrances are good that’s a win win.

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  33. Just 3?!?!
    Have to be Mystere by Rochas. L’Arte di Gucci. La Nuit by Paco Rabanne. These don’t exist in any formulation anymore and are hard to find. I have a stash of other gems that have been tinkered with or vanished, like Gucci Envy
    X

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  34. Yeah, I know I’m late but better than never😉
    And I just can’t limit to three so I’ll go in order of importance.
    JPG Fragile. One of the best ever mainstream fragrances, it’s so decadent and different from all other Tuberose frags. Bring it back to me right now!!! (Even though I have a few bottles of it and its matching body products pooched away.)
    Magie Noire (I’m like a stuck record going on about this. Sorry not sorry.) The re-release is just a travesty. I use it as air freshener sometimes.
    Opium, yeah, still waffling on about this too.
    Some others have already been mentioned which shows how popular they were. Versace Blonde-was incredibly good. But obviously wasn’t doing the business.
    Gucci Envy was a friend’s signature and was glorious on her.
    Fabergé Kiku was my oldest sister’s and I was repeatedly warned to keep my paws off it.
    Givenchy Organza, I still have a tiny amount left from the year of its release. The newer version is lacking the depth of its predecessor.
    Max Factor Épris would give some niche offerings a run for their money.
    VC & A First. I wish I’d stocked up a couple. I still have the empty bottle and sniff it😂 I’m a hopeless idiot, I know.
    And some fun frags of my youth, Lentheric Panache and Tramp (I have good vintage of both) Yardley Liberty (think it was Yardley.) Blasé (Max Factor?) and one that reminds me of my late brother, Aqua de Gio, not because he wore it but because I received it as a birthday pressie during the time of his illness and I was virtually living in the hospital with him. I wore it every day. So gentle and calming yet with good presence. It’s now gone into the abyss.

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    • Cassie m’dear, would you like a decant of First? I’d be happy to share what I have left as I wear it rarely and keep it mostly for sentimental reasons

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      • Crikey you’ve already been more than generous to me, and you know I’m not greedy (not half). Hold onto your scentimental First. Thank you. If you decided to send me a drop I would of course love it dearly. Ha!

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        • Same here with Joy. My father-in-law would give me a bottle of it every Christmas. I couldn’t wear it. Jeez, I should have saved all those bottles from back then. Bet they would fetch a nice price on eBay. Something that makes me outrageously mad is that I have no clue whatsoever what I did with all my perfumes from the 70’s and 80’s 🤬🤬🤬

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  35. So many beautiful perfumes were already mentioned and I wish all of them were brought back so each of us could buy a bottle or two to have it for the rest of our lives.
    My first choice is the 90-ies version of Clinique Wrappings because it used to be my spring perfume for ages…until it got discontinued and afterwards became an “exclusive perfume for Christmas time in selected perfumeries” (and got reformulated, of course).
    The second one is Jil Sander’s Bath and Beauty in the white glass bottle.
    The third one would be my mum’s favourite from the seventies – Fete by Molyneaux.

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  36. Gah, WordPress sent my long and winding comment off into the ether again ffs 😡
    I’ll just do a shorthand version, in order of importance, ha.
    JPG Fragile
    Magie Noire
    Opium
    Want top three delivered gift-wrapped to my door, stat.
    Fabergé Kiku for my sister, it was her signature.
    Aqua de Gio as it reminds me of my late brother.
    Lots of others have already been mentioned.
    Several from my youth – Lentheric Panache and Tramp. Max Factor Épris and Le Jardin. Yardley Chique and Blasé.
    I’ll probably think of loads more

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        • I had Calandre in the 70s and Metal in the 80s…holy crappa! They were both sooooo good!!! I think Calandre is still around (but has been reformulated) but Metal is completely gone. A perfume blogger sent me some of his vintage of it about six or seven years ago and while it still smelled like Metal the opening was different because of the degradation of the top notes…I remembered the top notes is what I so loved about Metal…without them it was a bit soapy…

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  38. A very mixed bag for me. Firstly, Shalimar perfume. I have two vintages, but they’re from the early eighties. They smell great but not as I remembered. So that’s one. Shalimar from the early 70’s. I did a splendid job stinking up the classrooms of my high school in that.
    Second would be Love’s Baby Soft. I was wearing that when I met Mr. LH. I was teaching riding and running a stable in the countryside. Wonderful times.
    Finally Diva EdP. My best friend wore it as a signature scent all throughout the late 80’s and 90’s. She passed away in April of last year and only two years my senior. She was not only my best friend, she was also my cousin. We were inseparable growing up and lived beside each other her entire life. I truly miss her and a whiff of Diva would bring her memory so much closer.

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    • I’m so sorry for the loss of your friend, Marcella. Diva is another beauty from the eighties.
      Teaching riding and running a stable? What a great woman! No wonder Mr. LH fell in love with you 🙂

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    • So sorry to hear this. I hope you have a smidge of Diva to remember her by.
      I will also second LOve’s Baby Soft…no one ever mentions that one.
      And yes to Shalimar….it was also in my perfume wardrobe in the 70s and 80s.

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      • No Diva sadly. But tell me your opinion on Love’s Baby Soft. In my mind’s memory I thought it was a well-made perfume, and, at the time my nose was used to what we consider the greats now. Shalimar, Chanel No. 5 & 22, Femme, L’Heure Bleu….. Love’s Baby Soft was actually my first and only drug store cheapie.
        So did it smell cheap? And I only thought it was good? Or, was it, in fact good? It sort of played the same role that Pour Un Homme does for me now. An olfactory break from some of the more heavy/unusual/spine-tingling fragrances in my collection.

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    • That’s a real heart breaker. We expect to lose some people, such as parents, but a lifelong friend is an altogether different loss to come to terms with.

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  40. Ah, I just remember one that I used to wear around 30-35 years ago. It was one of the best hot weather scents and I would pay and arm and a leg to get my hands on a bottle: Germaine Monteil Bain Douceur. I am totally mystified why it has completely disappeared from the face of the earth, there is not even a picture of it on the net. Like it never existed.

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