QUIPROQUO, Grès (1976)

Year: 1976
Top notes: Citrus
Mid notes: Spices
Base notes: Woods
Parfumeur: Robert Gonnon
VOTO : 8/10

Abstract: Created by Robert Gonnon, one of the most famous noses of the seventies (AnaisAnais by Cacharel, Empreinte by Courregès, Metal by Paco Rabanne, Sikkim by Lancome, O de Lancome....), this almost unknown scent of the house Grès has a name very apt: "Quiproquo" (it's Latin for "swap two things each other "): in fact, despite being classified as "for women", is a perfume quietly ... masculine. It's perfectly unisex.

The Magnificent 26: "The Last Warning".

(Abstract:
During 2003 the EU announced the New Cosmetics Directive (the Old one dating from 1976) to make it more in step with the current times. In the New Directive, namely the "Directive 2003/15/EC" (amending Directive 76/768/EEC) is the rule of mandatory labeling for 26 substances potentially involved with allergies.

BALENCIAGA "Cialenga" (1973)

                           

YEAR: 1973

Top notes: citruses, black currant, green notes;

Middle notes: iris, jasmine, ylang-ylang, clove, rose, lily;

Base notes: Vetyver, sandalwood, patchouli, oakmoss, virginia cedar.

Perfumer: Jacques Jantzen


(ABSTRACT: 

"Cialenga", by Balenciaga: forty years tribute (1973-2013)

Probably it was not the most celebrated women's fragrance by Balenciaga, comparing with LeDix and Quadrille, but it was a wonderful scent. Moreover, when it comes to Balenciaga, any scent is wonderful and remarkable.
Many times we hear -speaking about fragrances- "vintage" lovers are always exaggerating, talking nonsense about alleged "Golden Age" that in fact never existed. Well, Cialenga, as virtually all the old Balenciagas, is an excellent demonstration of the contrary.

How to recognize YVES SAINT LAURENT perfumes

Previously we recognized, year-by-year all these famous brands:
-GUERLAIN perfumes ( here )
-CHRISTIAN  DIOR perfumes  ( here )
-GIORGIO ARMANI Perfumes ( here )
-VAN CLEEF et ARPELS perfumes ( here )
-CHANEL perfumes ( here )
-BVLGARI perfumes ( here )
-HERMES perfumes ( here )

But what about Yves Saint Laurent ?

Well, you should look at the labels, the stickers, the technical symbols, and batch-code numbers.

The problem -especially for Yves  Saint Laurent scents- is the confusing amount of many different labels, numbers, symbols and codes.

To recognize YSL scents, it is necessary to know the history of the House, because boxes, labels, symbols, etc., reflect the different historical periods.

This should be pretty simple, but it isn't: actually the labels, the stickers and the boxes, were messed up during transition periods, and made things difficult to understand.
So let's go and try to solve the mystery.

ADAM, Eau de Bruyère/Bruyère (1973-1985).

(ABSTRACT The story of ADAM is an unbelievable one: one of the most famous Italian perfume factory , based in Parma , active since the Thirties, still in the early '70s was one of the most famous and noble houses. ADAM ceased all activities in 1985, and since then -literally- disappeared . Even today, you can hardly find any information about ADAM, even surfing on the web.

VERSACE The Dreamer ("Nebula edition", 1996)

VERSACE, The Dreamer
Year 1996
Notes: - variable according to the source-

ABSTRACT: The Dreamer" was practically the last scent directly supervised by Gianni Versace before his death in 1997, along with "Jeans". Around this scent everything has been said, and the opposite of everything: many talks about its olfactory pyramid (on the web you will find the most diverse compositions for this perfume!), its relative similarity with Dolce & Gabbana pour Homme, that came out two years earlier; about the tobacco-or-not-tobacco discussion, until to the "ruining" reformulation happened in 2008. Leaving aside all these useless discussions, The Dreamer was a prominent male-flowery scent, with "smoky" elements, and a strong inclination towards the tobacco leaf (not the classic pipe-tobacco note). Some people founfd it a malancholic  scent; others descrided it as sex-in-a-bottle. As you can see, it's a real Dreamer: you can have all dreams you want.
After the application, the first few minutes are rough and harsh, then turned in a warm and smooth aroma. Very nice box, and a marvelous crystal bottle, a real piece of art. Here is reviewed the first bottle produced in 1996: the "Nebula" version, both AfterShave and Eau de Toilette.

HOW TO MAKE A (serious) BLIND TEST

(ABSTRACT: A "blind" test is essential to really understand what you're smelling.

That is, your target is to recognize, in a incontrovertible way, if there are differences between the scents you are considering; or no difference at all.

Are we smelling the same scent? and in the same intensity, nuances, and strength ?

LEONARD pour Homme (1980)

LEONARD Pour Homme
Year 1980
Creator: Ron Winnegrad
Bottle design: Serge Mansau
TopNotes: Thyme, Petitgrain, Majorane, Lavender, Bergamot, Basil.
Middle: Cinnamon, Cedar, Carnation, Artemisia, Vetiver, Patchouli, Iris, Jasmine.
Base: Oakmoss, Labdanum, Leather, Castoreum, Musk, Amber.

VINTAGE AFTER-SHAVES

from shaveden.com

(ABSTRACT: There is a widespread school of thought, according to which aftershaves, (après-rasage in French) are useless for perfume-lovers, because there is the Eau de Parfum first, (in men's fragrances , rarely, actually), then Eau de Toilette, and finally Eau de Cologne, in a descending concentration .
The After Shaves are the most diluted and are last-in-line, and should not be even considered.
THIS IS NOT TRUE.
The scents produced before 1990 were so strong and intense that after-shaves are comparable to the modern Eau de Toilette. If you can not find the vintage EdT, choose its after-shaves, which are often more available at a lower price. you will not be disappointed. 

So, if you happen to find some vintage after-shave, do not miss it.)

from pzrservices.typepad.com

VINTAGE AFTER-SHAVES

C’è una scuola di pensiero molto diffusa secondo la quale i dopobarba, (after-shaves in inglese, après-rasage in francese) siano inutili per gli appassionati di profumi, in quanto prima di essi vengono le Eau de Parfum (nei profumi maschili, raramente, in verità), poi le Eau de Toilette, e infine le Eau de Cologne, in concentrazione sempre minore. 

Gli After Shaves sono quelli più diluiti e quindi vengono per ultimi, e non andrebbero nemmeno considerati.

NON E' VERO.

I profumi prodotti prima del 1990 erano così forti e intensi che gli after-shaves sono paragonabili alle Eau de Toilette moderne. Se non riuscite a trovare le EdT d'epoca, ripiegate sugli after-shaves, che sono più facilmente reperibili e a prezzo ancor più basso. non ne rimarrete delusi. Qualche after-shave che merita particolarmente è stato prodotto anche all'inizio del Duemila, ma poi più niente.

Per cui, se vi capita di trovare qualche dopobarba d'epoca non fatevelo scappare.

GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY

 

GC-MS instrument, year 1970

ABSTRACT:  GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY 

(If you ask a fan of scents, or "perfumista", what is a gas-chromatograph (or GC ) , he may not be able to answer.

Yet the gas chromatograph is a very important tool, because the world of perfumery has been transformed irreversibly just after the advent of this instrument.

BULGARI "Black" (1998).

Topnotes: Tea, Bergamot, Jasmine

Middle Notes: Cedar, Sandalwood, Leather

Base Notes: Amber, Musk, Vanilla

year: 1998 

Created by: Annick Menardo

Bottle:  Thierry de Baschmakoff

TRUSSARDI "Donna" (1982).

"GLI ANNI OTTANTA NEL LORO GRANDE SPLENDORE."


(ABSTRACT:
THE EIGHTIES  IN ALL THEIR GLORY. One of the cornerstones of the "Italian Wave" of the Eighties, "Trussardi Donna" (in Italian: Trussardi for woman") went on sale in 1982, in the same period of the two giants Armani and Versace, and, along with "Trussardi Uomo", made ​​the fortune of the ICR laboratories. The two Trussardi perfumes, male and female, had an overwhelming success all over the world.
Feminine/unisex scent, really rich, opulent, concentrated, in the tradition of the Eighties, when perfumes had to be similar to "smell bombs," is unmistakable, and with its leather notes can be suitable also as a masculine scent.
Duration and sillage at the highest levels.
Completely reformulated in 2005 by Selective Beauty, in a manner completely different from the original, you can not even say that it is "better or worse", since it's simply another perfume.
Wonderful bottle with the appearance of "skin crocodile.")


TRUSSARDI DONNA (year 1982)

Top notes: aldehyde, green herbs, bergamot, hyacinth, galbanum, coriander.

Heart notes: geranium, jasmine, tuberose, ylang-ylang.

Basenotes: leather, styrax, amber, cedar, sandalwood, patchouli and vanilla. 

Made by: ICR (Industrie Cosmetiche Riunite)

Bottle: Nicola Trussardi.

YEARS 1982-2010.  Completeley reformulated in 2005.

OK, THE PRICE IS * NOT * RIGHT.

(ABSTRACT A well-known supermarket company has defiantly put on sale a feminine scent for the price of a few dollars, it resulted to be a "very good scent" for professionals.
The question that many have asked was: but the price is an indication of quality, or not?
Do the math: if the final sale price of this perfume is 3.99 pounds (in other countries 4.99 euros) and includes the glass bottle, packaging, transportation, and everything else, how much it cost to producers of perfume real? The answer is amazing: less than 1 euro. Is it any wonder? No.
The actual production cost of a perfume -today- with the highest number (and low price) of aromachemicals on the market, is very cheap and affordable What is surprising is, on the contrary, the excessive sale price.)