Bird of Paradise

Another of my favorite Avon classics This was a beautiful adornment of a fragrance. I had the mirror shaped To A Wild Rose perfume along with this one. Bird of Paradise came in the bottle as pictured in this page. It was a decorative large glass sculptured bird with a lot of room for the fragrance and it lasted for years. In fact I still have mine. The scent can be described as both a chypre and an Oriental. It's an evening musk. The animalic notes are prominent and that would make sense. She's a bird. There's a bit of leather and musk, incense and smoky notes which give it a deep rich smoky sultry air. This smelled so marvelous. When applied with a light touch it was powdery. When sprayed liberally it became a real incense. The notes of white flowers namely a jasmine and gardenia were in there as well. Not very flowery but a kind of slightly soapy white floral scent. The jasmine was gorgeous. It gave the fragrance a Shalimar style. The jasmine was fragrant for a while before it turned green with what they call green notes but they were distinct galbanum, oak moss and patchouli. These herbal green notes are common in Orientals and chypres. This is a green oak moss scent that smells like burnt grass in a good way. Lots of moss and woodsy notes of which a sandalwood and dark cedar is detectable. Woodsy dry down. In today's perfume industry, this is terribly old fashioned and old lady ish. But why would eBay sell some of the vintage bottles then? It has a demographic and people do want to bring this into their home. They are vintage collectibles and they smell great. I love how this smells on me. I wear this to Synagogue. I also wear this to candlelit dinners. A classy mature sophisticated and absolutely gorgeous Oriental woody musk. If you can get your hands on it especially the bird bottle go for it. You will love it. So much to love from the opening top notes of white floral jasmine, to the progressive middle notes of galbanum patchouli oak moss and dry down base notes of incense and musk. Glorious!! An Avon masterpiece.

Purchased Vintage 197? Blue Victorian Woman Bottle From Ebay... This fragrance is an absolute marvel for the senses. It opens with a captivating blend of sweet yet sharp jungle green floral chypre, layered with hints of smoky incense and tobacco. The presence of sandalwood imparts a nutty/smokey sweetness to the base notes, and while there's a subtle trace of vanilla, the dominant green and sharp florals create a unique sweet, powdery smokiness. The high-quality jasmine oil used in this fragrance adds to its allure, subtly contributing to its green, oriental, and boozy character. One can also discern a faint, somewhat sweet undertone of urine in the middle opening, Castoreum? which adds another intriguing dimension to the scent profile. The bird of paradise flower introduces a distinctive green note, while the violet gracefully transforms into a blend of sweet tobacco, vanilla, and green powder. The opening leans unisex, but as it evolves, it takes on a slightly more masculine/androgynous character. For a creative twist, I layered this fragrance with Dakar from Al Rehab, resulting in a fantastic dark green, boozy chypre. The initial stages and transitions I experience with 'Birds of Paradise' remind me of the scent of Amaretto, the Italian liqueur, with an almost boozy almond note emerging within the smoky jungles of this mysterious green floriental chypre. A true masterpiece of yester-year.

Notes: TOP: "Bird of Paradise" Flower, Tobacco MID: Jasmine, Iris BASE: Incense, Vetiver, Sandalwood ( Source: Avon press release circa 1969 ) It's the incense and tobacco notes that stand out most in this especially on first application.. Even so, I don't get Emeraude ( or even, by extension, Shalimar ). Maybe closer to vintage of both due to the smokiness but absolutely no vanilla or citrus notes, so it's never going to be that close. I get some green notes but as it dries down, mainly florals with the tobacco; : jasmine, iris, a hint of violet or what I assume is the brightly coloured beauty that is Bird the Paradise flower ? Which I've seen but can't recall smelling. This too is a beauty from the days when Avon could compete with any of the top French houses. Yes, really !

The more I sniff, the more I like this. Like others, bought the enormous bird decanter for my vintage vanity (I also collect vintage Avon frags. But not usually the novelty shapes.) I have this in a .5 oz "fragrant gems" cologne as well. At first Ticonderoga pencils 😊-- then, it smells much like Coty's Emeraude, but starts developing into something more unique. Incense before being burned. Resinous green floral, galbanum perhaps. Cool, soft spice like cardamom. Creamy sandalwood. Almost creates a vanilla impression, but not a true vanilla fragrance. This is fantastic juice, brings a smile to my face. Mitsouko is an appropriate comparison, but to me, Mitsouko is spicier. Vintage smelling, yes! And I love it.

Bird of Paradise is another Avon cologne I'm sure I smelled on adults when I was a child. It strikes me as richly floral with a lot going on behind it. To me it's first floral and green, then equal parts powdery and smoky. I don't get much wood from the scent. I'd say it's a fairly fresh scent, though softly so due to the smoky note, which on me seems to convert to powderiness in the dry-down. I liked it out of the bottle and like the traces that remain after hours. Best of all, I found it in another lovely, kitchy vintage Avon bottle. I can't be the only person who wishes they still made those!