It still hasn´t gotten very hot here (upper 80s) which by DC standards is moderate. In fact I think we´ve broken 90 only four or five days this summer. We´ll see what August brings.
So I´ve gotten to try one of those perfumista cult perfumes – Cher´s Uninhibited, thanks to Melissa! I love the bottle, isn´t that a gas? I had a heckuva time finding a decent image. This is allegedly a factice, which I think looks like the parfum bottle, with a frosted glass (crystal?) half moon stopper. The stopper on the EdT bottles is silver toned.
I personally would expect Cher´s fragrance to suck, only because so many celeb fragrances do. According to Basenotes, Uninhibited was inspired by two fragrances Cher wore together: Charles of the Ritz and Jean Laporte Vanilla. Since I don´t have either of those I can´t say, but Uninhibited has been discontinued for some time and fetches premium prices online. It shows up on eBay and it appears to be available at a couple other sites.
Notes are lily, peony, dried fruits, ylang, orris, magnolia, vanilla, heliotrope, musk. I´m finding that list a little suspect, only because Uninhibited doesn´t smell as sweet as that list would suggest. In fact, the opening smells like aldehydes to me; for the first few seconds you could be smelling some chilly Chanel. It´s a dry cocktail of a thing at that point. Then the fragrance opens up and sweetens on my skin, but never gets all that sweet. It´s powdery the way orris can be powdery, and the heliotrope isn´t overwhelming. The drydown´s really nice, a slightly tart musk that manages to convey both sensuality and aloofness.
I think Cher Uninhibited fits in nicely with Cher´s image of the time – it´s fierce and strong and yet retains a sense of humor. It also has that pre-gourmand vibe when “sexy” smelled like musk and patch and civet instead of like baked goods. I’m not sure I’d go to the ends of the earth to get my hands on a bottle, but if some comes your way it’s worth a sniff.
No, that’s right, it was bike shorts — woo-hoo, lookey here! http://tinyurl.com/ktzctp
Carter, I think I still like that better than the Hefty-bag number worn just a year or two ago by Tilda Swinton (bless her heart).
I am more than old enough to remember this, but I don’t at all. I do remember watching the Oscars just to see what she’d be wearing!
In hindsight I love all those clothes — the whole costumey aspect of it — although at the time I think I sniffed at it.
Does anyone remember Demi Moore in a pair of hot pants? The image is forever emblazoned on the backs of my eyeballs.
I still have some of this somewhere in my collection. I loved it when I wore it.
dleep
I somehow missed this the first time around…
My mom wore this all through the late 80s (whenever it came out) til they discontinued it…I know she still has a bottle or two hiding out in a bedroom closet…
Hey, you could sell those bottles on eBay and make a killing! 😉
Thanks for your review, March. Have always been curious about this one…and your description satisfies desire to know enough to curb any auction nonsense bidding on my part. As if I could afford those prices, anyway…Uninhibited action is like the Chaos whack.
The bottle *is* fun, no? The top kind of reminds me of showgirl fans AND her crazy headdresses. (I know, I know…the shape is reminiscent of other bottle designs…obviously, context is affecting perception…but still, fun.)
The parfum bottle is, I guess, not so bad. There’s something really tackola about the EdT that doesn’t translate in the photo, but in a fun way. I certainly wouldn’t spend an arm and a leg unsniffed for this one, but I’m glad I tried it.
I always assumed that was the L’Artisan Vanilia, but she said she’d been wearing it since 1972 and Vanilia didn’t launch until 1978. So far as I know. I wonder if there was some earlier incarnation?? Or if Cher just had a bad memory, since she made that statement in 1988? Anyway, re: the baby oil statement above, here is more from that same WWD article:
“When I smell Ombre Rose, it smells very sensual and it smells great. And at the last minute you smell a baby in there somewhere. That’s the way my perfume is — it’s got an up-front of being very sexy and sensual, and then right at the last minute it kind of goes into a real innocence. I kind of like the combination of it.”
Hey, R — thanks for the great addition to the discussion. Until I started reading up, I had no idea Uninhibited was “based” on anything at all. Wondering whether you think the list of notes is at all accurate? Do you have anything better?
Oh…my…God. I would go to the ends of the earth for a bottle of this. I’ll be breaking down the door to your house later on today. Then I’m heading for Melissa’s. 😀
I’m ready when you are! 😉
To hell with the perfume – I want her costumes! 😀
xo >-)
What was that guy’s name? Bob Mackie? Was that it? I loooved those days, waiting to see what crazy-ass outfit she was going to show up in next.
Bob Mackie. He did Carol Burnett’s clothes, too, among others whose names escape me at the moment. No matter what he did it always looked cheap, but in a good way. Hoo-ray for Hol-ly-wood!
Check out some Barbie sites (there’s a cult for you) and look at the fab stuff Bob Mackie has done for Barbie. Limited editions of course, and not sold at your local toy store.
I wonder why I never looked up the notes. Dried fruits??!! If gourmand = pastries, then pre-gourmand = raisins and prunes and musk?
But it really does not smell anything like that. It has an 80’s vibe, but it doesn’t overwhelm. I have a drop of the parfum and it is similar, but a bit smoother and rounder as you might expect. Nice, but I won’t pay ebay prices either.
Now let’s talk kitschy bottles. That one takes the prize, doesn’t it?
The bottle cracks me up. And re the notes — honey, I’m not a chemist. I can never decide if the notes given are total bullsh!t, and half the time when you go trolling for notes, you come up with different random lists. Unless you’ve got JCEllena doing the big reveal or whatever, it’s anybody’s best guess, right?
But I’d been wanting to try this, and thank you so much!
It is surprising, no? I quite liked it when Melissa gave me a sniff; but must re-try. I love the kitchy bottle!
I can hook you up, doll. The bottle is heedious. In a good way.
Wow, that is nothing like it was for me the first time around – it smelled like hot baby oil in a closed car in August, and I could not get away from it fast enough. =:-0
Wait …. so you’re saying that in a bad way?
😉
Cuz I’d like hot baby oil in a closed car, sounds like summer! Just leave out the diaper…
I just want to say that I absolutely HATE this perfume ! I haven’t smelled it in years and i hope i never do. The reason why it wasn’t such a big seller was because it smelled heineous! Sort of like old skunk — and not in a good way! I was so disappointed because I love Cher–then and now!
If they had razzie’s for perfume –this would be it.