Basenotes, help me solve this perfume mystery!

[sokeripupu]

I have just been getting into perfume in the last year or so. My husband is very fragrance-averse and sensitive to many fragrances (like, possibly allergic, they can really make him feel awful and sometimes make it hard for him to breathe). So I've been very careful about only using perfumes that don't bother him (and have managed to find a few that he really likes!).

However, he said that there's a perfume that was really popular in the "70s or 80s" that he loves. He said he sometimes smells it today. He also said that it smells clean and soapy. That's all I've got!

So as I was trying different scents he said Solstice Scents Witch's Cottage ( Warm baked goods, dry herbs, Sweet Annie, soft woods, fragrant hearth smoke. ) smelled sort of like what he was thinking of. The other one he said was close was, weirdly, Fayoum by Jazmin Sarai (African violet leaf, mimosa, Egyptian clay accord, barhi date, palm frond, fig, and a drop of Egyptian jasmine absolute).

I also just tried as many popular scents of the 70s as I could (discovering in the process that I love a lot of them!) but haven't found it yet. At one point I had a box with Surrender to Chance's iconic 70s sample set in it and a sample vial leaked and he said "that's it!" and I thought it was Van Cleef and Arpels First but when I got it it wasn't right (the sample was the current formulation and that's what I bought). The other samples in there that it could have been were Opium and Patou 1000. I haven't moved on to iconic scents of the 80s yet!

I'm open to any suggestions, trying different things to try and find it has been kind of fun! Interestingly almost none of the older perfumes have bothered my husband.

Likely suspects that weren't it:

Chanel No. 5 (although he loves it!)
Charlie
Aliage
Cinnabar
Anais Anais
Chloe (Karl Lagerfeld)
Aromatics Elixir

 

[kosui no kaori]

I unfortunately don’t have any input, but I wish you the best of luck - I hope you find your fragrance!

 

[stuigi]

Those notes are quite diverse. It will be very unlikely someone here will know it. I suggest putting some of them into the Directory search function and see what comes up.

 

[Italia]

Aldehydes frequently come across as "soapy" and clean in many fragrances. D&G Sicily is a fragrance commonly perceived as fresh, clean, and soapy, but it came out in the early 2000s. One possibility might be Estée Lauder's White Linen (1978). Other thoughts are Chanel's No. 22 (which is much older, but was more widely available - i.e., not a Chanel 'Exclusive' - back in the 70s and 80s), Hermés Caleche, or YSL Rive Gauche.

Happy sniffing!

 

[sokeripupu]

Aldehydes frequently come across as "soapy" and clean in many fragrances. D&G Sicily is a fragrance commonly perceived as fresh, clean, and soapy, but it came out in the early 2000s. One possibility might be Estée Lauder's White Linen (1978). Other thoughts are Chanel's No. 22 (which is much older, but was more widely available - i.e., not a Chanel 'Exclusive' - back in the 70s and 80s), Hermés Caleche, or YSL Rive Gauche.

Happy sniffing!

Oh yeah i tried white linen! He said "grandma" haha. first time he's described a perfume that way, we both like a lot of perfumes that are considered "old lady"

@stuigi thanks for the tip! I'm not so much looking for matching notes, wild guesses at very popular soapy fragrances from the late 70s-early 80s that are still around are welcome!

 

[Mick B]

Acqua di Parma always comes to mind when someone mentions clean and soapy

 

[hednic]

Those notes are quite diverse. It will be very unlikely someone here will know it. I

I would agree.

 

[grayspoole]

Okay, this is a puzzle.

If I understood the OP correctly, a leaked sample from a 70’s sampler was identified as “IT” but when you tried the current version of VC&A First, it wasn’t right. This may be going too far into the weeds, but there are few different versions of First. The EDT would probably come closest to “clean and soapy.“ You said the box also contained a sample of Patou 1000. Did you try that one? It is in the clean and soapy ball park (I think we can safely rule out Opium.)

I second Italia’s suggestions of Caleche and Rive Gauche.

Some other possibilities might be Calandre or perhaps even No.19.

You say he loves No.5…. Well, you can‘t go wrong with that.

 

[speedracer]

Ah, you're looking for perfumes, nevermind my original comment.

 

[sokeripupu]

Okay, this is a puzzle.

If I understood the OP correctly, a leaked sample from a 70’s sampler was identified as “IT” but when you tried the current version of VC&A First, it wasn’t right. This may be going too far into the weeds, but there are few different versions of First. The EDT would probably come closest to “clean and soapy.“ You said the box also contained a sample of Patou 1000. Did you try that one? It is in the clean and soapy ball park (I think we can safely rule out Opium.)

I second Italia’s suggestions of Caleche and Rive Gauche.

Some other possibilities might be Calandre or perhaps even No.19.

You say he loves No.5…. Well, you can‘t go wrong with that.

i don't think i have tried 1000 yet, i will dig that one out! i do know enough about opium to agree that's surely not it!

the sample set doesn't specify what version of first is in it besides "current" but the bottle i bought is the EDT.

i do have no. 19, that's not it (it's one of my favorites! he doesn't mind it). i will for sure try everything suggested in this thread!

 

[Mai7]

Maybe Cristalle?

 

[sokeripupu]

I've been wanting to try Cristalle anyway so I'm happy to add it to the list!

 

[chypre]

Regarding First, I think the current EDP is not a bad reformulation and might be closer to the vintage version. Just a thought. Also, what about Estee by Lauder? That's quite soapy. And Hermes Amazone?

 

[Mai7]

I've been wanting to try Cristalle anyway so I'm happy to add it to the list!

 

[Mai7]

You are probably aware that there are two versions, the EDT and the EDP. I personally much prefer the EDT, it's not just a different strength factor, it's greener, fresher and airier.

 

[cdave2]

Hmmm… let’s back up here. You’ve said that your husband already recognized the fragrance from a box containing the sample set. So, assuming your husband’s recognition was correct, it’s got to be one of those.

Let’s set aside the “clean and soapy” description for now and focus on the contents of the box. That significantly narrows down the possibilities.

Here’s the “1970s Iconic Women's Perfume Sampler - 10 sample set” from the Surrender to Chance website. I assume this is the one you bought:

1. Cacharel Anais Anais (retro)
2. Chloe (Karl Lagerfeld)
3. Christian Dior Diorella (retro)
4. Cinique Aromatics Elixir (current)
5. Estee Lauder Aliage (retro)
6. Estee Lauder Cinnabar (current)
7. Revlon Charlie (retro)
8. Patou 1000 EDT (current)
9. Van Cleef & Arpels First (current)
10. YSL Opium (current)

You’ve already tried First and decided against it. I’m also eliminating the names on your “likely suspects that weren’t it” list. So that leaves Diorella, Patou 1000 and Opium.

Was there anything in the box other than the sample set? If so, that gets added to the list of suspects.

Opium isn’t likely, based on your husband’s description. So, now we’re down to Diorella, Patou 1000 and anything else that might have been in the box.

I haven’t smelled Patou 1000, but I recently bought a sample of current Diorella, and while I wouldn’t necessarily describe it as “clean and soapy,” I wouldn’t say it isn’t, either. It has a greenness that reads as “fresh” or “clean” in my book. I don’t get the rotten fruit that others have described, at least not in this version.

My bet is that it’s either Patou 1000 or Diorella. Good luck!

 

[sokeripupu]

Hmmm… let’s back up here. You’ve said that your husband already recognized the fragrance from a box containing the sample set. So, assuming your husband’s recognition was correct, it’s got to be one of those.

Let’s set aside the “clean and soapy” description for now and focus on the contents of the box. That significantly narrows down the possibilities.

Here’s the “1970s Iconic Women's Perfume Sampler - 10 sample set” from the Surrender to Chance website. I assume this is the one you bought:

1. Cacharel Anais Anais (retro)
2. Chloe (Karl Lagerfeld)
3. Christian Dior Diorella (retro)
4. Cinique Aromatics Elixir (current)
5. Estee Lauder Aliage (retro)
6. Estee Lauder Cinnabar (current)
7. Revlon Charlie (retro)
8. Patou 1000 EDT (current)
9. Van Cleef & Arpels First (current)
10. YSL Opium (current)

You’ve already tried First and decided against it. I’m also eliminating the names on your “likely suspects that weren’t it” list. So that leaves Diorella, Patou 1000 and Opium.

Was there anything in the box other than the sample set? If so, that gets added to the list of suspects.

Opium isn’t likely, based on your husband’s description. So, now we’re down to Diorella, Patou 1000 and anything else that might have been in the box.

I haven’t smelled Patou 1000, but I recently bought a sample of current Diorella, and while I wouldn’t necessarily describe it as “clean and soapy,” I wouldn’t say it isn’t, either. It has a greenness that reads as “fresh” or “clean” in my book. I don’t get the rotten fruit that others have described, at least not in this version.

My bet is that it’s either Patou 1000 or Diorella. Good luck!

Yeah i think my next step is having him smell patou 1000, and for some reason i can't find the sample! It was a tiny box ot just the sample set. He smelled diorella and that wasn't it (i didn't consider it a possibility although i love it and got a vintage full size, and he doesn't mind it!)

It is possible he was mistaken or smelling a combination of perfumes (going down that path would be complicated!!)

 

[cdave2]

Fingers crossed for 1000, then! 🤞

 

[sokeripupu]

It's not 1000 although he likes that! I don't know if they want to be mentioned here but a lovely basenotes person sent me some vintage 1000 along with vintage white linen parfum (haven't tried it but pretty sure that's not it) and vintage first (also haven't tried! I'll be trying that today).

For the first time he mentioned baby powder which made me think maybe it's love's baby soft, which was one of my first guesses but i haven't tried it yet. I've also heard people describe Jovan musk as smelling like baby powder and that certainly was mega popular.

He also described the bottle but seemed really unsure about it. He said a brown rectangular bottle, I'd guess 100ml, with a white cap. Shape wise it sounds like he could be slightly misremembering Jovan musk. That's not anything like the love's bottle of course but when i showed him that he was like "maybe?"

I also didn't realize he actually knew a girl who used this perfume, unfortunately she passed away.

I've been meaning to order a decant of vintage dune from surrender to chance (not for this quest, i just want it!) and they have vintage love's and Jovan musk so I think getting samples of those are my next step (after i try first again just to be sure!)

 

[cdave2]

Interesting! Sounds like you may be getting warmer. Thanks for keeping us posted on your search!