Do any of you lovely Posse folks remember that sometime in the past several years they were to re-issue Jean Patou’s Vacances? I was thrilled to pieces to hear that when the news first broke, and tried to keep my ears open to hear more about it. Maybe I’m living under a bigger rock than I thought, but I never did seem to see anything more definite regarding it, and it seems like it should have made a fairly big splash in the perfumista world. So today I’m sending out a Posse-wide call here: Do any of you know anything more about it, or even better, have any of you been able to try the re-issued Vacances?
Upon hearing many moons ago that this beauty would be re-done, I thought it might be safe to start using my itty-bitty stash of the original Vacances more freely. But then my cautious little hoarding voice whispered: “You better wait – what if the reissue falls through and doesn’t happen? What if the new one is a huge disappointment? What if you can’t get it?” What if, what if, what if.
“Use it and enjoy it; don’t save it for a rainy day. Splurge — you deserve it,” said my bigger, more mature, non-hoarding voice.
Still, the little voice won, mostly. My stash is still relatively intact. Nevertheless, I’d still be excited to fall (even a little) in love with the new, and be able to buy as much as I can afford. Which isn’t much, granted, but hey, just the thought of it being readily available would thrill my poor little lilac-lovin’ soul.! And I know that Ms. Anita also will be joining me in wishing this, because as she has mentioned, back in the day she used to scent her sheets with it. (Oh, the joy of having that much to splurge with!)
As I mentioned above, I haven’t seen all that much about the re-issued Vacances: where it’s sold, if anyone’s doing samples of it, etc., and was hoping that some of you might have more information about it.
So please, any of you lucky souls out there, do share your thoughts on the reformulated Vacances or its fate, or any of the Patou re-issues. Thanks!
The lack of green is indeed a deal breaker. Thank you for clarifying so well. I have a bottle like the one pictured at the top of the article plus several minis and I think I can put this lemming to sleep (humanely, of course).
Yep, Carrie, it does kinda pop my balloon, too. But at least we know now, and if you’ve got some vintage at hand, you are ahead of the game and sitting pretty. Enjoy!
I love love love the Ma Collection version – it is such a tender, ethereal green with whiffs of gentle flowers (lilac, hyacinth, mimosa). I too was utterly thrilled THRILLED I TELL YOU! about the rereleased Vacances.
And then I tested it. In fact, I blind-bought a 10ml split.
It is nice. It is a perfectly nice soft lilac, almost a soliflore. I was expecting the tender green leaves of the 80s version, but they are not there. And since that was the part I loved best, I was horribly disappointed. Whatever galbanum is in there flies by at the speed of light and is not part of the overall character of the scent. Mind you, the new stuff is not bad at all. In fact, it’s lovely, but I wanted the green and did not get it. I am keeping my decant in my purse, for emergencies. There is a pretty rose in there, and everything is softly powdery. It’s not bad. It just doesn’t carry that effect of dewy air that the Ma Collection version gets just right.
BTW, if you would like to try it, I can send you a bit. PM me. 🙂
Hiya, Mals! So nice to see you– hope you and the family are doing well. So sorry to hear that you were disappointed in the re-release. I guess the green and the other tender flowers in there helped create the magic, and without them you get a perfectly nice near-lilac soliflore. At least you didn’t splurge on a full bottle, right? Especially at those prices — yikes! And thanks — will do.
I never got to try the original Vacances let alone the reissue. I searched for some on E-bay but with no luck. Hyacinth and lilac are two underused notes, especially when it’s a dominant note. I will keep looking for a sample or mini.
Keep looking, eldarwen, those little bottles do come up on eBay from time to time. Have you tried Frederic Malle’s En Passant for a lilac fix? It’s not quite up there with Vacances, but still mighty pretty IMHO.
I wrote to Patou when I heard of the Vacances reissue and asked if they would ship to the US and they wouldn’t. I have not seen any splits of this, but would love to try the new one. The vintage is in my top 5 favorites.
Carrie, thanks for letting us know. Wonder what the problem is with no U.S. shipping. Surely when it comes to selling your product, your motto should be “the more the merrier,” eh?
Don’t know anything about the Vacances reissue, but I highly recommend the new Ex Nihilo Sweet Morphine for a beautiful lilac. It has a little bit of woods and vanilla to take it out of “air freshener” territory and give it depth, but still a definite lilac and much easier to acquire! Good luck on finding the Vacances!
I second the Sweet Morphine. It’s on my FB list. I love love love lilacs! Also – the Ma Collection is one I want to buy. I love the original Jean Patou. Now I just need the money, honey. 🙂 🙂
Hi, Sherri and Maya — thanks for the heads-up on the Sweet Morphine. It’s going on my sample list ASAP. I love me some lilacs, too!
Hey Ann,
I’m sure we saw these in Chicago with Musette a couple of years ago but I was too busy sniffing other stuff and flirting with the Patou boy.
Come to think of it, I remember him giving me a set of samples but the Lord only knows where they are. GAK! If they come up I’ll send them to you.
Portia xx
Thanks, dear! That is sweet of you. And you were busy flirting with the Patou boy, too funny! It almost sounded like “flirting with the pool boy.” 🙂
ha! I remember that! Ann, I’m back in Chicago in a week or so – will check and see if they are in stock!
xoxoxoA
That would be great, dear! Thanks!!
Righto, hang on, I have got a decant of Vacances reissue…just comparing them now. The new one opens greener, but heck, it’s good. The Ma version has a little more of that powdery rose iris thing going, but the new is very true to the fresh spirit. Possibly more of the lily competing with the lilac. Neither is as lilac-y as En Passant or the Ineke one to my nose. I’d fully recommend a sample. I have been overindulging in splits and samples lately, still catching up! In fact the new Vacances just went in my FB list……shame they are overpricing everything in niche now though…
Good to know, Marion! And so glad you found yours to try. Not sure if that site ships to the U.S., but I’ll definitely look into it. Thanks!
I think I missed the split for this, but I did get Que Sai Guis sorry, not even close to the spelling, and was amazed at how similar it is to the old Ma Collection bottle I have…..PS I recommend Aus lieb/FiF, I get a lot from them to Australia, they deduct sales tax. And they have fantastic samples of about 2 ml.
The new Vacances is available in Europe, the German website ausliebezumduft.de carries it, 180 euro for 100 ml. It is part of the Heritage collection. Hope this helps (and now I am curious to sniff it!).
Oh, thank you so much for the info! I wonder when it will be available over here in the U.S.? Hope you get to smell it, too, and let us know what you think.