YoooHoo! Posse! Portia from AustralianPerfumeJunkies and today I am reminiscing about the amazing time we spent in Chicago with Musette for her BIRTHDAY! Now one of Musette’s lifetimer girlfriends, a very elegant swan of a girl called Francene brought along a bottle of original Courreges for me to have. I couldn’t believe the generosity. It is apparently her favourite fragrance, has been for decades, and was discontinued before the Ark set sail. At that time she bought EVERY bottle she could get her hands on and now has gallons of it, so much in fact that even if she lives to 10,000 years old she will still have some left.
You know you are in the middle of a perfumista gathering when not one person in about 15 questions this, raises an eyebrow or expresses anything but deepest sympathy for the discontinuation and awe at her determination to never be without her holy grail. To be honest most of us we impressed beyond belief. At the time she gave me her precious bottle I promised that I would discuss Courreges (pronounced Koo (like you)- rej(j like Beijing) on Perfume Posse. here goes…..
Courreges: Concentrated Cologne
Sorry, I don’t have a note list or know the perfumer.
So here are my guesses, aldehydes that are both greasy and bubbly, creamy ylang ylang, zesty citrus, cardamom, sandalwood, honey, animals (maybe civet and musk), rose, resins, oakmoss. GUESSING!! I have almost no idea because Courreges is so beautifully blended and WOW! what a fragrance.
Courreges is so smooth and flawless, imagine if CHANEL No 5 was smothered in balm and cream. Old fashioned? Yes, a little but still it could be put out by a modern niche house looking to recreate the ultimate glamour years of fragrance and it is remarkably light and diffuse for such an old fragrance. I wonder if its the cologne concentration. Imagine this delightfully skanky mother as a PARFUM! Faint.
I get excellent sillage, projection and longevity from Courreges. I could easily float away on its beauty.
Thanks Francene, you’re a star.
Portia xx
Photo Stolen kbaird
Courreges GIVEAWAY!
WHAT CAN YOU WIN?
This week we will have 3 winners who will receive:
1 x decant of Courreges: Concentrated Cologne (from my bottle)
P&H Anywhere in the world
I’ll be away so the prizes won’t be sent till early May 2015
HOW DO YOU WIN?
Open to everyone worldwide
Tell me about your favourite discontinued fragrance or a memory of someone you loves fragrance of yesteryear
HOUSEKEEPING
Entries Close Sunday 12th April 2015 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 16th April 2015 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.
I miss Lanvin’s Arpege. I have a vintage and a current version, which is also discontinued by now I believe. Sometimes I just wonder: what it must have been like to smell it in the 1950, for example, dabbed fresh from the bottle. Thanks for the story and the draw. I find such devotion to a fragrance admirable. I have always been curious about Courreges!
I always bring up Trigére by Pauline Trigére, in the hope that someone who knows more about perfume than I do can tell me something about it. It’s such a grassy green (but rich and smooth, not sharp) that I’m always surprised that the liquid itself isn’t green, when I take out the little bit I have left. The closest thing I’ve found to it is Annick Goutal Petite Cherie, although the Trigére doesn’t have any peach or pear, as far as I can tell.
My favorite scent memories are of the original Royal Secret by Germaine Monteil and Emeraude by Coty. These were my late mother’s “dress up” scents in the sixties. Both fragrances have been reformulated and bear no resemblance to the lovely originals. Sigh. Thanks for the wonderful giveaway. I’m i the U. S.
My aunt wore a Royal Secret in the seventies. It smelled wonderful–I used to sneak a bit sometimes when I was a kid.
Love old Emeraude… wanted to point out that I’ve had good luck with finding late 60s and early 70s Emeraude in very good shape on ebay. I’d suggest parfum de toilette, and still in the box if you can find it – I’ve got three bottles of it and they’re all lovely. The small parfum minis are too age-damaged to wear, and so is the 50s edt, but they’re pretty to look at anyway.
my favorite discontinued fragrance is Nombre Noir. It would have been Cuiron too though it has been resurrected, albeit, with a little modification. thanks for the draw. I follow APJ through email. I am in the US
As far as I’m concerned, Miss Dior is extinct, because the formulation you can buy now is literally unrecognizable. The same goes for Coco. It’s horrifying.
I wish Ava Luxe would bring back Madam X.
I’ve acquired vintage versions of many of the fragrances I’ve wanted however, if there would be one Id like to try it would be the oft spoken of Iris Gris. As always thank you for the giveaway : )
This is so generous. The perfume community has always been so warm and welcoming to perfume newbies like me and the amazing community at Perfume Posse really sparked my obsession for fragrances. I just wanted to thank you all so much.
How cool is this, Portia? I always say that perfume people are just the best — friendly, fun and very generous! And you are so sweet also to share a bit of your stash. I wish-wish-wish that Guerlain would bring back Attrape Coeur and Iris Ganache. And I would love it if Theorema would make a comeback, along with the original Lauren by Ralph Lauren, as Sapphire mentioned above. Thanks!
I’m newer to the perfume game, but one I’ve started collecting so far is the Gucci 2002 brown. Why discontinue??
I don’t hear many comments about the reformulation of Cristalle, but it broke my heart, so much in fact that I now wear EL Jasmine White Moss in its stead.
As always, my most missed frag is the original Vetiver by Carven, not the pale by comparison re-form on offer today. Thanks for the generous giveaway, Portia! Xoxo
I know this will probably garner some raised eyebrows, but the perfume I really wish would come back is…Babe. Yep, Babe by Faberge. I had a small bottle when I was in middle school, and I would just love to smell it again.
I hope this doesn’t disqualify me from the drawing… 🙂
Sharyl, I remember loving Babe — you’re not alone!
My roommate in college used to wear Gucci No. 3, a beautiful floral chypre, very aldehydic. I also recall green and leather notes (she let me wear it occasionally for special occasions). Her bottle was a large splash bottle with a ground glass lid. I haven’t seen this perfume for so may years but I’m sure one whiff would take me right back to college.
The old ’80s version of Victoria by Victoria’s Secret (I’m with Poodle on this one). It was so lovely – elegant and reserved yet lush and romantic, a gentle, so-pretty floral chypre. In feeling, something like Deneuve, but with summer flowers instead of Deneuve’s spring blooms.
I’ve picked up three separate bottles via eBay and they’re all spoiled by age – they smell like maple syrup all the way through. Also found a mini bottle at one of the online discounters but it’s either age-damaged or fake; it smells nothing like it should. GAH.
I’m sorry that your purchases hadn’t aged well but I feel better knowing hoarding wouldn’t have helped.
There are a few that I wish that were not discontinued. Theorema. Deneuve, and Havana Vanille (before the name change). Don’t even get me started on Bal a Versailles. I tried the latest version of it before it was discontinued and all the skank was taken out of it.
Apparently it’s still around–whoever owns it nowadays just sent me an email advertising a bottle of parfum and a second bottle of edt for $160. Since I’d gotten a sample of a somewhat recent vintage, and got nothing resembling skank, I wasn’t too tempted.
Original Lauren by Ralph Lauren. My college roommate got me started on it. It hasn’t been the same in ages.
Amen, Sapphire, amen! I have the small clear glass/crystal cube of the pure parfum in it but darned if I can get the stopper out. Just as well, as I’d probably be woefully disappointed as it has probably turned. BTW, Surrender to Chance has Lauren, but not sure what year it’s from. Worth getting a sample vial, maybe?
There are many favorites among the discontinued frags, but one that I miss terribly is Givenchy III. And Jolie Madame–I’ve loved that one a long time! Thanks for the lovely giveaway.
Oh, aldehydes, would be curious to try this! My mother spoke of vintage Vent Vert with great enthusiasm and affection–never got to experience it, and have been duly warned to keep my distance from the reform.
So generous of you, Portia, thanks for the chance! I have hoarded Donna Karan Black Cashmere but I’m running out- I mean the prereformulation as the new one doesn’t even come close. I also miss the whole line of Satellite perfumes.
I share the pain that OPIUM has been changed and discontinued. I also feel sorrow for discontinuation of Theorema and Theorema Leggero by Fendi
Opium. It was one of those fragrances that really smelled divine on me and I didn’t douse my self in it. But I find a lot of scents are kind of wimpy now!
Two discontinued perfumes come to mind right away. One is the original Victoria by Victoria’s Secret. That was one lovely perfume. Victoria’s Secret is that at one point in time she had pretty good taste in perfume. The other perfume that’s long gone was by Revlon I think and it was Scoundrel. Joan Collins was in the print ads for it. It smelled far too grown up for me at the time but I snuck a spritz everytime I went to the drugstore with mom. I’m sure there are a few more I could list. If only I knew they’d be gone I would have stocked up like Francene did.
Ha! Victoria is my “wish it would come back” fragrance too! No point hoarding that one IMO… it goes bad so easily. But it was such a lovely thing.