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Jolie Madame - Balmain

post #1 of 21
9/7/08 at 10:22am
Thread Starter 
Who can tell me more about the evolution of Jolie Madame (Balmain) onto the skin (the vintage version preferably but I'd be happy to hear what you have say about both versions) ?

Thanks a lot !
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post #2 of 21
9/7/08 at 11:02am
I don't know whether I have the vintage or the newer version, as I tested from a sample that wasn't labeled as such. On myself, the opening is very flowery, and that was mostly what I smelled for the first few hours. Many reviewers mention that it dries down to a leathery scent, and I agree. It's a flowery, leather scent. A bit musky too. It's nice, and I usually don't like florals. This one is *not* a fruity floral.

Does that help?
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post #3 of 21
9/7/08 at 12:19pm
Thread Starter 
Yes it does, thanks !

Is there anything chypré in it ? Can you identify the flowery note as jasmine ? Does it smell indole ? Can you make a relationship between this one and the Caronade ?
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post #4 of 21
9/7/08 at 1:50pm
I also sampled Jolie Madame from a sample, I don't believe it was vintage. It was chypre'ish in the classic floral/green/chypre sense, to my nose, with a definite violet impression. I can't find my notes, but I don't recall jasmine standing out particularly, there was no indolic quality. It was rather a green floral bouquet to my nose, with an emphasis on violet. The leather was very soft, like the softest kid leather gloves. It struck me as elegant and smoothly integrated (unlike Miss Balmain, which is TOO green and TOO leathery on me). I don't know what Caronade is (something to do with a Caron base?) - I don't know Caron fragrances. Anyway, hope my sketchy memory helps somewhat.
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post #5 of 21
9/7/08 at 2:07pm
Yup, I agree with lilybelle. Although it's flowery, it's not jasmine. I know and love jasmine when I smell it. No, Jolie Madame is more like gardenia. I've never smelled violet essential oil, so I don't know if that's what I'm smelling. But, it's definitely not jasmine-y, at least not in any high concentration.

I also am not sure what indole smells like. (Perhaps I should be joining Purplebird's note-identification project, eh?)

As for chypre quality, if Norell and Halston are considered chypres, then I agree that Jolie Madame has a very sharp 70's chypre opening -- bergamot blast. (Which is odd considering it was made in 1953.)
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post #6 of 21
9/7/08 at 2:22pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you girls, we are getting near to it. The one I smelled at the Osmothèque in Versailles (nearby Paris) was the vintage version, very complex with all the notes you described plus real jasmine (indole), a strong fruity note, labdanum and tar. It made me think of the Caron perfumes because of its complexity, of the way it has been built.

Jolie Madame is a Germaine Cellier creation, probably one of the bests to my nose, with Bandit and Fracas.
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post #7 of 21
9/7/08 at 2:55pm
I tried the recent version which is a let down due to lack of real oakmoss. It was strong on violets and not enough leather or any attempt at chypre. My one attempt at vintage from Evil-bay was wimpy and and had no top notes. Flat and wan, a shadow of its former self. Just thinking about it makes me sad. Why was I born too late to enjoy this art form?
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post #8 of 21
9/7/08 at 2:59pm
Thread Starter 
Tsst ... Never stay onto a bad experience !
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post #9 of 21
9/7/08 at 3:04pm
Night, I was wondering if the vintage version you mention is currently available or was that a long time ago? I'm not familiar with Osmotheque? Actually I have been lucky in trying vintage scents, just not with either Madame Jolie or Miss Balmain.
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post #10 of 21
9/7/08 at 3:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Night View Post

very complex with all the notes you described plus real jasmine (indole), a strong fruity note, labdanum and tar.

Now I'm going to have to go back and smell it again! Perhaps I have the newer version, "Now, with less jasmine." I dunno!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Night View Post

Jolie Madame is a Germaine Cellier creation, probably one of the bests to my nose, with Bandit and Fracas.

Those are two I've yet to smell. You've re-piqued my interest in them!
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post #11 of 21
9/7/08 at 6:40pm
I can see I've never smelled the vintage either, but I thought the newer one was pretty nice. My husband thought it was pleasant, which meant it was a classic type of floral, the only type he actually likes on me (by the way he likes Fracas, so maybe it's that he likes Cellier creations). This was several years ago, but did I read somewhere that Jolie Madame is soon to be, or recently has been, yet again reformulated? Was that in Perfumes The Guide? My memory is useless.
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post #12 of 21
9/8/08 at 8:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Night View Post

Tsst ... Never stay onto a bad experience !

Can you explain lin different words what that means? I'm curious!
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post #13 of 21
9/8/08 at 2:14pm
2006 bottle of Jolie Madame smells like neroli, violet, gardenia, and then oakmoss and lots of nice suade. The drydown is less sweet than the top and middle notes, almost salty. It is still very retro smelling. I've never smelled vintage, so I don't know what I'm missing.
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post #14 of 21
9/9/08 at 7:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by purplebird7 View Post

2006 bottle of Jolie Madame smells like neroli, violet, gardenia, and then oakmoss and lots of nice suade. The drydown is less sweet than the top and middle notes, almost salty. It is still very retro smelling. I've never smelled vintage, so I don't know what I'm missing.

That's so affirming, purplebird, that you don't smell jasmine either. I was a bit worried that I'd have to readjust how I think jasmine smells! I thought I smelled a honeysuckle-like scent in the opening, but I think there's no such thing as honeysuckle essential oil. (Right?) Maybe that was the neroli that I was smelling?
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post #15 of 21
9/9/08 at 2:36pm
Yup. Not jasmine for me, either.
Violets. Definitely violets. I can believe gardenia or honeysuckle because both of those would be accords--combinations of substances (natural and synthetic) that mimic an aroma. Neither of those flowers yield useable absolutes as far as I know. For some reason, it is either too expensive or the product doesn't smell good. I know for sure that many flowers fall under this category, where it is better and cheaper to use accords.
I do think neroli is a primary note, too. Neroli smells aromatic, woody, and orangey. I love neroli.
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post #16 of 21
9/25/08 at 9:58am
Today I am retesting Balmain's Jolie Madame because when I sampled Neil Morris' Prowl for the first time, Jolie Madame is what came to mind.

Here's an excerpt from Bois de Jasmin's review of Jolie Madame:

Quote:
"My initial reaction upon experiencing the new version was an intense disappointment, although I have to admit that the drydown is more interesting than I originally thought, even if it is undeniably paler and less complex than that of the original version. It does not seem to attain enough depth before the fragrance begins to fade.

Notes include gardenia, artemisia, bergamot, coriander, neroli, jasmine, tuberose, rose, jonquil, orris, patchouli, oakmoss, vetiver, musk, castoreum, leather, civet."

I have the newer Jolie Madame, I believe. And it was nice to know that someone else smells "gardenia," "neroli," and "bergamot" in the mix.

Neil Morris' Prowl has something in common with Jolie Madame, and I can't put my finger on it. Definitely Prowl has a ton of vanilla which isn't in Jolie Madame, but I'm wondering if that scent that is intriguing me is tuberose -- something I thought I hated, because I've only smelled it in Carolina Herrera and some essential oils (which maybe had gone rancid).

Has anyone ever compared these two? (Prowl and Jolie Madame, that is.)
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post #17 of 21
9/25/08 at 8:16pm
I asked the lovely lady who sent me the sample of Jolie Madame, and it is indeed post-2006 -- the newer reformulated version. Dominatrix Granny. . . that's what she called it. I had to laugh! I don't think it smells all that "old" to me, but it definitely is not one of the modern fruity florals.
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post #18 of 21
9/27/08 at 7:18am
I've been sampling Jolie Madame from a sampling received from a very kind Basenoter and I can tell you that I love it. I get a lot of violet at the beginning, in the middle I still smell violets but there is another hard to describe scent mixed in, at the end it's violets with a faint leathery accord. Aiona, I don't get any Tuberose, thank God, because this is one scent that suffocates me (had to return a bottle of Carolina Herrera my husband once gave me).

Interesting that although I love Fracas on a dear friend, I hated it on me when I tried it..
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post #19 of 21
9/28/08 at 6:21am
Thank you, anamari! I really must get a hold of some violet, because maybe that's what I'm smelling. I've never smelled plain ole violet before.

Yesterday, I compared Bandit (EdT?) with Jolie Madame (newer reformulated version), because

1. I'd seen comments that Jolie Madame is like Bandit-for-the-faint-of-heart.
2. Bandit and Jolie Madame were both created by Germaine Cellier.
3. I actually had some juice to compare.

I have to say, Bandit lasts a *heck* of a lot longer on my skin. All day. As in over 12 hours, and then some.

But they both have that same kind of 70's opening that I get from perfumes like Norell. Is that galbanum? And bergamot?

And the drydowns, wow, are completely different. Jolie Madame is so light and florally compared to Bandit which smacks you in the face with *LEATHER*. If Jolie Madame is considered "Dominatrix Granny," maybe Bandit is "Dominatrix Great-Grandma" (the one who caught and tamed wild mustangs for a living).
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post #20 of 21
5/22/13 at 12:28am

Both vintage and current versions of Jolie Madame (EDT) are not really long-lasting.

Their dry-down is somewhat similar to Bandit. 

Contemporary Jolie Madame (EDT) screams loudly at the beginning, and is synthetic, linear and overdosed with sweet violets.

Compared to the current version, the vintage Jolie Madame (EDT) that I have is more complex and 3-dimensional, on my skin it dries down to Mitsouko + Bandit!!!   

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post #21 of 21
5/22/13 at 10:35am

I have a sample of the vintage edt. Big violet with the buttered-vegetable feel (galbanum, chamomile, and isobutyl quinoline?) of many classic leathers. It's very good.

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