Faberge Aphrodisia

Aphrodisia can be found in two forms – there is the usual amber colored version, with reddish or orange cap, and there is also a green version, with a pale colored cap. They are supposed to smell the same. I am lucky enough to have both versions and cannot help but to test these together to compare. I can say the smell is the same, yes, but I prefer the amber because it is stronger, lasts longer and somehow smells richer. I don’t think its necessarily due to reformulation, however. I think it’s due to age. The red version I have is older than the green, and the liquid has become dark and thick, but oh my gosh, it smells divine. I think it’s a perfect example of how an old perfume can get better with age. This red-capped bottle is over 50 years old and still smells heavenly. It only seems to have become more concentrated, and somehow all the most beautiful notes have been magnified. If I had only tried the green version, I would still love it, it is just a slightly weaker version of my aged red version. It is floral, woody, sweet and rich, yet never too heavy, and I simply cannot stop smelling my wrist. Aphrodisia is quite possibly the richest, best smelling drugstore vintage I have ever smelled. It is labelled as a chypre floral, but I think it also leans towards the oriental category. The civet in here is so faint on me, I almost miss it, yet I can tell that without it, the scent would lose some depth. It makes me want to find and sample all of the old Faberge scents.

Funny story about Aphrodisia....I was in Junior High School and we were visiting my Grandmother, who was ill and in an Assisted Living Facility (she passed away shortly). Two of my Great-Aunts had given Granny perfume for her birthday. One was Avon Cactus Flower, the other was Aphrodisia. Granny only liked Muguet by Coty, so she asked my sister and me to take the perfumes (my Mom did not like either of them). My college-age sister grabbed the Avon, which was actually a light scent and more for teens, while I smelled Aphrodisia and said "I WANT THIS ONE!!!!". I wore it to school the next day, and the teacher sent a note home with me telling my Mom that this scent was "too adult for a little girl", but Mom did not make me get rid of it, she and Dad just bought me Skinny Dip (NOT Love's Baby Soft---read my review of that perfume!) and told me to wear that to school instead and save Aphrodisia for other occasions. I remember it as heavy, sweet,long-lasting, and "gourmand", as the term goes. I was so sad when it finally ran out, and then was discontinued. Correction: I guess "gourmand" is not the correct term, as this does not have food notes (other than fruit and honey), but to me the feeling was the same as a gourmand, in terms of richness.

What a stunner Aphrodisia is. After being a little bored with testing thin juices of late, I decided to explore some vintages and by good fortune, acquired a set containing Aphrodisia (1939), Tigress (1938), Woodhue (1944), and Flambeau (1955). I'm not sure how to date this set but this particular bottle is the same as the one above and it could only be as old at the latest release in 1955. Aphrodisia opens with the bright fizziness and optimism of neroli, bergamot and lemon. In fact, it reminds me so much of the aldehydes in Dolce & Gabbana's D&G with the red cap. The two are so close in their bright presentation of carnation with this composition finishing somewhat smoother. The oakmoss and gentle animalic nuances give this fragrance beautiful depth and sophistication, and along with amber, there is a happy warm 'tingle' all the way through. The classic flowers are superbly blended, but carnation remains the most prominent, with its characteristic subtle spice and soapiness. Overall, this has the feel of a woody aldehyde to me. I almost feel like passing on my Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere and hoarding bottles of this. Oh my... Aphrodisia is breathtaking...

Picked up a '50s or '60s vintage of this, in the little "Fabergette" box--pure perfume, in a beautiful little dabber purse vial, in its original box. This is a beautiful leathery chypre, with plenty of vetiver, oak moss (the real stuff, IFRA be damned!), and carnation. As much as I love love love this, I'm planning on giving it to my octogenarian MIL, whose own mother wore Aphrodisia in the 1950s. I don't mind the civet as much as I feared. This is the kind of sophisticated vintage chypre that smells beautiful on skin, fabric, leather, and fur. It's a bit like the original Miss Dior, but sexed up a bit. If Miss Dior is a debutante with perfumed hair and Italian driving gloves, Aphrodisia is her bookish older sister, who studied Classics at Radcliffe and practices free love.

This is awesome. Instant love. Mink and pearls add honey. The bottle is so cute with a beautiful heavy cap that's nice to use and doesn't feel cheap. Mine is 1 oz in an amber flacon with gold script "fabergé," must have been stored well. It still smells great and the top notes are not only present, but absolutely delightful. Seductive and flowery on top and fairly beastly musk on the bottom! Honey notes weave in and out. Just heavenly and the kind of thing I love to wear. Smells good throughout the year due to primarily being a musk scent, adjust quantity applied accordingly. What they used to call "colognes" are really quite akin to an EDT or edp compared to modern concentrations.

I picked up a vintage Faberge Aphrodisia at an estate sale last week. The box is green and says Faberge in huge letters across the front and the bottle looks similar to the one shown above. I'm guessing this is from the 70's because of the looks of the box and because Faberge became McGregor by Faberge in 1984 before becoming Brut. At first spray I smell oakmoss, carnation, musk, vetiver and amber, but during the drydown civet comes out topped with honey. I don't smell any of the other listed flowers or fruit. This is animalic and sexy, I'd say it's more oriental than chypre. A terrific discovery!

I still have a small bottle of this wonderful fragrance! It smells just as great as it did way back when. I wore this in high school and into my early adult years, then they discontinued it! I do wish they would bring this scent back. I use what I have very sparely just to make it last, but someday it will be only a memory. This perfume has a hint of Shalimar in it. I think it is the powdery content. It is so soothing and has that comfort appeal to it. I love wearing it with a new pair of jamies and then cozy up with a good movie, nice fire if appropriate and just relax.

I have a large older bottle of cologne that has a white cap encapsulated in amber resin and crazy looking orange liquid. I think it's from the 70's and it is heavenly! My bottle starts kind of woody almost like pencil shavings but immediately shifts to a smooth sexy scent. I love all the animolic notes in this! It's so seductive and sensual but cool and luscious. It's thick but refreshing. I don't really see it as a chypre even though I can sense the oakmoss, it's not sharp or green at all! I love it! Aphrodisia is a man catcher for sure!

The civet in Aphrodisia makes me feel like I am floating in the air - this perfume is a beautiful dream! Love the carnation as well as the civet! Edit: I just got another bottle, a small one from a set of three with Flambeau and Woodhue, and the liquid in that bottle is dull - I do not like it and will never use it. Besides being small, the bottle is clear glass. (The Fragrantica photo shows the one with not-good juice) For the heavenly civet fragrance I first wrote about - it is found in a large bottle with glass that is lightly frosted.

Aphrodisia is an ecstatic trinity of carnation, civet, and oakmoss. It's tinted with a fruity, rosy top and shaded with a musky base, leaving this trichord of bliss to my nose, feeling spicy, furry, and earthy. While quite similar to that of Crepe de Chine, there is a certain woody, musky duskiness to the Aphrodisia's base that feels characteristically Fabergé. It's yet another impressive drugstore classic, displaying lux depth and sensuality.

I just picked up a half full bottle of Aphrodisia at the flea market for a dollar... OMG I love it.. but it is a cameleon on me.. it starts out fruity, sweet lemon and some other sweet fruits, then its more of a floral, later its more woody, musky with the oakmoss.. Its more cooler / fresher than warm.. It is a strong uplifting scent to me.

So, I wasn't alone wearing and loving this in high school. Just landed some on ebay. I'd call this a cool chypre for summer. I'm positive there's some ambergris in there, too. Luscious.

I remember the vintage Faberge Aphrodisia from the late 1960s. Very unique, one of the sexiest fragrances ever, for men or women. Goes well at a party or club.

spicy carnation and civet heaven

I purchased Aphrodisia in a little plastic packet that also came with Woodhue, which I haven't worn yet and Flambeau, which I have worn but isn't listed here and I will review after discussing Aphrodisia. I have a problem understanding what became of the Faberge company because they had very lovely and very popular fragrances. Anyhow, I had been wearing Aphrodisia all week and the weather has still been hot. This is a rather quiet fragrance that gets eaten up by hot weather. In the last day or so, it has cooled off and rained and that is when this fragrance's beauty comes through. The fruity top notes are very subtle and pleasant which makes it so much more authentic smelling than the big berry/pineapple/air freshener fragrances that are rather popular right now. The cool air brings up the spicy woodsiness of the oakmoss and carnation. Very enjoyable scent. I like this scent very much but I think I liked Flambeau much more. That is an aldehyde very similar to Arpege but where Arpege is very angular and unyielding, Flambeau is softer (not softer smelling, but softer in composition, if that makes any kind of sense). I consider Flambeau to be like Arpege's younger sister who has something of a "bad" reputation and Arpege is the "prudish" one of the two.

Occasionally I'll shop the Vermont Country Store to buy wool garments for family. This Christmas I added their reformulation of Faberge Aphrodisia ($40) to my cart. On initial application I didn't like this perfume much. The aldehydes in the opening impart a bizarre waxy, plastic texture, a bit like Cabochard and Aromatics Elixir. It has really grown on me over the past 48 hours! The honeyed jasmine is quite pretty. The fruitiness is primarily peach lactones, and in combination with the rose, musks, and moss it reminds me a bit of Mitsouko. Aphrodisia is nowhere near as dense or sophisticated as these other chypres. It's a lighter chypre floral that will be very pleasing in hot weather.

I remember Aphrodisia from when I was a young teen in the mid-1960's. It was the first fruity/green/musky scent(not very common notes then) I ever experienced. I bought some recently on ebay and it was just as I remembered: The opening notes are fruity and a bit sweet. The middle notes are softly floral. The basenotes are musky/woodsy. There is an overall coolness to this scent, like walking into the woods on a hot day and the cool air wraps itself around you. Aphrosisia was a sophisticated scent then and still is.

Lovely classic vintage perfuminess. Safe blind buy for a vintage perfuminess lover.

I have a small glittery green and gold tube of Faberge Aphrodisia cologne glass pipette nips. This was my first time using nips and of course I cut myself. They’re probably from the late 1950’s. It’s quite a strong scent. At first, I couldn’t tell if I liked it or not. The longer it sat, the more it burned my nose and smelled like cat pee. I’m guessing it’s the civet. This might be the first time I smelled real civet. Not a fan. 😄 I had to scrub my arm to get rid of the smell so I could fall asleep. The next morning, the most beautiful fragrance was there. No stink - just flowers and fruit. It was so lovely! I imagine these notes were stronger when it was first put in the pipettes. It was a fun experience and I’m glad I tried it.

Just recently I've been getting into the Faberges, and I've been loving all of the ones I've tried so far. This one is listed as containing bergamot, neroli, lemon, fruit; carnation, rose, ylang-ylang, honey; oak moss, vetiver, amber, civets and musk. The notes are all quite well blended to me. I don't get screechy citrus top notes or fake florals from this like I sometimes get from modern perfumes, all notes are quite gentle and sensual. In Flambeau I get more individual floral notes, but not so much with this one. My mother's friends must have wore some of these Faberges when I was younger, because they smell familiar to me. They don't smell dated to me at all, and they seem to blend with my body chemistry and stay close to the skin, no monster sillage or projection here. This one does smell like "aphrodisia" in a soft, gentle, vintage type of a way. I find Faberges to be quite unisex by today's standards, and think they would smell great on men, and women who are sick of today's fruity-florals. This, Flambeau and Babe are probably my favorites so far (Woodhue is nice but a bit too woody and vanilla for me, even though I like it, I've haven't been into vanilla lately). Haven't tried Tigress or Straw Hat yet. And if anyone over in the EU is reading this, and you know what the Farrah Fawcett perfumes smelled like (La Fraiche, La Jolie, La Provocante), please PM me, they are too expensive to blind buy, and I'm dying to know. :) Oh and as for color, apparently this was either amber colored, or greenish-brown, depending on the year. In my ignorance I bought a red one off of Ebay, and it was "turned", with vinegar and pencil shavings notes that I couldn't get rid of by airing out or shaking. The greenish-brown one I have smells incredible, though!