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.

I have this 30ml 1990s version of Miss Balmain EDT and comparing it to a sample of the older version, is nearly indistinguishable. It sings a woody, leathery hymn, bright and sharp, with fresh top notes, cutting through the air rapturously. It makes me think of the jonquils pushing through the April snow here today in Massachusetts. The chill of winter has not yet yielded to spring equinox, but the flowers and their yellow warmth sing in resistance. There's multiple moods and temperatures here, reflecting the brilliance of Germaine Cellier. Miss Balmain sears the air like a beacon, like one of her Gauloises, penetrating the atmosphere. Strong, metallic rose petals and oily, organic surfaces; quasar quinolines emitting energy; a "Miss" that hits the target squarely, nowhere near as demure as her honorific suggests. Witchy without any witch hunt; bold, bright, and unrelenting, like the ruffled arc orange tagetes marigolds in the garden of earthly delights. Smoke and soap mingle at a cocktail party serving stiff drinks, clasping tilting figures with wandering hands, tracing silhouettes through the haze. It's pretty in pink yet serving black magic. Clearly, I am under its spell, even as it descends into pillows of moss and whispers of worldly grit.

Money. Lots of it, and it's old money. And life is carefree, life is filled with fun. I walk into any room and my elan captures the eyes, ears and adulation of everyone. That, definitely, was what hit me the minute I sprayed on this perfume designed by an artist from heaven. Don't ask me to work out the notes, or the middle phase, or the dry down. The energy is sweet/sour, aldehyde and leather, and the mix is pure divinity. I think of Catherine Deneuve....elegant stunning,alluring, but in the most ladylike way. Funny, it also takes me back to a perfume made by an iconic Australian designer from the 60's, Prue Acton. I have tried and tried to find a bottle of her perfume, but this is so reminiscent of it. And that takes me to another time, place and picture for Miss Balmain. Sydney. Hot nights. The late 60'/early 70's. Glamorous, false eyelashed and micro skirted, liberated girls. And nightclubs where everyone smoked, and drank black russians, and everything was new and reborn, because this was the new age and we were it's people. And this was our smell.... Vibrant, earthy, gentle sweet. It reeks of luscious, but refined femaleness. I want to drink it!! Heaven!! I'm ordering in more bottles, because I can't get enough....

This scent is not "sweety pink girly" at all, which is what the ribbon and packaging might suggest. Miss Balmain was my first real perfume. I was 15, 16 years old. Before Miss Balmain I bought my perfumes with my own money, that I made as a baby-sitter. I had turned to tiny, angular bottles with perfume oil from India (really cheap, abt 2 Euro's). My favourite was patchouli. (Yes, I was a teenager in the 1970s hippie-era) My father was often abroad for business, always came back with a small present typical of that country, usually candy. One day he came home from France with a bottle of Miss Balmain perfume, telling me that I was becoming a woman now, and in Paris girls my age had their first perfume. I was absolutely smitten by this gift and the idea behind it. I loved the scent too. To me it was like a chique, stylish version of my patchouli-oil. I never stopped using Miss Balmain, and I'm literally still a miss. Lovers yes, husbands no. I'm not sure if the contemporary Miss Balmain has the same formula it used to have. Whatever the case, I still love it. It's not your typical feminine scent, it's even a bit masculine, it's smoky, rich, full, intense. A perfume for women who own themselves.

Such a rich, complex fragrance! Both classic and classy and very much a French creation. For self-assured, powerful and supremely self-confident women. Should have been named Ms. or Madame Balmain, because no Miss or Mademoiselle has the maturity or gravitas needed to carry off this composition without seeming to be playing dress-up in her mother's wardrobe. Remove Jolie Madame's powdery violets, punch up the oakmoss, change her soft suede to fine equestrian black leather and elevate her from cast member to the starring role in the bright spotlights with a generous infusion of aldehydes and Jolie Madame becomes Miss Balmain. Nonetheless, they are so very much related I can't imagine anyone who likes/loves JM not liking/loving MB, and vice-versa. Miss Balmain's initially evident florals seem to greet me at the door and disappear as I walk in and become enveloped by the green, woodsy fragrances of an old country manor house filled with well-worn leather furniture. Yes, green, woodsy, leathery and "old money" aristocratic. Long-lasting with intimate sillage and, in my opinion a definite "must have" for women who appreciate the finer things in life.

The name 'Miss' Balmain is misleading: this is an elegant unisex fragrance for confident grown-ups. Miss Balmain opens with a very strong blast of aldehyde and leather accords and after an hour settles into this beautifully earthy, mossy, enveloping and grounded scent. Later on the the warm woody character(vetiver), and faint flowery notes is what lingers on the skin. Every time I reach for this fragrance, it strikes me what a perfectly blended and rounded fragrance this is - contemplative, strong, sophisticated and debonair. I like to wear this to work and casual meetings, preferably in fall and spring. This scent evolves best in bracing weather and air, that is still cold or breezy or on rainy days. The bottle, design and the name make Miss Balmain look and seem so unassuming and low-key, but this is a masterful fragrance, composed in the vein of old-school perfumery and style, and yet it is very modern and universal. Sillage is moderate and perfect for use at the workplace. Longevity for me is about 5-7 hours. If you like classics like, Arpege (Lanvin), Coco (Chanel), Mitsouko (Guerlain) etc., you should definitely give this a try.

I have waited a long time to find & buy the vintage version of this juice & i finally found it on ebay at a bargain price. I was desperate to have a juice from my year of birth. This has not failed my expectations at all. The opening is massive & gives a big fat wallop to your senses. Just as Ivoire de Balmain does & both Estee Lauder Youth Dews. Its definately the citrus notes that pack the initial punch along with the jasmine sweetness. After 10 minutes the blast of citrus disperses allowing the vetiver to the forefront, vetiver never leaves but stays hugging your skin through to the end. I only have to wait 30 minutes for the real depth of this beauty to reach my nose. Amber, musk, rose & carnation are the top players on my skin alongside vetiver. This juice dries down warm & soft with enough flowers to make it feminine but its true depth is musky & woody. Im delighted i love this fragrance & hopefully will have it as my signature some day. It has been worth the wait & was a major succesful blind buy. Im eager to try the updated version to see how they compare.

24. may 2011 Surprisingly good! I didn ́t expect that such a vintage fragrance can be soo good! Very nice composition of what i call a lady-like fragrance (not in a matter of age, but behaving). Rose, carnation, coconut, leather- they are all present here and the opening is one of the most beautiful i have sniffed ever! I could never appreciate it until lately since the whole Balmain range has never been sold in the country i live, so it is only possible to order it online or buy it abroad, so i am a "virgin" if it comes to "balmain" fragrances :)) . And i am glad i did, because it is a real gem and very well balanced indeed. A good alternative to the Chanel "Chance" and "Coco mademoiselle" addictions in my country. It smells so refined, full-bodied and rich i just can ́t believe that i have missed it for soooo long time. I guess i have the older version of "Miss balmain" since it doesn ́t look like the ones on the pictures, but with a black label and black lid. But i definitly want to try the new one also. Absolutly worth trying and buying!!!

This is a dank dirty dark eyes closed fragrance. I find it very (not the horror iron filing modern type ‘’’’amber’’’’) labdanum heavy rather than brisk quinoline leathery, but I’ve probably been spoiled by my love of ultramodern cuttingly chemical birch tar quinoline leathers. It’s more like Mitsouko without peach than the bitter shock of vintage Cabochard. Or Jolie Madame. My vintage version, a Parfum, is very dark and oxidised looking but does not smell stale to me, it is in a square small screw top bottle. It certainly feels too old fashioned to wear out, but maybe I just will. One day, I’m getting old and eccentric enough to do it in broad daylight. This miss seems rather empty headed and uncommitted at first, a bit soft and generically mid C20’ , but the long dry down is tenaciously female , the *leather* becomes a bit manurey, catty and vaguely floral, you fell on your behind and peed your pants behind the thorny half defoliated black spot infected rose bushes struggling to flower

Its been a while but today I took out my vintage Miss Balmain and remembered how much I love this perfume. Compared with today's candied, bubblegum scents this may seem old and very masculine but I find it a classy, feminine fragrance for a confident and independent woman. To me it doesn't really develop from one thing to another but the various notes are all put together, and stay together, from the beginning to the end. I smell lots of wood, leather, oak moss, carnation and coriander with a background of jasmine, rose, amber for a smooth sweetness, and aldehydes for a light powdery finish. You would think this to be loud and overpowering but it's not. It has a medium silage that I can smell only when I hold up my wrists to my nose. Longevity is very good, today it lasted me a good 12 hours before it started to fade. I haven't smelled the new version, but I'm sad that the original has changed and will need to look around for deals to stock up.

I bought Miss Balmain to try as Fendi Fendi was my all time favourite scent. It is a wee bit like Fendi Fendi, but Miss Balmain is sharper & thinner. I still have a small bottle of Fendi to compare it with & the Fendi is more golden, fuller and a more 'round' scent, slighly honeyed, in comparison. Miss Balmain is not so long-lasting on my skin, either. I can also appreciate the comparison to Azuree, but Miss Balmain appears to be lacking the citrus top notes of Azuree. When Azuree dries down the leather is drier and a stronger note, but the dry down of Miss B is less leathery and more floral. Having said that, Miss Balmain is a delightful foral leather scent that smells far more expensive than it is. The bottle is charmingly retro & I'm glad I bought it. I love leather scents and there's a spot on my shelf for all three!

I bought this one mainly for educational purposes and because it was really affordable. I only tested it once and I really don't understand this scent, nor can I smell the leather. All I can smell is dry flowery dust, maybe tobacco as well. It isn't disgusting, but not very pleasant either. I can't recommend buying this without sampling :) I'm still not giving up on Miss Balmain, I will try to test it again, maybe in colder weather. EDIT: Actually colder weather was not necessary. It seems I just needed some time and perspective. I have to admit I had a little help with this - from Miss Dior. I really had to smell Miss Dior first to be able to appreciate Miss Balmain. Miss Dior is much lighter, MB is really rich and dense. Anyway I love them both.

My first spray of the vintage EDT of Miss Balmain was a true eye opener! What a blast! And, I mean that in the best possible way! Aldehydes, leather, carnation, oak moss, and vetiver, OH MY! This has got to be one of the most glorious cyphers! It is bold, it refuses to be categorized it and it's packaging is an oxymoron! I also detect the amber and the orrisroot in the dry down, which is just glorious. The aldehydes gentle along with the leather and smokiness wafts away, leaving a musky, woody, spicy floral scent that I absolutely love! Miss Balmain is not for the shy. She is bold, bracing and shouts, no, HOLLERS here I am, like it or lump it! The sillage is, on me, moderate. Longevity is spectacularly long.

UPDATE: OK, it's official. I thought I was imagining it.. I had to share my new love, Miss Balmain, with two old, dear friends.. .think most of my lifetime friends. So I sprayed it generously on them...and they both said, 'but this smells so like what you used to always wear.' SO. I'm not mad. This supremo out-Fendi's Fendi. It is stronger, lasts longer, and has that amazing, inviting and tempting combo of oriental sweet with spice and smoke and warmth.... When I wear it, I feel good enough to eat. I am definitely in heaven, as my quest for a Fendi substitute has been met with a master fume. Thank you, God. I've just ordered two more bottles, because I AM NOT EVER RUNNING OUT OF THIS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've just bought three tiny vintage miniatures of Jolie Madame, Vent Vert and Miss Balmain out of pure sentimentality because I took one sniff of VV when I was a child and adored it. Unfortunately, the VV and Jolie Madame smell largely of alcohol - a lovely, interesting whiskey, maybe - but alcohol, nonetheless. Which is deeply disappointing and a warning to anybody having a go on ebay. HOWEVER, the Miss Balmain is sensational! It's dark yellow and an amber powerhouse singing with every flower you can imagine; it's the real thing. WOW, if this was what perfume used to be, it certainly does make our stuff seem pale by comparison. I can't stop sniffing it, it's just so complex and plain joyous.

Miss Balmain is a truly beautiful scent. Smoky, loved to bits, careworn leather, surrounded by a bouquet of florals so well blended no single note dominates. I love the sweetness the coconut gives to offset the smokiness. It is so completely different from modern fragrances and disappointingly so hard to find I could cry about it. It is so sad fragrances are not made like this anymore. I do smell the similarity with Azuree, but Azuree is very much a masculine leather, Miss Balmain is definitely all woman! I love all the vintage Balmain fragrances, they are simply exceptional.