Fame

So well-balanced and absolutely gorgeous! Jasmine and gardenia are the stars here on my skin, but there are green, earthy, and animalic elements that help to balance the heady white floral elements. I especially enjoy the interpretation of honey & beeswax here, which never lean too sweet. I’m reminded of Estee by Estée Lauder (which I adore), although this is definitely better suited for evening or special occasions. It’s definitely vintage, but none of the more intimidating elements are overbearing here so it’s definitely worth checking out in my opinion even if vintage florals can be hit or miss for you. I’ve been wearing the oily, inky green-black dregs of what seems to be a quite old vintage mini, but I get all of the notes intact. I can only imagine how beautiful the opening would be in spray form! I will definitely be repurchasing when I use mine up.

I’ve worn this beauty for decades. As a rule I don’ t gravitate to floral fragrances, so that says a lot. Only natural and ‘rogue’ ingredients (which have since become verboten) were used - and they were top quality. I have five bottles of this memorable masterpiece and they haven’t turned. A testimony to quality. Boucheron’s Quatre Intense reminds me of two of my favorite fragrances, Rochas Byzance and Fame de Corday. Each of these vintage fragrances peek in and out alternatively, like sweet ghosts.

Loved it in high school, 50 years ago; then moved on to Chantilly Lace, Tigress, Emeraude, and Canoe (daring!). My 100 or so iconic or magnificent fragrances live in a dark cool closet, but I wanted to wear this luscious scent again for my HS reunion. I was lucky enough to find a still sealed bottle of the parfum, now winging its way to me; crossing my fingers that it hasn't turned.

Aldehydic civet sweet jasmine. Not tuberose. The same kind of jasmine in Joy, but warmer, dirtier, sweeter. It smells both simple and very deep and round. Strong and lasts forever.

Absolutely adore the sweet honey note mixed with everything else. It’s a masterpiece. I’m addicted. It feels mature but not incredibly old fashioned, if that makes sense.

A beautiful perfume, you'll probably like this if you like Lauder Private Collection. It also resembles White Shoulders, but less of a baby-shampoo note (fewer aldehydes?) I love the linden blossom, but for me there is too much tuberose, so I won't be wearing it (much.) But it's the sort of thing you want in your stock if you collect old vintages from this era. My few drops are enough to enjoy it, and getting my nose on these minute bottles from yesteryear is a pastime I'll never tire of.

As a young woman, I thought Fame by Corday was an enormously sophisticated scent. I graduated to this from the Heaven Scent that most teenage girls of my era wore. When I sprayed on Fame, I thought I smelled rich and famous, and envisioned myself strutting down Fifth Avenue in an outfit Audrey Hepburn would wear. In fact, I think they used a Hepburn look-alike model in their print ads. Fragrance print ads used to have enormous power in selling perfume. I'm not sure they are still that effective. Anyway, I bought Fame with money from my first "real" job, and wore it for my wedding, as a nineteen year-old bride. I thought it would be my signature fragrance for life, and would love to smell it again, to see if really was as lovely as I remember.

Fame is just a beautiful perfume, a vintage floral of outstanding balance and beauty. In the parfum, Fame’s jasmine sings out with exceptional clarity and quality, very reminiscent of my sample of organic sambac jasmine absolute. There is a green stemmy aspect to Fame, so the jasmine may be blended with some lily of the valley (or hydroxycitronellal). The drydown contains some aldehydic crispness, light musk, no perceptible woods. To me, Fame is like vintage Diorissimo with much more passion and flesh on its bones, a more refined (less musky/animalic) vintage No. 5, or vintage Joy without the roses.

Remember smelling this as a kid (early 60s)... and just the fact that I can still recall it's beauty testifies to how long this scent impression has stayed with me. If I recall it in my mind's eye --- and try to deconstruct the notes I would have to say that gardenia and a delicate tuberose (that is a tuberose stem that is just beginning to open, or is on the wane, not in the fullness of its potency i.e. narcotic floralcy -- was what I recollect most. Also because it had longevity -- there must have been some puissant fixatives - basenotes in it's structure.

Please update us after your reunion, Cyndy!