Alix
Grès (1982)

Alix is a little gem and no mistake! It certianly has that 80s, everything-going-on vibe. It's a warm, sweet, ambery floral, which I think is a very, very good thing in a world where candy/fruity/marshmallowy fragrances now seem to dominate the market. I personally think it one of Grès best. It manages to be a very woody scent that is also rich & sensual , a combination that few perfumes accomplish. It is a leisurely stroll down a cool wooded path... scarf, gloves, a warm coat, basket in hand... looking for mushrooms sitting on a log, smiling, chatting and snuggling with the one you love.

The opening is of alcoholic aldehyde and it smells really chemical and strong. I didn't care for the opening and if you don't like strong aldehyde content as your fragrance opens then stand back. But the strength of the opening is later subdued by a number of different aroma chemical scents all with a green theme and a brown theme. Then the galbanum holds center stage for several minutes. As it begins to soften the oakmoss, vetiver and wood become detectable and delightfully chilling: the kind of snowy day where it looks like air full of crystals.

The juice then performs an extremely clever magic trick: unlike perfumes where the citruses disappear in the first few minutes, here they appear about half an hour in with the florals and spice. Caraway is here to maintain the chill but there's also labdanum and cloves which give off soft soapy whiffs occasionally. The drydown evolves into an almost sweet ambery that lasts for several hours. At this point you need to get very close to find the sharpness. With the original Alix, you'd want to spray lightly and let it fall on your clothes or the drydown would be an experience, but once settled on skin, hair, and clothing, you'd be enveloped in a personal cloud of pure perfection.

 

Alix is a great classic uncompromisingly feminine, old fashioned, vaguely stuffy and supremely floral. A classic formula performed (each time with faint variations) by many creators and perfumers. Quite familiar (it smells close to one of my mum's old perfumes from the past). Olfactory connections and scents jumping on mind: Caron Fleurs de Rocaille (on my skin it smells exactly the same or really close), some Patou (1000, Joy?), Ysl Paris (which smells more aldehydic on my skin), Guy Laroche Fidji or perhaps Beverly Hills Gale Hayman woman (vaguely V&A First which smells rootier and less floral on me). I detect a classic initial presence of aldehydes, bergamot, a touch of grass (or galbanum) and leafy/bitter floral notes (as magnolia, lilac or gardenia), a central stage intensely floral (may bè with lily of the valley, rose, narcissus, gardenia, ylang-ylang and jasmine) and a classic musky base enriched by amber and woods. Along dry down it seems to detect hints of fur or suede, benzoin (or tonka, may bè a touch of heliotrope) and a tad of resins. Persinstence is faint on my skin but the aroma is glorious.

I found one of those pre-pressurized bottles from the 1980's, and I think the contents were in pretty good condition. Anyway, it still smelled great!

After the initial green blast and similarities to Cabochard subsided, what remained was a bold, soapy and somewhat spicy floral. Actually, I was mislead a bit by the first few minutes, which I liked a lot... but the drydown was very different.

Although Palomar54 felt Alix Gres was a fruity floral, that style tends to be so overtly fruity nowadays, some vintage fragrance hounds might inadvertently be mislead. But make no mistake... the wrap-up like Ivoire with hints of Opium. I am tempted to say Krizia's Teatro Alla Scala, but sadly I don't have a reference good sample to compare.

But you get the picture. This is a big fragrance of the old school style.

A light fruity floral somewhat similar to Carven's Guirlandes, another perfume introduced in 1982. The top has a bit of appealing greenness, but eventually the dry smoky basenotes reminded me too much of Cabochard, which is not one of my favorites, despite its classic status!