Chypre De Coty by Coty, 1917

I have a 1 oz. bottle (EDP) of this that is most likely from the 1970's, when it was discontinued. I agree 100% with with Miss Denise's review of Coty Chypre: as you wear it, you can get a hint of almost every one of the classic chypres that was ever made and so wearing it is like getting a lesson in the history of the chypre genre as it unfolded down through the years, as I sniffed it at different times during its development, I found myself calling out the names of several of the other chypre perfumes I've had the opportunity to experience. I can see how this can be considered the mother of all chypres. If your looking for something classically pretty and beautiful in this scent, you won't find it. This scent has a more "jolie laide" (spelling?) kind of beauty, which makes it all the more mysterious and compelling to me. Clean, fresh, fruity-floral lovers will run screaming in the opposite direction because this is as far from that as you can get. I'm one of those believers in the theory that when Coty fell on hard times, he sold some of his formulas to Guerlain, What confirmed that for me was when I first opened my 1930's bottle of Emeraude. "Mother of Shalimar!" was my first thought. With Coty Chypre I get aspects of Mitsouko, Parure, Bandit, Miss Dior and on and on! Now I'm dying to get my hands on just a little of the pure parfum.

Original Coty Chypre opens with a blast of citrusy civet, dirty and surprisingly animalic. This is rich potent stuff. I smell oakmoss from the get-go, but Chypre mellows as it develops and draws closer to the skin.

Since it's the ur-chypre, the very foundation of an entire fragrance family, I can only compare it to later fragrances that used it as a touchstone: vintage Cabochard, vintage Lubin Nuit de Longchamp, vintage Mitsouko of course, (especially if one believes the Francois Coty-sold-the-recipe-to-Guerlain, who-added-a-peach-note story.) There are echos of Coty Chypre in vintage Aramis, vintage Bandit, original Raphael Replique, vintage Azuree, Guerlain's (sadly discontinued) Parure. I don't get the bitter green or fruit or or floral that other reviewers have mentioned, (though there must be some jasmine) but rather a rich, mellow smooth heady fragrance.

I also don't agree with whoever said (can't remember where I read this) that Guerlain's addition of a peach note was an improvement on Coty's original chypre. This stands on its own, proudly. It's a take-no-prisoners, say it loud, I'm THE CHYPRE and I'm proud perfume.

Vintage bottles of the same scent can vary tremendously, depending on how they've been stored, variability from batch to batch etc, and Chypre from later vintage 40s/50s? probably smell somewhat different than those bottled in 1917. Perhaps this accounts for the different impressions recorded here by reviewers. The chypre I sampled from dates from the 1920s/30s, based on the glass bottle design & frosted glass stopper and the raised gold bas-relief lettering on the label.

Through the kindness of basenotes I can sample this gem of the past. And it's an entirely different thing. This perfume seems to work on many levels.

For instance it acts very differently if you smell it from a distance or close up. Close up it smells green and bitter, like dark green plans on the ground in winter. I'm assuming this is the oakmoss and it is stunning. Now I know why Bandit is a leather chypre and where the chypre in Bandit comes from. It's this. None of this bright sparkling like champagne nonsense, it's bitter, dark, beautiful, sharp, almost woody at times. I recognize just a little bit of this in Bandit.

From a distance this smells a lot lighter and a more flowery. It's still unlike anything else, you couldn't call it bright. Modern chypre always seem to rely on something to counter the bitterness and sharpness of the base by adding a lot sweeter notes or fruit or a touch of vanilla, basically turning it into another genre.

Chypre seems to rely on the lighter green to lure you in and the closer you get the more bitter the scent becomes.


I think combined with our modern taste of sweet and fruit smells in our shampoo, lotions and potions wearing Chypre is a lot of fun. It will counter the bitterness from a far and just render it out a bit more green and less sharp/harsh. As people get closer they will pick up on the bitterness and it's makes it very mysterious to wear.