Soir de Paris / Evening in Paris (original) (1928)
by Bourjois

what i find most surprising is the degree to which this classic scent was devalued in the public mind because it was sold at woolworth's, where, in the 50s, you could get the cobalt laydown with the tasselled cap for one dollar. it became the butt of numerous jokes - in fact, the reformulated version should be stood in a shower with much soap until all the chemical fumes are gone.no wonder there's a brisk trade in the original.

16th May, 2011.

I found an original of the 1950's foaming bath in the classic cobalt bottle at an antique shop on Cape Cod this past weekend. The difference in the original and new fragrance are like night and day. Hard to say how much reformulation had to be done for the foaming bath versus the parfum.

22nd April, 2011.

I just received a bottle of the original Evening in Paris which my mother use to wear. It still smells great to me and it definitely smells like my mother when she got all dressed up. It is a beautiful well rounded fragrance. It just doesn't seem to be lasting very long. I also have the new reformulated version. It is sharp and harsh and nothing like the original. It makes my nose hurt and makes me sneeze something awful after I have it on for a few minutes.

The older version is quite wonderful and I treasure the bottle that I have. I think I will wear it every mother's day.

5th February, 2011.

As a small child this was my very favorite scent--my mom used to wear it, and I loved it so much she bought me a child-sized gift set of it, with a tiny bottle that looked like that beautiful, cobalt blue one she had on her dressing table--I can still remember this fragrance vividly, and it's been over 50 years since I last had that opportunity--I wish the new company would take it back to it's original formula, since I'd buy some in a heart beat!--also, I think they should bring back the original style of it's infamous bottle, as well!

9th July, 2010.

I agree with underglass that Soir de Paris stays as fresh as if it's just purchased. I have the original and I really love it. It was a great find and I should go back to the shop and buy up the rest of the bottles they have. I really love it. It is neither too floral nor too green. I love the berry notes.

13rd August, 2009.

The original was aldehydic while hinting to of dark berries, roses and wood. This lovely, iconic and sophisticated fragrance was cavalierly reformulated and now it smells dreadful. It was not even an interpretation of the original. It is a totally different fragrance. Why didn’t they leave it alone, create another fragrance, and give it a different name? Then new version smells like a stuffy discount store cologne, very ordinary and unimportant.

Here is an interesting feature about the original Evening in Paris that I do not think any other perfume can claim -- no matter how old the original Evening in Paris, it stays as fresh as if it were new. I have a bottle my Dad gave my Mother in 1945 and it is still fresh and wearable. I have smelled full vintage bottles of this at antique shows, and the contents are as fresh as when they were purchased.

27th February, 2009.