1960

My favorite of the whole Besame collection. The patchouli and oak moss were a must for a 60's representer, it must be earthy/green with extra aldehydes. Good for hot and cold weathers, day and night. I'm sure it hase to be in the Oriental criteria.

Not sure if this has been recently reformulated but I absolutely adore it! Fresh, spicy chypre that feels familiar but never tacky, like the world’s best antique store.

The reformulation (white tube) is a rich, tobacco-ey rose concoction that reminds me very much of Judy Garland by Vince Spinnato. Dries down to fruity cereal vanilla à la Pacifica Cosmosis. Will compare to the 2014 and update because this one doesn't seem to correspond to the herbal/woody/mossy accords listed above. UPDATE: current formula is completely different! Above notes apply to the original 2014 version. Old one is heavy on oud and patchouli. It's possible they kept the rose/jasmine/grapefruit but replaced the herbal/woods for something more universally-appealing. I like the new one, it's pretty, but it doesn't stand out from the commercial standards like this sharp, aromatic, slightly masculine predecessor. Less representative of the 1960s imo. Current Decades should each have their own entries.

Peanut! Initially, here is a bag of fresh peanuts, the taste of a yellow peanut blossom. Perhaps even sesame seeds. After the drydown, I have even balance of coriander, citrus and rose that blends into absinthe. A fragrant herb garden sprouting from loamy soil. Like walking into an oxygen rich forest in the late spring. Earthy, but not heavy. I was expecting something more gimicky and cheap coming from a retro makeup brand but this is a delicious and unique perfume that feels high quality. It is inspiring me to explore more absinthe-based scents. This is the "new" formulation, and I have no idea what the original release was like. If you like what I describe, give it a try.

This is for the reformulation: I wanted to like this, I really did. It's not bad per se, but upon wearing it, I realized rather quickly it reminded me of something but I could not put my finger on it. And then it hit me like a freight train while at work.......It smells like my dance recitals in the 90s. So it's not that it smells BAD, it's that it has this sharp, almost butane/accelerant note to it backed up by notes of wormwood that's a DEAD RINGER for White Rain Hairspray. I wanted to like it, I swear.

just smells like bug spray to me but I suppose ive heard that was kind of the vibe back then. id like to try the others

I got the sample pack a few years back and just got around to buying the full size and boy did I immediately notice the difference between the old version and the reformulation. I am personally not a fan of the newer version. It's too powdery and sickly sweet for me. It dries down to something more bearable as you wear it, but I will not be keeping this in my collection.

Trying out another Besame Decades of Fragrance sample, and I was kind of surprised by this one! From the notes, I expected this to be a much stronger, heavier scent, but this really is a fresh spicy scent– emphasis on fresh. The grapefruit and oakmoss come through the most clearly for me, and I really don’t get much patchouli at all. This is the fragrance not of an actual hippie, but of a 60s teen who wants to get in on the trend, but who’s mom refuses to buy her anything too musky. If you don’t like traditional fruity or floral warm weather scents, this might be a nice one! I will say there’s hardly any projection, but that might just be because the samples I have are dabbers.

This perfume was recently reformulated, and unfortunately it smells nothing like the original 1960 perfume. The original formula was so beautiful; The patchouli, rose, oud, jasmine, and sandalwood were prominent and it was such a gorgeous scent. The new version smells virtually nothing like the old one -- the new version is much more powdery and sweet, not woodsy and sensual like the old version. New version also just smells noticeably more artificial and unappealing. Not worth the money at all, and I am now in a desperate search to find a perfume that is close to the original formula.

Got a sample pack March 2023. Melony opening, citric/lemony mid, fruity, sporty base. If I olfactorily squint at it, I could make that fruitiness into a rose, but I'm not getting any patchouli, DEFINITELY no oud, and this lacks trademark characteristics that I personally associate with chypre. Fruity floral.

No I don't enjoy this. The grapefruit is mixed with the coriander and it's like a spicy citrus. I probably don't like the wormwood or reseda, I'm not familiar with those. It's alright but not for me.