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Looking for the closest match to an old discontinued favourite

post #1 of 14
3/10/12 at 1:50am
Thread Starter 
Hi: Does anyone remember the first Versace perfume? i think it was just called Versace. It is still my absolute favourite and I was heartbroken when it was discontinued. I've asked many times whether it will be brought back and been told lots of people want it, but no.
So - what would be the closest anyone has come to this? I have found the aftershave Lagerfeld Classic, which was how I found Versace originally (someone wearing it told me about the perfume). But I hope there may be a secret stash out there somewhere, or a clone, or - something???
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post #2 of 14
3/10/12 at 2:41am
are you talking about versace l'homme? you're mentioning you found it after lagerfeld aftershave so i presumed you're talking about the masculine.
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post #3 of 14
3/10/12 at 2:42pm
Thread Starter 
Actually no, the original women's fragrance had very similar notes to the Lagerfeld aftershave. I complemented someone on what a wonderful scent the Lagerfeld was and he suggested I try the Versace because it was very similar. I've just gone and fished out the last bottle I had - I kept it because I loved it so - and it was actually called Gianni Versace and was in a red and grey box with gold highlights. The bottle was shaped with facets in the glass and with a cut at the bottom creating two 'feet". That was more information than you wanted,wasn't it?
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post #4 of 14
3/10/12 at 4:01pm
Hi Beauiegirl, and welcome to basenotes!

I know the one - Gianni Versace - I have it. It's a rich floral chypre, and I find it to be a brighter, fresher, much greener version of Mystère de Rochas, which is also generally classified as a chypre but wears like a deep and smoldering animalic oriental on me, so to me, Gianni Versace is actually the chypre version of Mystère. At any rate, it's really not such a helpful recommendation since it's also discontinued and hard to find, but it's the one that occurred to me.

I'll think about this a bit more and report back if any other similar fragrances come to mind (maybe Scherrer 2...?) but I'm hoping a few other members pipe in with a suggestion or two - I'd also like to know what other perfumes might be out there that are like GV.

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post #5 of 14
3/11/12 at 11:44am
I have a bottle of the Versace Versus in the red bottle. Smells like robitussin to me, I never wear it. I do love cypress but all I get from this bottle is cough syrup. My niece gave it to me years ago but I never got the chypre scent out of this.
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post #6 of 14
3/12/12 at 12:47am
have you tried ebay? i have seen it there a couple of times.. did a quick check, it looks like they are all minis but you can get a pack of 10 (3.5ml each) for just over 70 pounds:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-x-GIANNI...item20b9830586

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-x-VERSA...item2c53eafa7d
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post #7 of 14
3/13/12 at 8:16pm
The bottle I have has a red cap with gold letters. It is triangular at the base. 100 ml Esau de toilette. The top kind of looks like an incomplete letter C. I'm not sure what this is supposed to smell like but all I smell is cough syrup.
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post #8 of 14
3/19/12 at 4:59pm
Thread Starter 
Dear Danny, I will certainly try eBay. Never occurred to me there might still be some minis around. Many thanks for the tip!

Dear Digindirt, Versace Versus is a different perfume. The one i like is just Gianni Versace.

Dear Evangeline, thank you for the suggestion of Mystere. I think I have tracked down a bottle of that, and will try it. I'll let you know how I go. You are spot on about the "deep and smoldering animalic oriental". that's exactly what I get and love. Fingers crossed on the minis and Mystere! I'll report back.
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post #9 of 14
3/20/12 at 12:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beauiegirl View Post

Dear Danny, I will certainly try eBay. Never occurred to me there might still be some minis around. Many thanks for the tip!

Dear Digindirt, Versace Versus is a different perfume. The one i like is just Gianni Versace.

Dear Evangeline, thank you for the suggestion of Mystere. I think I have tracked down a bottle of that, and will try it. I'll let you know how I go. You are spot on about the "deep and smoldering animalic oriental". that's exactly what I get and love. Fingers crossed on the minis and Mystere! I'll report back.

my pleasure, glad to help a fellow basenoter!..
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post #10 of 14
4/9/12 at 10:49pm
Glad you found what you were looking for. I was hoping I had what you wanted.
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post #11 of 14
4/11/12 at 4:46pm
Thread Starter 
Dear all,

I am now in possession of both Mystere de Rochas and 10 minis of my beloved Gianna Versace, the latter arrived yesterday from the UK (I'm in Melbourne, Aust). So I will be able to compare, and will post my thoughts. Will also try to get some Scherrer 2 when the bank balance recovers!
In the meantime, another fragrance I love is Fleurs d' Oranger by Serge Lutens. Any comments on that one?
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post #12 of 14
4/11/12 at 4:47pm
Thread Starter 
Oops - posted the same message twice!
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post #13 of 14
4/12/12 at 6:15am
Hey there, Beauiegirl!

Thanks for the update - I don't know how I missed following-up on this thread, but I'm glad I finally did! I'm so glad you got your minis of Gianni Versace, and I'm super-excited you got some Mystère, too! I'm so curious to know if my impressions are completely out-there, or if the similarities are obvious. I sort of think of them as the same scent, but GV is greener and fresher so it's for the warm months, and Mystère is, to me, all about its rich and luxuriant warmth (it reminds me of kitty fur that's been warmed by the sun) so it's best in cooler weather. At any rate, I hope you enjoy them both!
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post #14 of 14
4/13/12 at 6:30am
This thread has new posts but it hasn't been updated, so I'm giving it a little bump so that Beauiegirl can find it again.
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Just Starting Out › Looking for the closest match to an old discontinued favourite