Chantilly (1941)
by Dana

Chantilly is powdery & old-fashioned according to the reviews. As a result, I was anticipating a pretty, rose Victorian fragrance along the lines of ET Black Pearls. Had I confined my test to a sniff out of the bottle, I might have concurred. Thankfully, I wore it instead.

Chantilly is a powdery oriental with edginess - leather, smoke, and spices. I like it ... alot! I would have never thought it possible given the reviews referring to floral teenage scents, rosy old women, the Victorian era, plastic doll houses, antique lacy drawers, and trash can freshners. My chemistry must be soaking in the florals & projecting the orientals because:

CHANTILLY IS ONE HOT MAMA.

How does Chantilly wear? Like Molinard Habanita, or CK Obession + powder + leather, or Montana Just Me + powder. Yah, Chantilly is like that ... on me. It's truly cougar-worthy. I kinda feel sorry for the young pups who can't pull it off. Not! ;)

26th March, 2011.

This scent is all about a very beautiful powdery rose who will transport you back in time...think about Barbara Cartland dressed up in pink with her cats and full make up...

I certainly love it and would recommend it to anyone who feels like travelling back in time now and again...

Incredibly strong and long lasting...

Big thumbs up...!!!

11th March, 2011.

The thumbs up is for the vintage Houbigant version. I never expected to like it as much as I do, I like chypres, and quite ''heavy'' fragrances. I had expected the vintage Houbigant to be a pretty unremarkable old fashioned powdery scent. And it is very powdery, but with a subtle spicy very sexy twist. I don't feel at all innocent and old fashioned in this, I feel very sexy and luscious!
I wear this in the daytime, it makes me feel chique, and I love dusting myself after a bath with the vintage powder I've got, and spraying some on my pulse points, I love sleeping in it! I feel as if I am in a soft pinky perfumy cloud.
Did I mention it's totally sexy?

I have a large splash bottle, and a spray mist, and waw! that spray mist is so beautiful! None of my expensive high end fragrances has a such a superb quality spray nozzle.

About the Dana version, which I tried in a department store in the hope of having an easy supply, the least said the better. What a crying shame!

19th February, 2011. (Last Edited: 31st August, 2011.)

This is for the current Chantilly edt by Dana Classics. I was surprised by how pleasant it is. I like the old fashioned powderiness of it. My nose picked up citrus, creamy orange blossom, amber, something spicy, sandalwood, vanilla. It went sweet on my skin...then it was gone. It isn't long lasting, and it's a wee bit thin and cheap - but it's not gadawful & nasty. It's pretty enough to give you an idea of how lovely it must have been years ago, and it leaves me longing to try the real (Houbigant) Chantilly someday if I encounter any. Too bad we can't buy these oldies in their original forms. :-(

Adding 12/10/11... I've now had the chance to try vintage Chantilly, thanks to FrouFrou (above), and it is truly lovely. I can see wanting to sleep in it, as it is fuzzy and cozy like your favorite old pajamas, also sexy, sensual, and sybaritic bed-inviting. A great scent for a bed holiday, or just to wear after a warm bath before bed in the evening. Definitely worth searching out the vintage. I imagine the powder is nice, too. :-)

21st January, 2011. (Last Edited: 10th December, 2011.)

Chantilly was my introduction to what turned out to be one of my favorite fragrance categories.Orientals are by nature warm and sexy and such is the case with Chantilly.With all this floral-y leather,it has to be!It is also quite elegant,and certainly it is a scent "of its time",but it transcends the decades so effortlessly.I wore the Houbigant version for years and I have to go against the grain here in that I feel Dana has remained pretty true to the original.The staying power is weaker-the Dana version lasts about 4-5 hours for me but I don't remember ever needing to reapply the Houbigant,even in EDT.Foetidus also has an excellent point about the amber;it certainly isn't an ingredient that has improved over the years.However,I still am able to enjoy the amber in this-I think it's well done for what we have to work with these days.Overall,still a complex and rather expensive smelling fragrance with the tiniest of price tags.Absolutely classic.

7th October, 2010.

I just purchased two of the huge vintage Houbigant Chantilly EDTs on eBay. I then found the vintage powder with a small amount of lotion. I decided to buy some Dana Lotion as well to go with my vintage. As you have probably noticed, I am very fond of this lovely spicy oriental. It does not make me feel old or pudish. There is nothing Victorian about this scent. It makes me feel young and frisky.

It is the first perfume I remember wearing. As I was in the bath literally anoiting myself with Chantilly, I felt like I was getting ready to go to the scating rink with my best friend Judy. Scents have the amazing power to transport us back in time. They are our own time machine or, in this case, Ghost of Fragrence Past. I don't need the help of Jules Verne or Charles Dickens because Chantilly does it for me.

Also, who of us from a certain generation can forget Jerry Lee Lewis and the wonderful lyrics "Chantilly Lace had a pretty face...". It is just a big part of a more innocent time in America.

14th September, 2010.