Somewhere

Somewhere perfume oil is an experience onto itself. Extremely flowery soapy aldehydes, potent cypress and balsam, and at one point something that resembles oak moss and galbanum to my nose shines through and Somewhere veers off into resembling Charlie by Revlon so much that it hurts. It's such a lovely little vintage fragrance all the same. It's prim and clean yet quirky in a delightfully old fashioned way and I love it! I don't smell too many distinct floral notes as they all seem to get lost in the soapiness and smothered by coniferous trees. Somewhere has impressive longevity. I applied a bit before going off to work and more than 7 hours later the scent was still lingering around. Sillage is soft and polite and won't knock anyone's socks off. It's unlike any other perfume I've ever smelled and is like the love child of a Christmas tree and a bar of soap. With the sort of prices you'll see online, it's not the worst vintage to play around with as a novelty.

Delicate, gentle floral chypre. Opens with big, bright, soapy aldehydes before proceeding to a powdery, iris-forward floral heart. Drydown is dominated by earthy cypress & oakmoss. Soft, subtle, and clean. Quite lovely! Truly takes me SOMEWHERE... specifically somewhere safe bright and airy

So, Diving into the AMAZING vintage Avon haul I got last week. I've been looking forward to this! And the first random pick is...*Somewhere!* Hmmnnnn I never had this one as a child so this is truly a blind dive in! Here we go! So I have a cologne splash bottle from about 1983. First dips, applied to wrists, pits, and neck...this...this is NICE! A gentle chypre fragrance with a lightly soapy-powdery opening. Hour 2: she dried down into a gently floral slightly sweet oakmoss and the lightest hint of cypress I believe. Not as soft as a sandalwood, a bit sharper but very pleasant. It blends well with the white florals and slightly tangy iris. Comes across very green and fresh on me and fortunately doesn't turn into peppered steak like my ill-fated bottle of Laila. Hour 3: Annnndddd....she's gone. This is pretty typical of the old Avon colognes. If I sniff hard enough there's just the ever so tiny bit of cypress and oakmoss left. Since my bottle is so small I hold out until hour 6 to reapply. Noon: Time to reapply! The soapy powdery scent last longer this time before drying down into a slightly stronger oakmoss. Very pleasant on me. The florals seem a bit more abundant this time too. Definitely iris and an almost citrusy greenness, but not overpowering. It reminds me of...Ma Griffe! Well, ok then. A lot of Avon fragrances were made to be similar to more expensive scents so that's not a surprise. Hour 12, 6pm: I put dabs on for the evening. Hubby loves this one. Sometimes I wear very pungent florals (which I adore) but I think he likes these lighter chypre floral scents. It's a comfortable fragrance. I woke up in the morning and for the most part she was completely gone. So, this one is light and pleasant. Would definitely be good for daytime office wear. If you spot a bottle out in the wild for under $20 I say go for it. You're definitely not finding a vintage bottle of Ma Griffe for that!

Somewhere Perfume - Dram bottle Circa 1963- Very soapy like a bubble bath but way fresher and more defined than the aged cologne reviewed earlier. The 1963 Avon Outlook catalog I found on the Hagley site lists the components as "violet, heather, lilies, and mimosa, touched with jasmine and the cool freshness of cypress and balsam." I think the cypress and balsam give Somewhere a fragrance that's a bit too much like a bath soak for sore muscles or a luxury cake of hand soap. Devolves into woody, oakmossy - I think, mostly lily-scented soapiness. A little bit like Mitsouko without the peach. I suspect these mid-century Avon classics attempt to emulate French perfumes but I don't know which one Somewhere may be trying to mimic. I can't distinguish any heather or violet or mimosa under the noisy lily smell. Might have some musk because it also has some of the bite of Unforgettable, which I think is musk. The cologne seems to be a lot more floral and lighter. The ad describes Somewhere as "heavenly" and "ethereal" but it seems very earthbound to me, more woodland glade than otherworldly. Not a bad fragrance but nowhere near the floral chypre wonderland of Avon Rapture. These early 60's drams of Avon perfumes in clear ridged glass vials with shiny brass caps seem to be one of the best ways to get an authentic whiff of some of Avon's popular mid-century fragrances. My bottle was only $10.00 and still in the box. Originally it sold for about $2.50 according to the catalog.

A few days ago I found the cologne concentration of this perfume in an antique store for a couple bucks, the bottle style is very old fashioned, even older than the picture above. It's dusty, so it's probably been in that place awhile, but the juice doesn't appear to be rotten. Hehe, I'm fortunate, this perfume isn't rotten at all. Light and dainty. It's very aldehydic. The aldehydes are soapy, and they're accompanied by pretty, sweet, and smooth floral notes. The florals aren't very distinct, but to my nose they're more "white". The closest I can conjure are honeysuckle, lilac, maybe jasmine. I think the green notes are meant to suggest lotv, but it has a soft herbal scent. It's powdery, so maybe iris as well. This perfume has a warmth to it, I think there's unlisted amber or musk in the base. Avon is a budget beauty company, so it's likely that even in the 60s they were using few to none of the natural floral components, as the naturals were and still are quite expensive. This perfume feels like it was made for the housewife who wanted to smell pretty every day but also didn't want to break the bank doing so. An affordable, everyday luxury. I suppose that's Avon's customer in every decade. I think Somewhere is one of Avon's better floral perfumes, it smells pretty good. It's simple and modest but charming.