Alliage by Estée Lauder, 1972

At first glance, Alliage, one of the Estée Lauder lines inexpensive mainstays might be considered simply cheap and cheerful. It reads, Sport Fragrance Spray in a functional, rather non-stylized bottle. Not exactly sexy. But cheap and cheerful implies an innocent simplicity whose grinning surface advises not digging any further. On the contrary, Id argue that Alliage is inexpensive but sophisticated and spectacular. One of the impressive set of perfumes in the stellar-but-cheap sweepstakes. Everyone seems to talk about Alliages notes, and I will as well, but briefly. I dont get the peach. I dont get the oakmoss. I do get a heavy green (loads of galbanum accented by vetiver) brightened by citrus rind oils (bitter orange, lime?) and florals. But since the green is already firmly in place, the floral tone is a clean, airy white jasmine bolstered by musk and what smells like rosewood. Ive heard people lament the loss of a more heavily oakmoss-laden earlier version of Alliage, but I dont miss Miss Moss. Alliage is wonderfully balanced just the way it is. The cool white florals seem a dry counterpoint to the sweet galbanum. And galbanums lasting chalkiness lines up perfectly with a resinous base that gives depth and a slow-moving quality. Myrrh? Incense? It all feels very languid and heavy-lidded. I dont need the bitter green that moss might add. Consider Alliages sibling Devin by Aramis for that. Alliage has a cool quality that implies poise as much as temperature. Its cool impression is similar in to the effect given by mint/basil or camphorous components, but without their harshness or muscle-balm feeling. In cooler weather, Alliage feels forest-like, a bit moist. In my dry southern California heat, Alliage keeps its cool longer and more comfortably than any other perfume Ive tried. It doesnt blend with the skin. Its more like a richly colored clothing accessory, like the perfect tie. It works as an accent and draws the noses attention. It doesnt blend. I think this is how Alliage remains cool through drydown. Clean and green, not so much tart as a bit sharp. This is one of the few fragrances I wear to work as an RN in a hospital. Its cool but not quite grass-like, not quite floral. It has wonderful endurance, but after the topnotes, mild sillage. I think it just reads as quality grooming products to my patients and colleagues. Again the price dilemma. In this case a happy one. Why does this cost so little? It sells at the same department stores that flog haphazardly brewed, blaringly marketed perfumes for 3-4 times the price. Alliage is a distinctive fragrance of high quality and name-droppable pedigree (Bernard Chant) that has been typically well maintained over the years by Estée Lauder. I could wear this forever (were I not so perfume-promiscuous, that is.)

In 1972 I received a packet of mail to tenants who had rented a small house before me. In one of the mass market magazines was a full page (or two page) ad for Alliage. It was just introduced, and there was a scratch and sniff attachment. I still remember the vivid green fragrance that wafted from that magazine, and my memory is a pleasant one. That is a powerful recommendation for this perfume. I smelled the fragrance from bottles later that year on my skin and on paper. It was the first time I ever smelled a natural, dry, realistic green fragrance. It is the best natural green fragrance I have yet smelled. At that time I favored Yves Saint Laurent men's clothing, and Zmy fragrance was Yves Saint Laurent Pour Homme, which I wore exclusively until I discovered Tuscany (another Estee Lauder fragrance) and then Tuscany Forte. I never experiemented with Alliage as a man's fragrance, It was too vivid for me then. And I was not as taken with Devin as I was with Tuscany, so I imagine that it is not green notes that so intrigued me, but Alliage's green notes. I must point out, however, that when I chose a gragrance for my gir friend at the time, later my first wife, it was not Alliage, but L'Heure Bleu. Today for myself, I still like Guerlain fragrances, Heritage and Habit Rouge. I also wear and love Kolnisch Juchtern, and I enjoy Elsha 1776 (which is one of the great bargains currently available for men). The greenest I get is the basso root notes of Guerlain Vetiver, but I think I could go for a men's fragrance that used the dry green of Alliage if it were mixed by a master. And to be truthful, I must admit that I recently discovered I like the smell of Irish Spring Sopeed Stick Deodorant, for a deodorant. The only other fragrance that ever had the same impact on my memory as Alliage was Knize Ten, which i woud wear much of the time, if it were more easily accessible. And if I had not become enamoured so of Kolnisch Juchten by Regence.