Ivoire de Balmain

Ivoire is an herbal masterpiece! I first wore her between the time of it's release 1980 and through 1985. This here is a beautiful lush green chypre, the likes of which had not come before or after. Though there are chypres which outrank her in name: Chanel No. 19, Estee Lauder Aliage, Elizabeth Arden Bluegrass, and Pierre Balmain's own Vent Vert, for me truly Ivoire de Balmain takes the trophy for the all around greatest green chypre fragrance. I purchased the eau de toilette dab on bottles and later the sprays. The sprays are a bit too vinegary and rather too harsh especially that opening which can be so aldehydic as to induce a headache or to make your nose twitch (y'all know what I mean!) but the spray acts more like the parfum which is heavier and tougher on you. Try the EDT miniature dab on bottles instead. They're absolutely gorgeous. The fragrance is captivating. First of all it is a real perfume! By that I mean long lasting, comes with superior sillage and an aroma with more notes than fragrance industry churns out today, a throwback to 20 to 30 note formula of the days of Yves Saint Laurent Opium and Magie Noire by Lancôme. Although some reviewers have made comparisons to 80's fragrances I don't see it as a high powered 80's frag at all. In fact it's more like the 1970's green peace, green is good earthy grassy chypre fragrances. This cologne is a discreet soapy and powdery green floral. It's autumnal and contemplative. Some reviewers have called it melancholy or funereal but I'm not smelling what they're smelling. This is a dignified classy fragrance to wear in the winter or fall to special occasions. It matches up with formal wear especially black clothing: dresses or suits. I also do think it's unisex. The fragrance does not come off as all that feminine nor masculine. It has a dual nature and can smell like something a man can easily wear and a woman but both would have to be mature and experienced, older. Ultimately it's a classical chypre and boils down to green aromatic herbal scents of patchouli, vetiver, asafetida, artemisia, galbanum, woods, musk, and lots of oak moss. The aldehydes in the opening are brilliant and sparkling like golden champagne. It is also vaguely familiar with something that smells of hair gel or shoe polish, tea, vinegar and soap. It smells quite domestic. It makes me visualize an Amish lady in Pennsylvania who churns her own butter and wears drab dark dresses and bonnets. Conservative is the perfect word to describe this scent. Nothing about it is slutty or liberal. Artemisia and chamomile give it a green touch from the start along with asafetida. Spicy as hell. But sweet as well. Sweet mandarin and citrus notes are briefly there before it starts turning sweet and soapy with floral notes of violet, marigold, carnation, narcissus, and lily of the valley. These floral notes are not excessive and not as floral as most traditional floral fragrances for women so again a male can pull it off because it's just not that floral. Being a perfume that evokes the autumn, not the spring, it makes sense that it would not smell heavily of flowers. This fragrance is called "Ivory" but it does not smell "white" or "beige". Rather it has a grassy green, earthy green, pea green color mixed with a subdued pale yellow or a dark brown. It matches up with a conservative dress that your grandmother wore or something for Eleanor Roosevelt and ladies of the Great Depression. So understandably I can see why so many have stayed away from this fragrance and are not even bothering to wear it much less review it. It's not youthful and it's not sweet or airy. It's not flirty sexy or "hot". But it is BEAUTIFUL. I wondered why they named it Ivoire and I read the background story. Pierre Balmain the French fashion designer based in Paris was at the Opera and he caught sight of a beautiful and mysterious single lady in a white evening gown and white hat and gloves. She made an impression on him during the performance but she disappeared as soon as the concert was over. He was inspired to formulate a fragrance that captured the spirit of that woman or of the evening of classical music/opera. The scent does not smell like a theater nor is operatic and yet it is formal enough to be worn to such a venue. It has a wistful longing and symphonic beauty. Tchaikovsky's final symphony, the Pathetique, Mahler's Fifth, or Beethoven's Pastoral 6th. It is a poetic and artistic fragrance. An artistic person can wear it, whether male or female, in the right weather: wintery, cold, rainy, or a crisp autumn afternoon. It also smells of a sunset in a park. It's a respectable perfume. That lady that caught Balmain's eye must have been wearing a chypre that was equally as attention grabbing. It is a classic French chypre with all the glorious notes that make up such a perfume, notes which are unfortunately becoming extinct in perfumery today. Galbanum. Oak Moss. Oh when are these new modern noses going to bring back galbanum and oak moss. These notes are so beautiful and more than any other note it has such an emotional power and such heartbreaking beauty. In the dry down the scent becomes progressively more oily and more masculine and like a man's bar of soap. It is brown and the green is gone. This is smelling of spices. Pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon. It's equal parts vanilla although not a vanilla we are used to in today's fragrances. Not a gourmand yummy vanilla. A burnt Shalimar type of dark vanilla. It matches up with the amber and the sandalwood. The woods embrace balsam an incense. And yet despite all these heavy hitters: patchouli, sandalwood, vetiver, galbanum, oak moss, amber, musk, there is a sweetness that is left over from the aldehyde-citrus and the florals, and the strange raspberry tart. Yes raspberry! In this raspberry plus asafetida note it is similar to Magie Noire by Lancôme although that one is much more profound and really more intense and moody, witchy. Ivoire is calm and sweet, no nonsense. She is not a witch but a very proper English lady who went to the Opera. This is a very beautiful scent and I wish to God that more women would wear it. I love to wear it in the colder chillier months and it always brings me pleasure. I must say that my late husband never cared for this scent or Magie Noire but I wore them for my own pleasure and comfort. If you too wear fragrances as therapy for yourself, Ivoire de Balmain is a therapy session in fragrance.

Ivoire de Balmain or Balmain's Ivory is an absolute masterpiece of perfumery made before our horrible late stage capitalism which creates popular but slipshod fragrances purely for mass market appeal. I have some sprays and dab on bottle miniatures. Bought them on ebay from authentic sellers. Ivoire was created by 2 noses, Michel Hy and Francis Camail for designer Pierre Balmain, in the very last year of his life. This fragrance, therefore, was very meaningful and poignant. In fact wearing it for the first time made me cry! It's so beautiful. The opening is aldehydes, neroli and raspberry. It has an unusual start but the aldehydes make it very classic and soapy. This is a green soap bar. Lots of green notes and green things in it that smell green and keep it in a chypre: artemisia, galbanum, chamomile 'nobile', asafetida or Indian spice, lilies of the valley, oak moss, vetiver, and patchouli. So just about all the green notes in most other herbal green fragrances you can think of all in one perfume. So yes the color for this one is green. But it's a light green. It is like soft grass after a rain fall. The whole thing is subtle and doesn't come on as a strong green blast at all. The raspberry keeps it feminine and the white floral notes, i.e. jasmine, and the other floral notes of rose, ylang-ylang, iris, and violet. To me the lesser 'felt' flowers are rose and ylang ylang. This is more evocative of like a light mint green and white color scheme pattern in a 1960s type of flower power skirt. But the girl wearing it is not a devil may care go go dancer. She is serious minded, intellectual, artsy and even melancholy but not in a dark Goth way. In a feminine and beautiful way. She has downcast eyes and dreams her life away. She reads books, philosophical books Voltaire, Sartre, but also romance novels and period novels i.e. Jane Austen, Emily and Charlotte Bronte. The flowers are taking a backseat and are wet with rain like the grass. The vetiver note really stands out. Besides the florals and the green herbal vibes, there is also a touch of warm musk and smokiness via a soft little incense deep in the base. I can detect amber but a mild amber, a very tame very subtle vanilla and musk. The dry down can be described as earthy and musky. This has a very spiritual, peaceful Zen thing going on and again a kind of beautiful melancholia. There is also a therapeutic aroma therapy thing going on. It is very different to smell on someone today and hard to find a place to wear it. Smells perfect for fall and winter not spring because this thing is more warm and balsamic, oily than fresh and zesty. I wear it at home for my own pleasure when I am working on something at home. This suits someone who is more at home being at home than some social butterfly life of the party. She loves her quiet life at home, her garden, and her dogs. Audrey Hepburn, the beautiful classic actress, said in an interview that she was wearing this baby toward the end of her life when she was in her late fifties and early sixties. It is likely she wore it the privacy of her home in Switzerland, called La Paisibile in Tolochenaz, where she is buried. This fragrance is so dear to me. It hits a lot of like buttons for me. If you like chypres and green florals and artistic fragrances, vintages that have a lot going on and not just a gourmand sugary thing this is going to be your perfume! Some other classic perfumes this can be not compared to note for note but in the same 'group' include Vent Vert by Balmain, Chanel No. 19, Cristalle Eau Verte by Chanel, Y by Yves Saint Laurent, and Halston Classic original.

Many perfumes, especially 70’s and 80’s greens, are considered a witches brew. Not many really are. For me, one is Aromatics. The other is Ivoire. Review based on a 200ml edt splash from either 1980 or 1981. Ivoire is hard to describe or decipher for that matter. It’s a bitter green perfume, where all the other notes simply exist to balance. Every time I’ve worn it, my feelings range from surprise to awe. I find it sometimes a bit rough around the edges, but like a drug it keeps pulling me in. The first few wears were a little bit difficult and I could actually see why many would consider it old fashioned. But one thing happened; I couldn’t keep my nose away from my wrists! It’s as if I was smelling a bitter soap, a green ointment rubbed on nails to avoid bitting them. But nothing was off, nothing felt out of place, and my bottle is as fresh as the day it was made (it came boxed and unused so that helped). The closest fragrance to Ivoire, for me, is Missoni’s original first release, and I’m starting to think the raspberry in both is making the connection in my mind. Ivoire on me is a wonderfully green and bitter soapy floral. I can’t really separate the notes, and even though it changes and evolves, all I’m left is with a living forest emanating from my skin. I find it far more green than N°19 and Silences, far more bitter (something I love) than Armani or Aromatics, less sweet and floral than all the above and also less animalic. For me it’s a study in galbanum, moss, woods, all covered in a bar of ivory soap that has mosses covering it. The late drydown reveals the alchemy with Missoni and then it’s when they share that same mystique of smoothness, that dry feel in your mouth after a cup of tea, and skin that is slightly sweaty, musky, warm. Sexuality vs sensuality emanating from your pores. I find Ivoire different from similar offerings, highly complex with evolution that defies one’s abilities to decipher it. It breathes and changes but it doesn’t allow you to come to close to reveal its layers. Much like the fleeting beauy dressed in ivory that, at the opera, caught the attention of its creator. It’s a stunning fragrance, it brings to life emotions, and while every wear shows small aspects of its beauty, it decides what and when to reveal itself. I absolutely love it, I can’t stop inhaling it, and the fact that it boasts an impressive sillage and longevity makes it ideal for a date with yourself. I don’t consider it similar to the ones that it reminds people of, so it’s very much worth owning it. Although it might be a little hard if you don’t REALLY enjoy green in all its power. A masterpiece!

Review based on the old version Incredible aroma !! From the deepest essence of emotions this fragrance is born. Balmain believes it supported in the purest sophistication of the elegance of a lady dressed in ivory color. The touch of the aldehydes produce that air of fresh sophistication that when combined with the oak moss, the vetiver and the woods produce a vibrant, powerful, unique effect, with personality, taken from the bowels of the earth, the camomile and the calendula It smells like a floral scent, which lasts quite a trick, a country scent, natural, fresh, like being in the middle of a meadow full of freshly cut hay, hay that smells of expensive soap because of the added effect of a rich, Complex, where the rose that is attached to a soft musk, feels a different rose, is not the rose Otto, nor its Absolute, rather shades like the rose of France, is nothing juicy, is clean, dusty, as if Out pollen, looks like a rose in a book of memories, that when you open it gives off that incredible aroma of the flower, yes, Ivoire gives off an aura of nostalgia, yearnings and desires. The duration and the stela are pronounced and perfect, it seems more a EDP (how well these things were done before) It represents a mysterious, beautiful, cultured woman who knows how to smell good but is also rebellious, fresh and natural like a white rose that has just bloomed. Ivoire is one of my all time female favorites, masterpiece, with unisex current potential and I get every time I want to smell a rotund and lively aroma, which is full of multiple nuances, where the deep aroma of oak moss Of truth (no, its substitute: evernil) here is a king without complex and without restrictions IFRA. An aroma of the past, dead, that in my nose and my memories will always be present and very alive. Rating: 9.3

Ivoire is the latest classic Balmain for me to try. Balmain as a fragrance house had a particularly consistent output of top-notch perfumes during the twentieth century - Cellier creations such as Vent Vert alongside underrated gems such as this. I have a vintage miniature of Ivoire from the 1990s, and it is a beautiful vintage chypre, bright and airy rather than dense and rich. Ivoire opens with bright, soapy aldehydes alongside green, herbal florals. I get daisy and narcissus in particular, alongside aromatic marigold. Galbanum adds grassy greenness, with some bitterness given by herbal notes. It is a little bit Private Collection, a little bit Vent Vert, a little bit Armani, but with more aldehydic soapiness. Citrus adds tart freshness. As it develops, powdery florals emerge, namely clean jasmine and rooty orris. Rose follows, punctuated by some warm spice. I get some green violet here too. It remains green and herbal, with a hay-like quality in the background. A classic chypre accord develops as it dries down, mossy and grassy, with woody vetiver coming to the fore alongside delicious oakmoss. Smooth sandalwood keeps things grounded, and patchouli follows, enhancing the earthiness of the chypre base. A musky sweet amber accord ties it all together, playing second fiddle to the chypre accord. It fades to become a musky, earthy skin scent. With moderate sillage and longevity, Ivoire is a transeasonal, everyday scent. Unisex by modern standards, Ivoire is a beautifully composed herbal-floral chypre, brightened with aldehydes. Initially cool but becoming progressively warmer as it develops, Ivoire is light and cohesive despite its rich combination of notes. Relaxed, classic elegance in a bottle, it is of its era. An underrated gem. 4.5/5.

Alrighty then: a review on one of my first scents. One of the advantages of being 55yo now is that, at early age, one plunged into scents that are now deemed nigh to inaccessible by youngsters. Not necessarily because they are discontinued, but because they are -compared to nowadays' sugarcandies- considered to be either yesteryears' old (women) perfumes, or 'wow, I need to train my sniffymuscles first' aromas. Back to 1980: smelled it, liked it, bought it, and felt a million dollars wearing it. 41 years later, i still have a last bottle, some 20mls left. And I jealously guard it for truly special occasions, because it is a truly special brew. Talking about brew. How much can one fit in one scent? Well. When you are Pierre Balmain, a Heap, so is proven by Ivoire. Do they clash? No. Do they fit? Yes. Do they blend? Yes. Do they rule? Yes. Greens, whites, purples, yellows, balsams, bitters, woods, aldehydes, nuts, spices, agrumes, etc..., etc..., and roots as it is topped by devil's dung! Yes yes, aka asafoetida, adding a hint of sulfur (cfr also Ma Griffe). It is interesting that the name Ivoire has been chosen. Yes, it is a crisp chypre, smooth yet stark, cold to the touch. Then again, had it been given a darker name and ditto packaging, the same scent might be perceived differently whilst still smelling exactly the same. But well, that is how our senses work and interact, and it proves that presentation and marketing choices count too. I like the Ivoire monicker, and the ebony stripes on the box might -might- have been intended to symbolize the hidden obscure elements. Who can tell. Short version: If you are able to find a vintage bottle: do buy. It is a true milestone fragrance.

VINTAGE PARFUM EXTRAIT - Fabulous Very Smooth green floral chypre. Not sweet yet not bitter on me either. Rich without being heavy. Deeply and complex in greenery, but velvety smooth; no abrasive screechy grit here. So well blended it is difficult to pick apart the notes. Earthy and sensual, but aristocratic and elegant. Clean but not soapy or detergent like. Like inhaling a lush living forest of greens and flowers and earth. Perfectly balanced from every angle. My skin gets no negatives from any accords here. The touch of natural low sweetness makes this intimate and comfortable, even very close to the skin. I find this easy to wear and appreciate from opening to dry down. Nothing feels forced here, no harshness from any of the major groups from top, middle to base. The greens remain foremost yet without getting bitter on me. The florals and fruits are not stale. The spices serve delicately to keeps things dry and open. The woods support without overwhelming. The oakmoss/vetiver/patchouli keep things grounded and earthy without being dirty per se. The touch of labdanum and musk make things plushy without getting suffocating. Gets progressively more beautiful as it dries down on me. This does not scream or shout. Yet this does not whisper either, it is very powerful in its quiet presence. This is remarkably refined and self possessed. Can go formal or casual either way. Work day or night out. Cool but not cold in character. Very gracious and understated regal elegance. This is a masterpiece.

I was lucky enough to stumble across this original Ivoire de Balmain a few years ago, as a cheap blind internet buy, little knowing that it was, or had been, discontinued. Why oh why was I so late discovering this beautiful masterpiece? Once I realised it was discontinued I was able to get my hands on another couple of 100ml bottles but now it's only available at high prices online, tragically. When I first smelled this it seemed very 80s, power-house'ish - strong, in-your-face, shrill, a little bit cold & aloof but after it had been on my skin for half an hour or so it totally softened and became creamy, warm, soft, a little raspberry'ish but in a sophisticated, elegant way, not in a sickly sweet candy way as many perfumes are nowadays. So, Ivoire de Balmain quickly grew on me, I loved it and was gutted it was discontinued after apparently having been around for decades. I blind bought a bottle of the current Ivoire, assuming it must bear some resemblance to this masterpiece, but it didn't at all. I still have the full 100ml bottle of that but am not even slightly tempted to wear it as it's screechy, cold smelling, off-putting - very disappointing to say the least! Ivoire de Balmain was THE best and I cannot for the life of me fathom why it was discontinued. It was a gem of a perfume.

The pre-reformulation (yes, the one with the short list of ingredients): Although there is no galbanum in it, you would think so, as Ivoire opens with the dryest cleanest blast of green you can imagine boosted by the bitter edge of asafoetida, marigold and green bergamot. This is not a languorous end-of-the evening bedroom eyes elegance: it is has a tart grassy wide-awake feel--the start of an evening full of diamond-sharp repartee. I don't detect any fruitiness--and can clearly smell pepper,spices, and carnation along with the icy bright clean soapiness mentioned by other reviewers. The dry down is warm, elegant, and balanced: smoky vetiver, patchouli, incense and amber. This is a perfume for discerning lovers of layered complexity, soapy scents, and sharp greens. It is sophisticated, chic, and not at all sweet. The pre-reformulation lasts and lasts and a little goes a long way. Sadly, my expectations of power and sillage are continually lowered by the weak imitations the once-great houses are now producing--and I am finding that I sometimes over-spritz in compensation: not at all necessary for the high-energy pre-reformulation version of Ivoire.

Ivoire is a beautiful fragrance that I wore off and on for years. I've always been fond of Chypres and discovered this one in the early 80's when everyone was wearing sweet orientals. It was so nice to smell something that wasn't an Opium spinoff. It was a great signature scent as hardly anyone was using it. It is a much softer Chypre than Aromatics Elixir or Jean Louis Scherrer. The opening is very green but the scent dries down slightly sweet, citrusy, mossy. It's balmy,woody,spicy..gosh there is so much going on in this gem. I don't think that any notes in particular dominate the fragrance. I think that the sum here is greater than the parts. Ivoire is a classy elegant scent that wears well year round. This would be a great fragrance for younger folks as an introduction to the world of green chypres. It's less harsh than most of the genre. I can't speak to the new version, having never smelled it. The original scent is nice in all concentrations. There is quite a bit of it around for reasonable prices. This scent is long wearing and has decent but not monstrous sillage. This is one fragrance that I will always keep in my collection!!

Review of Vintage EDT: What can I say about Ivoire that hasn't already been said? Its a stunning, soapy, demure green floral that is excellently blended. To say that this perfume has a refined character is an understatement. The individual notes are hard to pick out with the exception of the aldehydes, oakmoss, chamomile and marigold which on my skin are the most pronounced. Interestingly the aldehydes and oakmoss are most pronounced at the beginning and the chamomile and marigold are most noticeable in the dry down. It doesn't follow the ascribed pyramidal structure as listed above. While this is absolutely gorgeous, I would NEVER recommend this as a blind buy. I can see how many women who are used to Fruity Florals would be very confused by this. This is mis-classified as a Fruity Floral in the database and should be listed as a Chypre Floral. Sillage: approximately 10 feet Longevity: 12 hours on my skin This is a VERY GREEN fragrance, in fact one of the greenest I've encountered. It feels very chic, refined and strangely natural given the presence of aldehydes. It would be perfect to wear to a formal luncheon or in the boardroom.

Ivoire is complex, addictive, elegant and one of the loveliest perfumes I've ever smelled. It's grassy, sharp and energising to begin with but settles down to a lovely soft, fruity, honeyed smell which is gorgeous. The raspberry is the most prominent note on me at that stage but it's not a cheap, candy-like fruitiness which pervades a lot of current perfumes and is much softer, sexy, warm and stylish than that. It's a surprisingly timeless, womanly and sexy perfume and makes me feel great when I wear it. I actually can't wait to wear it and always get excited now when I put it on. I agree with one reviewer here who said it's not for sissies and It takes a confident, self-assured woman to be able to pull it off. A couple of reviewers here though have compared it to Chanel No.5 and Chanel No.19 but I totally disagree and I don't think either of those perfumes come anywhere near to being as lovely as Ivoire. It's a very unique perfume and I couldn't begin to compare it to any other I've ever smelled. I have a large collection of perfumes but Ivoire has become one of my all-time favorites and I couldn't be without now.

AHHHAHHHHAHHHH CHOOOOOOOOOO! That is one spicy opening!!! But I am instantly enamoured.....Definitely a fall/winter flavor. Okay, now that I have had a chance to wear this perfume for 24 hours. I love it. I think the sneeze was from the bottle needing a good shake maybe the spices were on the bottom. Anyway, my impression is that this is a complex fragrance very similar to Cabochard by Gres. Ivoire is sweeter and lighter. I think it is more wearable in that Cabochard is very dramatic and put you in the mind set of sitting by the fire on a winters night. But Ivoire is daytime on a cool crisp day in autumn. Probably not the best for a hot humid day like we have in Texas! My recommendation: a very good fragrance for someone wanting to introduce themselves to the complex world of French perfumery in the styles of Molinard or Gres. I think it is for 25 or older. Daytime or night time wearable. I think it might be a little thick for church or the office but I am very cautious in this regard. You may have a different opinion. Anyway, enjoy this lovely ultra feminine creation. ☺

I still cannot believe the kindness of the fellow Fragrantican who gifted me this scent. Thank you!! My impressions of Ivoire de Balmain echo those of F A, who wrote the following: Energizing, like lying on freshly cut grass among meadow flowers. I couldn't have described it better. And this meadow is completely free of hay fever and mosquitoes! Yes, this is Very reliant on the proper body chemistry. I get no body odor, and find it to be an immediately likable and pleasant scent. For me, this is easy to wear, charming, and natural. So natural, that you forget how chic and stylish you truly are! Three days later, I ordered a backup bottle, because I NEVER want to run out of this magic meadow. It's utterly perfect in cold weather, but I look forward to trying it in summer as well. Five Stars. UPDATE ~ Trying Ivoire in warmer weather gives a distinctly different impression... I now understand how some people smell body odor here. My recommendation is for all hesitant parties to save their final judgement until the dead of winter, when Ivoire shines in full radiance!

This chic green scent is a mesmerizing antithesis to the sweet fruity scents flooding the market. It starts out aldehydic and green in the spirit of Magie Noire or Chanel 19. The chamomile turns this into a different direction than those mentioned. Like tendrils of ivy that grab you..you overcome the strong opening and begin to like it more. The raspberry is a beautiful note that peeks through the green and as it mellows the scent gets better and better. Its a beautiful mature perfume. Don't let the opening scare you away.. Give Ivoire some time and appreciation of a genere we do not see very often. For those of you thinking of other green scents like Cristalle..this is much more dryer and not as fruity like the melon wet mossy feeel in Cristalle. Just the tart raspberry in this one. The drydown mellows into a subtle feminine slightly powdery scent. Classy, Ladylike,Sophisticated. Note: Batch variations through the vintage years would swing wildly to a wonderful experience to what the hell is this.. so just know its a bit of a roulette with this fragrance.

I don't know where I read this, but Ivoire was supposedly inspired by Greta Garbo. I can see the rationale behind this: the fragrance is crisply elegant, sophisticated and mysterious, rather than overtly sexy. However, Ivoire, to me, suggests Grace Kelly more strongly than Garbo. Kelly was so lovely, so classy...yet she had a sex appeal that wasn't 'out there,' like her contemporaries Mariyn Monroe or Sophia Loren, but was still undeniable. Ivoire is the fragrance I go to when I need to be crisp, brisk and professional...but it still has a definite girly vibe. On my skin, I get a green opening with aldehydes, tobacco and a very chic grassy bouquet that is reminiscent from some angles of my dearly beloved Chamade, though Ivoire is greener and lacks that plush, pollen-y, narcissus note that's in the Guerlain masterpiece. I would say that if Ivoire were a wine it would be an aged Bordeaux white: crisp but rich and subtle. I am so glad I rediscovered this!

When I asked for recommendations on a Balmain scent to try, multiple Fragrantica members responded with this suggestion. As always, the friendly perfume lovers on this website are full of good advice. :-) With Ivoire de Balmain, it was love at first sniff! It's such a beautiful, sophisticated and timeless fragrance, perfect for any age. There's a lot going on with this scent. I get a dry citrus floral to start, which dries down to a clean, soapy green scent. About three hours in, the beautiful incense and vetiver emerge. I don't detect a lot of the sweeter notes like carnation, raspberry and vanilla, but I suspect they are softening what could have been a sharper green accord in the hands of a less-talented perfumer. Ivoire is a skillful blend of diverse aromas that every woman ought to try. There's truly something in this scent for lovers of every fragrance category, and the price is very affordable for such a masterpiece!

I disagree with FairyDust who says that Ivoire smells like an 'old lady' scent. Of course, it may be that on FairyDust it smells like an 'old lady' scent, but on many other women clearly it doesn't and it smells lovely. It's all down to body chemistry - either a scent works on you or it doesn't. Ivoire doesn't apparently work well with FairyDust's chemistry so that, for her, is just bad luck. On me (not an old lady!) it smells lovely and, if anything, quite youthful because of the creamy raspberry'ness! Also, there is no such thing as an 'old lady' scent. Not all older women smell the same, and not all younger women smell the same. Each woman has her own unique smell, regardless of age. The 'old lady' term is, in my opinion, very derogatory and offensive. If a person reviewing a perfume doesn't like a perfume, there are many ways to express that without being rude and obnoxious.

Isn't it amazing that some perfumes can smell so different on different people?! Reading some of the comments here I'm amazed that a lot of people say Ivoire on them smells herbal / smokey / incense'y / spicy, etc. Other people comment that it's creamy / soapy, etc. On me it starts quite tart, zingy and grassy (quite retro and a bit mature / sophisticated) but quickly softens to become creamy, sweet, raspberry'ish and a little soapy (and consequently smells more girly). I actually find it an addictive perfume and I love to stop and have a sniff of my bottle of it sometimes even if I'm not wearing it that particular day. I suppose for me it's kind of invigorating and happiness boosting! Ivoire is such a gorgeous, unique perfume and I'm so happy I discovered it for the first time a couple of years ago - I would hate to be without a bottle of it now!

I've been ordering Ivoire from a particular site. Several highly recommended a different e-tailer. I decided to order 3.3 oz. instead of the 1 oz. bottles I had been buying. The 1 oz. bottles had 3-5 ingredients listed on the box, but this new one has so many, I can't count them. AND, it just doesn't smell as wonderful as the first smaller bottles I had been ordering. I'm guessing I received a reformulated version? It didn't last as long either. In a few hours, it was gone. Maybe the previous poster can help me on this one. Seems I read oakmoss compared to oakmoss extract somewhere. This newer, bigger bottle has oakmoss 'extract'. I'm just so disappointed. Ivoire is a beautiful scent; they just don't make fragrances like the original Ivoire anymore. How do I find ones with just a few ingredients listed? Are they the pre-reformulation bottles?

I am praying for the biggest bottle of vintage pure parfum to come my way. I just tried a tiny sample of it and I am blown away. I liked EDT, but if EDT was merely an operette - this is a Rachmaninoff concerto! It was a July day in a magnificent garden of flowers and dewy greenery, sultry but sophisticated, florid but fresh. It is dawn and citruses burst with their cold freshness. The chamomile comes into play, soothing and taking me further into the day. The sun is raising and I can smell the narcotic narcissus, roses and heady orange blossom. The ripe raspberries from their bushes and their humid green leaves. The dusk comes with its most luxurious smell of woods, still warm after a hot day, with a touch of incense. I wish that day never ended! It is the most refined thing I have ever experienced...

I read that this was part of Audrey Hepburn's fragrance wardrobe. But I didn't know that when I bought a small bottle in a duty-free shop on a cruise ship years ago. Just thought it was the most beautiful french perfume, ughhhh. It's just beautiful... I don't know how to describe it. It's just classy, feminine, from a gone by era. Makes you want to spray it on your hairbrush and brush through your hair too! I put plenty of this on right before my driver's test. I thought for sure I had failed that parallel parking part... but I could see that the policeman was enjoying the scent of Ivoire that filled my car, ...so I passed! Years later, I bought a full bottle- it was so cheap- under $15.00! I can't believe how expensive it is now... Makes me sad because not many women will get to enjoy it.

"Ivoire. It is the name I have given to a dream. The name of a woman of cool slender beauty draped in pale silk, whom I saw for only an instant descending lightly the stairs of the Opera house, just to disappear into the night. Ivoire is the glow of this fleeting vision, which struck me with the force of a revelation. There will always be a mystery about Ivoire. An unfinished story. The feeling there is another world to know, a different emotion & touch, beyond the civilized. And so it came to be. Inspired by her. Ivoire is a tribute to beauty and to woman. Cool and savage as ivory itself. I dedicate this perfume to all those women in the world who understand the dream of Ivoire so very well." 🐘 - Pierre Balmain Tiny leaflet with sweet tiny words inside my old tiny box of Ivoire

Gosh, I usually can't stand aldehydes due to their spinstery strictness but Ivoire- it's divine!! Haughty as it should be but with a sexy outdoorsy feel to it, probably from the camomile which is evident to my nose (This is what Caleche should smell like!)and an initial blast of narcissus akin to 'First'. It's a very expensive and luxurious smelling scent for the price and I don't think it's dated. Ivoire is a green floral to me yet stands alone as a little masterpeice next to No 19 and Cristalle, warmer than either and just as sophisticated. It's reminiscent of golden summer fields after the hay has been cut. It does remind me of'Camay' in a lovely retro way - visions of blondes with pinned up hair bathing in 70's style - flake chocolate bar optional!!

Oh Ivoire, gorgeous mate of my 20es, when I had great expectations and the world started unfurling to me. Ivoire, with your elegant rapsody of flowers, spices, woods, greens and a pale hint of fruit. Ivoire sparkling like a diamond casting light and colours around me every time I took a breath. Ivoire maybe more apt for a lady than for a girl but then, having crossed the threshold of my 20, I thought for that simple reason I WAS A LADY. Ivoire splendid creation in a time so ripe with changes in my life and the world all around us. And sadly many sad changes in a perfume world when art creations like you started to sadly disappear faster and faster. Ivoire, sweet friend of happy years, amazing days, joys to be fulfilled, you were a joy in yourself.

I have a bottle of the EDT that is over twenty five years old. It is about 80 percent full. I tried it again last week for the first time in twenty years and it is still great. This floral chyrpe is very well blended. You smell everything (oakmoss, orris root, chamomile, rose, etc.) at once. The aldehydes are a little much in the beginning, but wait a minute or two and it calms down and a beautifu fragrance emerges. This fragrance is invigorating yet comforting. It must be the camomile. I sprayed this and it seemed to have a somewhat relaxing effect. The oakmoss does not overshadow the flowers or spicy notes like the carnation. The manufacturers back then knew what they doing.

I wish I could smell this again. Had a bottle in the 80s that went to Europe with me, then back to the bush in Canada to plant trees. Loved it but cannot summon a scent memory. Edit: Thanks to the thoughtful Fragrantica user Carpe Noctem, who messaged to tell me where I could find a decant (Fragrance Vault at Lake Tahoe), I am now sniffing a vintage sample! I still love this. There is a lot going on, but it's not murky. Just beautiful. Very grown up. I can't believe I used to overspray this with abandon as an 18 year old. But times were different... it was before the olfactory Overton Window shifted toward vanilla, marshmallow, and desserts.

Ivoire is so feminine, elegant creamy, fruity and well balanced scent,nothing stands out or is strange, this is the woman in the full sense, a little coquettish, but aristocratic, a fragrance that leaves a good impression. There is a bit strange start and then it seems a bit retro, bitter, but after ten minutes becomes perfectly blended with the skin, lasts a long time although EDT. Reminiscent of the fineness Caleche but not by a fragrant note. While Caleche distant, Ivoire is warm, feminine fragrance. Both fragrances are very sophisticated. Ivoire has a fullness that always inspired me. For me this is one of the 10 best perfume ever.

This perfume is NOT masculine. It is one of the most beautiful, feminine, classy and elegant fragrances I have ever smelled, very similar to K de Krizia .... that is the only thing available now that the vintage Ivoire de Balmain is impossible to find unless you're willing to fork out a lot of money. If you look at K de Krizia, the notes are very similar. The current version is nothing like the original ... a completely different perfume. At first it smells fresh and after a while is has this annoying musky smell. I love Carolyn Parker's review and totally agree ... a perfume masterpiece .. but Carolyn, where did you find a bottle????

Ivoire has become part of my life - for more than 28 years now, it has been my favourite fragrance and still is. My mother once gave it to me for Christmas - she obviously knew me well. Every now and then I have tried other fragrances belonging to the same family, composed of comparable ingredients. But there's nothing like Ivoire! It is so complex, sophisticated and "rich", yet not overwhelming. It has a retro touch, but is not old-fashioned. I do hope Balmain is never going to change the formula and will always keep on producing this scent - I would feel incomplete without it :-)

I am a teacher of small children. They don't compliment perfume unless they really like it, and I had a little girl AND boy compliment my wearing this. I love it -- both long and short list versions. It is becoming "me"... ...and it's not an old-lady scent. Was Nina Ricci LAT old lady in 1948? Was Rive Gauche old lady in 1971? Was Chanel #19 old lady in the 1970s? What about Chanel #5 today? Or Van Cleef and Arpels' First? One day, Pink Sugar and all the Britney fragrances (if they last the test of time, which classic fragrances tend to do) will be classified as "old lady".

I’m chronically untidy and picked up my bottle of vintage Ivoire because I couldn’t find Brand X. How did I forget I had this? It’s beautiful. A work of art but one that can go everywhere as they say anytime anyplace. It doesn’t shriek like the new fruit and candy scents. One doesn’t have to be ‘in the right mood’ for it. I wore it when I was sick with flu and it did nothing but comfort me. All the ingredients are there but never elbow each other out of the way. They don’t make perfumes like this any more. It’s all shrieking, attention seeking .... and profit.

Beautiful, sophisticated, classy, feminine - where do I stop? I have a bottle of vintage from back around 1977 and it smells as amazing today as it did back then. My paramour, at the time, would nuzzle my hair and neck when I wore this - obviously his favorite! This is a scent for the mature, confident woman, probably too sophisticated for me at the time I wore it back then (and probably now!) Orange, violet -yes, they're in there. So is a slightly funky note -asafetida? and also the ever-popular old hippie notes of musk and pachouli. I love it!

Like everybody noticed - this is fresh floral aldechidic scent. Vintage? No, I would rather say it's simply chyper and that's "not-in" nowadays. No worries, if you like gentle fresh floral notes, you would find it perfect. I would describe it like somehow-safe clasical office scent, adult and responsible, discreet and serious, clean and crisp, discreetly attractive, chic and expensive. You will get it all, if you wait that it sattles down from its strong opening. It's a beautiful perfume. I only miss a bit better lasting power.

I absolutely adore initial aromatic blast of marigold, chamomile and artemesia (my favourite note) slightly sweetened by mandarin or orange. I wish this stage stays forever on my skin, but of course, true to its chypre nature it develops into mellow, creamy herbal/floral amber dry down and stays like this for hours, eventually becoming the most wonderful, "soap clean skin" smell. Ivoire de Balmain is a stunning, chic, classy, strong herbal-floral chypre for a stunning, chic and classy strong woman. I treasure my vintage EDT.

@diego.lesgart Ivoire de Balmain works very well on a man. I have heard young women reject it as masculine; the newer version has been reformulated to more closely match this eras perception of feminine even. Of course fragrance has no gender, it's just marketing that wants it to. So much of what was most popular in the 70s/80s with women would be labeled either as unisex or masculine today due to trends. But all that theory aside Ivoire de Balmain is very suitable for men, so go ahead and rock it!

Ivoire's beauty is cold and aloof. Makes me think about the wife of an Autrian imperial officer in 1896 going on vacation on a Croatian island to get well after a long illness. She's pale and somber but still beautiful, making the men want to protect her. I like to wear Ivoire in the summer: it's not fresh as of today's standards, but still has enough greenness that it doesn't ever become cloying. Aldehydes always smell clean to me, making Ivoire the perfect elegant/formal day scent.

A vintage that didn't disappoint. The opening was very harsh, but after the dry down it became mainly like the most fragrant extra virgin olive oil, a hint of lemon, along with some kind of quiet background of white flowers. The notes are all singing together in a smooth, blended chorus, but this is what I get from it and it's quite lovely. It's classy, virtually timeless, and clean, but not screaming of laundry or crunchy retreats. I will be keeping it close by.

Ivory are great, are difficult to describe - associated me with luxuorious soap and with garden after the rain, with the smell .... porcelain dolls too. It depends how you look on it. This aroma is very sophisticated, though restrained as Greta Garbo, who loved parfum Ivoiry. Yes, this smell is an ideal fragrance portrait of Greta Garbo and sometimes ...mine. I am very picky and have very little perfume, but Ivory I have two bottles. It is brilliant!

The opening of Ivoire is so exquisite it literally makes my eyes roll into the back of my head. In my old, mini-splash bottle, there’s a middle section where the oakmoss gets too strong for my taste — and I’m a fan of the note — but, that heavy note aside, this is skipping tour de force of the notes listed here. My only wish is that the opening would last longer. I suspect it does in a larger bottle. Just sublime.

I imagine this is what Heaven smells like...so smooth and well-blended on me, in cool damp weather it's so dreamy that I cannot stop smelling myself! No one note jumps out at me and the dry down is soft. Elegant, sophisticated and romantic but never over-dressed for the party. I never want to be without this and I feel fortunate that I found another winner. p.s. this is a review of a vintage edt atomizer bottle

What a perfume, what a masterpiece, what a vision this is. For me this could be one of the most 'obligatory' must have's for us experts here. This perfume is so complex, such an 'allrounder', such a true own identity, so extremely intellectual, soooo luxurious, so communicating style and chic. And it's just amazing that you can be ALL that for such a good price!!! EXCELLENT, 11 stars!! ***********

I received a still packaged bottle of the original perfume for Christmas this morning, and I was instantly brought back to the 80s when this scent evoked the yearning my teenage self had for reaching adult sophistication. It's what my young mind thought a woman would wear at the height of her powers, creatively and sexually, the White Witch to Opium's Dark Witch. It'a a timeless masterpiece.

Ivoire de Balmain is the fragrance of my childhood. My mother still wears it today, so I could not even try to write an objective review :) Ivoire is one of my all time favourites. I love its metallic, green start, its non sweet floral notes and its complex and wonderful dry down. Elegant, timeless and hopefully they will never change its formula to adapt to todays consumers' taste.

Vintage EDT: Captures the everlasting aroma of dewy jonquils sitting in a Waterford crystal vase with beams of sunshine throwing playful light motifs on whitewashed walls. Immortal virtue. Pristine Grace. Heavenly. My love for green chypres has been reignited after diverging from the path, briefly flirting with damp vanillas. I have finally regained my senses!

Ivoire is so beautiful, especially now in autumn, so soft and strong at the same time. And to think, for years I only wore Ivoire, and enjoyed it so much. Feels creamy vanilla, but not loud, more like a shadow. I had to try new Ivoire, stylish, different, even though both have one distinctive creamy vibe so characteristic of Balmain fragrances.

I've had my reformulated bottle for one week, and I'm so glad I gave it a chance. Though it doesn't go on as strong and doesn't have the longevity of the vintage, it is so similar that it's hard to tell the difference between the two. This will be good news to those who have loved Ivoire for decades. I am enjoying the new one so much!

A fragrance is never to be judged upon opening notes but I liked so much the elegant way bitter notes glide on citruses that I decided vintage Ivoire was a must have . Who said this is not easy to wear ? My "two cents" say it is ! Nothing shouts here , it is so smooth and rich of delicate nuances and very suitable to warm weather .

Vintage. I’m fond of it thanks to thorny, bitterish greenness without even a hint of sugar, but with a drop of salt (first half of the scent’s life on me, lasts for about 8 hours), and I do like the gentle, nice and very much alive flowers it has for me (second half of the scent’s lifespan on my skin, lasts for about 10 hours).

Classy, elegant, stunning, sillage-bomb (careful!) and longevity on me is 12 hours and counting. Talk about getting my money's worth for the vintage Ivoire on Ebay! This is just as I remembered it from the 80's. What a treat. My bottle is in the black and gold striped box, btw - this is definitely vintage and still fresh!