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What happened to Bellodgia?

post #1 of 15
2/19/09 at 8:37am
Thread Starter 
This was my mom's signature scent for at least 10 years--late 60s-early 70s. I remember a powdery, sharp and spicy carnation. Gorgeous and sophisticated. I recently tried the EdP from a sample and it smells like a new vinyl kids toy! This is NOT the Bellodgia of memory. Granted, she had the perfume, but can it really be such a difference, and is my memory one big lie?
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post #2 of 15
2/19/09 at 9:37am
I don't think so...I loved Bellodgia years ago as well, but the current version MUST be a re-form.
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post #3 of 15
2/19/09 at 11:16am
It's sad but true that the very thing that made Bellodgia such a class act - the high proportion of fine quality ingredients in its formula - is what put it in front of the firing squad that is reformulation. The latest bottlings from Caron that I've smelled are like videos or holograms of their former selves.
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post #4 of 15
2/19/09 at 11:19am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jardanel View Post

It's sad but true that the very thing that made Bellodgia such a class act - the high proportion of fine quality ingredients in its formula - is what put in in front of the firing squad that is reformulation. The latest bottlings from Caron that I've smelled are like videos or holograms of their former selves.

Very sad. It may be worth hunting down some of the vintage stuff. Sure would be nice to smell it again!
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post #5 of 15
2/19/09 at 11:24am
Hey Liz, I feel your pain...trust me.

Here is a thread I started ages ago, you can read the rant
http://community.basenotes.net/showt...ight=bellodgia
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post #6 of 15
2/19/09 at 3:52pm
Lizzie,

Just wanted to say that I remember when Bellodgia and most of the other Carons came in a range of strengths from eau de cologne to extrait, and in all kinds of bath stuff. Of course the pure parfum was stronger and deeper, but even something like a bath talc in Bellodgia was immediately recognizable. Those were the good old days and we didn't even know it - to be able to bathe in water redolent with Bellodgia bath oil, dry off and dust with Bellodgia powder, and then layer the edt and parfum. It was part of having a "signature" scent.
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post #7 of 15
2/19/09 at 8:35pm
I have been taking on the Carons for a couple of months, and I have had the wonderful fortune to compare the following in their vintage incarnations to their latest "reformulations". (:

Bellodgia
Narcisse Noir
Parfum Sacre
Nocturnes
Aimez Moi
Infini
Nuit de Noel

Of these, I can only categorize the Aimez Moi and the Nocturnes as "reformulations". All of the others I have to come to terms with as "discontinuations". They do not bear any resemblance to their predecessors. The most tragic of these, for me, is the Narcisse Noir. But the Bellodgia makes me quite depressed, too.
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post #8 of 15
2/19/09 at 8:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hillaire View Post

Nuit de Noel
Of these, I can only categorize the Aimez Moi and the Nocturnes as "reformulations". All of the others I have to come to terms with as "discontinuations". They do not bear any resemblance to their predecessors. The most tragic of these, for me, is the Narcisse Noir. But the Bellodgia makes me quite depressed, too.

I recently bought the extrait of Nuit de Noel and I find it quite authentic. Perhaps I received an old bottle, by luck?
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post #9 of 15
2/19/09 at 9:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruggles View Post

I recently bought the extrait of Nuit de Noel and I find it quite authentic. Perhaps I received an old bottle, by luck?

Also, could be the concentration. Though you'd be more likely to stumble upon an old bottle of parfum, too. Dunno. I smelled an new EDT at a store and I found it quite empty and baseless. Like an impostor fragrance. The older version was an EDP (I bought it.), and it smells very deep and full-bodied by comparison. It is not terribly old, either. Maybe sixteen years.
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post #10 of 15
2/19/09 at 9:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hillaire View Post

Also, could be the concentration. Though you'd be more likely to stumble upon an old bottle of parfum, too. Dunno. I smelled an new EDT at a store and I found it quite empty and baseless. Like an impostor fragrance. The older version was an EDP (I bought it.), and it smells very deep and full-bodied by comparison. It is not terribly old, either. Maybe sixteen years.

In fact, ( I just looked.) the older bottle of NdN I have is actually EDT! So, the difference is not due to concentration. It has been "washed out".
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post #11 of 15
2/20/09 at 9:09am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brielle87 View Post

Hey Liz, I feel your pain...trust me.

Here is a thread I started ages ago, you can read the rant
http://community.basenotes.net/showt...ight=bellodgia

Love the rant Brielle. Not really a rant at all with all the negative connotations of that, but really a sharp and spot-on criticism.

I was aware, through the blogs and Basenotes, that most (all?) of the Carons had been reformulated. Since I got into perfume throught the niche door, I've been slowly making my way to classics (kind of backwards, I know), and I'm SO disappointed that Bellodgia has been ruined. I think I'll have to start searching for some vintage stuff. Boo Hoo.
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post #12 of 15
2/20/09 at 9:10am
Thread Starter 
I recently tried Aimez Moi from a sample (thanks Veuve Amiot) and I liked it a lot, but haven't tried the vintage....Glad to hear it is an acceptable reformulation!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hillaire View Post

I have been taking on the Carons for a couple of months, and I have had the wonderful fortune to compare the following in their vintage incarnations to their latest "reformulations". (:

Bellodgia
Narcisse Noir
Parfum Sacre
Nocturnes
Aimez Moi
Infini
Nuit de Noel

Of these, I can only categorize the Aimez Moi and the Nocturnes as "reformulations". All of the others I have to come to terms with as "discontinuations". They do not bear any resemblance to their predecessors. The most tragic of these, for me, is the Narcisse Noir. But the Bellodgia makes me quite depressed, too.
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post #13 of 15
2/20/09 at 9:13am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jardanel View Post

Lizzie,

Just wanted to say that I remember when Bellodgia and most of the other Carons came in a range of strengths from eau de cologne to extrait, and in all kinds of bath stuff. Of course the pure parfum was stronger and deeper, but even something like a bath talc in Bellodgia was immediately recognizable. Those were the good old days and we didn't even know it - to be able to bathe in water redolent with Bellodgia bath oil, dry off and dust with Bellodgia powder, and then layer the edt and parfum. It was part of having a "signature" scent.

Yes, I remember watching my mom get dressed. Powder, then a spritz of edt and finally, going out the door in girdle, stockings, slip, evening dress, heels, possibly with gloves in hand, evening bag etc.. she would use a dab of perfume. The ritual took hours. Now of course my ritual, even for going out at night, is not a ritual at all, more like slap it together and run!
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post #14 of 15
12/29/12 at 8:39am
TAKEN -- a partially used vintage spray bottle of Bellodgia "parfum de cologne"

Peace today, Lisa
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post #15 of 15
1/2/13 at 6:53pm
The current Bellodgia EDP is impossibly sweet. As a diabetic, I'm almost inclined to go measure my blood sugar to make sure it's not causing me harm.

This is in sharp contrast to the intensely rich fragrance of the vintage Bellodgia pure parfum that I acquired recently. The parfum opens with a sharp, intense, clovey blast, probably from carnation absolute, something too expensive and relatively rare to use these days. The parfum softens with time to a mild, genuine carnation soliflore without the intrusive, extra heavy, floral bouquet mixture that is the EDP.

That being said, I must share a persons' reaction with you that left me rather surprised. I wore the EDP to my hairdresser who suffers some pretty awful perfumes from her customers and doesn't tolerate perfume well. She commented that I smelled like a garden of flowers, quite lovely. That was after a young shop assistant told me how lovely I smelled a short time before. So, despite the disappointment (and sometimes contempt felt by the lovers of the vintage,) this modern still has some merit, I think.
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