1920

This is a confusing one. Starts out rather tart and astringent, but dries down to that lovely powdery violet amber others have mentioned (à la Kenzo Flower). Original (2014) and current formulas are almost the same, but the new one takes longer to develop, as it seems to have more longevity overall. I absolutely get sandalwood in the old one that is not present in the new one - or, more surprisingly, in the notes listed above! My first impression was "not 1920s": no jazz, no speakeasy, no cigarettes. No Flapper vamp nightclub escapades. But now I think the perfumer was going for something akin to L'Heure Bleue or L'Origan - both of which would have been commonplace with It Girls of the 20s - therefore making 1920 more historically authentic than aesthetically inspired.

The violet comes in the beginning like a dream, quickly stopped giving the scene for a soapy burst that stays and stays for ever... If you are like me, have strong sense of smell, but a nose that resists to be trained, you will only smell hair spray /shampoo ONLY, this is after like 10mnts. Hase earthy note,yes, but the sweetness that arrive after 20mnts is not from cacao note, as I would love to imagine, no, it comes from a mysterious fruit. In general, it's an early morning perfume, not for dance flor, and that makes me angry, I just want to smell how a Flapper will smell while dancing Charleston holding her cigarette. Edit: After one hour, I detected the Myrrh note written in the description, that really gave it ethnicity and better character.

I’ve really been enjoying ambers lately, so this is the first of my Besame Decades of Fragrance sampler I decided to try. I think the amber elements make the violet and white floral notes a little warmer and more complex, which I appreciate, since I don’t usually go for straightforward white florals. At first, the powdery floral aspect gave me kind of “fancy soap in your grandmother’s bathroom” vibes, but the dry down was a bit more warm and cozy, with the amber taking center stage.

Got a sample pack March 2023. The top opens crisp and effervescent, like a champagne, the middle is a melange of sweet, candied florals, and the base stays sweet while getting darker and muskier. This one out of the lot I found to irritate my sinus.

I like the top notes of this a lot because they lend the fragrance a fresh and green scent. The powdery soap scent that's probably coming from the violet is a bit suffocating. It's ok, could be better for me.