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A Different Type of Holy Grail Question...

post #1 of 43
9/2/10 at 12:50pm
Thread Starter 
If you walked into an old-fashioned pharmacy, and just browsed around the shelves, and suddenly spied a glass cabinet where some boxes of cologne were just gathering dust (but still cool and kept out of heat and sunlight), what scent from the past would you most like to see in there? What would you pay to have it? Scents that take you back in time and give you a sense of nostalgia.

For me, I guess I'd like to find several of these "grail" scents, if I knew they would be fresh and good as new.

Ralph Lauren Monogram
A&F Woods
Vintage Chanel Antaeus

How about you?
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post #2 of 43
9/2/10 at 12:53pm
Anything by Aigner.........and of course......Patou Pour Homme......
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post #3 of 43
9/2/10 at 1:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AromiErotici View Post

Patou Pour Homme...

This! My absolute favorite next-to-impossible-to-get vintage fragrance...
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post #4 of 43
9/2/10 at 1:24pm
The original Vetyver and Figaro, both by Lanvin. Also, the original vintage Moustache by Rochas.
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post #5 of 43
9/2/10 at 1:32pm
A sealed bottle of Chanel's Bois Noir, oh, what I wouldn't do for such a thing!

It wouldn't be bad finding some original 1922 Chanel N°22, either!
Or some 1963 Diorling; or a bottle of the first batch of Shalimar;
or ...
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post #6 of 43
9/2/10 at 1:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChuckW View Post


Ralph Lauren Monogram

I have to agree, thank goodness I still have two bottles.
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post #7 of 43
9/2/10 at 1:44pm
Thread Starter 
I'll add Giorgio BH VIP to my list! Man that was good stuff...
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post #8 of 43
9/2/10 at 2:02pm
I second Giorgio VIP Special Reserve and would add the original Gucci Rush for men and something from my childhood that I believe was called "Driftwood" (with a cork bottle cap).
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post #9 of 43
9/2/10 at 2:32pm
vintage tabarome, i would pay for some flacons. if only.
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post #10 of 43
9/2/10 at 2:43pm
Old formulations of Chanels and Guerlains, preferably from the 20's.
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post #11 of 43
9/2/10 at 5:51pm
I guess it would be A&F Woods for me too.
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post #12 of 43
9/2/10 at 6:36pm
Any vintage Guerlain's.
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post #13 of 43
9/2/10 at 6:38pm
Patou Pour Homme and/or Prive.

Guerlains - specifically Apres l'Ondee or L'Heure Bleue Parfum, Djedi, Vol de Nuit and the Verveine one Dmitri was talking about a while back!
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post #14 of 43
9/2/10 at 6:46pm
I would love to find some Bourjois - Masculin 2 in such a setting but it's more like wishful thinking as I have never come across any old dusty shop selling fragrances here.
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post #15 of 43
9/2/10 at 6:55pm
Oh, man. That really is a fantasy. My 'cabinet' would be pretty big.
I'd like to see (all in their ORIGINAL incarnations):

Bogner Woman
Jil Sander Bath and Body
Jil Sander Man III
Jil Sander Woman II
Zibeline
Rive Gauche Extrait
L'Air du Temps
Cabochard and loads of it
Signoricci 2
Phileas
Anais Anais
Nemo
Mystere
Givenchy III
Diorella
Gucci 3 and lots of it!
Woodhue
Charles of the Ritz
Crepe de Chine
Cristalle
Antaeus
Pour Monseiur
No. 19 edp
Amouage Silver Cristal Man and Woman
Amouage Ubar
Coty Chypre
Caron Infini
Yendi

My brain is tired. That would be a nice find.
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post #16 of 43
9/2/10 at 6:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

Any vintage Guerlain's.

Yep. All over 'em. Yum.
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post #17 of 43
9/2/10 at 7:00pm
And bonus points to Hillaire for listing the ever-wonderful Woodhue, but I'd have to toss Tigress into that set, too. Major, major bonus points for finding the vintage male-marketed version of Woodhue. I have been curious for years.
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post #18 of 43
9/2/10 at 7:21pm
Thread Starter 
Didn't Paul Sebastian make a "Brownstone" scent? Also, throw in some Rothschild!
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post #19 of 43
9/2/10 at 7:22pm
Tabarome of course. But also original Antaeus.
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post #20 of 43
9/2/10 at 7:28pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by gupts View Post

I would love to find some Bourjois - Masculin 2 in such a setting but it's more like wishful thinking as I have never come across any old dusty shop selling fragrances here.

They're a vanishing breed. Major chains (Walgreens, CVS, Rite-Aid) are wiping them out. A small city I grew up near (Logan, WV) had just such a store called Aracoma Drug. An old man there would guard the fancy scents like a hawk! I was in my teens and I loved to peruse their selections such as the whole Polo line, Eau Savauge, Chanel, Drakkar, Lagerfeld...it was a teenage cologne fan's dream! I miss that store and I wish I had a time machine that would take me back there (at 1984 pricing)! Sweet, innocent memories...
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post #21 of 43
9/2/10 at 7:28pm
A lovely bottle of original Houbigant Fougere Royale. That would be awesome.
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post #22 of 43
9/2/10 at 8:02pm
I don't know much about vintage perfumes, but one I'd love to sample would be
Pascal Morabito - Or Black
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post #23 of 43
9/2/10 at 9:14pm
Oleg Cassini for Men (1976)
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post #24 of 43
9/2/10 at 9:20pm
A few bottles of Derby, Nombre Noir and Apres L'Ondee parfum for starters, and then a bunch of other Guerlain goodies. Some Christos too. And maybe a few vintage Carons for good measure?
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post #25 of 43
9/2/10 at 10:11pm
Currently, I'd die to find Caron En Avion there... Chanel Cuir de Russie and Guerlain... yes, Apres L'Ondee parfum would be really exciting.
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post #26 of 43
9/3/10 at 8:15am
Vintage Chanel, Guerlain, Givenchy, Dior and YSL (almost any vintage formulations from these houses)
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post #27 of 43
9/3/10 at 8:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Strollyourlobster View Post

Old formulations of Chanels and Guerlains, preferably from the 20's.

+1 on these two houses, and add Caron.
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post #28 of 43
9/5/10 at 2:39am
Vintage Bernini (Black Bottle) without a doubt - this is my Holy Grail!
Also would love to find EDT, Aftershave and shower gel of Worth Pour Homme Haute Concentration.
Halston 101 and Halston Limited.
Ralph Lauren Monogram
Brownstone by Paul Sebastian
V.S.O.P. by Paul Sebastian
Nino Cerruti (original formulation)
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post #29 of 43
9/5/10 at 3:32am
Vintage Shalimar. Any concentration. I'd part with an arm and a leg
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post #30 of 43
9/5/10 at 4:20am
Numéro Cinq by Molyneux (1925). Never smelled it, but this is the perfume that my father bought for my mother back in the 1950's. Long discontinued. The bottle would be for my mother, of course.
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post #31 of 43
9/5/10 at 6:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Worth1969 View Post

V.S.O.P. by Paul Sebastian

Oh, God, yes!

I have a sample of this and Paul Sebastian Fine Cologne (which is a different scent than PS), and I swear to God, I've never had to be more conservative in my life! I wish I could get full bottles, but both are discontinued and hell to find.
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post #32 of 43
9/5/10 at 6:50am
I would first of all hope for some cheapies from my youth - Mennen "Trouble" and the original Hai Karate. While I was at it - some plain old sandalwood oil from back when the amazingly good was common as dirt. Maybe a first launch gift set of Givenchy Gentleman. Polo Crest - grab a couple of those. Another bottle of vintage Polo, please! Hmmmm. What next? Le Feu d'Issey, for sure. Any old Guerlain - the older the better. Lots of crinkly, dusty cellophane. With old price tags from when they were all square and white and impossible to get off! Ahhhhhhhh!
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post #33 of 43
9/5/10 at 7:01am
This whole thread is making me want to go for a drive in the country, to stop by random pharmacies in small towns. Mr. Redneck Perfumisto's description of dusty shelves and crinkly cellophane really nails it. It's largely the thrill of the kill, you know. I love the way those old pharmacies smell, love the wooden floors, love it if there's a little bell that clanks against the glass when I walk in. It's a charming experience, and finding vintage fragrances in places like that is always a big treat. I'm also fond of vintage toiletries in old pharmacies. I found "Body On Tap," the shampoo with beer in it, and "Gee Your Hair Smells Terrrific," in an old, run-down pharmacy several years ago. What a trip.

I'd be happy if I could find a good, vintage bottle of Old Spice. And Macho, in the bottle that's shaped like a you-know-what. THAT would be a fun find.
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post #34 of 43
9/5/10 at 7:07am
Just about everything that's been mentioned so far, plus

Hermes Doblis
Faberge Babe
Coty Ambre Antique
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post #35 of 43
9/5/10 at 7:44am
I was watching the Blu-Ray version of "Last Year in Marienbad", a French art film from the late 50's. At one point the camera slowly pans through the woman's boudoir, and I froze it when it went past the dressing table. On it was a bottle of Le Trèfle Incarnat by L.T. Piver. I looked it up and it seems it was a popular French cologne through much of the 20th century, but is impossible to find today (except as empty bottles).

Another one I'd like to smell is Caron's Tabac Blond. My sister came across a small bottle of the vintage perfume in her eBay dealings, and what was left smelled great, sweet and tobacco-y, although most of the top notes had burned off and it was pretty weak at that point.
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post #36 of 43
9/5/10 at 8:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hillaire View Post

Oh, man. That really is a fantasy. My 'cabinet' would be pretty big.

I think this way too.

But for me, I would rather see one of those scents, those old forgotten scents of houses that were closed years ago, one of those scents that nobody remembers now, and that i would keep for future reference and that i would get usually get for a ridiculously cheap price, compared to the history and real value of what that perfume represents and what it has been through all these years.

There's always some market for the vintage Guerlains and other very well known brands, but to find, say, a bottle of Égoïste by Revillon, would show you that: There was an older scent called Égoïste that's not a Chanel; that it was for women, that if you'd call a woman's perfume that way nowadays it would seem sexist but somehow it's allright for a man's scent to be called that; that it had many layers; that it's long gone; and a lot of etc etc.

I have also learned that PR people would just say anything to build and create a history that wasn't there to begin with.
For example, some of Chanel's people at an event in NY (2008) did say that before Chanel No.5 there were ONLY soliflores made, and that would make any Basenoter's jaw drop, as it happened to me.

Perfume History would show us that was not the case. Old scents show us the way it was, the right way.

cheers
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post #37 of 43
9/5/10 at 9:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrcologneguy View Post

I found "Body On Tap," the shampoo with beer in it, and "Gee Your Hair Smells Terrrific," in an old, run-down pharmacy several years ago. What a trip.

LOL! Oh, man. I feel like I got dropped into an Austin Powers time machine!
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post #38 of 43
9/5/10 at 9:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ROtto View Post

On it was a bottle of Le Trèfle Incarnat by L.T. Piver. I looked it up and it seems it was a popular French cologne through much of the 20th century, but is impossible to find today (except as empty bottles).

Wow! Yeah, apparently a rather famous one, too, in terms of the early use of synthetics. Piver should bring it back out as a limited edition, for sure. As original a formulation as possible. I wouldn't care if they had to warning-label it with revolving red lights!
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post #39 of 43
9/5/10 at 10:11am
Dunhill Blend 30
Patou pour Homme
Kouros Eau de Sport
Ted Lapidus pour Homme (1978)
Davidoff (Original)
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post #40 of 43
9/5/10 at 12:45pm
Gucci For Men and Un Homme by Charles Jourdan.
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post #41 of 43
9/5/10 at 9:02pm
Yesterday I stumbled upon an old pharmacy almost like the one you describe. Incredible fragrance selection tucked away on one wall. The only place I've seen Chanel Pour Homme (NOT concentree), some Caron, Guerlain L'Instant and too many other rarities to list. It's Bushard Pharmacy in Laguna Beach, California.
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post #42 of 43
9/6/10 at 6:57am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MysteryBuff40 View Post

Yesterday I stumbled upon an old pharmacy almost like the one you describe. Incredible fragrance selection tucked away on one wall. The only place I've seen Chanel Pour Homme (NOT concentree), some Caron, Guerlain L'Instant and too many other rarities to list. It's Bushard Pharmacy in Laguna Beach, California.

That's awesome. I have at least a couple of prospect pharmacies in town I have to check out. Ya never know!
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post #43 of 43
9/9/10 at 4:30am
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