Faberge Babe

This is a review of Faberge Babe perfume and cologne - *not* Beauty Brands, which doesn't smell like original Babe in a side to side testing by any stretch of the imagination, nor Brut Prestige which in my 54 years on this earth I've never actually even seen. Yes Babe was always a drugstore fragrance. But you could buy Chanel No 22 in the same drugstore during the 70s, as well as completely destroyed versions of Coty Emeraude. The 1/2 oz. perfume comes in plastic bottles with a tacky, round cap that screams 70s. Not aimed at the upper class...their loss! I was a poor kid and yet I could afford Babe when I was 13; it was cheap and marketed towards teen & college age girls mostly. When my kids were grown and I got into collecting perfume I picked some up, for fun and to have a laugh at my terrible teenage taste. It turns out that my taste was pretty good. Despite being a drugstore frag, there are 118+ ingredients in Babe not the least of which is real oakmoss. It's a well composed, fresh, gently aldehydic floral chypre with an oriental feel that stars rose with wonderful raspberry notes, orris, spice, ylang-ylang, jasmine and more on a bed of musky amber. The aldehydes here give it a sunny lift, but very little soapiness, if any. It does not wear especially vintage as it's not powdery, musty, sharp, or difficult. The raspberry in Faberge Babe smells like raspberry, not candy and not bathroom spray. (I don't know how Beauty Brands can say they made 'Babe" without raspberry. If you wore Babe at any length in the original version, the BB is not going to fool you.) Sillage is good, as 70s perfumes were, and longevity - the cologne lasts 6-8 hours, and the perfume 10-12. I was fortunate to find a very special seller (thanks Gary) and now have a massive hoard of well stored, wonderful smelling Babe, top notes intact, which I hope will hold me for the rest of my life. =) If you see it at a reasonable price and like happy, feminine floral aldehydics I highly recommend it. Pre 2005 Estee Lauder "Estee" is a very close relative.

In the 80s I was too much of a snob to even sample Babe. I wore Cristalle and didn’t really think twice about Faberge. It was “drug store” and I was insufferable. But a 4 oz vintage cologne concentration bottle arrived today and I’m blown away by the quality of Babe. Just about all of the notes are still here. The florals are here, although not long lasting, at least not on this first spray. The hyacinth outshines the rose, and I would love more carnation. I didn’t get any raspberry this go around. But the drydown! YUM. The standard issue cyphre is given a yummy zhuzh by the coriander and celery seeds. The amber peeks through, but is bested by the musk more often than not. I swear if you plonked this in a Byredo bottle and called it BABE WATER you could sell it for $300. Luckily is still rather inexpensive on ye olde ebay. Get some! PS —a bunch of the 1977 TV ads are on YouTube and they’re a kick.

I wish they would bring this scent back! It's one of the few perfumes that have a carnation note but DON'T make me sneeze. I think Babe has an interesting and complex mix of notes, for such an inexpensive scent. I first used it as an afterbath splash, which was four for a dollar, small bottles, in a local discount drugstore. The splash lasted surprisingly long and had a decent sillage. Then I bought a small bottle of the Babe fragrance oil---incredible longevity!!! I could never pick out an individual note, in terms of any being dominant, but the mix of herbal and sweet really appealed to me. Babe was named for legendary female athlete Babe Didrikson, and the spokesmodel was Mariel Hemingway.It was one of many "liberated woman" scents that emerged in the wake of Charlie, and I think it actually smelled better on me than Charlie. Correction: The spokesmodel was Mariel's big sister Margeaux.

Wow, what I wouldn't give to have the 70's smells back again! Drugstore perfumes! They were so glorious! I do remember the smell of this very much. I got it after, Emeraude, Charlie, Wind Song, Tabu. I just loved Babe. It had something about it that popped it up a notch. Very clean smelling. There are some I missed here, but covered some of those gone by fragrances. I've tried the new drugstore ones, and they are only a hint, and sometimes not a good one of the vintage or original. Couldn't afford Chanel and the likes back then, so the drugstore is where I got these, off the shelf. Yeah, I so remember loving this one. It was my era, young and carefree. Bell bottoms, Bee Gees, always Elvis. The music of the 70's was the best. Friday nights out with the crowd. Boy do I miss those days! Yes, a fragrance really brings back memories.

Oh I love this fragrance so much ! It was a scent I longed to posess in the 80's when I was in grade school.The girl who boarded the bus before me wore it and it smelled so good! I finally asked what it was and then begged my parents for it for Christmas.I cannot tell you a single note that stands out, but it was just so sexy.Like salty skin, flowers and musk.I just acquired a bottle on Ebay.It is old, but I can still detect the original, beautiful scent.Bring it back, honestly-bring it back!

So.........just received my VINTAGE bottle and it smells great! I can see the resemblance with some of the "reminds me of" selections, but mostly I would put this in the category with Estee and Chanel No. 19 but softer and more floral. I thought I would remember what it smelled like but I was so wrong. But then again, how many years ago was that? Way too many!! Glad I received this and will enjoy until it's gone. :) Have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend.

Oh yes, had it, loved it......back in the day! Margot Hemingway, by far one of the most beautiful natural looking ladies of the day! Sadly gone too soon also. I forgot about this too, but I can still see her face. Truly beautiful. What did Cher sing "If I could turn back time". They could never make this today to smell exactly as it did back then, well maybe if allowed. Good times back then and great drugstore perfume!

I love and miss Babe....big,bold and beautiful... definitely a very popular perfume among my friends in the late 70s and 80s. I would recognise this fragrance anywhere! Wore Babe myself for awhile in junior high.. my first boyfriend loved it, so I am sure Babe was a fragrance that appealed to many males. I am so sad it has been long discontinued.. such a classic

I agree with Beaufort. I own the original and the current 'copy.' To me the reformulation is a weaker strength interpretation at best. Track down the vintage if you can. However my love is so deep I will use the copy if I can't locate the vintage. The original is just delicious, warm, sexy, and yes, raspberry.

I loved this in high school and had all but forgotten it till I saw it here. Brings back fond memories of my teen years! I remember it was a very long lasting scent.

Someone respond to my plea! Bring it back. There is a market for this. The memory lane market at least.

Growing up in a time when Babe was released I had forgotten about it so I wanted to take a trip back down memory lane. Come down memory lane with me to see what Babe smelled like. Let's go back to 1977. Disco balls and the release of Saturday Night Fever (the heart of the disco era) and Disco Inferno. Bell bottom jeans and perfectly feathered hair. Men doused themselves in Brut colonge and women lathered their hair in Faberge Organic's Shampoo. Touted for their silly commercial - you tell two friends and they tell two friends and so on.. (Youtube that one for a giggle). Let's also not forget Bonnie Bell roller ball super shiny bubble gum lip gloss - because of course the shinier your lips were the better... but now back to Babe. She was a universal fragrance who could be afforded by all - even some of the less fortunate girls such as myself. Margaux Hemingway the Granddaughter of the famous Earnest Hemingway made Babe look so glamorous in her commercials. I believe $4 could get you a giant 4 oz bottle of this magical juice. Babe is classic, she is vintage but she is also extremely wearable to today's standards. There may be a vintage hint but not in a off putting way - there is a rasberry note, some pretty hefty oakmoss, an extremely fresh happy note that instantly lifts a bad mood. Babe in a word is "classic". She is also timeless. In a world of sweet sugary gourmands she certainly is a square peg (sorry more 70's slang). But she could easily be a Niche fragrance. I have the cologne splash and it's got enormous longevity and a pretty moderate silage. Babe bears a resemblance to Estee Lauders "Super Colonge" the vintage version of course. So in closing I would suggest finding yourself a vintage bottle. I adore the retro cheap look of this bottle as well and display it proudly on my dresser top.

I have fond memories of this perfume. No longer in my possession for many moons now but it was gifted to me when I was in Jr. high in the early 80's by a boy who had a crush on me. He was disappointed because it wasn't the perfume, he intended to give me, which was Love's Baby Soft. He loved Love's Baby Soft (I wore that all the time back then it was a signature) but he got the names confused. I of course thanked him for his kindness and wore the perfume anyway. I really liked it. It was unlike anything else I had ever worn before. It was quite a bold perfume for a girl of 13. I had never worn a chypre before, but I really liked its boss style, which was actually considered sporty at the time. It was very refreshing to splash this on after gym class. It made me feel refreshed, clean and put together. Unfortunately, the boy who gave it to me hated it and ended up buying me a big bottle of Love's Baby Soft. He said he never wanted me to smell like anything else. So, Babe became my gym day cologne. These old drugstore classics really performed. I miss those days, great perfumes, very little money.

Floral, fresh, soapy, almost unisex! Babe is the mirror opposite of today's sport scent, and yet advertised by naturals for naturals. So different from today's marketing, in the most delightful way. I also enjoy a similar scent, Avon Topaze, which is more aldehydic and has sweeter florals. As such it's more feminine and mature, but they are quite similar in character and when worn side by side smell like a 'his and hers' version of the same release! Good time travel - nothing aquatic or assaulting to the nose here. The notes might lead one to believe this is sweet, but the fruit and honey are such hints as to be unnoticeable to my nose. The hyacinth, aldehydes (soap), marigold, and vetiver dominate after a citrus opening. Oakmoss and musk ground the whole very delicately. A refined and happy trip into the 70's..... <3

I diddn't think much of it when it came out, thought it was just another "teen scent" in a big, loud, ugly bottle. I recently aquired a 4 oz. bottle and am liking it for an everyday after bath type fragrance. I don't find it strong or lasting all that long. It's just a nice mellow scent for everyday. It has a nice flowery, musky scent that is comfortable and inviting. It would be fine for any activity or occasion.

This was my first 'proper' fragrance in a bottle. I think I was around 12 ( so that'd be 1983) and I got a huge bottle for my Christmas from my mum and dad. I felt so grown up, with my bottle reminiscent of the 'fame' logo and the gold lid. I vaguely remember it being very sweet, but not in an annoying way, just very clean and innocent. Happy memories and good times.

Just bought a vintage bottle and WOWWWW! Def worth trying! Great quality for price. The sweetness is perfectly blended with the florals that aren't harsh at all. the earthyness of it brings it all together. totally an incredible scent! its a shame they dont make this today, I'd wear it daily if it wasn't so hard to get!!!

I loathe chypres. With that being said, I like this scent. It goes on BIG with a blast of aldehydes and oakmoss but quickly settles on the skin to a soapy aldehyde floral. It almost has the feel of a Caron with a bite.I do not detect raspberry at all. I am wearing the vintage original.

I had cologne concentration. On the transparent tree sap, many, many inseparable floral elements formed into a seamless whole. A good and very long lasting scent. Perfect for the office during the day. It doesn't seem old-fashioned.

The favorite of the 80's teenagers, like me!! very fresh and clean like a soap

Almost pure soap to me. There's a lovely hyacinth note about 5-10 minutes in, but even that is buried in soap suds. I can get very faint notes of citrus and raspberry if I really try. I tried layering this with Delphine from DefineME, my favorite lilac-y floral. Babe's aldehydes added a bit of fizziness, but also way too much soap for my taste. I can see why Babe was so popular and it's certainly better than a lot of what was around when I was a teen in the early oughts. But it's not for me. I'll tuck my bottle away and try it again in summer, but I think I'm just not the babe for Babe. EDIT: I wore Babe on a warm and humid day yesterday. It was still mostly soap, though there are worse things to smell like on a sweaty day. Glad I tried it.

Just to point out that even when you're from the era that a perfume is supposed to be about, you don't have to like it, let me throw a figurative turd in the punchbowl of nostalgia and say I LOATHED this perfume. Every single girl in my high school, (save me it seems - I was rocking Chanel No 5 EDC at 16 - so much for "old lady", right?) was trailing a noxious cloud of this stuff, although to be fair, it might have been young women not knowing to NOT marinate, and to use a lighter hand. But there was definitely something or a combination of somethings in it that did NOT agree with my chemistry. In that era of course, you did not confront someone for wearing something you didn't like, you just assumed they had a right to wear it, like you had a right to wear something that might inadvertently gross out someone else. While I don't miss Babe, I absolutely did NOT forget it. And I miss the attitude of live and let live, in today's world of mostly timid, sanitized, and fruit-drenched perfumes. So if you walk by me trailing vintage Babe, I may hate it, but I will definitely respect your chutzpah for wearing something with presence. Go for it.

@FragranceFawn , @ Goldweave . . as another kindred spirit of the '80's I feel your pain when it comes to this fragrance. I too feel a particular loathing when it comes to this scent. I searched the ingredients and by all accounts nothing stands out from them that I have no liking toward. If memory serves (and for this fragrance, it does) I can only say that it was an instant headache inducer (ad nauseam), to the -nth power. Even now I can just recall my experience with 'Babe' and it makes me slightly queasy just thinking of it. If I never smell it again, that would be too soon. I don't even want to smell any reformulated versions of it as it would only remind me of how off-putting this fragrance is to me. There are not many fragrances I have experienced (see how short my dislike list is) that I can say I extremely dislike, but this one is a close second to Prince's 3121, one I probably dislike the most. P.S. I will not even apologize for my dislike. I understand that one person's treasure is another's poison. P.P.S. Wait, did they throw some Brut in there? because that may explain some things . . .

"You're fabulous Babe"! sang the commercial and Babe sure was! This was something new and exciting for my generation(the Baby Boomers). Babe was not the frou frou girl who slept on a special satin pillowcase to keep her do from getting crushed. Nor was she the girl who said things like, "The only degree I want is my Mrs. degree"(we thought that was terribly profound!). The Babe woman let the wind blow through her hair and went to college, probably on a scholarship, to get an education so she could have a career. Oh yes, she wanted marriage and family -- someday, just not right now. Babe is the first perfume I remember having a fresh, breezy quality. It was lightly sweet, clean and a bit soapy and very energetic. I would not call this a chypre floral, it seems awfully warm and spicy to be in that family. I would call it a light oriental, an athletic, outdoorsy version of Opium if you will. Whatever you call it, it was a pioneer among perfumes, wish it had lasted longer.

A blast from the '70s past. I can only remember liking the opening then experiencing an almost sickening drydown. Even now I can still remember that smell :{ I just recalled what this one reminds me of: Missoni by Missoni, an EDC version of it. Still can only take so much of it.

To me this is a typical 80's perfume: the opening is sparkling and fruity, the middle an undistinguishable melange of flowers. The bottom is rather sharp. Nothing to make it memorable.

This is not one that I wore in the 80s, but I do remember it. My sister had some at one point (I may have had the deodorant at one point in the 80s). This was popular in the late 70s/ early 80s, and although I was in Elementary school and not old enough to wear perfume yet, we had some family friends who were older than me and in the age group that would have been wearing this. The smell of this is so nostalgic, it must have been everywhere at the time. You can smell the aldehydes and floral/ musky notes, but it's all well blended to smell like "Babe". Looking at the comparisons, I do see the similarity to Lady Stetson, and maybe even Chanel #22. Funny watching the commercials now, they make it seem like such a fresh, fun, youthful fragrance, but it's not "fresh" in a fruity or sweet way by today's standards. To my nose the raspberry note is just barely there, but the previous reviewers are right, in that it's nothing at all like today's fake/ over the top sickly-sweet raspberry. I wouldn't have picked it out as being raspberry if I didn't know it was there, but so interesting how different the notes were back then. This perfume was everywhere much like Revlon Charlie was, and smelling it floods me with memories like so many fragrances of the past do. It makes me think of wide leg jeans, feathered hair, that show Eight is Enough, After School Specials, Kathleen Beller movies, shopping at Bradlees and Caldors, Wella Balsam shampoo (it would have been great to use with this- similar musky note in common), roller skating rinks, Dynamints, shiny lip gloss..such a perfect scent for teenagers and young women of that time period. *I did have the current splash in the white and pink bottle a few years ago and gave it away because I didn't like it, it was not like the vintage (missing notes, synthetic smelling), but the vintage is good. If you want Babe I'd hunt down a vintage bottle, it's worth it.

"Babe" what a blast! This fragrance was hot back in the late 70's, it reminded me of "Charlie's Angels", flared sequinned jeans, shiny lipgloss, big hair and disco lights... It smelled the same on every girl or woman though, and everyone was either wearing it or talking about buying it! I got a bottle too of course, it smelled to me like a fresh sweet breeze, buoyant, wearing "Babe" was like going up in a hot-air balloon and maybe not returning to earth again!! Interestingly there were many notes in this fragrance, so many florals for instance I see, hence the sweetness.I didn't smell the musk though and the drydown in my view was not much different from the opening notes, it started off sweet and stayed that way, there seemed to be nothing in "Babe" to stabilize the light notes. The perfume was complex, but just about every woman or girl at the time liked it, because it was so feminine exciting, and incredibly sweet and "airy". Hence the description of the hot-air balloon and not making it back to earth again! By today's standards "Babe" is slightly dated though but at the time of launch it was "the" perfume for a young woman to wear. Getting a bottle for your best Girl friend for Christmas was the ultimate present! The name suited the perfume very well too. Thanks for reading my review!

Today I thrifted two vintage gift sets! I want to say antique or ancient lol. The plastic window of the boxes is so thick and the products are nestled in ivory satin, we certainly haven’t seen that in decades. The boxes are super shiny pink, I’m thinking maybe Valentine’s Day sets. One has a 57ml bottle plus a big vat of ‘bath powder’. The other box has three 28ml bottles; Babe, Babe Essence de Nuit & Babe Essence de Amour. I didn’t find the two Essences on here. I misted 1 mist of the big Babe bottle and I am pleasantly surprised how much I’m enjoying this vintage of vintage frags! The mister is really fine, I noticed that about a lot of vintage bottles. I have a feeling I’ll be able to smell it tomorrow still. With strong scents I like to just mist my low back. Keeps it more intimate, leaves a lovely trail & scented hugs:) After a few hours it’s really soft, mysterious. I’ve been on a lucky streak finding old bottles. Each gift set was $6CAD, what a fun find!

I was surprised to see the complicated formula and all the different notes in Babe. It was always a drugstore/mass market retailer scent that was very affordable in its day, though that was an era when even an inexpensive mass market scent still contained quality ingredients. My favorite aunt and my sister wore this one in the late 1970's and early 1980's. The aunt seemed very sophisticated to me: a career woman in her 20's with a handsome husband and no children. She had a trendy wardrobe and traveled the world. My sister was in junior high when she wore this one. Oddly, the scent didn't seem out of place on either of them. My recollection of this scent is purely the MUSK. It was very feminine, very clean but very musky and it lasted for ages. I agree with the other comments that it wouldn't sell now. It seems very much of its time and place. Would love to give it a sniff for nostalgia's sake.

Oh, what a trip back to when I was 15 or 16! If you wanted to be à la page, you had to wear Babe. I remember the slogan with Margaux Hemigway and her 1 million dollars. It was an intense scent, very long lasting, almost annoying to people around you (some of my schoolmates hated it - I was in a nun's school and I felt very trasgressive wearing Babe but also L'Heure Bleue and tons of Charlie and Miss Dior) but very nice. I do not know if it would be welcomed again today, maybe a bit surpassed but truly truly truly very nice. Very special in its own special way, very innovative back then.

this brings back soooooo many memories of junior high school in southern California....Lomita, California to be exact. I remember my Mom giving me those gift packages for my birthdays, Christmas, Valentine's Day, etc. I vaguely remember getting a set that had Babe deodorant and maybe lotion along with the perfume...or maybe it was shower gel and lotion...idk, but it makes me really appreciate my parents and all of their hard work to give me and my brother a beautiful home and also giving us extra "little" things that I appreciated then....and now appreciate even more.

As a child of the 80's, I recall this one vividly...in your face, forget subtlety. It was everywhere...and teenagers wore it by the gallon. I don't know what else to say but it was there. Everywhere. I hated it. Kill it. Kill it with fire. EDIT: My apologies to those who love it, I am kinda interested to smell the re-issue, if only to re-affirm my intense dislike for this fragrance. Maybe it would smell differently to me now...but I have such bad memories of that cloying scent I don't care to find out.

Babe also made underarm deodorant spray- very inexpensive- which I wore for a couple of years in the mid to late 80s, and always got tons of compliments. It was really awkward when people would ask what my amazing fragrance was! I think I saw some in a drug store within the last year or so, but have learned my lesson about trying to relive past fragrances from that far back. (They seem to have turned or been reformulated...Or maybe I have. Lol!)

I bought a tiny spray bottle, decanted. I don't know whether it was not stored well, or if it just does not age well, but the smell was strong and pungent. I opened the top and filled it with water and it smells better. I wore it today and so far 6 hours later I can still smell it on my shirt. Brings me back to a time of roller discos and wanting to be older than i was. I would defintely buy it again if they brought it back...youth in a bottle

I also was given a bottle of Babe as a teenager. It was also my first "real" perfume. In Australia the bottle was different to the one shown above, with a peach coloured plastic lid and Babe written in the "Fame" style. I kept my empty bottle for at least 20 years, occasionally sniffing my happy teenage memories. Then, on a decluttering binge, I threw it away. What a mistake!!! I would love to smell it again one day.

I wore Babe in high school and beyond in the 70s. I recently purchased a bottle of vintage Lancôme Trésor, which I never wore when it came out in the 90s, and hours after drying down it reminds me of Babe! So awesome because Babe left a trail wherever you went. Silage and staying power were off the charts when wearing Babe back then. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

I had a roommate that wore this . She used too much and I think it was meant to be used more sparingly. It was a real 80s perfume and was strong and powerful. Women liked perfume that rocked your world back then. It was a pretty good one if used with a light hand. I don't think it would sell now though, too eighties.

And the news is that Babe is back. No more Faberge/Brut, but Rebuilt by the same company of Aqua Manda. I could not try but they say they carefully rebuilt it testing the scent during that process with Babe's fan to recreate the same sensations. You will find more infos at babeperfume.com. Let us know

Goodness gracious, the above description says that it is composed of 118 essences. I remember the bottle but can't for the life of me remember what it smelled like. I would surely like to journey back in time long enough to smell it. And to tell my teenage self not to drop out of college.

This was gifted to my by my siblings in the late 70's and I was still in primary school. I remember liking it, but it was given to me being the baby of the family and nicknamed Babe. (well before any movie) I wish I could buy it now just to smell it again.

i found half a bottle of this stuff and i am liking it. i am a guy but i really think i can make this stuff work with something.its an old bottle and i dont get any raspberry but tons of oakmoss.flowery as heck but i like it.

I LOVED Babe in the 70s and 80s!! I wish the best ones weren't discontinued. Very feminine, strong, confident; a sweet airiness coupled with a deep sensual mossiness. Reminds me of Cie by Shulton...not in the system.

@Scarlette, I used to wear Cie in the 80's, when I was in high school. I loved it so much. I was looking around for it here, and was surprised it wasn't listed. I also wore Babe a lot in the 80's.

The opening was a beautiful 1970s green floral/chypre very similar to Coty Nuance, that quickly evolved into a sticky raspberry and oakmoss stench on my skin. Off-putting.

I love this perfume so much. This was signature scent until ,alas, it was no more. I lived in this scent. Clean, fresh, warm, free spirited.. Unforgettable.

There is a demand now for anything retro or nostalgic. Those who never experienced it want to know! It could be marketed as "That Hemingway aura." :)

Loved this fragrance way back when I was a teenager. Too bad they discontinued it. What fragrance resembles Babe? Really would like to know.

This is an absolute classic. An aldehyde rose/hyacinth floral with gorgeous chypre undertones and a soapy/powdery base. Utterly feminine.

Where can I find this perfume in Turkey? Do you have the ability to send to Turkey?