Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Female Fragrance Discussion › Which classic frags have survived IFRA - if any?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Which classic frags have survived IFRA - if any?

post #1 of 14
1/27/13 at 6:16am
Thread Starter 
In spite of IFRA regs, there are still some really beautiful frags out there, though maybe not for ever as IFRA bites ever deeper. For now, though, which scents (especially classics like L'Heure Bleue and Mitsouko) do you think are still great - if any?
Personally, I don't like either of those gorgeous vintage scents in their reformulated versions. They just don't smell like themselves any more. But I do like Samsara - maybe because I didn't know the original version, just a recent EdP which I was given by my daughter.
Also, some houses, like Grossmith and Amouage, produce very high quality scents in spite of the new restrictions. I'm currently wearing Shem el Nessim, which I love.
I'm curious about what other treasures, old or new, might be out there? I especially like florals and floral orientals, so would love to hear of any I might have missed for sampling and decant trying. Any suggestions much appreciated.
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 14
1/27/13 at 7:42am
I'm not looking for re-creations. Currently I have some good vintage aldehydes and chypres, notably Antilope and Miss Balmain, respectively. One of these days, I will simply have to explore new fragrances that are created under the current restrictions. One can boo-hoo or one can move on, which is not to say I agree with IFRA at all. I can buy bullets but not oakmoss—to riff on current events? Please.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 14
1/27/13 at 7:53am
Tabac Blond, En Avion, Jicky. Vol de Nuit, albeit changed, one could also think it was positively modernized.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 14
1/27/13 at 8:30am
The list gets shorter by the day. As we wait for the next flower to go, one has to concentrate on the tiny set of florals that did not contain jasmine, carnation, or heliotropin. Carnation means the demise of several Carons, which, pace our Larimar, had been tamed anyway by the current perfumer. Jasmine means the demise of the old Amouages - I suspect that's part (but not all) of the reason for the watering down of Gold woman and Tribute (my Gold man still smells fantastic, but likely it is from pre-IFRA); Ubar has reportedly been weakened too, according to Larimar. Incidentally, the Sarrasins I smelled at the Lutens store last winter was still glorious; perhaps it's old stock - in any case, it may be worth stocking up before the jasmine restriction hits that too.

Not much left, Arpege comes to mind, the formula has changed over time for non-IFRA reasons. Some green florals (eg Cristalle), but not all (Chamade is weaker too, likely not for IFRA reasons, but who knows).

Some leathers and some orientals appear so far to have suffered less (Knize Ten, Shalimar), perhaps because there are reasonable substitutes to the forbidden materials. But Bandit will be reformulated as well, so that area is in danger too.

cacio
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 14
1/27/13 at 8:51am
Making it rough for us basenoters!
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 14
1/27/13 at 11:36am
Diaghilev
Tabac Blond
En Avion
n'Aimez Que Moi
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 14
1/27/13 at 11:37am
Diaghilev
Tabac Blond
En Avion
n'Aimez Que Moi
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 14
1/27/13 at 11:43am
Diaghilev
Tabac Blond
En Avion
n'Aimez Que Moi
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 14
1/27/13 at 7:43pm
I'm loving the current formulations of Jicky EDT and Arpege EDP. I just bought a new bottle of Estee Lauder's Azurre, and it smells fantastic.

Why do some of the chypre's still smell so great after the restriction on oakmoss?
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 14
1/27/13 at 9:04pm
Sirnose:

good point on some chypre surviving better than others. To me, leather chypres have survived better (Cabochard and Tabac Blond having been ruined, but not by IFRA). My guess is that the chypre aspect is less important in them and substitutes for oakmoss work ok. Another category where some examples still exist is green chypres (Cristalle, Private Collection, Tiare), again, perhaps because the moss is not so central (but then, Givenchy III fell apart).

cacio
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 14
1/27/13 at 10:28pm
Difficult in many cases to attribute changes to IFRA regulations with certainty.
Companies have so many reasons to change formulae, e.g. availability of materials, focus-group feedback etc.
Not to deny the impact of, say, oakmoss restrictions, but I imagine the situation is a complex one.
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 14
1/28/13 at 2:16am
Agree with most of the above and I'll add Sous Le Vent.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 14
1/28/13 at 4:45am
Good question. Good responses by the most-revered BNers.

Is it mainly because we're in the female forum that femme fumes are being mentioned as compromised? Are men's scents less affected because they're weighted toward hesperides and woody notes?
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 14
1/29/13 at 6:52am
This is a gorgeous 'chypre' with no oakmoss, which is probably being replicated by various musks together with green notes.
http://www.grossmithlondon.com/colle...den-chypre.php
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Female Fragrance Discussion
Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Female Fragrance Discussion › Which classic frags have survived IFRA - if any?