Sample pass: Weil Then and Now

[jujy54]

Here's Cleopatra's Boudoir on Weil including a thorough chronology of the house.

[PerfumedLady]

Thanks for the link, jujy! It reminded me of a question I meant to ask- were these originally intended for specific types of fur? For example, I had noticed there was a scent called Chinchilla- was this in fact meant to be worn on chinchilla? Was Zibeline meant for sable? Just wondering!

I finished up with the Zibelines, tough scent to pin a label on but I want to call it a floriental, I think. The parfum was my pick of the three; long lasting on my skin with the aldehydes and sweetish cherry almond heliotrope taking their sweet time to play out. Wonderful fluffy fur drydown with a gorgeous, semi-powdery amber, civet, something incense-y ( more of that sandalwood, I believe) and in the parfum in particular, I'm sensing musk. Not sure if it's real animal musk or a nitro-musk but it is definitely not what we're accustomed to these days when a scent claims musk. Just divine and decadent. The PDT was much the same for me but with a shorter lifespan. Do think the top has gone off a bit in PDT, didn't get nearly as much aldehydic sparkle as with parfum. Whitefluffy asked about use of bath oils- either way is appropriate. A capful in the bathwater is heavenly, a real treat. But bath oils have often been worn on skin, just like a parfum. Again, found the bath oil to be very similar to the others, just a bit more herbal-green and a bit lighter on animalics. Would love to take a bath with this stuff. Really like Zibeline, strikes me as a real flapper scent- a bad girl in the lap of luxury. Completely understand cacio's Emeraude association, also thought of vintage Chantilly due to the amber. Another scent I hated to send away!

But I did, the package is en route to CivetLady! Thanks to both you and jujy for the opportunity to try these. I am truly better educated for having participated in this. Found some real beauties, too! Favorites are Antilope (above all), Zibeline, Weil de Weil and Bambou. This house had civet mastered. I love the drydowns in the vintages and these things are simply not possible in modern perfumes. Was a very special treat to be able to smell real animalics and sandalwood in such abundance. Really a chance that does not come often and I'm so grateful! Jujy, you really are queen of the universe!

[cacio]

I don't know much about the marketing, but I doubt they were so narrow - especially given the fact that sables is so rare and expensive. The market would have been pretty tiny indeed.

Loved the comments. I concur on Zib, my favorite (less so on Antelope, but that's me). I now got a Zib pdt on ebay which smells very good.

cacio

[Whitefluffy]

Thank you PerfumedLady for answering my question! If I ever come across vintage Zibeline bath oil for price I can afford, I won't be taking a bath with it that's for sure! But I have seen a bottle on Ebay, I think, for $899!!!

But which one did you like more? Vintage Zibeline or Antilope? Thanks.

[PerfumedLady]

Thank you, cacio! Congrats on your fantastic find! Bet it does smell great, I've always thought this type of scent ages well. That makes sense about the marketing; could probably put it on squirrel for all they cared! As long as enough bottles sold.

Whitefluffy, holy smokes! $899?!! Ouch! My very favorite of this bunch would have to be jujy's Antilope EDT. But the Zibelines are right up there, too. I view Antilope and Zibeline much the same as I do Shalimar and No.5- very different scents that are equally good. And as you know, those latter two are necessities to me! Both Antilope and Zibeline were scents I could wear often. Very comfortable in those two.

[cacio]

Asking prices are what they are, it doesn't mean they will sell for anything near this. That said, as far as I've seen, Weil oils are pretty expensive, I bet they can go as high as $200 for 15 ml.

cacio

[cestrum nocturnum]

Wow! PerfumedLady, you are fast! I'm waaaay behind in reading here, sadly I've only had time to rush through things quickly so far, but loved your description of Bambou-- I enjoyed that one too! I wish my skin held these longer. I can't wait to sit outside in the garden and again read through the lovely descriptions and analyses by both you and Whitefluffy, at a leisurely pace this time!

Oh, and the little heart on the Secret de Venus lid arrived half broken to me, and the the other side broke from the main cap as I packed it into the box. :{ I added a note in the baggie, but should have mentioned it here. Sorry! That was my doing. I also added the copious amounts of superglue to tack it back on, but the contact points were so darn small, it probably didn't hold too long. My hot glue gun is MIA or I would have tried that too... :/ Anyway, so sorry about that! I wish I was handier! The minis are all soooooooooo cute!!! That one was particularly sweet with the little heart on the top of the lid.

[jujy54]

Thank you all for taking care of my "babies." It warms my heart. (:

[CivetLady]

OOOH WEEEE!

LOOKY WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL TODAY!







I am washing up to try at least one....Thinking of starting with the ones I am least familiar like bambou & Chunga before moving on up to Antilope, SDV & Zib.

I took more than my fair share of snorts on the box - was super curious about the Mollie Parnis....

& Thank you Perfumed lady for the bonus Scents! I am not familiar with any of them & sooo looking forward to more sniffs!

[jujy54]

Thanks to whoever put the pretty pink ribbon on the box, and kisses to Civet Lady for the photos.

[Whitefluffy]

Gorgeous pics, Civet Lady!

[CivetLady]

I don't have much to add to my first testings than what has already been observed:

Bambou: Fresh, light and grassy green. Not over the top strong smelling. Buttery, herbal, tender. Not as much personality to the fragrance as I usually like, but on the other hand I could take a bath in it & feel really nice smelling in a subtle way. Much prefer this light/fresh/green to many modern fragrances in the same genre.


Chunga: I can see why Cacio liked this one. Light and spicey - uplifting freshness. Aldehydic/chypreish in a subtle way. Unisex. Vanilla and slightly sweet dry down. Would love to have a bottle of this, even with the short longevity.

I'll move on to another 2 as soon as my morning test on a new bottle of vtg chamade PP fades - enjoying that for the moment! LOL!

Yeah, I guess I am officially a Frag Whore as well as an Old Lady!

[jujy54]

Chamade is mother's milk to old lady Frag Whores-or, my preference, Frag Hags (;

[CivetLady]

Kipling: OH MY! Totally unexpected! Here I am thinking Weil as warm fur balsam animalic scents and i get a beautiful blast that is a total 360 or 180 at least....Strong, but not overly. Lavender & Juniper in a big way in top notes. Good longevity. More Juniper and woody in the dry down. I love this scent & although it is earmarked masculine, I would wear it in a heartbeat. Especially in Winter months - like Christmas. This would make a good house fragrance too if it wasn't so impossible to find/pricey. Reminds me a tiny bit of Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir - but they are different too.

SDV - (Broken) Heart Bottle - Some may like this, but not for me. Very Strong flowery top notes - reminds me of the things I don't care for in Old Lady Pefumes. I don't have a good enough nose yet to pick out the flowers, very sweet, some lilac for sure. So glad when top notes faded - medium not so bad & dry down was warm and softer lilac.

That's it 4 now....

[jujy54]

I wear Kipling myself, 3 spritzes to 1 of Tea Rose.

Funny I think of SdV mini as girlish, perhaps because of the gourmand/pastry shoppe notes. No question that at this point, Weil of old has left the room.

[PerfumedLady]

CivetLady, you are more than welcome! I'm so happy to hear I managed to include some things that are new to you!

I believe the pretty pink ribbon came courtesy of Whitefluffy. As you can see, my attempt at a hot glue repair of the box was a fail. Still looks just lovely, though- and smells even better!

[CivetLady]

More Sniffs!

ZIBELINE PDT: Everything I love about Zib is in this. Woody, Animalic, slightly sweet, Civet & Amber. Good longevity. Must add this to my collection. ;-)
Antilope: My thoughts are similar to jujys - 60s is buttery sweet, not much longevity - gone in 10 minutes. The 50s is by far my favorite. Stronger fragrance, sweet fruit/vanilla and light spices in the background. A heavenly fragrance with good longevity. I compared it to My Sin in my test & similar, MS has a tad more plum of course. 70s was a softer lighter version of the 50s and the modern one Aeroli was very diluted with just a hint of Vanilla and fruit.

Then I trumped this by taking out some others I had which I will include in the package: modernish (not sure what year) Pure Perfume Antilope - it is interesting because the 50s Antilope edt is almost stronger and much sweeter & they both had similar dry down & longevity. SDV Antilope bath oil - a bit of shoe polish in initial top notes mixed with the spicey herbs typical of SDV. Fabulous very long Vanilla Amber & spice dry down.

So that will make 6 ANTILOPES!

Padisha - Love this - Very strong sweet top notes, power house. Nice long dry down. I too had trouble identifying flower, thinking tabacco flower (nicotinia), some jasmine. It is a one note wonder & I can see the Vanilla Amber connection as well.

Modern SDV Aeroli - Uggh! I wanted to wash it off. Strong, but not in a good way. Jujy called it mentholated rose - Good comparison -Strong floral top notes (but not in a good way) and now all I can smell is Eucalyptus. Strong horrible MENTHOLATED dry down. I am gonna wash up.

- - - Updated - - -

last of the sniffs.....

Reva - a Robust Lemon & Bergamot on my nose with some lavendar. Reminds me a bit of the original Aqua di Gio & so tested them side by side
Modern Zib Aeroli - A pleasant surprise - top notes are full of amber and warm spices similar to the original zibeline. then it changes directions in the Dry down completely with a strong floral fragrance that keeps bringing to my mind Carnal Flower (Malle) for some reason...tuberose? quite nice and different. More complex than i expected.
Weil De Weil - Love this,, green & spicey, aldehydes in top notes & Oakmoss. Lily of Valley & hyacinth in the dry down.
Zibeline PP Vintage Whoa! Seems to have gotten really strong & sweet in the decant bottle. Camphor in the top notes with lite spices and apple. Finishes with Civet, musk,wood and floral sweetness. MUSKRAT LOVE! Perfect for wet fur....LOL! Great longevity & a nice finish once you survive the top notes.
VTG SDV PP Spicey Nutmeg, clove, with a woody amber civet and floral finish. No one under 21 should be allowed to wear this....very tantalizing.
VTG SDV Zibeline Bath oil Ditto everything I said about the SDV PP with some camphor top notes that leave quickly and that warm woody zibeline sweet scent mixed into spices and civet takes over. This could be worn by a Flapper in the 20s or a hippie in the 60s/70s.
Another very sexy brew in my mind at least....
Sex in a bottle....no wonder it sells for $900 an ounce!

So who's next? PM me!

[anomie et ivoire]

Thanks to the lovely Civet Lady, the package arrived today almost exactly as pictured above!

If I weren't already drowned in a SOTD, this would be full test time. For now, Zibeline -- is one of the most divine smells I've encountered, even just from the bottle. I plan to test a dab on skin and on paper, about two per day. Gorgeous packaging. Thanks for allowing this newbie to participate in her first sample pass, everyone. I'm excited!

[jujy54]

May it be the first of many, a&i. Sample passes and blind sniffs make basenotes the best internet community ever, because we are all real to each other. After all, so far you can't email a scent!

[anomie et ivoire]

I very much enjoyed testing the fragrances over about a period of a week and recording observations in a written journal. Then last week things got hectic, so I made small decants of the remaining larger bottles and sent the package ahead to Mumsy on Friday in anticipation of longer transatlantic shipping time. Will finish sampling soon and type up the observations, though as a novice, I'm not sure there is much for me to add to this thread's refined noses. And to Civetlady, thank you so much for the extras; I had been itching to try Bakir. Will be back to BN ASAP. Life has been chaotic. Big thanks to Jujy for this lovely experience!

[mumsy]

OOOOh my word. How exciting. I have been reading this thread avidly.

- - - Updated - - -

Hi guys.... I've just got it on my desk..... will photograph it later and will have to start smelling next week. Our weekend is too packed to start now.... so exciting. Thank you.
That is the wrong date as it updated my last comment. It is Saturday the 27th October.

[mumsy]

Hi guys... it is kiddy half term this week with a halloween party too so I may be a little slow, but I have begun with one I have been dying to try and have very nearly bought a couple of times.

Chunga... nice and warm almost boozy start, like a hot toddy for a cold. I'm getting lemons and honey here with cloves. Then I'm getting a slight fruity note with a vase of flowers. There is a sharper flower like a lime blossom or similar. It is sharp with the softness of the honeyed notes. Then there is a strange cooking note coming in like a yeast bread cooking or a cake nearby but there is a sharper note with it like marzipan. Must be tonka but i'm not recognising the flower. It softens quickly into a vanillic, spicy comfy musky thing quite fast. The floral aspect isn't sitting happily with the creamy aspects IMO. Like an older vase of flowers, but it could be the vintage factor of degredation. I may need to try this again later.

I nearly love it but also nearly don't like it at all in the middle.....

Thank you for the chance to try this one. This box is such a delight and sits on my desk winking at me daily. I shall do them when I can devote the correct time to the drop I wear and not hurry them. They have come a long way to sit here and need to be savoured properly. What fun....

[jujy54]

a&i, chaotic here, too. I am so happy to be sharing my wily Weils. The pleasure is all mine.

mumsy, your nose should be a national treasure, along with your ability to describe. I am re-experiencing Chunga reading your take on it. Do savor and enjoy. I had fun packaging this like the little treasure it is. Looking forward to photos.

[mumsy]

That is the nicest and most wonderful thing you could ever, ever say to me as a trainee perfumer. Thank you very much.

This box is a treasure indeed. Here it is:-



I am not able to sample this fast but I promise to make the time to devote entirely to each, one by one.

[jujy54]

Oh, mumsy, thank you for the artful photo! I may have to make this my wallpaper. Now, who added that fringy little cord at the bottom of the picture?

[mumsy]

Vintage Zibeline pure parfume

OOOOOh, fur and leather and buttery notes almost like a caramel toffee with a sharper citrus nuance softened by the creamy notes. This is delicious. I'm not getting florals here unless they are fuller florals with an animalic fatness. There is a sweetness of a marzipan tonka nature peeking out. This is how perfume was done properly. Full and fat and scrumptious. This is a mama enveloping you in her huge hug. There is an amberish quality holding all these lovely things in a translucent solid veil of sweetness without any cloying. There is a green herbal slightly spicy side emerging and an animal has emerged from a hedgerow. It is a bit like submersing yourself in a kittens tummy after it has been playing in dry grass. There is a musty hayish animalic vibe. Then it is settling into a more gentle sandal tonka amber and fading like that. Very, very lovely.

Thank you. I will be back as soon as i can.

[jujy54]

Lovely read. I have a smidge of the pure parfum thanks to CivetLady. I plan to use it as intended, daubing it on my late mom's mink. Luxe!

[mumsy]

Bambou
What a delicate little thing. I'm pushing my way thought this thin green wall. Its quite sparkly fresh and very pale green. Slight nuance of citrus aspects but not lemony. A shy little animal is peeking out from the straw like grasses and I'm swishing closer to some rich but not sickly florals. It's also got a delicate floral side like peony or something similar. The grass is like lemongrass almost, but not lemony. I suppose like bamboo of course, but it isn't very woody, more grassy or lighter wood. The florals are quite rich but they are not overpowering the thin green feel. It is almost like a man cologne. A man could easily wear this well in a hot climate.
I'm not picking up much base in this. The green transparency is lasting, but it's a strawlike green like a nearly faded thick grassy plant something like plantain grasses. It is like a big clump that gets all the leaf mould gathering in the middle so it gets mustier and only slightly woodier in the centre. The top green bit just doesn't leave but gets less. Like an old soap with only some of its former glory left.

A fun perfume and nice whilst it lasted. I felt I needed it to reach a heavier conclusion and it didn't. Good for a hot climate.

Thank you. I've wanted to try this one for ages. It was nothing like I expected.

[PerfumedLady]

Oh, mumsy, I love your description of Bambou! Even though it sounds that I liked it a bit better than you did, your words are spot on. I didn't feel it had much base, either. Didn't mind as it was very hot here when I had my turn. Under those conditions, I really enjoyed the sheer "green transparency" as you so perfectly called it. Can't wait to hear more from you on these!

I'm still enjoying this pass so much! Was eager to hear your thoughts on these, mumsy and CivetLady's impressions gave me a great read, too. Hope all is well with you, anomie et ivoire. Wonderful job, everyone!

[jujy54]

mumsy, are you working your way toward Weil de Weil? It is the greenest thing on the planet, not for the faint of nose nor the inexperienced sniffer. WdW and Zibeine are the two most "forward" of the Weils. I would call the vintage Antilope EdT the most conventionally wearable, a ladylike aldehyde with great bones. It's one of 3 or 4 fragrances which I might wear day after day for a month or two. Love every word you write.