Galanos (1979)
by Galanos

I didn't discover Galanos until after 2000--and I can't get enough of it. I'm puzzled by some of the reactions of other reviewers, but I suspect I'm older than they and may be not as much attuned to the scents considered so worthy today. In fact, my perfume obsession developed in the early 90s as an attempt to discover why I could find nothing in the department stores which appealed to me. Galanos has a spicy, opulent floral flamboyance which is not of the same ilk of other perfumes of its day. It is a fragrance outside of its time, and in my opinion, quite unique. In terms of other perfumes of its time, I'd compare it perhaps with Cardin's Empreinte, or maybe Alain Delon's Le Temps d'aimer. Although it's considered a floral, or a floriental, it smells rather chypre-ish to me, a wet chypre, not a dry one. Nor is it like a Chloe, a Giorgio, an Escada, a Herrera or an Amarige, which in my opinion, is a blessing. It is not the bath of vanilla, nor the heavy incensey inside of a cathedral smell, nor a dry leathery smell. It is not as green or herbal as Paloma (casting no aspersions on Paloma, one of the most fabulous scents of all time IMHO), but just as large, as elegant, and as individualistic. My husband goes wild when I wear it.....

3rd December, 2009.

Don't take this negatively since this is very objective: this smells like really awesome dryer sheet. Soft, fresh and has that just-out-of-the-dryer warm cotton blanket feeling that's warm and inviting. A mild floral heart with textures of vetiver and musks. Actually doesn't smell "dated" (release date 1979/1980) and could stand on its own these days among the current fresh and/or fruity florals.

29th November, 2009.

I had weird flashbacks of opening my mother's handkerchief drawer as a young child in the 1950s. There's something about the way that the oakmoss and tonka are choked by a mishmash of spices and florals suggests one of the things that sometimes didn't go well during that era of perfume development. Also, I swear that I smell musty old bay leaves somewhere during the drydown. To me, it's a little like Youth Dew gone wrong.

16th April, 2009.

Somewhere between O de Lancome and Paloma Picasso. Very late 70's early 80's. Not bad but not distinctive in my opinion.

5th April, 2009.

This reminds me of a more refined Tabu....the Vintage of course, not that reformulated stuff. Anyway, it only reminds me of it, as Galanos has a floral drydown. It is really nice....I can't understand why the good ones get discontinued. I love this!

1st December, 2008.

Rich, decadent stuff. Marvelous late Seventies/early Eighties power frag. Not for gals who can't hold their own, though. (If you want Eighties Lite, try Paris.)

My only regret about Galanos is that I always think of Nancy Reagan when I smell it (he was "her" couturier, after all). Still, this Democrat's very fond of Galanos' (sadly discontinued) juice.

14th November, 2007.