Parce Que! (1963)
by Roberto Capucci

I agree with bbBD that Parce Que! is a floral aldehydic fragrance remarkably similar to (vintage) No. 5. parfum. I recently 'won' a 1/2 oz of PQ! pure parfum for a song, and only just managed to dislodge its 'frozen' stopper.

Side-by-side, these two do smell subtly different: there's a 'wet bark' note in the Chanel that's absent from the Capucci. It could be that my No. 5 sample is not as fresh as it should be, but if I had to choose which smells better, I would have to pick the PQ!

22nd January, 2012.

This has long since been put out to pasture by Capucci, but it still has much to commend it. It is relatively simple in construction, yet it performs beautifully, with high grade ingredients.

It reminds me of the great chypre Givenchy III, but less green, and a little more aldehydic. It has blossom sweet florals and exudes a great deal of lightness despite projecting so well.

This won’t be on many lists of most regrettable discontinuations, but the gentle and classical Parce Que! still deserves to be remembered.

25th April, 2011.

A pleasant but unremarkable aldehydic floral with a gentle woody drydown. The perfume is remarkably similar in vibe to any number of Chanels (particularly No.5), in large part because of the aldehydic opening. It is perhaps not surprising that Parce Que! is lost to history as it doesn't offer much that is unique except the funky triangular shaped flacon.

26th March, 2010.