Climat 
Lancôme (1967)

This perfume has gotten me the most compliments, too bad it makes me sneeze. The aldehydes and soapiness are very much at the forefront of it's effect for me and I like to wear it when I'm aiming for a day void of drama and moods.

She lives in a nice, expensive house, she hosts dinner parties wearing her perfect dress. She hangs out with rich, wealthy people in society. She has perfect life. but, she is cold, she is quietly unhappy. She smiles for guests, and laughs politely, but when she takes off her make -up at night her mirror, she sometimes wants to cry. That's the character of vintage Climat. A huge, romantic, classic-style aldehyde that wears it's influences on it is sleeve. Delicately musky, floral soapy fragrance.

It has a distinct underpinning of something very green, verdant. The aldehydes are extremely loud. it's an inherently bright scent, florals highlighted by wood. The aldehydes elevate the floral note, making it far more interesting than your typical floral presentations. There's a soapyness to it, but it's kept in balace, musk exist, but they are friendly. Totally feels like a fresh mountain breeze rolling over a sunny foothill. A scent for a refined woman who wants to smell bright and sophisticated without protecting heavy or sweet perfume all over the place. You must love aldehydes to love Climat.

This is a review for the vintage parfum. I have not sampled the current re-issue.

This immediately reminded me of the rich, textured floral chypres of Lanvin. It is very old school, right out of the 1940s, and is to my nose truly superb. The exact floral oils used here are hard to detect as the balance and blending are stunningly achieved.

It is very creamy with a sandalwood and vanilla base that lovingly supports the florals.

Quite an achievement. I'll be looking for a bottle on Ebay or amongst the private collectors/purveyors I know.

First Edit: No wonder I love this stuff. The more I wear it, the more I believe it is a copy of the great Madame Rochas of seven years prior. The two sprayed on two wrists tells my nose Climat copied a masterpiece. Back in the sixties no one reviewed scent, and there were hundreds of copies made of successful scents, many by top name houses.

An interesting development I read about recently is the proliferation of "fake" Climat parfums out there, even going so far as to replicate the bottle and the neck ribbon colors. There are those who even collect the original empty parfum bottles and fill them with the "fake" versions.

So with no way to be sure, unsniffed, if you are buying a true scent or a rip-off, why not just buy Madame Rochas. It takes the guessing out of the Lancome Climat bottle wars.

I used to like Climat; though I haven't smelled it for a number of years, I can remember exactly what the Parfum version smelled like; therfore my review is for the vintage version: a clean aldehydic white floral, which I tended to wear for work during the warmer months.I wouldn't have said Climat was the most disctinctive of fragrances, but it formal and elegant (easily the most elegant Lancome fragrance). I think the Parfum has been discontinued, which is a pity.