Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › Bal a Versailles, the women's version. Verdict: Drag Queen!
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Bal a Versailles, the women's version. Verdict: Drag Queen!

post #1 of 19
10/27/07 at 8:49am
Thread Starter 
After reading so many posts on how this works on the male of the species, I'm intrigued. An oriental with leather and the civet - sounds perfect. What should I be on the lookout for, the EdT, EdP or the parfum?

3 Hours later: Well, I've answered my own question: E, none of the above.
I have it on my arm and I have to say this, it smells like the bottom of an old, leather handbag from the 1960's that's been sitting in someone's closet for the last 40 years.
Reply
Reply

Features on Basenotes

Petals Falling From The Sky - A Report From The Cote d'Azur's Bataille De Fleurs
Greatest Hits: Annick Menardo
Basenotes Reader Awards 2013 - Finalists Announced.
post #2 of 19
10/27/07 at 4:21pm
I was a little overwhelmed when I tried it a couple months ago also.

How many sprays did you give it? I think I overapplied when I tested it, and I was kind of 'drowning' in the scent.

Luca Turin loves this stuff...but I'll stick with Cabochard and Tabac Blond.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 19
10/27/07 at 4:32pm
I love the edt version on me -- very vanilla, very dry and powdery. That said, it's not for everyone. Shalimar also works on me, and it's very much in the same vein.

We can all agree about one Desprez thing though: THEY SHOULD BRING BACK VERSAILLES POUR HOMME!
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 19
10/27/07 at 7:06pm
''We can all agree about one Desprez thing though: THEY SHOULD BRING BACK VERSAILLES POUR HOMME"

Yes, who do we talk to about getting re-instated?
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 19
10/27/07 at 8:06pm
Thread Starter 
I went to my favorite classic fragrance store on the south side of 42 Street, just off of 5th Avenue, I don't even know if it has a name. It's the best store in NYC for doing fragrance time travel. Right side men's, left side women's.
BTW, they have Jean Patou pour Homme.
Anyways, I did my "Femme Frags That Work on Men" tour. The results:
Jolie Madame, Germaine Cellier's little sister to Bandit, god these 1950's leather chypre's must have been cool before they were all re-formulated. Thank god for Tabac Blond.
Paloma Picasso Mon Parfum - can you say 80's? Bullet proof!
Ernest Daltroff's Nuit de Noël for Caron, best described by fellow Basenoter, ocpyroqueen, as smelling like her grandmother's feet. (Obviously, the family hadn't heard of Tinactin.)
I had high hopes for Maurice Roucel's Tocade, while it is lovely, it was just too femme.
However, there was a pot of gold at the end of the fragrance rainbow, Edmond Roudnitska's masterpiece, Diorella. Eau Sauvage perfected!
New York, the city where an olfactory adventure is just a $2 subway ride away.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 19
10/27/07 at 8:41pm
Give Shalimar a chance, Ruggles -- try the edt first. See if it's as spicy and vanilla-laden on you as it is on me.
Also try Magie Noire by Lancôme -- dark, seductive and mysterious. (And VERY unisex.)

Finally, sample La Nuit by Paco Rabanne -- my favorite of all the Paco Rabanne clan.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 19
10/27/07 at 9:18pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by tvlampboy View Post

Give Shalimar a chance, Ruggles -- try the edt first. See if it's as spicy and vanilla-laden on you as it is on me.
Also try Magie Noire by Lancôme -- dark, seductive and mysterious. (And VERY unisex.)

Finally, sample La Nuit by Paco Rabanne -- my favorite of all the Paco Rabanne clan.

I love Shalimar and Shalimar Light. I even have the Shalimar Light shower gel. I did try Magie Noire, but I need to revisit it as I can't recall it. La Nuit is new to me. Hmmm.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 19
10/28/07 at 7:14am
I have the tiny little bottle of the Bal a Versailles parfum/extrait. Its much nicer than the other concentrations (that I've smelled)...its absolutely beautiful.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 19
10/29/07 at 8:01am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sofresh View Post

I have the tiny little bottle of the Bal a Versailles parfum/extrait. Its much nicer than the other concentrations (that I've smelled)...its absolutely beautiful.

This doesn't surprise me - most womens fragrances that have been around for quite some time (Chanel No. 5, Joy, Youth Dew, etc) are quite stereophonic and complex when you smell them in parfum strength.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 19
10/29/07 at 8:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

This doesn't surprise me - most womens fragrances that have been around for quite some time (Chanel No. 5, Joy, Youth Dew, etc) are quite stereophonic and complex when you smell them in parfum strength.

I love it...I wear it at least once a week. I hope I don't smell like a drag queen!
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 19
10/29/07 at 9:27am
I tried Bal a Versailles in parfum strength for the first time about 2 weeks ago. Wow. Quite a pleasant experience! I didn't really pick up a leather note, but the overall experience was definitely an opulent one.

I used only 2 tiny dabs and it worked great for a number of hours on me. I haven't tried the other concentrations, so I couldn't say how they would work for me (or not).

I don't know if it makes me smell like a drag queen, but I certainly hope not. I suppose it's the old saw about being particularly careful about how much juice we use on ourselves. At least I hope so!
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 19
10/29/07 at 9:29am
I think Ruggles use of the word 'drag queen' was meant more for a strong feminine 'aura' as opposed to an insult. I think drag queens most of the time smell pretty good.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 19
10/29/07 at 9:42am
I actually haven't smelled any drag queens. I've been around, but haven't personally spoken with drag queens, so my imagination conjures up a fragrance that's very over the top. Pretty much as the queens' personalities can seem to be at times

I have been known to overdo something as simple as Bowling Green or Chanel PM, so I'm thinking that I need to be particularly careful with something like Bal. Ah well... part of the danger of liking a scent and getting carried away with it

Bal is so darned nice that I'd use it for private enjoyment even if I find that I can't carry it off all that well in public
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 19
10/29/07 at 9:49am
Thread Starter 
I have nothing against Drag Queens, they are amazing.
Did you ever watch the Beverly Hillbilles tv show? Jethro used to double as Jethrine, can you imagine big Jethro in a Shirley Temple wig and a frilly dress? Well that's how I felt with Bal a Versailles on my arm.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 19
10/29/07 at 10:53am
I love the frag but so does my Mom so I could never see me wearing it. For the same reason L'Heure Bleu is off limits too.
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 19
10/29/07 at 11:21am
I wonder what perfume drag queens favour?

Reply
Reply
post #17 of 19
10/29/07 at 4:07pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by sofresh View Post

I wonder what perfume drag queens favour?


The drag queen in this photo may be the next president of the United States - a frightening thought.
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 19
10/29/07 at 5:26pm
"He-Man drag In the glittering ballroom Gravely outrageous In my high heel shoes" - I bet when you spray on some Bal a Versailles these Who lyrics make perfect sense.
Reply
Reply
post #19 of 19
10/29/07 at 5:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by scentimus View Post

"He-Man drag In the glittering ballroom Gravely outrageous In my high heel shoes" - I bet when you spray on some Bal a Versailles these Who lyrics make perfect sense.

Isn't that from Quadrophenia?
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: MFD Archive

Features on Basenotes

Petals Falling From The Sky - A Report From The Cote d'Azur's Bataille De Fleurs
Greatest Hits: Annick Menardo
Basenotes Reader Awards 2013 - Finalists Announced.
Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › Bal a Versailles, the women's version. Verdict: Drag Queen!