Byzance (1987)
by Rochas

A sweet, soapy, musky floral. I do not get a lot of vanilla or spice, just a lot of musk and flowers. Perhaps a little smoky or incensy. I like the overall effect, but it's not for me.

Byzance opens soapy, aldehydic and with a big perfumey blast that characterizes olfactory decade of the 80’s with an obvious wink towards the floral aldehydes of the 20’s. A big tuberose comes through right away with a heady bitter-sweetness and a touch of greens. Underlining base notes of musk and amber make themselves immediately apparent as well. And a spicy yet balsamic warmth of cardamom makes for a slightly exotic opening. It settles into a green yet sweet tuberose for quite some time. The dry down reveals more of the woods as well as vanilla, and sweet berry-like undertones which reminds me of the final dryout of Ivoire. And there is always a sense of sweetness about it – although not as overbearing as the first few moments.

Byzance interestingly has some characteristics of a chypre (perhaps the juxtaposition of potent florals with greens creates that illusion), but it is not. It is a flamboyant, outgoing floriental.

I am still trying ot figure out what is the connection to the name though. It does not smell particularly typical of the region or the religious connotations of the Eastern Church. The bottle design is the only point of reference I can see (the circle being reminiscent of that found inside the basilicas in Turkey). It also reminds me of the bottle design of Soir de Paris.

My stepmother used to wear this in the late 80s and I loved the way it smelled on her! It was heavy, warm and delicious with a soapy opening. I was only a teenager then and understood that it was too heavy for me. Recently I bought a bottle for myself, thinking I might be able to pull it off now - but sadly it's not at all the same scent. It has been reformulated and smells completely different from what I remember. Luckily, it is still avery good scent. On me, this is incense, incense, incense - but a very soft and exclusive incense. Hints of amber and soft musk come and go, and there might be some wood in there. A wonderful cold weather scent - but I miss the original Byzance.

Five stars are not enough. I love the spicy complexity of this. It does not seek to please, but to pique. Sort of like Niki de Saint Phalle with a conspiratorial smile.

A little harsh in the opening notes, but dries down to a light lemony/cardamom/incense style of vanilla. Not leathery or powdery like a Cabochard style chypre. A happy everyday wear to work sort of scent, which would make a good change from my usual strong weird direction (Bulgari Black, Bandit) without veering into candypopfloweryfakemelon

Byzance is the epitome of the "floriental" class. Unctuous and complex. Love it.