Chypre de Coty
Coty (1917)

This review is for the 1960s version in the rectangular faceted bottle. I was lucky enough to acquire a nearly full 250ml bottle of this for next to nothing, with the juice having turned darker over the years, but with the smell very much intact.

Opens with Bergamot, Rose and an indolic Jasmine, amongst other florals, before a rich and long-lasting oakmoss base takes over. Sillage is discreet and the scent lasts for around 8 hours on my skin. This doesn't smell like an old lady scent, it just smells old and undeniably dated.

Whilst Coty de Chypre receives an inordinate amount of fanfare from fragrance collectors for its seeming originality and subsequent place in perfume history, its only point of interest, the fragrance itself is a mundane, ordinary chypre that was continually improved upon by Coty's competitors soon after its release. This was a cheap fragrance in comparison to virtually all other scents from French houses released alongside it during the past century, and it really shows.

Furthermore, the awful stench of white supremacy permeates this creation by Francois Coty, a deplorable individual who preached the ideology of Nazi Germany during his lifetime, something I learned recently from the wonderful, scholarly article on the 'Kafkaesque' site, so I was delighted to sell my hardly used bottle for a substantial profit last month.

In conclusion, Chypre de Coty is a wildly overrated, very ordinary scent which is only worth smelling for sentimental reasons, as it is unwearable by modern standards.

It wasn't the first, but it put the genre on the map. What I have in my possession isn't even by far the first iteration and argued to be quite dissimilar to the original, but I'd be damned if no one else found this version of Coty Chypre as glorious as I do. The 80s generation I own is stellar, opening with intact bergamot underlined with mildly indolic jasmine and orange blossom, but it is the rooty, earthy, mossy core that steals my heart here.

This is the moss that covers stones and fallen limbs, lichen covered boughs and the smell of slender saplings close to the earth, ghostly mist over vernal pools, forest understories dappled with club moss that look like tiny pine trees. The orris reminds me of the latest winter and earliest spring, when you get this vaguely sweet, powdery, root vegetable aroma in the air. The musk skin scent is the last decay of the past season warmed by the now higher arching sun, making room for new growth.

Let's face it: I am a man of the woods at heart, so my interpretations will lean in a certain direction. It would explain why so much of what is modern mainstream seems alien to me, especially in their dry downs. Chypre Coty 1986 is a dry down that feels very much like home, real, palpable. It's wild to think that this probably could be purchased at a CVS at the time. Something to ponder...

A 1960s or 70s edp. Super amazing. Way more floral than I had imagined. Flawless beauty. Fuzzy, floral, woody, moss heaven.

This is a review of the original parfum:

The opening is a mix of bergamot and a beautiful rich rose, which in the drydown is enhanced by jasmine and a slightly earthy lilac. A somber and somewhat shadowy floral bouquet, with a soft carnation providing a touch of a warm glow.

In the next phase a rich tapestry of notes is woven together: the core is the oakmoss, which is a soft and rounded mossy impression, lacking any shrillness or harshness, as is the patchouli that is interwoven with the oakmoss. Hints of tonka and styrax add a tad of sweetness, whilst labdanum and a dark musky note provided added depth. Underlying is a woodsy undertone that round it all off.

I get moderate sillage, very good projection and a splendid thirteen hours of longevity on my skin.

This gorgeous creation for spring evenings is noteworthy for historical reasons: the juxtaposition of bergamot, oakmoss, patchouli and musk, in varying combinations and permutations, has initiated and defined the whole genre of chypre for future generations.

Additionally, this magnificent creation is composed of ingredients of the highest quality, is blended most exquisitely, and delivers an exceptional performance. At times it lacks some vividness and luster, probably lost over the many decades since it was created, but otherwise this is one of the greats of the last century. 4.5/5.

Stardate 20170620:
1980's version. Reference Chypre. Enough said.

This is a classic Chypre. The review is for the 1980 reformulation. It is a classic Barbershop fragrance. Not my style, but lovely in it's composition.