Vintages I Bought - 2023

[WarmJewel]

Balmain - Ebénè, Eau de Toilette, mini 5ml.

I've been curious about this fragrance for some time. Mainly because it's only one of two vintage masculines produced by Balmain, I have a bottle of the other - Monsieur Balmain and wanted to try this one. I have no interest in the modern ones. Trying to find a full size bottle of this has proved difficult and almost impossible at a reasonable price. This has truly become a unicorn. This miniature was very reasonable and no more price per ml than the full sized bottles go for — unusual for a mini.

I'm glad I've now tried it so I can put my curiosity about it to bed! Is the hype warranted? I'm not even sure it is hyped — it's too far under the radar to be hyped and I doubt many people outside of hardcore perfumistas will be aware of it let alone had the chance to sample it given its high price point and scarcity.

It is unquestionably a lovely fragrance, beautifully smooth and blended and very reminsicent of the 1980's. I would describe it as a 'mossy fougere', fougere in opening and mossy chypre in the lovely drydown. The fragrance I find this most closely resembles in the drydown which may come across as a little contentious is the vintage Lauder for Men. No surprise then that this was launched in 1983 and Lauder for Men in 1985. There are differences but for me the drydown is 90% Lauder for Men.

If this was readily available and reasonably priced I'd be chasing some but given its closeness (for me) to Lauder for Men which is far more accessible and reasonably priced, I'll stick with that.

I found it interesting that Ebénè was intended to be the masculine counterpart to Balmain's Ivoire with @Colbourne mentioning in his review that Ivoire '...reminded him somewhat of Lauder for Men...' so there's clearly a link there. I shall have to try some vintage Ivoire and see for myself.

 

[PStoller]

Chanel - No. 19 eau de cologne

What looks to be a well-preserved 1970s 2 oz. bottle, from a reputable seller.

 

[Jean-Sté]

That's a beautiful coffret you snagged! Enjoy!

Thank you very much, Hednic !

 

[Jean-Sté]

This one arrived today, sealed.

 

[Z_LiDs]

 

[WarmJewel]

Recently acquired.

Jean patou - Eau de Patou. 100ml, Eau de Toilette, Demonstration tester.

I was a little concerned about the colour of this as it was a lot darker than it should have been. Particuarly as 'Citrusy Eau de Cologne' style fragrances can go off very quickly and very easily. You can see the difference in colour between this one and the other earlier bottle I have. It was a good price so I decided to take the risk, half expecting this to have turned. I needn't have worried, it's perfect! It's stronger and more intense than the earlier bottle but smells exactly the same. I'm not sure what's causing the deeper intensity, it might be that the earlier bottle is a cologne and this one an Eau de Toilette, it might be the colour, evaporation, maceration, not sure.

If I'm interpreting the batch code correctly T005TCE, the third from last T indicates 1992.

 

[Martialisaragon]

Got these for a fair price from a nice seller in France. Their condition is impeccable. Unfortunately I find the notion of Jacomo de Jacomo conjured up by one of the reviewers here, as a scent of a sick man standing outside of a hospital smoking, as rather striking. At least I got that image stuck inside my head. I think Eau cendrée feels much more sanguine, while retaining its dark, mephistophelian side. We'll see.

The winner here is the Weil. While (no pun) it is far from having the same suspense as, let's say, Dior's Jules from the same year in its opening, the dry down is where this comes into its own.
Its notes are listed on the back in French: type: agreste - boisé -épicé, tête: romarin - menthe - genièvre - thym, corps: lavandin - basilic- ciste - petit grain, fond: santal - mousses - myrrhe

 

[WarmJewel]

Recently acquired.

Rochas - Monsieur Rochas. Aftershave, 150ml flacon voyage.

I'm so pleased this is either so under the radar no-one notices it or simply doesn't want the aftershave version due to it's rather lightweight performance as it allows me to pick up gems like this for next to nothing! Brand new and unused complete with little Rochas leaflet.

Tricky to date this as RotLS only lists batch codes for Rochas from 1980 onwards and I think it's earlier than that. No barcode, no EMB code, the little leaflet only lists Atomizers and no Vaporisers and the ˚ mark all suggest 1970's. Batch code on the base on the bottle is 437C so I'm guessing 1974 or 1977. Triffic and luvly jubbly as Delboy would say.

 

[Ali AD]

This one arrived today, sealed.

View attachment 337646

Have you tried it yet Jean?

I blind bought this a while back, expecting it to be at par with the amazing Pavarotti For Men. Unfortunately I was severely disappointed.

 

[WarmJewel]

I blind bought this a while back, expecting it to be at par with the amazing Pavarotti For Men. Unfortunately I was severely disappointed.

Apparently there's two similarly named, 'Luciano Pavarotti' from 1994 and 'Luciano' from 1999 and they smell quite different. The one from 1994 is currently on ebay.co.uk so I did a bit of research on it but it's priced a bit beyond what I'd want to pay for what would be a 'blind buy' for me.

 

[PStoller]

Went on a cheapie spree:


DSH - L’Eau d’Iris


Revillon - Carnet de Bal parfum


Revillon - Vivace EdC


Alvarez Gómez - Agua de Colonia Concentrada


Hové - Pirate’s Gold


Hové - Verveine


Le Galion - Megara parfum


Niro - 303 Men’s Cologne



Possets - Lily Barth & Lawrence Sheldon, Sophisticated, Cambienne: Catherine

 

[relus]

Recently acquired.

Rochas - Monsieur Rochas. Aftershave, 150ml flacon voyage.

I'm so pleased this is either so under the radar no-one notices it or simply doesn't want the aftershave version due to it's rather lightweight performance as it allows me to pick up gems like this for next to nothing! Brand new and unused complete with little Rochas leaflet.

Tricky to date this as RotLS only lists batch codes for Rochas from 1980 onwards and I think it's earlier than that. No barcode, no EMB code, the little leaflet only lists Atomizers and no Vaporisers and the ˚ mark all suggest 1970's. Batch code on the base on the bottle is 437C so I'm guessing 1974 or 1977. Triffic and luvly jubbly as Delboy would say.

View attachment 337725 View attachment 337726 View attachment 337727 View attachment 337728

I have the same 150 ml plastic bottle...there is also a glass bottle aftershave with the blue liquid wich imo is a later batch. Imo this is indeed 70s. Monsieur Rochas as the Concentree version are very good scents. House of Rochas was on top of their game then.

 

[Jean-Sté]

Have you tried it yet Jean?

I blind bought this a while back, expecting it to be at par with the amazing Pavarotti For Men. Unfortunately I was severely disappointed.

Not yet, Ali AD. But I knew before buying it, that it was a totally different scent from Pavarotti for Men. As it was cheap, I blind bought it. I also have the matching after-shave on its way home, so when I get it, I'll give them a full wear, and report then.

 

[Jean-Sté]

Went on a cheapie spree:

View attachment 337748
DSH - L’Eau d’Iris

View attachment 337750
Revillon - Carnet de Bal parfum

View attachment 337752
Revillon - Vivace EdC

View attachment 337754
Alvarez Gómez - Agua de Colonia Concentrada

View attachment 337755
Hové - Pirate’s Gold

View attachment 337756
Hové - Verveine

View attachment 337758
Le Galion - Megara parfum

View attachment 337760
Niro - 303 Men’s Cologne

View attachment 337761
View attachment 337762 View attachment 337763
Possets - Lily Barth & Lawrence Sheldon, Sophisticated, Cambienne: Catherine

Impressive ! Congratulations ! Apart from Carnet de Bal, I've never heard of any of the others.

 

[PStoller]

Impressive ! Congratulations ! Apart from Carnet de Bal, I've never heard of any of the others.

DSH is Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, a US artisanal perfumer of some renown. Possets is a US artisanal perfumer of rather less renown: The buy-in was low enough to get some sense of the house. Like DSH, Possets is extraordinarily prolific, which isn't always a good thing, but I might get lucky with my choices. Megara was the original Le Galion's swan song, composed by Paul Vacher's daughter after he passed away. Hové is an indie perfumer in New Orleans that creates fragrances with a reputation as simple but good. Vivara is a lesser-known Revillon that's purportedly a feminine but sounds more like an eau mixte. The Alvarez Gómez enjoys a reputation as a good bang-for-the-buck eau de cologne. Niro is almost completely unknown, but while I was buying the rest I figured, what the hell.

Reviews whenever I get to them.

 

[Ali AD]

Apparently there's two similarly named, 'Luciano Pavarotti' from 1994 and 'Luciano' from 1999 and they smell quite different. The one from 1994 is currently on ebay.co.uk so I did a bit of research on it but it's priced a bit beyond what I'd want to pay for what would be a 'blind buy' for me.

The 1994 is a masterpiece IMO. In comparison, the other one is like a crayon drawing by a kid.

 

[PStoller]

In comparison, the other one is like a crayon drawing by a kid.

I detect a disrespectful tenor.

 

[Monsieur Montana]

View attachment 337567

Balmain - Ebénè, Eau de Toilette, mini 5ml.

I've been curious about this fragrance for some time. Mainly because it's only one of two vintage masculines produced by Balmain, I have a bottle of the other - Monsieur Balmain and wanted to try this one. I have no interest in the modern ones. Trying to find a full size bottle of this has proved difficult and almost impossible at a reasonable price. This has truly become a unicorn. This miniature was very reasonable and no more price per ml than the full sized bottles go for — unusual for a mini.

I'm glad I've now tried it so I can put my curiosity about it to bed! Is the hype warranted? I'm not even sure it is hyped — it's too far under the radar to be hyped and I doubt many people outside of hardcore perfumistas will be aware of it let alone had the chance to sample it given its high price point and scarcity.

It is unquestionably a lovely fragrance, beautifully smooth and blended and very reminsicent of the 1980's. I would describe it as a 'mossy fougere', fougere in opening and mossy chypre in the lovely drydown. The fragrance I find this most closely resembles in the drydown which may come across as a little contentious is the vintage Lauder for Men. No surprise then that this was launched in 1983 and Lauder for Men in 1985. There are differences but for me the drydown is 90% Lauder for Men.

If this was readily available and reasonably priced I'd be chasing some but given its closeness (for me) to Lauder for Men which is far more accessible and reasonably priced, I'll stick with that.

I found it interesting that Ebénè was intended to be the masculine counterpart to Balmain's Ivoire with @Colbourne mentioning in his review that Ivoire '...reminded him somewhat of Lauder for Men...' so there's clearly a link there. I shall have to try some vintage Ivoire and see for myself.

Thank you for your input. I don't find any resemblance to Lauder for Men, maybe i should rewear it and review it.
To me Ebene is absolutely wonderful and worth every penny. It is a shame that ot os not in production any more.

 

[relus]

Guys, a quick in between question; does anybody knows the scent Feraud 2...? and has maybe some feedback on it? Its a womens scent from the 70s, but not much to go on concerning Feraud, i know it was a couture house, but not much info on this scent. Thanks if anybody can skip in🙂

 

[hednic]

Niro - 303 Men’s Cologne

Never heard of this one. Where is it from and how is it?