Bal a Versailles.

[N_Tesla]

I understand that there is a significant difference between Bal a Versailles in parfum vs. edt other than just strength. Please enlighten me in regards to the difference.

[lilybelle]

I don't know the edt, N_Tesla. I have the edc, and it is a sexy bombshell - lots of orange blossom, very skanky with civet, sweet and powdery. It's amazing stuff. The parfum is divine. I have read that the edt is not so good, but I don't know first-hand.

[petruccijc]

All I have tried is the EDC, and I absolutely love it.

[N_Tesla]

lilybelle; Is the parfum less powdery than the edc?

I don't know the edt, N_Tesla. I have the edc, and it is a sexy bombshell - lots of orange blossom, very skanky with civet, sweet and powdery. It's amazing stuff. The parfum is divine. I have read that the edt is not so good, but I don't know first-hand.

[rednails]

I haven't worn the parfum for 25 years, but I remember it as much more intensely floral than the EDC, which is ambery, powdery and possibly the skankiest scent I own.

[Sunnyfunny]

All I've tried is the edt, and I love it. It's not over-the-top skanky, but it is sexy, dark, and glamorous. I would not call this strength powdery at all.

[Le Grand Duc]

Yeah, very sexy indeed.
I have, and love, the EdT,
as I'm a huge civet fan,
but I so wanna try out
the parfum, too!

[Kevin Guyer]

The EdC is my favorite, too. I've read somewhere that it's closest to the original formulation. For an EdC it is very long lasting and a bit of a sillage monster. BaV is one of the greats!

[Jane Daly]

Regarding the EDC that seems to be getting the raves, are we talking about a vintage formulation? I recently tested and loved the present EDT of Bal a Versailles, but am considering the parfum and/or EDC.

I would love to hear your opinions on the vintage & present formulas of Bal a Versailles in all/any concentrations

[Kevin Guyer]

My EdC is not vintage.

[Jane Daly]

Thank you Kevin- noting that the edc is practically free on ebay. Funny how the edc seems better liked than the edt. My thoughts of edc seem to be that it would lighter/more short lived.

[lilybelle]

I bought the edc in Marshall's for $7. I assume it's current. It smells great. The bottle looks like this (opaque white glass)...

[Jane Daly]

Oh neat- that is the one I am looking at! I have only seen those ones on ebay, although I do love the round bottles with the kitschy labels....

[lilybelle]

Jane, my mom had the round bottle in the parfum that looked like the one below. I remember looking at it on her perfume tray when I was a little girl. I've read online that the label is based on a Fragonard painting, but the clothes look more renaissance than rococo to me, and I can't find a Fragonard painting that looks like that. So I don't know. Maybe a commercial artist just made it up. I never liked this parfum on my mother back then. I think she wore too much of it. Now, years later, I think it's gorgeous stuff. Not for the kiddies.

[Le Grand Duc]

... but the clothes look more renaissance than rococo to me, and I can't find a Fragonard painting that looks like that. So I don't know.

Excuse me, madame, but there is nothing remotely renaissance about their clothing,
it's pure Rococo ... borderline Classicism maybe, but still very much Rococo!

The painting itself is also very Rococo, their positions, the flowers, the colors, all very Rococo!

[lilybelle]

Excuse me, madame, but there is nothing remotely renaissance about their clothing,
it's pure Rococo ... borderline Classicism maybe, but still very much Rococo!

The painting itself is also very Rococo, their positions, the flowers, the colors, all very Rococo!

Yes you're right, Duc - the pastel colors are certainly rococo, and also the way the bodies are painted and posed, too, but the dresses look like an earlier style. Maybe it's just the classicist reference, as you say. Anyway, do you know which painting this is, if it is a real one by Fragonard?

[Le Grand Duc]

Well, I still feel like their dresses are rococo, maybe late baroque,
which is between renaissance and rococo?
No, I don't think so? They are rococo.

I don't know the painting, but I bet it's a real one indeed!

[lilybelle]

Well, I still feel like their dresses are rococo, maybe late baroque,
which is between renaissance and rococo?
No, I don't think so? They are rococo.

I don't know the painting, but I bet it's a real one indeed!

Yes, that's it - baroque verging into rococo. Hairsplitters, aren't we? I'm determined to find this painting now. I will when I'm not looking.

[Kevin Guyer]

I think the clothing is not of Fragonard's 18th century, the bodice's would be much more elongated. They look to be either 17th century or early 19th century neo-classicism. Also, Fragonard's style had very strong brush strokes and his subject's faces are more porcelain-like. To me, it looks like an illustration done specifically for the perfume.

[Jane Daly]

Oh guys. There. You've done it. I MUST have this. I tested it a few weeks ago and nearly chewed my arm off.

I adore the painting, that it's "not for kiddies" and the bottle. Lilybelle, I spoke about this with my mum yesterday and it turns out she had it as well. I am sure I recall seeing this on her vanity along with her round Shalimar bottle with the conical topper and her Replique parfum.

Suddenly civet smells like velvet to me and I simply cannot get enough. Sigh.

[lilybelle]

I think the clothing is not of Fragonard's 18th century, the bodice's would be much more elongated. They look to be either 17th century or early 19th century neo-classicism. Also, Fragonard's style had very strong brush strokes and his subject's faces are more porcelain-like. To me, it looks like an illustration done specifically for the perfume.

When I look at it closely, it does seem like it must be made up. It just doesn't look quite...you know. If it's baroque the colors are off, and if it's rococo the clothing style is off. It can't be Fragonard anyway.

Oh guys. There. You've done it. I MUST have this. I tested it a few weeks ago and nearly chewed my arm off.

I adore the painting, that it's "not for kiddies" and the bottle. Lilybelle, I spoke about this with my mum yesterday and it turns out she had it as well. I am sure I recall seeing this on her vanity along with her round Shalimar bottle with the conical topper and her Replique parfum.

Suddenly civet smells like velvet to me and I simply cannot get enough. Sigh.

Yay for civet! My mom had Shalimar, too. And I recall Rochas Femme, and Fabergé Tigress. I remember stroking the furry cap.

[tsuzumi]

I just picked up a tiny bottle of BaV in a little hole-in-the-wall shop that had a lot of old costume jewelry and stuff like that. I think it may be vintage. It looks like it could be between 10ml and some fraction, say 0.5 to 0.8 of an ounce. It is a rather simple bottle, nearly rectangular but the base is a bit wider than the top, and the sides bulge out a bit. The cap is gold-colored and sort of conical, flaring toward the top like a crown. The label has not picture. It says
PARFUM
DE
TOILETTE
BAL
å
VERSAILLES
(cursive script) Jean
Desprez
MADE IN FRANCE
(I don't know how to do the right accent on å)

There is no box, and no sticker on the bottle. The bottom of the bottle has some characters pressed into it, rather hard to read, but it seems to be '. SHD ® 5

I found some parfum de toilette on e bay, in a similar bottle, but that bottle had beveled shoulders, and the label was blue. The label of mine is cream-colored with gold lettering. Naturally, I suspected a problem, either a fake/refill of some kind, or maybe problems of aging. I mentioned the bottle looked old, and the guy said, 'there are lots of these' which didn't really answer my question. I took a sniff of the bottle, although that was kind of meaningless, since I have never smelled it before. When I finally got it home, I looked at the BN reviews, and I am convinced it is real. It is everything I hoped for and more.

Has anyone ever seen this kind of bottle?

[domperrier]

Jane, my mom had the round bottle in the parfum that looked like the one below. I remember looking at it on her perfume tray when I was a little girl. I've read online that the label is based on a Fragonard painting, but the clothes look more renaissance than rococo to me, and I can't find a Fragonard painting that looks like that. So I don't know. Maybe a commercial artist just made it up. I never liked this parfum on my mother back then. I think she wore too much of it. Now, years later, I think it's gorgeous stuff. Not for the kiddies.

I have a 2 ounce crystal bottle that looks exactly like that picture. However, the label is quite faded and the cord & cellophane(?) look REALLY old, perhaps dating back almost 50 years to when this fragrance was first released.

I don't have the heart to break the 50-year-old cord so I guess I can't smell it. Until a 10% full 1 oz bottle with the same shape that I secured for $12.99 arrives by next week(hopefully).

There's no box so I'm not sure if it's edt/edc/parfum but I'm guessing from the teak-like colour of the juice that it's parfum.

[Olfacta]

BAV has been through many permutations and a truly confusing array of bottles. The license for it has changed hands quite a few times, probably more. Right now it's held by a small Florida marketing company. With each licensing, bottles and formulations have changed. Any "EDP" is certainly modern. The big round EDT bottles with the plastic lyre top are modern. It's utterly confusing. To be safe, if you want the vintage EDT, look for a rectangular bottle with a white shield-shaped label with gold trim, and white box with the same shield -- these were made in the 70's. Cologne the same, except the label and box can be blue. (For obvious reasons, all splash bottles should be full and unopened.) For vintage perfume, 1/4 oz size, make sure the top of the little round bottle is spherical, real metal (brass I believe) and the neck has several "crimps." Any other packaging types are more likely to hold modern reformulations.

But even if you get a modern reformulation, it's a damned sight better than a lot of the dreck that's out there now. Nevertheless, all Bal lovers owe it to themselves to track down the vintage. It's gorgeous, beyond lush.

[domperrier]

I've seen that 1/4 oz bottle before, but never cared to bid for it on eBay, because the cap looked like gold-painted plastic.

Other than that, I've only really seen the tall parfum de toilette bottle and the bottle pictured in this thread(spray & splash).

The white canister is a real revelation to me.

[Olfacta]

I have a white cannister. Mine is older, so the bottle is painted glass, with the Bal gold and white brocade design, which is fading. The lit is gold-tone plastic (thin and brittle -- which is a plus in this case, as plastics are better now.) The scent, an EDC, is very powderey.

The oldest vintage Bal parfums are very dark, like syrup, and full of animalics like civet, leather and musk. These are heavy enough to "flatten" the florals and woods, although they're still there, at first. Real, vintage Bal has a "circular" quality (Luca Turin) which means that the florals/animalics retreat, reappear, retreat again through the fragrance's life on skin.

[domperrier]

My 2 oz bottle contains a very dark juice, and the motif is really faded, so I guess it's probably from the 1962-1980 period, at the very least.

[Nostalgie]

I used to have the white canister (as well the bottle with the picture). I found the white canister stuff (EDC, I think) skankier, the bottle (EDT) more floral. Love them both when I'm in the right mood.

[Jean Desprez]

If you like, I can check with the factory, and get you the specific differences. One of the main differences is how long it maintains it's potency when applied. There is also a variation in the strength depending on application. The Jeandesprez.com website has an interesting sampler, so you can compare for yourself. Jean Desprez (creator of Bal a Versailles) is coming out with a new scent in the first quarter of 2011. It has been 50 years since they released their last scent, so this is a big deal for them.

[Mrs H]

I am a long-time lover of this perfume! I have a tiny bottle of the EDP, and a glass bottle of the cologne. I haven't smelt the EDT. To me, the EDP is a big hitter- very dark and animalistic, I only need a tiny amount. The cologne, surprisingly, is only slightly lighter. The sillage and longevity is great for a cologne!