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Van Cleef & Arpels Collection Extraordinaire

post #1 of 18
2/12/10 at 7:07am
Thread Starter 
I was on one of my occasional sniffathons when I ran into the above collection. There are six fragrances priced at £123. The three that stand out are Bois d'Iris which is quite an earthy fragrance with a powdery floral feel,Orchidee Vanille which is a musky vanilla fragrance with what smells like rose rather than orchid and Cologne Noir which is quite spicy for a cologne. has anyone else encountered these yet?
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post #2 of 18
2/12/10 at 12:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by joelarner View Post

I was on one of my occasional sniffathons when I ran into the above collection. There are six fragrances priced at £123. The three that stand out are Bois d'Iris which is quite an earthy fragrance with a powdery floral feel,Orchidee Vanille which is a musky vanilla fragrance with what smells like rose rather than orchid and Cologne Noir which is quite spicy for a cologne. has anyone else encountered these yet?

Yep - was over in Coventry last week and went into a sizeable boutique where they had loads of VC&A stuff, including all six of these. The only ones I liked were Muguet Blanc (which was a little too feminine for me) and the Cologne Noir. The rest were neither here nor there for me, and none of them were worth £123. Can't remember if they were 50 or 75ml, but either way the price was taking the piss.
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post #3 of 18
2/12/10 at 1:27pm
Thread Starter 
I think they were 75mls but I do agree with you that they were overpriced. They were however a vast improvement on that ghastly collection from D and G last year!
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post #4 of 18
2/12/10 at 8:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by great_badir View Post

The only ones I liked were Muguet Blanc (which was a little too feminine for me) and the Cologne Noir. The rest were neither here nor there for me, and none of them were worth £123. Can't remember if they were 50 or 75ml, but either way the price was taking the piss.

I am in total agreement. Those were my favorites. I also liked the Gardenia Petale, but it was mostly because it reminded me of another perfume I wore many years ago.
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post #5 of 18
2/12/10 at 9:14pm
I was a fan of First from way back. I am happy to say the First EDP can be found on the Web for a relatively inexpensive price!

First is a very elegant aldehyde floral with jasmine. Wonderful!
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post #6 of 18
2/13/10 at 2:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Primrose View Post

I was a fan of First from way back. I am happy to say the First EDP can be found on the Web for a relatively inexpensive price!

First is a very elegant aldehyde floral with jasmine. Wonderful!

Yeah, good point - the £123 stings even more when you consider that First, Pour Homme, Tsar, Eau de Star, Tsar Pour Femme and (not so much now) Zanzibar are easily available for not much money, and every single one of them smells ten times better than anything in that collection IMO.
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post #7 of 18
2/13/10 at 2:43pm
I have a sample of Cologne Noir and found its name a little deceptive. I found it rather green and spicy, and a lottle too transparent. Just a bit meh really.
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post #8 of 18
2/13/10 at 3:51pm
I ended up with the Bois d'Iris. Here's what I said about it in a blog post:

A name that's been used before for an iris scent, also a dryish one, by The Different Company, and which was one of my first niche purchases. The VC&A one, issued this year as part of their Collection Extraordinaire, has a different slant, though, and for me, a more memorable one. J-C Ellena's scent under this name for TDC is typical of his later minimalist and rather stark style: iris, bergamot, cedar, narcissus, and geranium, all precariously balanced on a narrow base of musk alone. VC&A repeats the cedar-iris-vetiver triad, but leaves out the florals and dries it out with frankincense, and then sets it on a very effective dry-sweet oriental base combining dusty myrrh with rich amber-labdanum notes and sweet vanilla. Very dry and spare at first, this blooms as the richer base notes vie with the dry and dusty ones to make a beautiful and poignantly supportive counterpoint.
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post #9 of 18
2/16/10 at 1:57pm
Oddly enough, they're now being carried at Luckyscent.
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post #10 of 18
2/16/10 at 5:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtgprox05 View Post

Oddly enough, they're now being carried at Luckyscent.

I noticed this too, was not expecting it.

As a side note to someone earlier in the thread: I found Cologne Noire to be close to 1828 from Histoires de Parfums. If you liked Cologne Noire but would prefer something more dense, give it a go.
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post #11 of 18
2/17/10 at 2:06am
I`d say I like Bois d`Iris and Orchidee Vanille.
First should be in Les Orientalistes collection by Goutal, second could be in Hermessence line as Vanille Galante sketch or subversion.
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post #12 of 18
2/17/10 at 5:46am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for your input everyone
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post #13 of 18
2/18/10 at 3:49pm
Thanks Dimitri and Jaime - those two as samples got left off a recent LS order and I was considering buying samples of them anyways. Neither really sound exciting enough for me to go after them for now.
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post #14 of 18
2/18/10 at 4:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Primrose View Post

I was a fan of First from way back. I am happy to say the First EDP can be found on the Web for a relatively inexpensive price!

First is a very elegant aldehyde floral with jasmine. Wonderful!

The more I look at these bottles, the more they seem to be channeling the look of simplicity found in niche houses, a la Serge Lutens. Somewhat like those Dolce&Gabbana scents that came out recently.

These merit a closer look...via the nose...so far, I see them offered in the U.S. at Lucky Scent and Neiman Marcus at $185 USD for 75 ml of EDP.
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post #15 of 18
1/22/12 at 10:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nwatts88 View Post

I noticed this too, was not expecting it.

As a side note to someone earlier in the thread: I found Cologne Noire to be close to 1828 from Histoires de Parfums. If you liked Cologne Noire but would prefer something more dense, give it a go.

I tried this today among a lot of ther stuff. The initial response is positive, but must give it a proper test by itself. In the meantime I agree with the comparison and recommendation here.
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post #16 of 18
1/23/12 at 5:00am
I've tried these all at Nieman Marcus over time. I like the oud scent they have best.
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post #17 of 18
1/23/12 at 7:06am
Some are good, some are OK, and some are horrible - with Bois d'Iris being the best and the Oud being the absolute worst.
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post #18 of 18
1/23/12 at 8:44am
l tried Lys Carmin, Muguet Blanc & Gardenia Petale. Of these, Gardenia Petale stood out the most as a beautiful, lush & creamy gardenia. l just got a decant of this last week, & very much look forward to wearing it this Spring.
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