Ma Griffe

I meant to review something else today, but then I tried this on for the first time and I’m so in love I have to throw words at it! The opening is very mossy and my first associations went to both mitsouko and cabochard. It’s like they had a baby.. some of the lightness and cleanness of cabochard over mitsouko’s mossy warmth. Very very beautiful! This could easily be a lighter mitsouko flanker. One that is a bit more fresh and airy and less deep and spicy. I’m thinking of getting a vintage and layering it with this to get some more longevity and silage from the older version with the freshness of the new one. To my nose it’s not as powdery as people here say it is. The powdery and soapy notes are very very faint. Some of the ‘grandma’ associations probably come from the oakmoss i guess, which does smell a bit vintage-y, but also quite timeless. Ma Griffe has that gorgeous damp forest floor smell which gives you those delicious warm wafts of mossy foresty sun soaked autumn goodness that is so prevalent in mitsouko and to a lesser extent cabochard. To me that smell is so timeless and classy. It gives that air of mystery, like you’re a wood nymph or something. Truly ethereal. This is a 100% unisex fragrance. Since it’s not as heavy and deep as many vintage/older fragrances like mitsouko, and not as powdery as cabochard, I think this is one of the vintage scents that will appeal more to younger audiences. Compared to many other fragrances it’s a lot more fresh and light. It’s not overpowering so safe to wear at the office. It’s probably a pretty safe blind buy if you’re into vintage chypres. If you enjoy mitsouko and cabochard and would like a more subtle inoffensive flanker type fragrance, then you’ll probably adore this. It’s very different to both, but has enough similarities to appeal to the same audience. NB: I snagged my 50ml bottle up from Vinted for only €15. Checking the batch code told me my bottle is from 2014, so shortly after the formulation. I’m fairly certain it still smells the way it’s supposed to, but given that it’s almost 10 years old I’m sure it has matured, so it might not smell exactly the same as a new bottle. Oakmoss is listed in the ingredients.

After testing this a few times, I can now see how the original version of this would have been popular with young women in the 1940s. I can imagine them getting jobs and meeting new people while wearing this perfume. I find it smells 'smart', without smelling very formal. I can imagine this boosting the wearer's confidence as they step out into a war-scarred but exciting new world. It also smells like it is aimed at 'smart' as in intelligent women, just like its more arty niece, Rive Gauche. And like Rive Gauche, it's ageless and timeless in appeal, while also evoking the time and place it comes from. The opening has the loveliest gardenia-lemon combination. When the jasmine kicks in a bit later, it has a slight dirtiness to it that I'm not keen on. It's the same sweaty jasmine as the one used in other Carven women's perfumes. Luckily, here it doesn't overpower the rest of the scents. All the other notes in the heart blend to create a sophisticated scent. The dry down would be better if it was stronger. It's a very faint musky/balsamic/woody mix. The longevity is about 4 hours on me. Projection is about arm's length (or slightly further) for about 1.5 hours before rapidly becoming quite a faint skin scent. If you're looking for a powerhouse, this isn't it. I still love it, though. I feel like I would need to get a vintage bottle to do this justice, but for now there's this.

The original - meaning, to me, the 80s incarnation in the tall box and bottle - came into my bedroom and tucked me in every few months when my parents were off to a dinner party. It changed and was understandably ditched, less understandably for a sledgehammer bottle of Coco; knowing what I now know, I assume this was when real oakmoss got the bullet. The 80s version smelled posh, enfolding but angular, bold but delicate, surprisingly girlish - worn since long before I was born and introduced into the family in the 40s by a Carven importer; it must’ve continued to pass muster to satisfy that lineage. The 90s one lost something crucial. If only for the good of posterity and my own psychological needs, this version - bought in 2024 - is on the money to my and the original wearer’s noses. It’s weaker in terms of cling and projection but the smell is good. I’m generally unfussed about sexing in perfume, so this perhaps down to an individual discomfort with the Bates Motel: this would seem strange on a man in public.

I'm wearing it again today - I can't get enough of it. It's so gorgeous! I LOVE everything in it, especially the Vetiver! I just love it! It's the most amazing smell - I can smell that almost all the time, with strong and lingering wafts of every other beautiful scent that's in it. Oh my goodness....it is terribly mature and elegant and classy! I could still smell it on me when I got up, after having it on since 5am yesterday, and the bedroom still smells of it - so delicious!...and so, naturally I added more this morning!!, and am truly ecstatic in the gorgeous vapours!!! Incredible. I LOVE CARVEN MA GRIFFE!!! It's the best perfume I've ever had. SWOON!!

Oh my God! I absolutely agree with mmm777pisces! I absolutely LOVE this GORGEOUS ELEGANT perfume!!!! I think it's stunning! Oh gosh, I love the Vetiver too, so much! I'm only lately discovering the joy of perfumes, and, really - I have been missing out! And this one is SUPREME for me. The sophistication, the class! The smells are so divine, I have never experienced anything like it!! yang-ylang is such a yummy divine smell isn't it? Oh dear, and everything else in it - I can smell all the notes listed! And ALL day, to the next day! Fantastic! SUCH a divine smell!!! Aaaaahhhh!!! Sigh......

A very beautiful, elegant and mysterious perfume. Very classic. Very lovely citrus and flowers , strong and delicious, and then more woody, earthy tones. The rose, gardenia and jasmine I smell most of the day, and the yang-ylang, and after an hour or so, a lovely metallic edge to it, which I love! That goes on right to the end, which for lucky me is still just there the next morning. I love it, it's beautiful. I feel so rich and classy, and elegant wearing it. It gives me such a feeling of being my own woman. Quietly confident in my own uniqueness. It's really gorgeous.

I love it! I think it's fantastic! Beautiful, heavenly, complex. A fabulous complexity of smells - all different gorgeous aromas wafting around me all day, and well into the night. Just beautiful Stunning. Glorious. Superb. Wonderful, elegant, classy perfume. Very mature I think. Really special. Fantastic longevity and sillage. It's very different for me, but I really love it, and want to wear it all day, every day. Mmmm, mmmmmm.

If you find Bandit or Cabochard too strong or scratchy, it's your choice. Chypre, elegant, aristrocratic, fresh well in the mass of fruitchulie's. This is a modern chypre, digestible, mild, and clean.

Just blind bought this, found it at an irresistible price and was driven by nostalgia to revisit it. Now I don’t have a blanket hatred for all reformulated fragrances, some of them are still wonderful even if they are not identical to the vintage, and in any case..I am not confident that my memory is flawless... So back in the ‘70s, this was a very popular, sort of “cheapie” in Australia. It came in a tall bottle, EDT with a green and white box, you could buy it easily, at chemists and department stores. The new one isn’t bad, but boy...I can’t relate it to the original in ANY way. Yes it’s a Chypre, it’s got a lovely mossy floral bouquet and the dry down is pretty special. It’s not a good performer though...luckily I am getting marginally more than most reviewers, but it’s quite close to the skin. Maybe around 4 hours. I think this is going to be a great office fragrance for when you want to be a little low key.

I never smelled the original from 1946 but this 2013 release of Ma Griffe still smells to me like something from another age. It's a dry chypre in the same rather prim, upper crust-y category as Yves Saint Laurent Y, Lentheric Tweed, and Givenchy III. Ylang is very prominent for me. Sillage and longevity are moderate. Ma Griffe 2013 may appeal to people who, horrified though they are by their grandmothers' Poison and Giorgio, are nevertheless looking for something 'classic', provided it could not possibly offend anyone. I'm glad to own it though, and maybe a few more wearings will reveal some more character.

Fresh, powdery, soft chypre with restrained florals, and not at all sweet. I like this very much--it's a really lovely scent. I love this kind of perfume, which makes me feel like an well bred, outdoorsy and expensively scrubbed girl from the first half of the last century. It's the kind of scent which transports me. The only reason I am not saving my pennies is that the humble Tweed is extremely similar, but slightly nicer, and beats it hands down in sillage and staying power--at literally a tenth of the price. Why can't this be better lasting and project more for the cost?

I tried the newer version, I get mostly creamy gardenia and jasmine. Unfortunately the sillage is soft and the longevity weak. I can barely smell the other ingredients, so I won't be buying it. I would recommend it if you like clean-smelling perfumes and you don't want other people to smell your perfume.

quality perfume. a crossbreed of modern shalimar edp and modern rive gauche edt. has the warm oriental tonka-sandalwood eyes of the former+the bergamot complexion and vetiver hair of the latter. really stands out among all the fruitchoulis and gourmands of 2010s. totally signature-worthy.

I love Carven le parfum and l'eau and I think absolue version is also good so when I saw a tester of ma griffe in a perfume shop,I didn't hesitate to spray it on a paper blotter Oh well ĺt smells horrible to my nose,I asked two of my friends idea and they both disliked it I didn't give it much time to develop so I can't judge about it's final scent but what I was smelling in first minutes was an almost bitter woody scent with no soft feminine or sweet notes to balance it.even flowers didn't smell pretty.jasmine and ylangylang seemed to be oily, dirty and dusty It definitely has a classic vibe,is mature and is very unique ❤

This is not good in my opinion, it literally scratches my nose. Overwhelming and very masculine scent. Smells like something very old and dusty. Not my thing at all.

Well, Ma Griffe seriously deserves a second review: First off, oakmoss has been the heart of many precious classics as such. But the changing times and IFRA eliminated it to a great extent from the scene of designers, along with many other precious, natural based ingredients. But some houses actually bypassed the ban. Carven seems to be one of them... Here, the original formula is of course trimmed, and there sure are some chemical components which replaced the previously natural extracts. But real oakmoss (evernia prunastri extract) is still inside this bottle, the 2013 rendition. Below is what they say on their website: "Carven puts the glorious chypre fragrance born in 1946 back in center stage, 70 years after its creation without touching its original formula." And then the oakmoss is not listed in the notes, neither here on Fragrantica. All the while when it is pretty much listed on the perfume's box... and I can well perfectly smell it! "My Signature" in its 2013 reincarnation is true to the core (like a damaged but a successfully restored masterpiece) and it's a total mood fragrance, transporting one instantly back in time. This is in my case 1960s... But it can very well represent 40s and 50s as well. It is out of this time, out of this world as we know it today. The feeling of nostalgia it evokes is so strong, it makes me feel like crying. I can see and smell a butterfly but I can't touch it! It's like a hologram... Past decades are unfolding before my eyes in great detail (houses, furniture, streets, outfits, people!), animated, but I am not a part of this experience. I am an observer, where the scent (the hologram) is oozed out of. Only Mitsouko, which resembled my grandmother's scent gave me this feeling before... And albeit I adore it, I can't frequently wear it. Ma Griffe is under the same category. It's like a very fine selection of gourmet food (maybe caviar and spicy chocolates?), not the everyday kind. The right occasion, right mood and mindset is required to truly enjoy it, which I do. I can swear right now I can be the most extraordinary smelling person on the whole little island I live...

Firstly, i couldnt agree more with scarbo and netcat a few entries below on both points. I Love MA GRIFFE. I dont care if people potentially use terms like grannys or powder and the like. Actually, we forget powder can be quite alluring and quite sexy - realise it or not ! I like the references made to Shalimar and Rive gauche. Ma griffe is that and more for me - clean, green, clear, sweet (not too sweet, barley sugary at times), powdery, forest green and oohh yes unisex. It can whisk you in and and kinda spin you into that serene type open space. Perhaps it hints at different aspects of nature. I can dabble with lots of others, but Ma griffe always strikes a chord deep down. Especially when you need a bit of a lift. Sadly, i nearly bought another bottle of this 2013 bottle. Still smelt Ma griffe , quite acceptable, but it was gone from card in a short time. The other test strips eg Le parfum held. I went home and opened the bottle i puchased a few months back from another retailer, sprayed on arms and card - weak like water. I could barely smell this. But i could smell a couple of others. This is EDP, So, theres a problem here. I guess it could be viewed in a cologne capacity, BUT thats not the point.

OK, after being disappointed with numberless reformulations (and glad with some others, it must be said), I have adopted a Golden Rule: go try the old scents I had not used in the past, before IFRA. Ma Griffe is a scent I have been admiring from afar since many years. I can't tell why I have never bought it before, maybe for the simple reason that I was busy buying something else and my wallet was committed to that - not being a bottomless thing. Anyway, I like this new Ma Griffe, I had a sample miniature of pure perfume when I was a kid and I am sure there's something here reminding me that. I like the opening of the new Ma Griffe, it's an outburst of citrus and flowers, it promises a lot and I get hues of Futur by Piguet (but Futur is more bitter and with a longer development). In no time you are thrown to the drydown which is lovely and somewhat metallic, reminding me of Rive Gauche but sweeter. All in all I love this new Ma Griffe, but I dislike its being so poor on sillage and lasting power: a couple of hours and it's totally gone. I hope someone will work on improving the staying power: the fragrance is nice, why should it go so soon? Come on, please stay a little longer!

I do believe I may be anosmic to that one. I expected it to be strong, sharp, well clearly detectable at least. After a generous spritz onto a warm wrist, there was simply nothing there. I'm not talking about lacking sillage or lacking longevity, there was nothing much identifiable there, either immediately or, say, 15 minutes later. Even when I crushed my wrist to nose repeatedly and sniffed strongly enough to appear ridiculous. Nothing beyond "this person has recently walked through a perfume department and maybe touched something generic smelling there". And I know my general ability to smell things, as poor as it may sometimes be, was working that day because after this failed I tried some other scents and I could smell them just fine. Had I actually bought this I would have been accusing the seller of selling me a fake. But this was in a reputable department store where I usually get most of my perfumes from, so... A pity. This sounds like something I might like. Well, the descriptions of the effects do, I'm not at all sure about all the flowers in it.

I am not able to shop online to chase after vintages, so my best bet with Ma Griffe (which was on my wishlist for so long) was this reformulation. Despite I never tried the vintage, I believe this one smells the same in essence, only way lighter I guess. Ma Griffe 2013 tends to sit close to skin and it doesn't last terribly long. However I kinda fell in love with it on first smell and got myself a bottle. This is so far the second perfume (after the vintage Fidji) which made my mum cry when I spritzed some on her wrist, namely because it reminded her of my grandmother, long deceased. I actually felt slightly guilty when she got burst into tears... Originally launched in 1946, it's no wonder Ma Griffe and the similar scents were in my grandmother's wardrobe. The notes I immediately detect are jasmine, oakmoss and sandalwood. Unmistakably a lovely, green, very elegant scent.

tried it today. very unique. starts mossy and woody but after about 40 minutes turns into a scent of mixed flowers, moss.. a real nice chypre for the gender lovers. pitty it does not have greater sillage. after all we wear perfumes for the sillage and not only for sniffing it when our nose is stuck in our wrists .not for young girls at all though it is not an oldie. .a bit pricey edit: tried it again today. now i think i get no flowers. only moss ,wood and vetiver. i think this one suits men pefectiy. even more than women. i would like my private man to try it on.

I got it blind and was so excited to smell it, but the moment I took a sniff of the cap the thought “this is for old ladies” hit me so hard I didn’t even dare to spritz it. Reminded me of my old piano teacher and I really hated it. Sent it off to someone else as soon as I could, but they didn’t like it either. Something I will stay away from for the following decades.

¿Sabias tu que Jean Carles hizo este perfume teniendo Anosmia?. (A lo Beethoven)