Attachment 17652I've been carrying the torch for this perfume since I was given a mini for my 21st birthday. Like most others, I was sorely disappointed in the modern version, which was a coarse travesty of what this perfume once was.
I was delighted to get a pristine bottle of the parfum recently. Far from being the very, very green perfume I remembered, this was something else, something so much better, than I remembered. Turns out, I probably had an EDT in my youth, not a pure parfum.
What struck me were -
The subtlety with which galbanum is used in this parfum. Now I like galbanum, but it can be rather overwhelming and dominating, if not used skilfully. (e.g. vintage Norell, which I can only take in small doses
)
The blending of clary sage and galbanum to create the addictive green opening is masterful.
The beauty of the floral heart. The perfumer, the incomparable Jean Carles,allowed the green notes to be there in just enough quantity to complement, as well as contrast, the floral notes. There are only four heart notes listed - rose, jasmine, gardenia and ylang ylang, but they sing with a harmony that is hard to find these days.
How similar this perfume is to my beloved Miss Dior. It shares Galbanum, Clary Sage, Gardenia, Rose and Jasmine, and somehow has such a similar feeling to its heart. It is in the dry down that these two part company. Miss Dior has a much more complex dry down, keeping its essential floral heart, but adding much greater depth to the final phase.
If there were one thing I might say lets Ma Griffe down, it's perhaps the base notes. These are surprisingly few - cinnamon, vetiver, tonka bean. A little wood would have pleased me, but this is a small 'but'.
Overall, if you have never experienced the parfum, try to seek it out. It's so Ma Griffe, but so much warmer, honeyed and floral than the other formulations. It will open your eyes to other facets, not just green, that were built into this perfume.
Edit:
In my reading today I discovered that there were indeed many more notes than my first research indicated.
The top notes include - green notes, asafoetida
Middle notes - Orris, Lily of the Valley, Orange Blossom
Base notes -Labdanum, musk, benzoin, sandalwood, oakmoss and styrax.
So my two loves, Miss Dior and Ma Griffe have indeed got a few more notes in common than I realized.
I was delighted to get a pristine bottle of the parfum recently. Far from being the very, very green perfume I remembered, this was something else, something so much better, than I remembered. Turns out, I probably had an EDT in my youth, not a pure parfum.
What struck me were -
The subtlety with which galbanum is used in this parfum. Now I like galbanum, but it can be rather overwhelming and dominating, if not used skilfully. (e.g. vintage Norell, which I can only take in small doses
)The blending of clary sage and galbanum to create the addictive green opening is masterful.
The beauty of the floral heart. The perfumer, the incomparable Jean Carles,allowed the green notes to be there in just enough quantity to complement, as well as contrast, the floral notes. There are only four heart notes listed - rose, jasmine, gardenia and ylang ylang, but they sing with a harmony that is hard to find these days.
How similar this perfume is to my beloved Miss Dior. It shares Galbanum, Clary Sage, Gardenia, Rose and Jasmine, and somehow has such a similar feeling to its heart. It is in the dry down that these two part company. Miss Dior has a much more complex dry down, keeping its essential floral heart, but adding much greater depth to the final phase.
If there were one thing I might say lets Ma Griffe down, it's perhaps the base notes. These are surprisingly few - cinnamon, vetiver, tonka bean. A little wood would have pleased me, but this is a small 'but'.
Overall, if you have never experienced the parfum, try to seek it out. It's so Ma Griffe, but so much warmer, honeyed and floral than the other formulations. It will open your eyes to other facets, not just green, that were built into this perfume.
Edit:
In my reading today I discovered that there were indeed many more notes than my first research indicated.
The top notes include - green notes, asafoetida
Middle notes - Orris, Lily of the Valley, Orange Blossom
Base notes -Labdanum, musk, benzoin, sandalwood, oakmoss and styrax.
So my two loves, Miss Dior and Ma Griffe have indeed got a few more notes in common than I realized.
