Jasmin De Corse

After a very smooth transaction I received the coffret containing three 50 ml bottles of Eau de Parfum. One of them is the re-interpretation of "Le Jasmin de Corse" by Daphne Bugey, initiated by the François Coty Association. This is an aldehydic Jasmine scent with all the sophistication of a classic composition. I simply adore it. Mme Bugey did wonders with her re-creation. If you love scents from the past impeccably executed with all the headnotes still intact do yourself a favour and try this re-interpretation. I have bought many an old bottle giving only the shadow of a classic perfume. This is an alternative, in my opinion.

My review is for the original perfume pictured, circa 1910. As for modern alternatives, I find Penhaligon's Anthology Gardenia as well as their Ellenisia to be the closest, albeit extremely heavy in synthetics. Anthology Gardenia has a tuberose note that separates the two. Ellenisia has the plum nectar. Both definitely lack the immense civet note. This perfume knocked my socks off! I'd heard the stories about how Grand Duchess Tatiana wore this and it was definitely a surprise. Of the original Coty creations worn by the duchesses, Jasmin de Corse is by far the skankiest and most erotic. The first several minutes you get full on unwashed crotch funk from civet. It's unusual for natural musks to skew that direction on me, but that's definitely what happened. Around 30min in, the civet mostly disappears and the florals steal the show. I notice heavily indolic jasmine, gardenia, and a whisper of freesia. My bottle is probably too old for any of the top notes to have been well-preserved, but I think I notice very slight lemongrass (cymbopogon schoeanthus variety) and possibly petitgrain. There are likely some early synthetics involved in this perfume (the faintest use of early aldehydes?) as the dry down is actually a linear white floral sans lily, though the freesia is more noticeable now and the civet is reduced to a gentle purr. I don't detect any deer musks present, nor patchouli, nor precious woods. At most the other base note is a very soft and delicate vetiver or amyris. Amyris actually seems more likely. If you're considering tracking down a bottle of the original, just know you're going to be shocked by the indole-heavy, nearly rancid civet-fest that is Jasmin de Corse (let alone the extraordinary price tag - think $2,000/oz). It's crazy expensive when you find it, and personally it doesn't seem worth it when there are such wonderful civets, natural musks, and jasmines out there. For good jasmines, I adore Jasmine Full by Montale, TTWAG by Pilar&Lucy, nearly any jasmine or melati enfleurage or high-quality essential oil. For civets and musks, I like the remaining precious few deer musks from Chinese Traditional Medicine creators and Muscs Koublai Khan by Serge Lutens - and only the ethically sourced versions where the civets are raised like family/pets and the musk pods of the deer are gathered from the forest floors from naturally shed pods. Of all the Coty creations, including the modern ones featuring mostly Firmenich and Givaudin designer chemicals, this has been the most shocking to me. This is a lioness. Raw. Unbridled. Unsilenced. The type of thing that has to be experienced because descriptions are nowhere near enough. However, I fully understand and support why it was discontinued. Despite being unique and memorable, it's pretty, wearable, or versatile, and is even a little emotionally jarring to wear. It's not the type of scent meant to be worn in public, for sure. People will think you used a gardenia body spray to cover up your crotch funk and the fact you've been using dry shampoo for the last 10 days. Tastes have definitely changed in the last 100 years. Despite collecting antique perfumes and adoring original Coty, this is a hard pass for me, and probably would be for you too. This is one of those creations that requires the proper body chemistry for the perfume to be what it is designed to be.