1873 by Histoire de Parfums, 2001

Refreshing, light and airy citrus with a grapefruit tang to begin with. Sure theres cat piss in the mix, but thats all part of the grapefruit spectrum and frankly bothers me less than the poverty of ambition on display. Theres a touch of violet leaf, but in the main the green aspects seem to be struggling to express themselves. Within hours were down to a skin hugging base which is mainly pee over a trace of vanilla.

Luckyscent describe this as light white flowers and citrus, lemon tart and meringue. On my skin this smells sour and really unpleasant.

I adore Histoires de Parfums 1969, and I admire Moulin Rouge for its olfactory magic. I love many of the notes (bergamot, neroli, vanilla, caramel). I pictured a bright gourmand scent based on the HdP website, which describes it as being evocative of a "lemon tart with meringue". I was most excited to try this sample. My initial impression was of a jumble of somehow-synthetic smelling citrus notes, which settles into what strikes me as quite a masculine neroli. For some reason, I got a really strong impression of my grandpa. Which makes me think that this smells like . . . Brut? I think that's what he wore. Looking it up, I see that they do share some of the same notes: lavender, bergamot, lemon, vanilla... I love many of the HdP line, but this one is not for me. Might be good for a man, though.

1873 COLLETTE was inspired by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, a 19th century female writer of liberal intellect and reputedly even less hindered sensuality. Though the listed top notes read 'citruses', to my nose it smells more like 'ripe tropical fruits' having none of the tartness that I love in citruses. Clearly its structure allows the floral heart to bleed into the top, providing for a silky transition to a melange of orange blossom, lavender, muguet and white musk. A pretty large dose of white musk I must add. Though 1873 is classified as 'citrus gourmand', the light-handed treatment of base vanilla and caramel makes it far less gourmand than I would have expected, coming across a little uncertain even. And that's probably why I remain unconvinced and ultimately, unmoved.

Notes fron beautycafe.com
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Top: citruses
Heart: orange blossom, lily of the valley, lavender
Base: vanilla, white musks, caramel

OH boy. PurpleBird is one of the most knowledgeable and thoughtful noses on this board and I TOTALLY respect her views/reviews - but I gotta say that this fume behaved in a totally different way on me. (A lady of a "certain age" living at the beach)

It opens with sparkling citruses and bergamot and quickly arrives at lightweight florals...muguet is here, with a hint of lavender and violets and all undergirded by lightweight vanilla and musk.

On me it trails nicely in a powdery and intimate way.

The best aspect of this perfume, Colette, was the ivy. It is a floral, but the green, leafy accord dominates. If you enjoy greens, try it. Otherwise, the strength of the greens seemed contrived to me, and not particularly well-balanced.