To open or not to open, that´s the question.

I´m sorry for the lack of posting lately, but sometimes things just get to much and this week has been that way. I´ll write something more about Brecourt also, but not today.


Instead of that I´ve got a question of delicate matter I would like to share with you.


Not long ago I won three little bottles of "perfume" on Swedish Ebay, they weren´t that good described and the pics was´nt that good either. But from what I could see there was mini bottles of Cassandra by Weil, Chinchilla by Weil (that wasn´t in fact a Chinchilla, but the much more common Antilope) and also a mini of Flair by Yardley. The Cassandra bottle looked untouched. Well, I´ve got the bunch for about 18 € and I belive it was quite a good deal.


The problem os the bottle of Cassandra. And the that the cellophane is still intact (but very fragile though), the box is in perfect condition and the juice itself is pure extrait! Of course I´m more then curious to find out how it smells and I allready love Zibleine from Weil. And I know that the feeling of carefully open the brittle cellophane, the box and slowly bring out the bottle would be... very, very cool.


But, what if I could sell it to a vintage collector instead? I wonder how much i could get for this rarity? It´s a bottle of exrait in priestine shape and with a perfect box that looks MUCH older then my old bottle of Zibeline. I can´t find any information about this version of Cassandra, so I guess it´s pretty darn hard to find.


As you all know I´ll destroy a big part of the value if I open the box and even more if I dare to open the bottle (which is also probably fragile at least the screwer). If I love it, I wouldn´t care that much, but if I don´t? Also I´ve heard that pure perfume or extrait gets easier spoiled then eau de parfum and eau de toilette, so there is also a danger that it has turned bad and can´t be used as a perfume any more. For a collector it´s more the piece itself then the juice that matters.


The only information about notes I havefound at The Perfumed Court, and they are: anise, styrax, fruits and some floral, doesn´t sound 100% me, but not really the opposite either.


That´s why, dear readersm i´ll leave the desicion to you. Should I open it or should I try to sell it? Another option is of course if any of you feel a crazy urge to buy it from me for about 1200€, I think we can meet an agreement if that´s the case. ;)


So leave your vote in the poll, and I would also love to hear why you think as you do, so leave a comment also. :)



Pic by me

Guerlain - Djedi (vintage)

Birdwatchers can go a long way to spot a bird that haven´t been watched in our country since the beginning of the 20'ieth century. they bring extreme binocculars, cameras and a book where they can hopefully can mark that they´ve seen the rare bird.


Perfumistas on the hunt after a certain vintage fragrance aren´t far from bird watchers. Some of us (more often male perfumistas I think)just have to own a full bottle, while others thinks it´s OK just to swap for some drops of the sought after scent. I belong more to the second kind, other perfumistas can hunt for the expensive bottles at Ebay.The perfume I´ll write about today is one people really are on the hunt for, namely Guerlains Djedi...


Djedi is one of the most rare fragrances from the house of Guerlain. One single ml can cost as much as a full bottle of a less rare perfume. Originally Djedi was created in 1926 (or 1927), but Guerlain released a limited edition of it in 1996. My precious drops is from an original bottle before the re-realese.


On me Djedi starts with a cloud of smoke and it is a strange, greenish kind of smoke. The top note is so dry and jagged I feel all dry in the back of my mouth when smelling it upclose, still it smells strangely good at the same time. Dry, rough, different and really good. When the smoke has settled down a little I can feel the civet very clearly. This is a comforting civet, as soft and warm as a cats fur. I have never encountered such a perfect civet note in any other perfume.


Djedi is also grassy, aromatic and with a light and subdued tart element. I guess it´s probably the vetiver that manage to be both earthy/smoky and grassy/green at the same time. Probably diffrent kinds of vetiver have been used to get this effect. Apart from the opening I don´t really agree with Roja Dove that says that Djedi probably is the dryest fragrance of them all. My skin manage to find a soft, powdery sweetness even in Djedi, and in my opinion this is partly what makes Djedi such a great fragrance. The sweetness and powder comes from a muted rose. And the rose makes all the difference in Djedi. On me, the leather is hardly noticable.


Djedi is amazingly complex and I suspect it can smell very different on different people. My skin often brings forth sweetness in fragrances, so I manage to find sweetness even in Djedi (which, to me, is a good thing).


Djedi feels like a scent that is half a great classic a typical, rich, animalic chypre vintage from the house of Guerlain. But half of it manage to be (and this is a frag created 85 years ago!) like something created today in some edgy and beyond modern niche perfume house. One part aging, faded beauty and one part thrilling, modern and on the edge. With only one of this parts, Djedi would have been either hard to wear or slightly dated, but combined they create a timeless masterpiece.


My drops are of perfect quality, over and over again I encountere vintage fragrances which smells like the raw materials was prepered last week, not years and years ago. This is to me pure magic. For sure, sometimes the top notes can be a little off, but just wait 20 minutes and the fragarnce is all good to go.


¨The drydown of Djedi is surprisningly soft, green and powdery. It´s hard to get my nose of the little spot where I put the drop of Djedi, and while smelling it I realise it might be the last time I ever wear Djedi. Djedi is a rich, different and all together wonderful fragrance, but I wont spend that much money to get more of it...


Have you tried Djedi? What do you think about it? I know some perfume nerdas avoiding it, and other vintages just to avoid falling in love with scents that is both hard to get and often very expensive. I´m more of the bargain kind, sometimes I find vintage bottles for practically no money and if no one else find it, well of course I buy it.



Pic: surreal portrait

Marcel Rochas - Femme

I was supposed to write about Chanel No 5 today, but I chickened. Why? Well, the fragrance itself is an icon and furthermore worn by the icon of icons, Marilyn Monroe. It´s hard to avoid Marilyn when thinking about Chanel No 5 and how could I write anything that isn´t allready written about any of them? Maybe I give it a new try some other day...


Instead I´ll write about a fragrance, if not as well known at least it seem to be very loved by perfume nerds like me. Femme by Rochas.


There are so many perfumes out there that would be loved if you only get around to try them. Femme was one of these until about a month ago (when I bought that mixed lot at Swedish ebay). And you can guess that I´m really happy that Femme was a part of that lot?


My bottle is marked with Marcel Rochas paris, which according to vintage connoiseurs means that it´s older then bottle with only Rochas marked on. This is on the cap, my bottle have no print on the bottle itself.


Still, I don´t exactly how old my version is, maybe from the 50'ies or 60'ies? The scent itself is in perfect condition (or in fact better, it smells divine!) the only thing not so good is that it´s an eau de colgne which on my skin has really poor staying power (only a coupple of hours and my skin usually holds scents rather good). Thanks to this I´ll need a vintage femme in a little stronger concentration, like an eau de toilette at least. And I´m sure this time I´ll not get it at bargain price!


Femme by Rochas was created by Edmond Roudnitska during world war II (1943).


Femme opens really, really strong with a kind of dark, full and heavy on oakmoss top note. Usually I don´t tend to like that kind of openings, but in Femme I find it to be wonderfully dark, mysterious and animalic with elements of some sweetness and warmth. This kind of opening usually make me want that the rest of the scent opens up quickly, but in Femme I would like the bold opening to keep on going if it wasn´t for...


If it wasn´t for that the part that comes there after are so much more comfy and great that I just want to sit with my nose attached to my skin. It´s lots of cinnamon, cinnamon that smells darker and more thrilling then common cinnamon thanks to that other spices underscores it without reveal themselfs (at least not on me). It´s juicy, sweet fruits, peach and plum so ripe that they´re mouthwatering. It´s also the wildest flowers with a scent so arousing, heavy and spicy that they are almost narcotic. Glowing, redishbrownpurple flowers with a warm inner glow. Oooh my, this smells so incredible good! Dark, heavy, magnetic and erotic, yes in this version Femme is for sure a masterpiece.


You can imagine that an eau de cologne should be a somewhat thin scent experience, but it isn´t. I´ve noticed that most vintage eau de cologne (the one´s I´ve tried, which in fact isn´t that many!) have a richness not far from nowadays eau de parfum. It´s not the strenght that is the problem, it´s the longvity.


After the wild, glowing heart note, Femme goes to rest on my skin. I can smell soft leather, oakmoss, sweet vanilla and some ambra, but this is only for a short while. Half an hour later it´s really difficult to find any leftovers from Femme. Since it smells so incredible good it´s easy to put on some more and some more and, well you get it?


Is is someone that have tried (or even own) a stronger version of vintage Femme? Or have you tried both the vintage and the modern one? Should I try the reformulated one as well? At least they can be found for really good prices...


I wish I had a Femme that last for a whole evening...


Soon I´ll write about a vintage Guerlain. And there after some luxury fragrances in the higher price range (which indeed the vintage Guerlain also is). So lock up your wallets and don´t blame me if they break free!



Pic: bloglovin

Weil - Zibeline (vintage)

Fur isn´t exactly the world´s most popular garment, at least not in our time. Maybe the fur as a symbol for wealth, elegance and power is bigger in some other countries, but not really in Sweden. But, about 80-90 years ago, the fur wasn´t as questioned as today, even though, of course, not all could afford to own a fur garment. Still, a lot of common women in my grand mothers generation own at least a fur hat or maybe a fur stole. Fur was grand, modern and maybe gave a sense of luxury for a hard working farmers wife with 4 or 5 kids.

weil was originally a fur company that decided to start making perfumes as well. The fragrances was intenden to be worn together with furs and the first scents also had fur-inspired names such as Zibeline, which means mink. Zibeline was first created in 1927/8 (I find different years mentioned). Of course I become really curious when I found a vintage bottle of Zibeline and for a good price also. I just had to buy it.

My bottle looks like it is from the 50'ies or even earlier than that, when I have compared it to other vintage-Zibeline bottles. Anyway, it was un-opened and untouched, even with the cellophane left around it, you can imagine how exciting it was to be the first one opening this treasure? Imagine that it has been forgotten in a cupbord for ages and ages. I think it´s amazing.

It is a splash bottle, so I decided to decant a little from it with a pipette. And then I tried it for the very first time. And this isn´t bad at all. The opening is filled with purling and spritzy aldehydes as good as new, the citrus notes in the opening are fresh, juicy and tart and I can´t really belive they have stayed this good for about 50 years. Usually citrus is a little sensitive for aging, but it´s impossible to notice in this bottle. Also in the opening I can tell this going to be a soft, warm and golden scent.

I don´t like all kinds of vintage scents,some are dated and others aren´t really my kind of scents being to dark, strong and kind of murky even. But, Zibeline is in the cathegory of vintage scents that I like. It has some similarities with Shalimar, but softer and more floral, but that warm, golden feeling they´ve got in common.

In the heart of Zibeline the flowers bloom as if they where all new and fresh, it´s soft and powdery iris, gardenia and jasmine with some papery feeling and the most gorgeous ylang-ylang you can imagine, it has creamy, peachy and even cherry fresh elements, making Zibeline a scent with almost gourmand qualities. I have said it before about some of my vintage faves, but I say it again , perfumes like this are not made anymore.

The basenote in Zibeline with some sweet honey, amber, tonka and civet giving it a golden, heady, warm and extremy rich character. The flowers slowly retires and leaving a soft, feminine and powdery scent bledning extremly well with the warm notes. The civet is noticeable, but not dominat, giving Zibeline life, depth and a soft animalic-sensual glow, without being dirty or too animalic. Zibeline in this version can be worn even if you´re usual a little bit skeptic against animal notes.

Zibeline has medium sillage and good longvity, about 5-6 hours, my version is a parfum de toilette. Of course you should try Zibeline (vintage) if you have the opportunity.

Pic: Women in fur stole