Anais Anais L’Original Eau de Toilette

"Anais Anais" in its latest edition of L'Original surprised me with a very soapy start, chemical and aggressive. I was honestly taken aback as I did not remember the scent to be like this (my mother used to have it in the 90s and I remember it being one of my favourite of hers). So, I made at least 10 sprays into the window and let the bottle sit on my table for a few days. Then, I gave it another try. Soapiness is still there, but now with the green and raspy notes, like freshly cut stems. There is a shadow of hyacinth lingering behind the green, together with the sweetness of the honeysuckle. In all honesty, honeysuckle is more accurate and believable of the two. Moss and vetiver pierce through the composition almost from the start, and appear to be locked in a tug of war with the florals. Rose and ylang-ylang do the "heavy lifting" providing heart's sweet and powdery note. LOTV (lily-of-the-valley) is somewhat muddled by hyacinth, but can still be discerned with some effort. Lily's note is definitely a synthetic one, not bad, but obvious. The fragrance softens through its heart and becomes more sweet and powdery, with the raspy green moss and vetiver subdued but still present. Musky sandalwood is nicely executed and adds a needed fluidity and softness to the composition. Conflict between notes is settled and "Anais Anais" becomes what it should have been from the start, - a cosy, powdery floral, with romantic and nostalgic feel. I tend to associate the perfume with Francoise-Athenais de Montespan a famous favourite of the Sun King - Louis XIV, who embodied and encapsulated beauty, elegance and wit with cold-blooded strategy and merciless ambitions. All in all "Anais Anais" is still a favourite of mine, loved for its floral cloud-like scent, even with the few hiccups in the blending and recreation of the notes (which I confidently lay at the L'Oreal's door, - not the first time that they messed up a beautiful creation in pursuit of "financial efficiency", or to be blunt - trying to get away with making it on the cheap), and am certain to keep it on my dressing table for many more years to come. After all, a perfume with character, even a self-contradictory one, is much better than the one without.

Anaïs Anaïs is a scent I associate with my mom. Chanel No. 5 is her signature these days, but she wore Anaïs Anaïs a lot when she was younger as a summer fragrance. Apparently, it was the first gift my dad bought for her, so for sentimental reasons as well as appreciation for the perfume itself, she loves AA. As do I. An ubiquitous girly scent of the eighties, AA is a floral classic. Sweet, angelic and clean-cut, it is the kind of thing that a naive, innocent young girl (with excellent taste) would likely gravitate to. This is the reformulation, sparser than the original, but the DNA of the original is very much present, according to my scent memory. Dad bought this version as a gift for Mom a couple of years ago "for old time's sakes". AA opens with a heady hyacinth note, joined by sweet, polleny honeysuckle. Uplifting and realistic, these notes remind me of my grandparents' house in the countryside, where both flowers featured. This opening develops into a rich, lush white floral accord, sweet and very feminine. Lily and jasmine stand out, and there are hints of lily-of-the-valley too. The white floral accord is balanced perfectly by fresh, damp green notes in the background, reminiscent of a good quality bouquet, or a garden blooming in May. It conjures up the image of forest nymphs/fairies for me. A slightly aquatic note creeps in as it develops, adding some light, airy freshness. The florals become powdery, and any dampness initially present dries completely. As it dries down, soft woody and mossy notes creep in, giving some balance and definition to the florals. This chypre-esque base gives AA an elegant, vintage-style finish instead of sweetening the base to within an inch of its life with vanilla. It dries down to a powdery skin scent with some clean musk. Sillage and longevity are moderate. A floral, feminine classic, AA is a thing of beauty. Evokes personal memories while also being a great scent that stands the test of time. Gorgeous bottle too. 4/5.

Anaïs Anaïs starts off with a cloud of notes that I found hard to determine. They smelt of white flowers, but also spicy - not as in chili powder or pepper but as in cumin. I cannot remember ever having smelt a real hyacinth or honeysuckle, so this might be a note in one of them, but I would not know. All I can say is that I found it pleasant, yet unexpected. What followed - on my skin it was about 15 minutes in - were the creamiest floral aldehydes. They smelt sophisticated but approachable and reminded me of the fragrance Dove bodywashes used to have before the experience was marred by this slight citric undercurrent I find they carry now. At this point, Anaïs Anaïs reminded me of impeccably white satin sheets fleeting in the breeze, faintly holding memories of the 1980s and 1990s. I am ashamed to admit, but since this is an anonymous platform I will: The fragrance made me feel so pretty. I felt like a well-groomed, dreamy girl carefully dressing for her first date, reminding herself of being classy, not daring. Around one hour after application the fragrance changed insofar as single components became more distinguishable. On my skin, it was lily of the valley and white lilies that became the most prominent while I could not detect rose at all. This is where the Anaïs Anaïs remained for hours and hours. After a shower I took between hours 5 and 6, the scent was still well detectable, although the focus now had shifted to a combination of musk and sandalwood. It was not until around hour 10 that this wonderful fragrance had finally disappeared. I do not doubt it could have lasted longer, had I resisted the urge for body hygiene. And I remind you - we are talking about the EdT here! To me, Anaïs Anaïs is an absolute recommendation. It leans feminine, but more so by association then by components. As a man, dare to try it if you ever enjoyed the classic Dove fragrance. Just be aware that Anaïs Anaïs might make you feel pretty too...

They dont make realistic spring florals like this anymore... everything just has to be aquatic or fresh or clean or fruity or sweet. This.. this is what Mother Earth gave us to enjoy on the first warm days of the year. When the trees start blossoming and the birds start chirping. Such beautiful realistic florals without any compromise made to any of them, no cleaned up white florals, no artificial aquatic freshness, just pure heady beauty. This has always been my moms signature scent , but that does not affect my opinions on it. Of course i do simply enjoy it and i do think its nice and nostalgic, but that doesnt do this perfume justice. It is objectively very similar to the actual flowers listed in the notes. I can smell actual hyacinths, actual honeysuckle (very rare to find realistic honeysuckle in perfumes!), actual lilies (also quite rare imo, none of them come this close) and a semblance of a classical rose jasmine soap. LOTV adds a greenness but doesnt obstruct anything or change the perfume into toilet spray. The rose and jasmine arent necessarily detectable, i think the jasmine may enhance the indolic aspects of hyacinths and lilies and honeysuckle, while rose gives something lush and dewy and Alive. The drydown has a noticeable moss accord, one that does not go musty danky patchouli but actual old time chypre (albeit weaker). On the other hand, if you dont value photorealism and dont know what these flowers smell like irl, i think one would just experience this as a soapy scent. Not soapy in a chanel manner, more like an actual french floral soap from provence. People call this ‘grandma’ which i find ageist in a way, but yeah it does smell very vintage. I REALLY love vintage scent profiles so thats a positive in my eyes. But if you dislike that; dont even try this This also lasts ages on me. It never smells synthetic. It may be! But its blended so well that it smells like a fresh bouquet resting on your skin.

I've always been curious about Anais Anais - my mother says it was one of the first fragrances she bought for herself and has always had a soft spot, but I think she 'grew out of it' long before my time and I'd never tried it on myself, although I've thought of Cacharel very highly as some of the most distinctive and well-thought-out scents at their price point around. I bought a very cheap bottle of this because I figured it'd be nice to have something simple and comforting to wear at home in quarantine and I'm in love with it. On one level it is definitely a very familiar, soapy white floral, "youthful" almost to the extent of baby powder - but the florals shimmer through in incredible clarity at points, fading in and out the same way that you catch a scent on a breeze. The initial bloom of hyacinth and honeysuckle is really powerful and smells impressively "real"; after that it settles down to a clean, soapy but very assertive and noticeable scent. I'm not wild about this, as the soap/musk scent at this level of projection speaks somewhat of having oversprayed deodorant, but every time it has me thinking I don't like it there's a bloom of heady jasmine, lily, hyacinth which captures the more complex, slightly 'dirty' undertones to those florals, and I'm in love again. I wish it was a little greener, but if I sniff it on the skin I do get a real mossy note rather than just the purely sterile powder-musk and the lack of any sweet fruit or vanilla is so refreshing. If it takes me somewhere I think it's imagining my grandparent's garden (which always was full of tremendous honeysuckle, roses and jasmine blooms in the summertime), a sunny summer morning, taking a freshly laundered white towel to lie on the lawn because there's still dew on the grass. I don't know how often I'd wear this out of the house but it's definitely a pleasant fantasy for the next few weeks at home.