Vivara (original) (1965)
by Emilio Pucci

I am reviewing the vintage pure parfum.
Vivara begins with stunning green-y citrus notes, pure and warm, like rays of sunlight. It reminds me very much of Y de YSL. It dries down quickly and, like Y, is lacking a conspicuous floral heart. Sure there's some rose and jasmine playing subtly in there, but the florals take a backseat because Vivara gets very quickly into the basenotes of oakmoss, patchouli, amber...and carnation(?), lending it a slightly sweet clovish tone. As it dries down more and more, the resemblance to "Y" is left behind and it starts to remind me of Mitsouko with its rather dusty wallop of real oakmoss. In fact, of all the vintage, post-1940s chypres I've tried, Vivara might have the most oakmoss of all of them in its base. The basenotes are very mossy and evocative. This perfume is really gorgeous, I couldn't help thinking several times today as it wafted from my wrist that it smelled distinctively of dry, crisp autumn leaves. if I have any complaint it would be the same as with YSL Y - there could have been a more present floral heart. Still, an amazing vintage chypre, I'm so happy to have this small bottle.

14th October, 2011.

Blessed to find a small mini bottle of the parfum. Very green chypre. Screeches in the very beginning, but settles to a bright sparkling floral chypre, something between Miss Dior and YSL Y, but Vivara is much more herbaceous in the drydown compared to the warm leathery notes in Miss Dior and the warm musky chypre of Y.

28th December, 2010.

This is a lovely perfume! A herby, slightly powdery and slightly sweet (honied?) green scent. Blooms deliciously on the skin! I have a little vintage mini and am now madly in search of an FB. Very pretty indeed! New iteration bears no resemblance, whatsoever!

17th June, 2010.

I'm still undecided on this one too. I thought I'd love it based on the description, but once I smelled the lotion, I wasn't too impressed. Especially considering the price, I was expecting "wow". But it seems pretty non-descript to me. However, the bottle is gorgeous!!!

25th March, 2009.

Gorgeous chypre! Herbal, yet powdery soft. Really reminds me quite alot of vintage Miss Dior (sans the leather effect), although Vivara is kinder and gentler. It has nothing in common with the "new" Vivara. You bet I'll be keeping an eye out for a vintage bottle of this!

22nd March, 2009.

A classic herbal chypre in the old-school style. The richness and depth of the ingredients are apparent immediately and, like so many others of the 1970s, are no longer available to the perfumer's palatte. This is an odd perfume by today's standards. It is a combination of dry, bitter, green, herbal, cypressy notes expertly overlayed on a golden, sweet labdanum base. Probably the closest one could come to it nowadays is Estee Lauder Azuree, which is soapier and less herbal.

6th May, 2008.