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Your Favorite Two Pierre Balmain Fragrances Are and Why?

post #1 of 61
7/23/10 at 11:13am
Thread Starter 
I have come to appreciate Balmain fragrances, which seem, in general, to be under appreciated. I wonder what two fragrances of the Balmain line you most enjoy and why? Allow me to begin by saying that my two favorites are the Calice Becker version of Vent Vert, especially nice in summer and Ambre Gris, which I fell for at first sniff.

I fell for Vent Vert because of it's green, grassy, lighthearted appeal and Ambre Gris because of it's slightly gourmand and very pleasant, slightly sweet nature. Tuberose and Iris are components too good to miss.
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post #2 of 61
7/23/10 at 11:19am
Well the only one I love and own is Jolie Madam. This was first bought for me as a gift way back in the 1980s and I just loved it.
The weird leather almost raw tanner's yard opening becomes this sweet little old lady violet in the middle. The two meet and make mad passionate love to create the most fabulous leather chypre.
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post #3 of 61
7/23/10 at 11:23am
Ivoire then, Jolie Madame with Vent Vert a close third. I only recommend vintage for this house.
Ivoire is a fascinating dark green chypre. My first bottle was a blind buy but at $15 how could I miss?
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post #4 of 61
7/23/10 at 11:30am
Ivoire and Vent Vert!I love green chypres
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post #5 of 61
7/23/10 at 11:32am
I don't own any of them (well, I do but they're samples and decants), but of the ones I've tried...Vent Vert, Ivoire, Miss Balmain, Ambre Gris, Jolie Madame...my favorite is Jolie Madame for its floral greenery and ladylike kid glove leather. It's on my wish list.
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post #6 of 61
7/23/10 at 11:34am
1. Balmain de Balmian - one of my favorite peppery rose scents on earth!
2. Ivoire - The most sophisticated Balmain, and I cannot resist galbanum chypres
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post #7 of 61
7/23/10 at 1:15pm
I only need to mention one-Ivoire!I have just loved that sharp metallic green blast of an opening ever since I was a child,and I knew I would one day wear it myself.As Hillaire stated,it is quite sophisticated so it may be an acquired taste for some,but wear it awhile and you'll realize that though it's complex,it's also very simply pretty.
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post #8 of 61
7/23/10 at 1:39pm
I can't wear it--just doesn't work on me-- but I appreciate from afar Ivoire.

I love to wear Ambre Gris Smells nothing like ambergris, and not a big , fat amber wither. A spciy, yet gentle, classic amber-based blend. This family ("orientales") is one I wear easily, especially when they have little or no vanilla (√) and are not too floral and powdery (√).

Must try Balmain by Balmain--I love a peppery rose.
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post #9 of 61
7/23/10 at 2:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nostalgie View Post

Must try Balmain by Balmain--I love a peppery rose.

Me, too. That sounds like one I will try sometime in the future.
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post #10 of 61
7/23/10 at 2:42pm
I love Jolie Madame most, and enjoy Vent Vert too. I have them in current and vintage, and enjoy both. Madame and Vert both bloom in the humidity, and to me feel juicy, fresh and green. (along with Ma Griffe by Carven, they are my retro green team.) I am trying to like Ivoire, but without success so far. Looking forward to trying Ambre Gris and Balmain by Balmain!)
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post #11 of 61
7/23/10 at 3:07pm
I have a mini of vintage Vent Vert that ought to be in a museum, it's so lovely. I just sniff it in homage. Vintage JM is grand, modern is a wearable spring scent. Ivoire is great for the office.
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post #12 of 61
7/23/10 at 5:07pm
1) Balmain de Balmain -- green and fruity in the beginning, opulent and rosey in the drydown. One of the few that appeal to me on an emotional level and I do not want to ever be without.

2) Jolie Madame -- rubber violets. Not a love at first sniff, but so attractive.
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post #13 of 61
7/24/10 at 2:13am
Ivoire is my number one - creamy, elegant and very French.
Jolie Madame is my second choice - love the leather/violet combo.
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post #14 of 61
7/24/10 at 6:43am
This is difficult - I have a lot of memories attached to Ivoire so I feel almost obligated to choose it (and I do love it!) but my two favorites really are -

Vent Vert, Germaine Cellier's 1947 surreally green masterpiece. This also has nostalgic value since it was a gift from a favorite aunt more than twenty-five years ago, and one of the first bottles of pure perfume (other than minis) that I ever owned. There's just nothing in the world quite like it.

Miss Balmain one of the most fetching mossy leathers I know, and the more feminine and girly (and just plain pretty) cousin of vintage Cabochard. I've been wearing this one for a while too, but I've only lately come to really appreciate and love it - it wouldn't have made the cut a year ago.
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post #15 of 61
7/26/10 at 4:25pm
I am changing my vote; I am picking for my top two, Balmain de Balmain and Ebene, the discontinued men's scent from the eighties.
I forgot about it, but it's simply classic: a clean, bright lavender fougere, which suits both genders... a little like C&S 88, actually. But more 'old school'.

I am hunting it down in earnest, btw. All I have is a small decant.
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post #16 of 61
7/26/10 at 5:20pm
For me, Jolie Madame followed by Balmain de Balmain.

The Jolie Madame is a wonderful floral/violet leather, and the Balmain is a much fresher citrus with subtle leather.

I hear Le Dandy Arsene Lupin will be a violet leather.
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post #17 of 61
8/13/10 at 9:25am
somehow missed this thread...
haven't experienced everything from the house, but so far I have not yet met a Balmain I didn't like. In order of wearings:
1. La Mome - rich, rose and myrrh
2. Balmain de Balmain
3. Ivoire
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post #18 of 61
8/13/10 at 5:51pm
1. Ivoire: wonderful soapy chypre

2. Monsieur Balmain (original): fresh elegant lemony ashtray
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post #19 of 61
8/13/10 at 7:19pm
I have a mini of Ivorie edt and love it (and want full bottles/other concentrations) .I haven't yet but I do intend to try any and every other Balmain that I can get my hands on.
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post #20 of 61
8/14/10 at 2:44am
I highly rate Balmains, and have many favourites from among their offerings.

But if I had to plump for two, it would undoubtedly be Cellier's stupendous Vent Vert (extrait, please!) and Jolie Madame (genteel dominatrix). I love the controlled restraint of a Balmain frag.
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post #21 of 61
8/14/10 at 3:11am
Vent Vert: the vintage stuff (extrait) I have may have been deluted. It doesn't last that long. The galbanum is quite bitter, and the rose/jasmine a bit faint. The most recent formulation (EdT) is bright, radiant and leaves a cosy flowerish trail.

Jolie Madame: my vintage mini is weak, but it has a pleasent vibration between violet and leather.

Monsieur Balmain: Citric with a woody drydown. A bit generic nowadays, similar to Etro Lemon Sorbet and I think a lot others too.

Balmain de Balmain: a razor sharp green chypre with some fruity undercurrents in the start. Dries down sterotypicaly to mossy woody. Radiates quality and distinction, ladylike. What I personally like most about it is the lack of overt aldehydic notes. That redners it modern, but alas, I cant wear it.

Madame Balmain: dry aldehydic, hence soapy, may work on a woman, but I didn't test it
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post #22 of 61
8/14/10 at 5:31am
Vintage Vent vert ..so beautiful with its galbanum

Miss Balmain : youthful perfume gining smile ..

Ebène ..discontinued ..but that was so sensual , probably one of the most sensual perfume for men
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post #23 of 61
10/19/10 at 6:31pm
My favorites are Ivoire a very creamy soapy floral and Jolie Madame a leather violet.
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post #24 of 61
10/19/10 at 7:39pm
Another Ivoire lover here! I think it's the house's best scent, so amazing and complex and non-sweet.

I like most of the others I've tried, too, except Balmain de Balmain. That one was too sharp for me.

If I had to pick another favorite, it is probably Ambre Gris. I love the rich creaminess of this one.
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post #25 of 61
10/19/10 at 7:41pm
I also love Jolie Madame and Balmain de Balmain.

My chemistry doesn't work with Ivoire, unfortunately. It smells beautiful when spritzed in the air, but on my skin...it was a little weird. :l
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post #26 of 61
10/19/10 at 8:50pm
I adore Ivoire and really like Miss Balmain as well as Vent Vert
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post #27 of 61
10/20/10 at 3:32am
I only like one - Ambre Gris.
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post #28 of 61
10/20/10 at 5:33am
Ivoire de Balmain! So classy, "French", and has incredible longevity on my skin. A floral green that I can actually wear and love.

Second would be Ambregris, although it's not my favorite amber, it is still unique and special. Who couldn't love that warm, fuzzy, creamy sensual scent on a crisp fall day?
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post #29 of 61
10/20/10 at 8:18am
Ivoire and Vent Vert- both versions of VV....

Hillaire you make me want to track down Ebene! I've always wondered about it- the "brother" scent to Ivoire...
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post #30 of 61
10/20/10 at 9:00am
balmain has (or had) a pretty strong line, but i am madly in love with jolie madame and vent vert, both vintage parfum. both were created by the visionary germaine cellier and rank with the very best of the 20th century in my book.
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post #31 of 61
10/20/10 at 10:01am
Miss Balmain was my first real perfume love when I was 15.
I wore all the time. And then suddenly I got a new bottle for my birthday and the love was over. I tried to wear it but I disliked it.
Now I know about reformulations I think that is what must have happened.
I am now looking for a vintage bottle!

I also love Jolie Madame and Ivoire.
I've got a big tester of Ivoire but it doesn't spray... I will ahve to get another bottle and break the seal and decant it.
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post #32 of 61
10/29/10 at 11:43pm
Unfortunately I've only tried one Balmain fragrances; Ambre Gris - on my skin it's a warm, sweet oriental that's quite a staple for me through autumn and winter.
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post #33 of 61
10/30/10 at 4:16am
Ok i Tried only three Pierre Balmains that is

Ivoire de Balmain by Pierre Balmain
Jolie Madame by Pierre Balmain &
Miss Balmain by Pierre Balmain

and out of the three i whould choose

Ivoire de Balmain because it's not as cloying and relies less on that god awful mixture of Coconut and Leather
like a the two previous Balmains i have especially The Miss Balmain Ivoire is sweeter and has an Glamor out of
the other two a 1940's aura like Bette Davis from now voyager from the famous scene when she steps off
the cruise with her white hat almost covering her left eye so chic so priceless.
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post #34 of 61
10/31/10 at 7:20am
Vent Vert has been 'my' fragrance for more than 40 years - and I still 'see' springtime every time!
Ivoire is my second favorite, followed by Balmain de Balmain, La Mome, BalMan, Miss Balmain.....never met a Balmain I didn't like, the same as knit at nite!

reine
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post #35 of 61
11/25/11 at 8:15am
The original versions of both 'Jolie Madame' & 'Miss Balmain', I wore Miss B back in the late seventies and early eighties when it had substance. A deep & dark chypre, lots of moss, musk & leather with sillage than went on forever and demanded of all close enough to ask what perfume you were wearing, the newer formula is a pale thin juice compared to the original. Jolie Madame was possibly Germaine Cellier's best creation although everything she did was fantastic, a legend to be sure, my other fave of hers is 'La Fuite des Heures' for Balenciaga.
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post #36 of 61
11/27/11 at 11:20pm
The only one I know well enough to comment on is Cellier's Vent Vert, but it is my number-one, alltime favorite perfume, and an absolute masterpiece. It breaks my heart that the real thing can't be made anymore, for there's truly no substitute for a great and singular work of art. I respect Calice Becker greatly, and like her work, but you can't "update" the likes of a Van Gogh, and shouldn't try, especially if you can't get his paints anymore.
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post #37 of 61
11/30/11 at 7:58pm
I keep meaning to test this house...I've never smelled any of them. For some reason, I keep meaning to try Vent Vert because I love the ads for it. Would it make a good blind buy? It is similar to Chanel No. 19? What is the safest from this house?
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post #38 of 61
11/30/11 at 9:10pm
Fleurine, I've not met a Balmain I didn't like yet. I don't think you can go amiss with any of them! Vent Vert has had several reformulations, so I'm never sure if there is a "right one" to get. It is very Green.
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post #39 of 61
11/30/11 at 9:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fleurine View Post

I keep meaning to test this house...I've never smelled any of them. For some reason, I keep meaning to try Vent Vert because I love the ads for it. Would it make a good blind buy? It is similar to Chanel No. 19? What is the safest from this house?

Fleurine, I don't think of VV as anything like Chanel 19. It's a strictly green green chypre. No aldehydes, no leather. However, it's funny you might mention this house as Ivoire is the most similar fragrance to Chanel 19 out there; in fact, I prefer it; in fact, it's still pretty easy to find.

My other top Balmain is Miss. So leather and smoky, and I keep saying this, but one of the best reformulations in the whole chypre world.
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post #40 of 61
11/30/11 at 11:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fleurine View Post

I keep meaning to test this house...I've never smelled any of them. For some reason, I keep meaning to try Vent Vert because I love the ads for it. Would it make a good blind buy? It is similar to Chanel No. 19? What is the safest from this house?

I don't think "safe" is really the Balmain approach. So if you like green frags at all, why not get your feet wet good and proper, and try some vintage Vent Vert (not the present-day stuff)? You can find it on eBay; look for "vintage" in the header.
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post #41 of 61
12/1/11 at 11:42am
OK, I'm officially stalking Vintage Vent Vert (VVV). The others I am attracted to because of the name only are Balmain de Balmain and Miss Balmain...which is the better of these two. I already have Miss Dior, Mitsouko and Diorella, are these similar?
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post #42 of 61
12/1/11 at 11:47am
Miss Balmain is lovely but only if you can find the vintage. Balmain de Balmain was a bust for me. Weak nondescript aldehyde.
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post #43 of 61
12/1/11 at 11:49am
No.
I love Balmain de Balmain, chypre like, quite unisex, very lovely fragrance. Miss Balmain is great in vintage but I never liked the reformulation. I also like (vintage) Jolie Madame, very cool violet, very unusual. Most people I had smell it didn't like it, but then it is in complete juxtaposition to all modern pink übersweet fruity/florals, so mayb e it's just because it was not what they expected when I said; ''Do you want to smell a really good perfume?''.
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post #44 of 61
12/1/11 at 11:51am
Oh really Kumquat? I do find I keep sniffing my wrist and really loving it when I put on Balmain de Balmain. I have the perfume.
As in pure perfume, not EdP.
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post #45 of 61
12/1/11 at 11:52am
Perfume might be good. My vintage bottle of EDT was flat.
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post #46 of 61
12/1/11 at 11:55am
Would you like a sample? Pm me.
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post #47 of 61
12/1/11 at 12:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FrouFrou View Post

Would you like a sample? Pm me.

Thanks a million. That's what I like about this place!
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post #48 of 61
12/1/11 at 12:18pm
Do you know which of the VVV is the best, parfum or EdT? TIA>>>
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post #49 of 61
12/1/11 at 12:57pm
Fleurine - they are both fantastic, provided you're referring to the original surreally green blast of galbanum wonder created by Germaine Cellier in '47. The parfum is a bit easier to find, but it's usually in very small bottles. If you run across the edt or spray mist anywhere I'd recommend snapping it up pronto! It'll be in a cylindrical bottle with gold shoulders and a round, white cap. A pristine bottle should have a green bow, too.

Some people don't mind the incarnation with the windblown grassy cap - this is the one that was reorchestrated by Calice Becker in the 90s and it's the most common version. The one to absolutely avoid has a green, cylindrical cap with white polka dots.
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post #50 of 61
12/1/11 at 9:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangeline View Post

Fleurine - The {VV} to absolutely avoid has a green, cylindrical cap with white polka dots.

Y'know, it' s funny--Seems like no one really wants to talk about that one in any detail; it just gets briefly mentioned as. . . .well. . . .unmentionable. The well-known rude punchbowl additive. Who built it, anyone know? And what's it actually like?
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post #51 of 61
12/2/11 at 1:18am
I have the VVV with the green bow around the neck and cream cap with the green B and cream and brown label, it is deep and peppery and wonderful. My all time Balmain fave though is Ivoire and I wear that as a daily perfume and have a large back up stash. La Mome is very lovely too.

I don't know the smell of the polka dot one yet.
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post #52 of 61
12/2/11 at 5:41am
I would really like to try La Mome.....
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post #53 of 61
12/2/11 at 6:48am
I'm working on finding my bottle of VVV. Spring is becoming my favorite season, and it never was before...
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post #54 of 61
12/2/11 at 7:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by FrouFrou View Post

I would really like to try La Mome.....

And you can. I have your addy....xx
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post #55 of 61
12/2/11 at 7:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fleurine View Post

I'm working on finding my bottle of VVV. Spring is becoming my favorite season, and it never was before...

You can have first dibs if you like. Is this the oldest one?

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post #56 of 61
12/3/11 at 11:02am
Thanks so much! I bid on one a moment before you posted this.... And it is a complete blind buy...so we'll see what happens..I also just picked up a 100ml of our friend Ms. Chanel No. 19 this morning. I'm seriously going green. Can't wait to see what treasures you might be liberating, Balmain or otherwise...
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post #57 of 61
12/3/11 at 11:59am
I want it if Fleurine doesn't want it!!!
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post #58 of 61
12/3/11 at 12:01pm
I love those old Balmain bottles. Probably mainly because I was so in love with Miss Balmain. Until they reformulated it
Sniff!
I kept thinking we brought the wrong fragrance. It was called Miss Balmain, but it looked different. At least now I know what happened. I even had a bottle of the perfume! I liked that even better. Ah, memories...
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post #59 of 61
12/14/11 at 7:01am
I really like my new bottle of VVV, I was expecting something very old ladyish, but it really isn't. There is that opening bite of galbanum but it wears pretty softly, actually. I got the 3oz spray mist.

I won an ebay auction for Vent Vert as well as one for Margiela Martin Untitled and they are somewhat similar (the MM is louder) but both very good.
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post #60 of 61
12/14/11 at 9:20am
Good luck finding that Ebene, Hilaire. Even when it was in production, it was a very difficult frag to find! I loved it and made gifts of it to several guys who really wore it well. It was the very epitome of what a sexy gentlemen's fragrance should be. If it were a niche scent now it would be all the rage. Btw, I always enjoyed the Ivoire/Ebene theme that Balmain played on.
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