Toujours Moi

Today is a great day!!!! I was reminicing recently of all the great high end and drugstore brand fragrance my Mom wore in the 1960s and 70s. I already own most of them. Toujours Moi? Did Mom use that one???? It seemed to trigger a childhood memory. So straight I go to Fragrantica. Yes, all the notes seem like something Mom would wear. Although, I am my Mother's daughter and our taste in fragrance are all over the map. Delicate lady-like fragrances as this one...and powerhouse frags that slap you in the face like vintage Youth Dew. I went on my usual search...our local community Thrift Shop, where I have made some very spectacular finds for next to nothing. This community use to be a retirement community. Now it is mostly made up of young families. The elderly are slowly dying off. Their children and grandchildren come to settle thier estate, sell as much as thy can at a make shift yard sale and donate the rest to the Church Thrift. I hope these dearly departed know how much I cherish these treasures and intend on using them as they did once in the past. My second method of search is good old eBay. I count on a seller not knowing what a treasure they behold and price the item way beneath it's true value. If I have enough of a certain fragrance, I have been known to write these sellers and tell them they should tweak their listings to draw attention and get top dollar. I know, I know, I should show some loyalty to my fellow Fragranticans and announce a spectacular deal on the Bay. But then I think of the 80 year old man selling off his deceased wife's belongings and I must do the right thing. I can always tell when it's a man that knows nothing about ladies vintage anything. So this time I found a vintage 2 oz bottle of Toujours Moi for $8 with free shipping!!! It just came in the mail. "Oh boy Mom, it's just like you walked in the room!" Although mom passed away 30 years ago 😣. I am spraying with abandon. And as with all of Mom's fragrances, I call over my 10 year old son (the grandchild my mom never got to meet on this earhly plain, but I have a feeling she was pulling some strings when our adoption came through), "Hey, do you want to smell what your Grandma smelled like????" He comes running and always exclaims, as he looks to the sky, "Wow Grandma, you always smelled wonderful", lol!!!!!

"Toujours Moi" has a bizarre history. If Fragrantica is to be believed, it was originally created by Corday in 1924, was sold to Max Factor in the 80s, and since 1995 it has been produced under Dana. The maker of my mini dabber bottle is Dana, and I don't think they've listed all the notes. Fruity, fizzy, and sour uptop. Citruses, orange, peach, and currant. Powdery, warm holiday spices like cinnamon, cloves. I'm not as acquainted with nutmeg specifically. Softly floral with honeyed orange flower, jasmine, carnation, iris. The base is more nuanced than you might expect. It definitely has vetiver, the smoky, ashy variety, I think there is an old fashioned, dusty leather note as well. A dense amber that is mostly based around benzoin, some incense, refined patchouli, powdery orris, and a soapy sandalwood note. There's a dirty musk note in the base as well. Toujours Moi wafts smoky, peppery, powdery, honeyed orange flower wherever you go. A distinctive, seductive DNA. It imparts a "come hither", boudoir message in my mind. It will come across as a bit dense and sophisticated for most modern noses, but it's distinctive, lovely, and memorable nonetheless. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I do. Dana isn't great about maintaining the integrity of their fumes. The modern formulation of Baby Soft is a fleshed out spin on talcum powder, and Tabu reminds me too much of flat cola. Despite its sorted history, Toujours Moi has retained an identity, it genuinely smells great. Considering how rich and natural it smells, it's a steal. You get a lot for how little you fork over. Most perfumes 10x the price smell substantially worse. If you can divorce it from its reputation as the poor person's Habanita, it holds its own. 1/1/25 Picked up a brand new Dana bottle during the holiday shopping madness. To my nose the orange blossom isn't coming as far forward, but the scent is otherwise very similar to my small dabber. I'll have to see how it smells as this new bottle ages.

God bless Dana! I don't know how they do it, but I am so happy they do! They keep old school classics alive, and even affordable, in a world when trendy releases are weak, boring and overpriced. This scent is so much better than 90% of juices released today, and probably better than some big names' reformulations. I'm 30 and nobody in my family was into perfumes so I have no memories of great oldschool classics, I have to use what I find now. The turqouise-green package implies a minty smell for me, but this is quite the opposite, no mint. I've only tried the new Habanita, not the old one, and this reminds me to it so I can completely understand when people say it is similar to the original one. Rich and intoxicating, with lovely sweet dark smoke. I get the spicy vanilla note people mentioned. A dark charcoal grey scent for me, warm and comforting. It is incredible that one can get such a stylish classic juice for this cheap. Decent strength and lasting power for an edc, too, probably due to the oriental notes which tend to last well. I guess I can call it old lady because it's a quality scent, and "old lady" is just another word for good quality and style. I suppose all the ingredients must be synthetic and cheap, only guessing by the price, but ohhhh, does this smell classy! I guess when these scents were released they were no big deals and nowhere near the position to compete with releases by the big names and the materials those used. Then time passed, standards changed (recently to the worse), and compared to today's releases this is gold! And even the mighty classics have fallen, their original formulas were mutilated so by now the differences in the quality of the materials are gone. Wow. Out of four blind buy scents (Tabu, Chantilly, Zig Zag and Toujours Moi, none of them a big financial risk), four winners. I LOVE DANA!

Demure Jazz Age Baby... I'm not sure what I was expecting here... but some reviewers have called this the "poor man's Habanita". I'm not familiar with Habanita, but it's definitely giving me older vintage vibes of something like Emeraude Coty (1921) or Shalimar Guerlain (1925)- though not a dupe. It may have been inspired Habanita (1921) or by the success of Emeraude, as was Shalimar allegedly. Starts off very powdery & honey-vanilla with faint hints of bergamot, leather & iris. It's somewhat linear but not fully, and I pick up the spices & olibanum more in the finish. I don't pick up civet here, although I wouldn't have been surprised given the vintage. This is surprisingly wearable, and doesn't overpower, but gives a nice soft-focus powdery-vanilla sillage for the stated "eau de cologne", and it's an EDC in the longevity (about 3 hours). Fragrantica states this came out initially in 1924, but the box says "since 1923". Either way this scent is 100 years old or more, and has survived the test of time. It's not giving me as much bombastic-ness as I would expect from the roaring 1920s, or Shalimar. It's more of a demure cousin to Shalimar in soft focus, and I could imagine Daisy Buchanan (played by Carey Mulligan) wearing this in the film, The Great Gatsby (2013), based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. (Fitzgerald based the novel on riotous parties he attended in 1922, completed the draft in 1924). Spraying this on, you too could be a contradictory, demure Jazz Age baby, ready for her misty close-up. It's a love for me. Enjoy! What it says on the box: toujours moi/Since 1923/eau de cologne spray/Top Notes: Orange Flower, Honey/Middle Notes: Jasmine, Carnation, Spice/Base Notes: Olibanum, Benzoin, Musk, Patchouli.

Holy Madre de Josephina! Toujours Moi is an exceptional fragrance. It is also exceptionally under-rated and under-appreciated, and it's 100 percent affordable. The beauty of this fragrance lies in its utter simplicity. As reflected in the Dana brand overview page, this 1921 classic was originally produced by Corday and then Max Factor. Like so many fragrances produced in the 20's, Toujours Moi exudes a sophisticated, worldly aura. I don't know what it is about me, but many of these classic Orientals (Tabu) smell deliciously like vanilla. On to the Toujours Moi experience. The opening reveals a harsh blast of vetiver and sandalwood. It's a rough opening, but it's well worth the result. After 20 or 30 minutes, these delicious vanilla/orange blossom notes overtake the scent. It's an outstanding evolution. I was so entranced by the ever-changing smell that I kept holding my wrist up to my nose. Apparently, my fixation really irritated by husband because he said in a really perturbed tone, "Would you stop smelling yourself!" I only used one spray from the mister. Anyway, from 30 minutes to two hours after application the fragrance is in a total golden age. After two to three hours, the fragrance starts to deteriorate somewhat, but it lasts for a good six to eight hours. I can see how a younger person could be drawn to this one because the sweet vanilla-like florals that emerge have a very contemporary air, but with more depth and dimension than most new fragrances. Overall, Toujours Moi is awesome!! BTW, I have a new version issued by Dana Classics.

Toujour Moi is a gorgeous, soft, powdery floral with just enough vetiver to give it a slight crispiness. The sandalwood here is strong, smooth, creamy, and delicious. There's just enough soft musk blended in to give this fragrance a gentle, powdery glow. Toujour Moi is floral sweet, soft, and very long lasting, with great silage. As with most vintage fragrances, a couple of sprays is all you need. Toujour Moi is similar to Habanita, but without the leathery note, and not quite as thickly powdery, though it's close. Also similar in feel to Jean Charles Brosseau's Ombre Rose, and Dana's Lutece but instead of rose, Toujour Moi is white flowers, lavender and lilacs. There is no bitter note in Toujour Moi. The only woody aspect comes from soft, smooth, rich sandalwood. If you like Ombre Rose and/or Lutece, you would love Toujour Moi, too. All 3 are very similar in powdery feel with similar sweetness from beautiful florals. I love them ALL !!! UPDATE: There is a light refreshing sweet soft citrus note in Dana Toujour Moi, that keeps it lighter in feel, easy to wear. Not a sharp citrus at all. This version is not a remake of the original formula Corday Toujoour Moi. Instead, it's the remake of Courday Toujour Moi Spragrance, which was a lighter version of the original Corday Toujour Moi.

This is One of My Signature Sents, However it has 3 personalitys, At First When You Spay It On, It Stinks, Smells like the Colones You get at the Dollar Store Pe-U But Don't Let tht Scare You Off, It's like someone who makes a terrible first Impression but soon becomes your best friend, Wait 3 to 7 Minutes for it to mesh with your chemistry then it smells Like a Hgh End, Very Classy Very French Perfume, You could not Afford, for about $15.00 a bottle, just a small sritiz is all you need. It will last way into the next day. It's Much like Bal a Versailes, and other French Classics, It's Spicy, but with with floral and powdery under tones. This was Dana's Verision of the Tipical French Perfume, and they got it right, Needles to say it's very Sultry, and Will get you Noticed Like Tabu with a Sweet French Accent. Over Night After a Night on the Town, Or Rolling in Bed with the One You Love. It Mellows into a softer Powdery Floral, Soft Sweet Musk, in the moring it dosen't screm Va Va Va Voom, like last night, but you can wear it to work and still get compliments. I have got compliments on it almost every time I wear it. This sent is a Great Autum Perfume. Dana Should have named it Autum in Paris

This is a recent acquisition and I am wearing today and it's so, so great. It reminds me of Youth Dew or Cinnabar, neither of which I've ever owned, however. I always thought of them as "old lady perfumes," but since I've developed into a recent "fragantaphile" I now am learning to appreciate scents like these. Niche and indie brands are smelling just like Toujours Moi, etc. these days, and they are 10x the price! I have a TM (by Dana) that I bought from Walgreen's. It's a smoky, slightly sweet, slightly powdery balsamic floral. The first spray actually smells like spiced rum & Coke (more specifically, Malibu Rum and Vanilla Diet Coke). I was debating layering something over this as an experiment (maybe Al Rehab Choco Musk??)...or a vanilla? But I just can't bring myself to. I don't really NEED to. I've noticed that the vintage Corday version can go for hundreds of dollars on ebay, and I would love to know why! However, unless one of these falls into my lap I think I'm okay with sticking with this Dana version. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. I only sprayed one spray and divided it on chest/both wrists. It is softly wafting around me. Heavenly.

Oh, this is *lovely.* Toujours Moi starts out with an "omg!" blast, sharp and unpleasant, but within twenty minutes it has morphed into something wonderful. It's soft, warm, smooth, creamy, spicy-sweet. I don't smell the flowers which is great because I tend to dislike white florals, but instead get sandalwood (a favorite scent) and spice and musk. It's sensual, sexy, womanly. It lasts forever on my skin. All this from a much-maligned "old lady drugstore stink." It's sad that a perfume isn't considered good unless it's wildly-overpriced, a snooty niche, or something sickeningly sweet or fruity, hawked by a celebrity (and you know they don't wear their own scents). If it's more than a few years old or doesn't fit into the previously-mentioned catagories, it's "old lady." Pish. It doesn't matter if it's "old lady." Or at least, it shouldn't. Wear what pleases you, what makes you smell good. The name and price shouldn't matter. Toujours Moi is a drugstore perfume (like most if not all of the celebrity ones), is inexpensive and makes me feel strong, sexy and beautiful. Try it--you might discover that you like it.

If you sneer and consider powdery scents "old lady" then go away. This is femininity, softness, and subtlety at their glorious zeniths. I had a couple bottles of this stuff laying around ignored for a few years (one Corday, one Dana) and after a shrug and a sniff, gave them each a retry, one on each wrist. I love them both. The mister loves them both. The cat even started rubbing my leg and purring. I really enjoy winning my perfume polls with the 100% landslide victories at my house. Of course, there are the Corday purists who dramatically wipe a small tear from their cheek and sigh "Dana ruined this scent. It's just not the same." Oh pish tosh. I have both Corday and Dana versions and y'know what? I can't tell the difference. If you must weep over the long lost Corday version, then hop on over to eBay, make a bid and pay twice what you should. Frankly, I'm happier with Dana's juice because it smells the very same to me and lasts longer. This is a beautiful, sparkling hidden treasure that's been ignored by the perfumista aristocracy because it's so...[gasp!] cheap. Shhhhh. Let's keep it that way.

Oh my god this stuff is glorious, even the new cheap version is still heavenly. I greatly prefer the vintage but ANY of it is good. I even have a vintage pure parfum that has gone off bad (top notes) but even it turns beautiful later. The vintage Dana is still good, Corday not required or even Max Factor. But I would suggest trying all if you are a TM fan because there are slight differences. This is a powdery uber femme fragrance that is similar to Habanita but still different. I literally can’t atop sniffing it when I wear it. I don’t care how “old” people may think it smells, I don’t care about such things, I just think it smells heavenly, like an oriental honey powder cloud. I could wear it daily and never tire of it. And I only discovered it over the last year or two. I’m mean I smelled it as a kid but literally not since then and couldn’t recall it. I ordered a bottle to refresh my memory and went nuts. It just smells so good!!

I LOVE IT!!!! I braced myself with all the fortitude needed when spraying Tabu, Chantilly, Wind Song, Red, Bond's Amber etc etc etc. Moi does come out a tad harsh, but in less than a minute it's sweet and warm. Not vanilla, not almond. Powder yes, but only to the extent lavender is powdery. Not syrup sweet. The sweet of vetiver commingling with orange blossom, two of my faves. It's bold yet delicate. I put a baby doll nightie on this last warm evening of autumn before our fortune turns, and I feel feminine and uplifted after relaxing around in this. It's just mixing well with everything: air, skin, clothes ... There could be some kind of subtle fruit in here but it is NOTHING like today's fruits, only the hallucination of it. Easy to see why it's been around 90 years. The scent, however, does not last 90 years. I sprayed last night about an hour before bed, and on awakening I couldn't smell it on my skin. :(

My mother wore the Corday version when I was a child, and it smelled heavenly on her. Sandalwood worked well with her chemistry and that was the main note I can remember...some of her vintage clothes that I have still have a whisper of it. I bought a bottle of this version (Coty) as a Mother's Day assortment of fragrances I'm collecting for her, and just for an experiment sprayed some Toujours Moi on my wrist this morning. As a teen, it never worked with me and actually smelled more like bug spray...maybe now that I am of middle age, I'm discovering a lovely bouquet of notes, jasmine/lilac at first, sandalwood and musk as it dries down...and I'm also getting a vanilla scent even though I know it doesn't have vanilla. Compared to the fruity/floral trends of recently it might be a dated frag, but when I am in the mood for something more spicy and mysterious I think I'm going to reach for this one.

I had a bottle of Toujours Moi back in 1979. I had also just given birth to my firstborn daughter and my sense of smell and hormones hadn't settled so at first sniff it was a bit loud. Fast forward to 1995, I saw this in local Walgreens on display as a tester during Christmas. I sprayed a bit on my left inner wrist and omg it was so beautiful...but it reminded me of another well-known scent....*💡moment* it was Chanel Coco! Coco came out in 1984, and I immediately fell in love with her...the orange notes, spices and clove all meshed together into one elegant fragrance. Toujours Moi had that same effect on me. Of course I'm sure the formulation has probably changed but I will get a bottle from either eBay or Amazon and layer it with the 2015 bottle of Coco I already have and see if they work magic together. In French, Toujours Moi means "always me." So true 😊😊😊

Toujours Moi is a sweet, spicy, honeyed, orange blossom composition. It's very sweet for a classic reformulation. It reminds me of a heavy, syrupy, cream soda. It's cozy and makes me crave fall weather. You'd swear that she doesn't project or last long on the skin but it's likely that the musk is familiar to human noses and our brains quickly stop noticing it, making the fragrance seem lighter than it actually is. Though the whole idea of "long lasting" fragrances is a fad created by social media. TM comes across as Revlon Tabu's younger, softer cousin. She's vintage with a classic twist and could be presented in modern, niche packaging and would appeal to those who like sweet, spicy, ambery florals. An absolute love for this vintage girl. Not for young and immature girlie who only wear gourmands.

I am so excited! Thanks to all the informative reviews here I was able to go to my local Walgreens and sample one of the most expensive smelling cheapies ever! I love the name (Always Me), the historic age, and the ambiance. I have very few fragrance associations, so even traditional beauties surprise and stimulate my inexperienced little nose! Like some of you, I could have sworn there was a hefty amount of vanilla in the base - is this the sandalwood? Unlike Tabu and Royal Secret ~ classics that I at first thought smelled dirty ~ this beauty is easy to wear. Yet it delivers the same kind of depth and warmth, IMHO. EDIT ~ The weather is cooler than before ~ WOW. Toujours Moi has gone from exciting to Absolutely Sensual. As others have mentioned, this is a winner in winter!

Its so amazzzzzing. Ive been finding emeraude to be a little light and tabu to be a little too powerful lately. It smells like dana had a guerlain moment and poured them together. Its more spicy and creamy sandalwood than i was expecting. I anticipated more of a musky floral for some reason. I bought a vintage of the corday and cant wait for it to get here so i can compare but to be quite honest i dont think this version can really be topped! I want to add that out of my predicament of wanting to wear everything at once i put on some ô de lancôme and im really liking how they interact and complement each other. Citrusey musk and woody vanilla weeeeeee!

Corday introduced this fragrance in 1921. Max Factor produced it in the 80's and 90's. Both of those versions were oriental florals and smelled the same. This version by Dana is an oriental woodsy and does smell somewhat different. TM by Dana is often mocked and called an "old lady fume" but I don't know why. It is divine! It still has the seminal notes that define the oriental family. The addition of woodsy notes makes this incarnation dryer and softer than the previous two. This is warm, sweet, and a bit outdoorsy. It has a surprising depth and richness for an inexpensive scent. It would be a great fall/winter perfume.

Another One Of My Favorites, Only On First Whiff and First Spray, Quite a Bit Bold and Doesn't Make The Best First Impression,, Don't Run Away Wait 10 Minutes Then You'll Fall In Love!. If You Can't Afford Classic High End French Perfumes, This Is Dana's Tribute To The French Classics, @ A Very Affordable Price. It Has Great Longevity, and Turns Into a Powdery Soft Sweet But Not Sugary, Florally, Amber Musk In The Dry Down, With A French Accent! It's Also A Major Head Turner Womanly, Complex Sent, Spicy Floral, Classic French Style, Night Time, Oriental, Say Magnifique!

I got this in a swap. I remember it from back in the 80's.I liked it then and I like it now. I kinda get that paint thinner vibe in the beginning but that quickly goes away. It then goes straight to a powder puff scent that I really appreciate and enjoy. I like powdery scents. It's a little floral, I can't detect the sandalwood distinctly but it has a woodiness to it. It's so well blended that I cannot pick up the different notes in it. It doesn't last long on my skin. But I get a few hours on my clothes and I am completely ok with that. This is a keeper!