La Selection Parfum Sacre

i got a decant of this from surrender to chance. they had 2 options, but i'm not sure which one i bought! they had the extrait and a more modern version, which now isn't on the site so i can't confirm, but i think it's this one? it's more rose heavy than the original seems to be from the description, so i hope i'm safe writing this here. i smell rose and subtle cinnamon with musks and soft resins. it's been fairly linear for awhile. this is very pretty and opulent and wraps you in it's warmth. it's voluptuous and a beautiful scent. i think i may need more than just my sample <3

The difference between the original Parfum Sacre and Parfum Sacre (2013)is, to me, this: this new version is much more "wearable" and pretty, for my taste. I found the original version much more pepper and incense than I could endure. In this newer version I get a lot more plush Rose, a nice sprinkling of pepper and delicious creamy Myrrh. On my skin both sillage and longevity are excellent. I find the new heavy, rectangular bottle very elegant. Parfum Sacre (2013) is certainly worthy to wear its' wonderful and fitting name.

Spicy & woody roses, like firewood covered with cinnamon-dried petals then set ablaze. What you smell is the smoke that wafts around, then it tapers down to resinous and still smoky woods. As intense as that description sounds, it's surprisingly not abrasively difficult to wear. Perfect for cool/cold weather, I'd wear this indoors in the winter. Lasts 8+ hrs (per the sample in the crook of my elbow), and projects quite strongly for the first 2 hrs.

I'm currently working through my sample collection, especially those that I didn't love, like Parfum Sacré which I got with a purchase and wouldn't have picked out on my own. This is one of those scents that have to dry down for a while to show their good side. The opening sometimes made me feel queasy while sampling, it's very sour and dry and has a dirty animalic quality to it that is just unpleasant to my nose... and my stomach. I have no idea which notes do this, as there are neither any animalics listed, nor 'problematic' spices like cumin or coriander. After the dirty notes have vanished, a powdery floriental with lots of spices unfolds. I think the notes list of the original version is closer to the actual scent than the one from this 2013 version, but I'm sure I'm reviewing the current one as I got my sample in a store last year. It's easy to single out cloves in this, but there are also intense cinnamon, black pepper, a barely sweet vanilla, myrrh and a classic floral bouquet. It's a very warm scent and smells a little dated, I was surprised to read that the original version was only issued in 1991 and not earlier. I think I would like this more if it was sweeter and had a creamier texture, it's a little too dry and powdery on my skin. But in the end, that's an issue of personal taste. I would only recommend this if you're used to the pungent openings some older style fragrances can have, but if you do, you can find an elegant, feminine spice fragrance in this.

I loved my first bottle of Parfum Sacré; the floral notes (which I always thought smelled like violet, rather than the rose listed), against an amazing base of spice (predominantly cloves), incense, wood and vanilla. Shortly after finishing my bottle, I replaced it (from the same La Collection edition), and was very disappointed to find definite changes: most notably there was very prominent modern musk in the base notes, which I really didn't like. Also, the fragrance had become very clingy and extremely long lasting - and not in a good way. I found that taking a shower when I'd been wearing Parfum Sacré that day brought out a disgusting dirty stale smell, which was still very much in evidence the following day, and proved very difficult to get rid of. Though my first bottle had been a strong and powerful fragrance, it definitely wasn't like that. I miss the Parfum Sacré of my original bottle, but I definitely won't be buying the latest edition without trying it first. Caron has changed beyond recognition in the last few years; I hope Parfum Sacré is now more like my original bottle (and also that the new editions of their other classics have not been drastically altered).