Miss Balmain

1967... The new, rebellious age of liberation meets the sophisticated, well-dressed glamour of early 60th. The wind of new changes sweeps through all layers of society. The psychedelic, experimental music of the Beatles, the Doors, Pink Floyd and others take the pop-culture to the places where it has never been before. The fashion, style and of course perfumery is caught in this whirlwind of changes and that’s when Pierre Balmain releases Miss Balmain. Recently I have become a huge fan of Mad Men show, which has its 5th season set in spring of 1967. And as soon as I tried Miss Balmain, I thought that’s what the new Mrs. Draper (portrayed by beautiful Jessica Paré) would wear. A bit rebellious but classy and sophisticated, just like Megan herself who managed to catch an eye of a man like Don Draper. The scent captures the 1967 era perfectly, but yet it never goes out of style with its beautiful, complex and sophisticated composition. I was impressed by it from the first sniff. The beginning is very chic layer of aldehydes and green galbanum notes with this gorgeous leather scent. Just simply beautiful. The scent has long development arc as it gracefully transitions into the floral bouquet of lily of the valley, jasmine and ylang-ylang well balanced by the woods and leather. Nothing is out of place. I love that the floral bouquet is not overpowering or stinky, which could happen with jasmine, but rather soft and sophisticated mixed with creamy notes of rosewood and sandalwood. The scent becomes even more leathery as it develops towards the dry down, but in the same time, it remains feminine and alluring. The sillage and longevity are both great. There are scents from the by-gone era that I like to try to travel in time and experience the past, but I would not consider wearing outside of my living room. But not with this one. I love wearing it. It is one of the best leather scents I have ever tried. Overall score 9.5/10

...I can easily imagine Germaine Cellier (she was the laziest gal in town) taking perfume formula for Bandit (1944) and slightly tuning down the concentration of some components (e.g. isobutyl quinoline) and adding a few new ingredients. Result: beautiful and less aggressive leathery chypre known as Miss Balmain (1967). I personally like everything about it, except the name and the pink box (sometimes even a cute little bow can be found on the bottle), they are just nonsense! This masculine fragrance has nothing to do with those attributes. Germaine Cellier just couldn't have such an image in head. Jean Cocteau's friend (what a crazy mixture!), aggressive homosexual, she ate tons of garlic at the dinner table, always talked in a crude, low-class manner, smoked like a chimney, when women were expected to be behaving daintily, and was known for bravely stripping undergarments off Robert Piguet's models as they exited the runway and sniffing in an attempt to capture "the best of their femininity"! She went as far as coming to work at ten in the morning and leaving before noon, considering her work for the day accomplished! Would you ever expect from the eccentric butch [although she was beautiful and extremely stylish] some delicate pink flowers, bows, and ruffles?! I don't think so. What was Pierre Balmain thinking while packaging Miss Balmain?!!! Oh wait, ...maybe Miss Balmain is a drag queen?... LOL! Just kidding :-)

This is definitely a blast from the not so distant past circa early 1970's to mid 80's, darkly animalic & quite leathery incl. innumerable complex base compounds still used at this time in haute perfumery, very unique and lush with Germaine Cellier's signature all over it, they don't make em' like this anymore, practically contains everything including the kitchen sink :) the eau de toilette is powerful enough although the parfum is absolutely diabolically/heavenly divine, that's if you can find the original deep ambery golden formula. Back in the day I could power through a 100 ml. vapo bottle (cylindrical+pink bow with white cap) of edt. every couple of months, imagine a dense floral/leather bouquet heavily fixed with carnation & marigold (tagetes & tobacco flower)+ civet? ,leather, oakmoss, vetyver, orris tincture & patchouli? "WoW"!!! "Why" oh why do I keep tormenting myself remembering these almost impossible hard to find golden oldies ???? Fragrance junkies with a hankering for the vintage exotic, grab this if you ever have the opportunity, very different to other Cellier greats like Jolie Madame, Fracas, Vent Vert, Coeur Joie & my fave made for Balenciaga, 'La Fuite des Heures' UTTERLY FAB!!! Edit: The latest & now discontinued reform is quite different, also rather tame compared to the original.. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!

Miss Balmain retains Germaine Cellier's usual bright, intense colors, and she reuses a set of fragrance formulas. Fiery and savory silty tobacco leather, hot, slightly spicy, not stronger than pepper. Coriander accompanies the aldehyde aroma. The pungent smell tore a crack, leading me through the smoky opening into Miss Balmain. A little metallic at first, wait for a while, short and sweet, rose as the center, compound floral accents stand out, and the gray texture of orris root is looming. Miss Balmain has the same genes as Jolie Madame. The tough leather (isobutylquinoline) has a lustrous, smooth and oily finish over time. Paired with the warm animal gland scent, the dark tide is surging, what a surging one! Parfum appears full, rich and detailed, and is the perfect concentration of experience. The EDT has distinct layers, and the three-tone transition is clear, which is also very good. Dried oakmoss, musk, vetiver and patchouli form the base under the action of carnation (eugenol), while tonka bean and amber soften and warm the floral harmony of rose and jasmine. Leather greatly affects its temperament. Miss Balmain is slightly closer to men on the gender spectrum, but still between men and women, not quite up to standard elegance, Miss Balmain lacks femininity.

This is no 'Miss'. For me, it is in the league of the original Miss Dior, similar to Vent Vert, but less green, and close to those which smell like Bandit, Cabochard and Jolie Madame, but less violetty. These are perfumes for women. For women who enjoy the 'vintage' fragrances, which pretty much were flattened from the 1990's and we were sold sweet nothings and watery words, which then enveloped many females. I'm wearing the parfum version today but also have a very vintage edt. This is leathery and powdery. Slightly wooden, with beautiful green notes, tempered by powder. Not for girls. I was born just after this was created. I was introduced into perfume as a teenager with Miss Dior (not that light non-related current version), Magie Noir, Jolie Madame (actually a little too sweet for me at the time, but I enjoyed the violets), Opium and others of a similar vein. I loved the 80's and early 90's, with statement perfume and edgy styles I wore. Skin tight velvet jeggings (oh yes, we had them then), red tartan Jigsaw mini skirts, cropped tops and Doc Martin's. My perfume went with my freedom as a woman and as a university student having a lot of fun. I didn't have Miss Balmain in my skinny collection, which I coveted, but it would have fitted right in.