Jaipur

(Comparison of Jaipur EdT (referred to as “Femme” below), Jaipur Homme EdT, and Jaipur Homme EdP, all pre-2000s.) This probably seems quite silly to you. Why would I compare a 90s women’s perfume and two different concentrations of the men’s version? Isn’t that like comparing an apple to an orange? Yes it is, and I think Sophia Grojsman would appreciate the simile. Annick Menardo might not, but no matter. Grojsman, who signed Jaipur (pour Femme), has always had a talent for putting colors in her perfumes. You smell a Grojsman composition and you see the spectrum(s) of the full rainbow she’s wanting you to see. Yellows, purples, and blues open the perfume in the form of pineapple, plums, watery blueberries, and peaches. It’s quite a sweet opening, but not cloying, and it falls away quickly to a classic Grojsman floral amalgam at the heart. This section of Jaipur always struck me as very similar to Grojsman’s Paris for YSL. Both perfumes are quite heavy on muguet, rose, and jasmine evocations. The most obvious difference is that Jaipur has a fruitier lean to it compared to Paris’ slightly greener and powdery leaning - otherwise they smell very close, which is to say very beautiful. But then, the fruit notes eventually and slowly depart to leave a powderiness that puts me even more in mind of YSL Paris. It’s a swirl of whites, reds, yellows, greens, and every other color imaginable, like vibrant saris swirling about you in a Holi dance. Meanwhile, on the men’s side of the dance street, the Homme EdP opens with luminous woody spices. Thanks to the bright nuttiness of heliotrope, the cinnamon and nutmeg have a vibrancy and spacious breadth that is fairly uncommon for them since they usually opt for dim lighting and concentrated depth. The amber character of Homme is immediately apparent, as opposed to Femme’s fruity floral. The depth and shadows slowly appear in the form of a very aromatic clove note building underneath. The Homme EdT interestingly works in reverse to the EdP, presenting the clove first with a touch of lime-y bergamot that is absolutely tantalizing and mouthwatering. The cinnamon and nutmeg heart of the EdT is virtually the same as the EdP but made airier and a touch more bitter-powdery vanillic thanks to the latter note rapidly peaking up from the base. The EdT is noticeably greener and perhaps a touch woodier in the heart thanks to violet leaf, making the spices smell as if they are a bit young. The EdP already felt light and energetic, but the EdT goes fully animated and dynamic. Going back to Femme as it arrives at the base, we have a beautiful musk and sandalwood combination that is very gently animalic and gray musky like an old fashioned soap, cooly and sweetly creamy, and lightly woody. There’s now a restraint to the colorful energy that came before; it’s still excitable, but it’s keeping-a-lid-on-it out of decorum. The base of Homme EdP is a coumarin laden swirl of cloves, tonka, and dried herbs that is as airy and vibrant as the perfume was when it started. It’s a gorgeous dry down, the lights dimming without the perfume being allowed to collapse into tired lumpiness, but it is quite heavy; similarly the EdT descends rapidly to a drier, lighter weight, spicy amber full of clove, nutmeg, cardamom, and earthy bitter tonka. In all three of these forms Jaipur is a fantastic perfume. It makes me yearn for the days when perfumes sharing the same name could smell different and yet be completely recognizably related, as opposed to just mildly altered or made heavier with greater concentration. It’s not surprising that Boucheron did this though; they have always had an old-school sensibility to their compositions - never rushing to release them, and making sure they were completely intact and coherent from beginning to end. It took three years for Homme EdT to be released after Femme, and then the Homme EdP wouldn’t come for another year after the EdT. This is unheard of these days, but it shows in that these compositions were well cared for, well thought out with attention to detail being paid. Now, for a reason I’m comparing the three that must come with an admission of sin and sacrilege: in my experience, the best way to wear Jaipur is layered. If you haven’t experienced this yet, do so (even if you never admit it) and find a pinnacle unisex scent. Femme plus Homme EdP is an absolutely stunningly stately and elegant affair, the effortless, large, rich yet airy spices of Homme EdP adding a whole new dimension of regality and class to Grojsman’s colorful fruity floral. And when you don’t want so much luxury (or oppressiveness in heat and humidity), and want to opt for even more energy and levity, Femme plus Homme EdT will work wonders - the Holi dance of Jaipur made ethereal. To look back, yet again to the “good ol days”, the femme and homme compositions of perfumes used to be made to compliment each other. By the time Jaipur Femme and Homme were released this creative direction was largely out of fashion, but Boucheron was quite stubborn in those early years and refused to give up some of the older ways - and that was lucky for us. Look to the original Boucheron and Boucheron Pour Homme releases for yet more examples of appreciable stubbornness. If you were to smell a person couple, one wearing femme and another wearing homme, it was supposed to be a unique and cohesive olfactory experience of exceptional breadth and depth - a true yin and yang, a north magnet and a south magnet seamlessly locking together. These early Boucheron releases from that first decade are masterpieces for good reason, and this Jaipur trio is no exception.

This scent is a gem. I received it as a gift from my father in my very early twenties, and back then, it was too mature for me. As a young stupid girl I could not fully appreciate it and I was using it very sparingly. Mainly because one spray lasted for all day, even for 2 days. It was the time, when perfumes just behaved like this, it was very normal. But this frag was especially long lasting. I even did not went through entire bottle. I received many great scents from my father, who was spoiling me with perfumes and I saved the empty bottles of those with beautiful design. Since after university I moved a lot, I reduced my collection, because I did not want to drag all those empty bottles around Europe and Russia with me, but I kept one single bottle and it was Boucheron Jaipur, even though I did not fall in love with the scent, I was in love with the bottle. Off course, as young person, not educated how to properly store perfumes, I displayed my bottle on the sun and I just acted like a "stepmother" to the juice. It was more then 25 years ago. Recently I went on a shopping spree and as a mature woman, I found absolutely new perspective and appreciation of smells and fragrances. My taste changed completely. Just out of the curiosity I ordered all Boucherons, the original one, the Fleurs, the Bouquet, the Jaipur Bracelet. I suddenly craved Boucheron Jaipur more than anything, and it was not possible to buy it. Suddenly I went digging in all my shelfs and drawers just to find, that I still have my old Jaipur and that bottle is not empty! And that the scent is unfortunatelly rotten... I can still smell the scent, when I spray it on my skin it stinks, but after 20 minutes it smells very nice, but still I do not dare to wear it. Now, in my age, this would be the perfect scent for me and I crave it so much. It is extraordinary perfume, sophisticated and elegant. It smells like high society elegant lady with great fashion style. It smells like lady in satin blouse, pencil skirt, pearls and elegant hair. It smells luxurious. It smells very different and nothing like todays production. It is very 90 ́s elegance. It is retro, but definitely not old. It just requires to be elegant to fit with this scent. Regarding the scent profile, it is a masterpiece with undeniable signature of Sophia Grojsman. It is peachy, spicy and very powdery - something that you can not find in todays perfumes. This kind of powderiness is the most prominent feature and I think it was exactly what I did not like as a 20 years old and it is exactly what I love as a 47 years old. Peach, apricot, pineapple, frezia,carnation, orchid, benzoin, vanilla, musk and sandallwood are the most prominent for me. It is enchanting cocktail of fruits, flowers, musk and woods. It is oriental, but do not imagine some incense sticks or arabic kind of frag. It is just magical. I wish Boucheron would bring this back so much. I do not understand why Boucheron, took this gem from the market.

Jaïpur is an excellent, extroverted floral-fruity, typical of Sophia Grojsman's inimitable style. It is reminiscent in style of Lancôme Trésor - perhaps Ms. Grojsman's most famous creation - a brash yet perfectly formed peachy rose. Jaïpur too is peach-heavy, but perhaps in a more gourmand manner than in the powdery floral Trésor. The peach-plum accord here reminds me of a peach tarte tatin I had in France - more syrupy dried fruit than freshly-plucked and juicy. No less delicious for that, however. Jaïpur opens with the aforementioned peach, bolstered to perfection by sweet plum and apricot. A hint of pineapple adds some tropical, juicy freshness, but the peachy notes dominate throughout, adding just the right amount of sweetness. I don't typically love peach notes in perfume, but Jaïpur features one of the best uses of peach I have come across. Leave it to Sophia Grojsman. As it develops, sweet florals emerge, led by freesia and a light yet rich rose. Some creamy jasmine gives body to the floral heart, and carnation adds a well-judged hint of clove-like spice. A hint of powdery iris is a beautiful addition. Some almond-like heliotrope enhances my tarte tatin association, while woody notes creep in, adding depth as it dries down. A sweet amber accord emerges here, complemented by smooth vanilla. The fruity notes pervade, still evident at the drydown stage. Sillage is strong and longevity is reasonably long-lasting. Despite its complexity and strength, Jaïpur still manages to be light and airy, even transparent, thanks to the deceptively light touch of Sophia Grosjman - a testament to her skill. Deceptively delicate, this scent is a great transeasonal feminine scent. Unusual yet timeless, Jaïpur would fare well today if it had not been discontinued. One of the best floral-fruities I've tried. 4.5/5.

I have a bottle of this and wear it rarely for fear of using it up too fast. It is aptly named as it really does transport you to an exotic land. If I close my eyes I can imagine walking through an Indian market where juicy, fully ripened fruits are near sacks of spices and buckets of flowers for sale. One would think with the abundance of notes this would be a powerhouse fragrance, but it is not. It's not a lightweight either. Wearing it, I'm surrounded by this scent of an open-air market. There is also a lustrous quality, as if they are selling gold jewelry at this market because it has a polished element to it. Though I know that Grojsman created this fragrance with another perfumer, I can think of no other fragrance that represents her style or displays the full range of her craft better than this one. How I wish this wasn't discontinued, hard to find, and sold at exorbitant prices. If it wasn't I would be wearing it a lot more often than I do now. Edit - Managed to find an almost full 2.5oz recharge of the edp for an insanely good price from someone downsizing their fragrances and am ecstatic. I only have about 1 ounce left of an edt and would love to wear this a lot more than I do now. Comparing the longevity and silage of the two I honestly cannot find much of a difference. Both edt and edp perform wonderfully well on me though the edp is a little richer. Smells just as terrific as my other bottle. I'm in heaven!!! Edit - After wearing the edp for a while I must confess I prefer the edt. It's more diffuse and airier, which is more in line with my imagination of the scents one would smell in the air of an exotic market.

Jaipur is indeed a beautifully crafted scent. My initial reaction was that the sharp burst at the beginning resembled Kenzo's Jungle l'Elephant, but that blast of Big Red Gum cinnammon quickly melded into a sweet, albeit soapy note, rendering it more wearable. Jaipur is somehow delicate and vibrant at the same time. I was struck by a familiarity which played at my mind for the first couple of sprays. I'd experienced this gorgeous conoction somewhere before. This morning, as I was searching my collection for today's scent adventure, Safari caught my eye; in its gorgeous crystalline flask, reminiscent of Colonial British East Africa, khakis and binoculas. From first spray I knew I had found it! Jaipur is so very similar and I suppose given the imagery, it's not surprising. Dry grass and Elephants; a romanticised idea of Empire, with it's dominion of spice and hot dry climates. The difference with Safari is that dry grassy vetiver which renders it so delightful and plays against the sweetness, giving it a depth of feeling which I believe makes it the more wearable fragrance of the two. However, that is personal taste and there is no doubt in my mind that Jaipur is a symphony of its own sweet accords. I found a 15ml vintage bottle of Jaipur on Ebay and got it for a steal. At first I wondered if I ought to have held out for a larger bottle, but I think the 15ml will be enough for me as it is so very similar to Safari and I prefer Safari out of the two. That being said, I certainly welcome Jaipur to my collection of vintage gems and will enjoy it over the Summer. I might even re watch 'The Far Pavillions' just for the heck of it!