Fragrances: The Holy Grail's, Hard to Find's and the "Where the Hell Did It Go??" Part 1

                                         

I am a fragrance addict. I confess. It started when I was little and would play in my grandmas bathroom, trying on all of her perfumes, while wearing red lipstick and her black heels. She used to give me goodies from her Estée Lauder gift with purchase stash. At some point in my grade school years I had and occasionally wore Youth Dew. Yeah.

                     

As I got into my teens, I became obsessed with makeup and fragrances after reading a Harper's Bazaar. My first purchase was a perfume miniature bottle, Roma by Laura Biagiotti. I loved how light and airy it was and more sophiticated than Jean Naté (splash splash) or Loves Baby Soft. It was also so different from the scents that filled the hallways of my high school: Escape and Eternity by Calvin Klein, Liz Claiborne and Skin Musk. I'm sure Exc!amation was involved too, but I don't like my memories to be soured by Exc!amation.

From high school to college I went through quite an array of perfumes: Chloe Narcisse, Spellbound, Venezia, Donna Karan, Donna Karan Cashmere Mist, Polo Sport for Women, CK 1 and Allure.

                   

Allure became my signature scent. An ex boyfriend was in the grocery store and followed the familiar scent, hoping to see me around the corner, but it wasn't me.

Fragrance and taste are the main senses tied to memory. It can instantly remind you of happy times: your first boyfriend, that teacher that reaked, your grandmas embrace and major milestones. It's a virtual time machine.

For every new fragrance that blitzes the market, 2 more become harder to find and even more seem to disappear completely. I've been studying closely the fragrances I've always loved, examining each note and their eventual fate.

                    

 Out of all of the fragrances I've ever owned, Coco is my signature scent. I smelled this on my Theta Lil Sis Sandie while I was in my Allure phase and loved it. Years later I would fall in love with it. It's the fragrance that can be old lady-ish on some people, but on me it's heaven. Only one other fragrance had the same impact on those around me, but let's talk Chanel.

This is a spicy oriental fragrance was launched in 1984. Packing a punch, top notes are coriander, pomegranate blossom, mandarin orange, peach, jasmine and bulgarian rose; middle notes are mimose, cloves, orange blossom, clover and rose; base notes are labdanum, amber, sandalwood, tonka bean, opoponax, civet and vanilla.

On me, my chemistry pulls peach, cloves, tonka bean, mandarin orange with a slight hint of amber and vanilla. On other people it smells entirely different, sometimes a heady combo of rose, sandalwood and jasmin, the same notes as in many an "old lady" scent. 

"Koko" with a 'k', is a nickname for Kara. I want her to grow up seeing my fragrance products like cream, powder and eau de parfum and knowing that a dab of the pure Parfum means business. Like I associate Anäis Anäis with my grandmother and how I felt comforted by the scent when she hugged me, my daughter will associate her mamas hugs and kisses with Coco. 

A favorite in the Coco line was the dry oil spray and seems to have just disappeared when Mademoiselle burst on the scene. If you ever see this, please stock up!

                   

A close second to Coco, Hypnotic Poison is another fragrance that I want to be drenched in. It's top notes are apricot, plum and coconut; middle notes are tuberose, jasmine, lily-of-the-valley, rose, brazilian rosewood and caraway; base notes are sandalwood, almond, vanilla and musk. 

There used to be a gold sparkly body gel when this fragrance was newly launched. It was so beautiful on tanned skin and added the slightest kiss of fragrance, so when someone walks by you, they get a light waft. Dior, please bring this gel back! That particular product is definitely in the "where the hell did that go" category.

Shiseido's Feminite du Bois was a fragrance I easily overlooked in the beginning of my cosmetic girl career. My best friend Vanessa worked at Shiseido's small boutique counter in the front 6 cosmetics bays. The counter was so tiny that the fragrances were often overlooked compared to the skin care tester units, looming large and dwarfing them like a skyscraper. 

The first whiff of Feminite is almost that an incense filled meditation temple. Seriously. Debuting in 1992, Feminité opens with notes of spices, ginger and cinnamon, mixing with cedar wood. The heart of Feminité gives way to stone fruit, blossoms and more spices : peach, plum, orange blossom, violets, spices. The base notes are cedar, vanilla, sandal wood, benzoin, musk and cinnamon. 

I loved to wear this fragrance as it wasn't the kind of spicy fragrance that smack you in the face and over power a room. This is what I call the "hug a little longer to keep smelling" kind of fragrance. I hate to cheapen a fragrance by calling it "sexy", but there truly is no other descriptor. When you wear it, it makes you stand taller and strut, even if just picking up your pizza from the "to go" counter. 

All of a sudden, poof! Feminité was gone. Or so it seemed. 

                             

After digging and devouring blogs and websites, Feminté is now in the hands of the Serge Lutens company, the designer of the original Shiseido bottle. Based on reviews of this "new" Feminité du Bois, I'm unsure if this will even be a fragrance that delivers the goods the way the Shiseido version did. Even when a product is relaunched, it seems that the powers that be always fuck with the original formula and tweak it  just enough that makes the new version a flaming bag of poo. Exhibit A: New Coke vs. Coca Cola Classic.

This is what Fragrantica.com has to say:

"Legendary Shiseido-Feminite du Bois will be a part of Serge Lutens collection during 2009, packed in glass flacons of Lutens' niche line. The feminine fragrance Feminite du Bois, which is sweet, woody, resin-like, opulent and of high quality will soon hit the shelves. It is composed of cedar, musk, vanilla, rose, orange blossom, ylang ylang and peach. This is the first fragrance created by Christopher Sheldrake with perfumer Pierre Bourdon, for Shiseido, and he is returning it to his collection now."

What do the reviewers say? It's a mixed bag between comparing to to "skunk" to Guerlain's L'heure Bleu. Ylang ylang might be the culprit. That seems to be the tweak that might make customers of the original formula reconsider. Ylang ylang is fine on its own, but in a fragrance with woodsy eliments, sometimes you get that whiff that really can only be described as "yuck".

                                    

Now a possible dupe for the original Feminité would be the hard to find, Dolce Vita by Dior, a sweet and spicy oriental fragrance with a woody base. Top notes are: lily, magnolia and rose with peach, apricot and cinnamon as the middle notes aka the heart of the fragrance. The base notes aka the drydown notes are sandal, heliotrope and vanilla. 

I definitely remember wearing Dolce Vita before trying the Feminité and remember the scent is almost on point, but lacks the subtlety and is a bit heady.

Stay tuned. I recently found a website that sells samples of this fragrance and I am more willing to shell out $10 for a deluxe sample vs. $120+ for "a possible poo", as my friend Melissa aka Melphs would say ;)