MITSOUKO year 2013: does the Empress strike back?

ABSTRACT
Mitsouko, the "Mysterious", the Empress of Perfumes.... it's one of the true "legendary" perfumes, produced by Guerlain since 1919.
Superb, immediately recognizable, Mitsouko was subject to many reformulations, including a particularly critical one that took place around 2007-8, which significantly changed the perfume.

DIOR HOMME INTENSE : 4-batches review.

Dior Homme, in the EDP ("Intense") version, launched in 2007, had a lot of controversies in the past two years , when it was said that this perfume had been "drastically reformulated".
The fact took place in second half of 2011: in that year there were slightly changes in outer packages, and some details of the bottles changed, too.
The "reformulation" news sparked a wave of frenzy and rushes to buy bottles of  "vintage" Dior Homme Intense ("vintage" is an unusual term here, since we're talking about a perfume launched in 2007... ), resulting in increased prices and speculations of all kinds.
In this article, a possibly accurate analysis of the alleged differences between the various "vintages" of Dior Homme Intense will occur, using two bottles for the period alleged "pre-reformulation ", and two for the same period post-reformulation .

STORIE SCELLERATE #2

(italian only text)

Siamo seduti intorno al tavolo del caffè in tre. Il profumiere, anziano, sua moglie parimenti anziana, e il sottoscritto. Il tavolo è grande, li ho di fronte tutti e due, e mentre parlo con la signora, una donna esuberante e gioviale, a proposito dei vecchi profumi "dei tempi suoi", noto con la coda dell’occhio il marito che vorrebbe dir qualcosa, ma poi all’ultimo momento si trattiene. Tipico del “sto per dirti qualcosa che forse non ti piacerà”. Ecco, come al solito.

MISSONI (The original) by Missoni,1982.

YEAR: 1982
Top: Bergamot, Hyacynth, Cassia, Aldehydes, Raspberry
Middle: Rose, Geranium, Ylang-Ylang, Iris, Jasmin
Base: Honey, Oakmoss, Civet, Amber, Patchouly, Styrax.
Longevity: at least 10 hours
Sillage Great.
Season: Autumn/Winter
Rating: 9/10

ABSTRACT
"When the colors become scents" "Do something colorful" " said advertisement from the Eighties.
Ah, those marvelous taglines: other times, other perfumery.

VENDETTA pour Homme (Valentino, 1991)

Year: 1991
Top:  Verbena, Neroli, Lavender, Bergamot, Basil, Coriander, Aldehydes
Middle: Clove, Geranium, Jasmin, Cedar, Vetiver, Cinnamon, Bay-Rum
Base: Patchouli, Oakmoss, Musk, Labdanum, Musk, Amber, TonkaBean, Benzoin
Parfumeur: Edouard Flèchier
Longevity: about 5-6 hours
Sillage:: high. 
Rating: 8.5/10

Famous stylist and designer Valentino is known  in perfumery, according to some, as "the one who missed the boat ". Terms may be too drastic to indicate a Maison which, while other scents hit the market repeatedly, remained motionless and almost detached from the games.

BEL AMI (Hermès,1986)

Year: 1986
Top: Lemon, Cardamon, Sage, Orange, Bergamot
Middle: Ylang-ylang, Iris, Basil, Carnation, Jasmin, Patchouli, Cedar
Base: Vanilla, Sandalwood, Vetyver, Leather, Coconut, Oakmoss, Amber, Styrax
Perfumer: JeanLouis Sieuzac
VOTO: 10/10


ABSTRACT: There is no need to ask Guy de Maupassant : even without the encouragement of the famous French writer , BelAmi has been a fabulous scent of the '80s, with rare elegance, still in production (although reformulated).

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(work in progress...)

How to recognize GUERLAIN perfumes.

(disclaimer: these pages are not for commercially purposes; we are truly, genuine fragrance lovers examining hundreds of perfumes to understand the "meaning" of batch numbers, and here are the results)

Here we are going to investigate the -historically- most famous perfume house: Guerlain.
It's a bit difficult task, because Guerlain adopted several "letters and numbers", different boxes, and complicate batch-codes,  indicating "Years" and "Months". So, we should have a look at: boxes, labels, symbols and perfume "launch date", simultaneously, to obtain an additional help.
(Please note: in this guide you will find hints to date all Guerlain perfumes since 1976. For older perfumes since 1930, read HERE ) 

How to recognize GUERLAIN perfumes.

(disclaimer: these pages are not for commercially purposes; we are truly, genuine fragrance lovers examining hundreds of perfumes to understand the "meaning" of batch numbers, and here are the results)

Here we are going to investigate the -historically- most famous perfume house: Guerlain.
It's a bit difficult task, because Guerlain adopted several "letters and numbers", different boxes, and complicate batch-codes,  indicating "Years" and "Months". So, we should have a look at: boxes, labels, symbols and perfume "launch date", simultaneously, to obtain an additional help.

RUMBA (Balenciaga,1988)

Year: 1988
Top: Bergamot, Raspberry, Plum, Orange Blossom, Peach, Basil
Middle: Honey, Gardenia, Tuberose, Carnation, Heliotrope, Marigold, Jasmine, Magnolia, Orchid
Base: Styrax, Leather, Vanilla, Sandalwood, Musk, Amber, Cedar, Oakmoss, Patchouli.
Perfumers: Ron Winnegrad and JeanClaude Ellena
VOTO: 9/10


ABSTRACT  -"Blast from the Past" - This is a female fragrance by Balenciaga launched during 1988. Did I say "fragrance"? Let's be honest, this was not just a perfume: this was an olfactive cannon shot.
If you want to go unnoticed, Rumba definitely is not the perfume right for you; but if you want the whole world to turn towards you, this is the scent.

How to recognize CHRISTIAN DIOR perfumes.

ABSTRACT:
Previously we recognized year-by-year the following:
-GUERLAIN perfumes ( here )
-YVES SAINT LAURENT perfumes ( here )
-GIORGIO ARMANI perfumes ( here )
-VAN CLEEF et ARPELS perfumes ( here )
-CHANEL perfumes ( here )
-BVLGARI perfumes ( here )
-HERMES perfumes ( here )

Now, let's consider another great House.

Christian Dior's are among the most famous (and counterfeited…) scents in the whole world and, unfortunately, will give you some trouble when you want to determine the manifacturing years.

Difficulties derive from the unusual batch code system - and to the fact that until 1995 Christian Dior in many cases did not carved or printed serial numbers on the box, as many other houses did, but only by printing it on the external cellophane/wrap membrane. This means that when you remove the cellophane, the batch number is lost. 
Plus, consider that printed numbers on cellophane are easily erased......
Fortunately, the " batch-code" , i.e. the serial number , was also printed on the bottom of the bottle.

As always, the most important thing in “guessing a date” on a bottle is not knowing the exact month and year , but the historical period.
Old perfumes were usually made using the best materials, and without being subject to restrictions whatsoever. 
As commonly said, "the older, the better"