Volcan d'Amour

I received Volcan d'Amour today. Fellow Fragrantican, Athenian was nice and thoughtful enough to give and ship this vintage beauty to me. Volcan d'Amour is a powerful, classy,and floral masterpiece. Just how I like my fragrances.

Found a sample of it while cleaning house! WHile not identical to Mollie Parnis, what I'm wild about in Mollie shows up here, too, an almost tea-like astringency. Patchouli, perhaps? Poor me, both are rarities.

This is a fantastic cold evenings fragrance! As you walk people follow...glad I found it!!! Hello 80's!

Oh, how I loved this old stinker! I bought my 100ml bottle new in 1981 when it was first released in the exact box & bottle in the photo above. The myrrh and frankincense created a mood that was dark and powerful and, to my nose, overwhelmed all other notes listed. On my skin VdA had absolutely no florals whatsoever. I wore this for evenings at Club West, a long-gone dance club in Santa Fe and when I wore it in summer its power guaranteed me a lot of space on the dance floor as it warmed on my skin and literally drove people away from me! Very "incensey" and waaaay heavier than anything being marketed today, except for, perhaps, Cinnabar, Aromatics Elixir and Youth Dew, which are every bit as powerful. In fact, by the late 80's I'd grown so tired of it that I used it to spray in my boots and running shoes as a deodorizer. I wouldn't break the piggy bank for a bottle on an auction site, but I wouldn't say no if someone offered me a sample. One whiff would transport me back to my wild life in the 80's in Santa Fe... and that would make me smile. Edit: a lovely Fragrantica "fragrance fairy" sent me a small decant and I'm over the moon! Evaporation has made it even MORE powerful - which I wouldn't have believed possible. Ahhh... the memories! Thank you, my dear BB.

This one's intense! Dark and rich doesn't begin to describe this volcano. There are floral notes, as gtabasso says: violet is the strongest. The amber doesn't stand out, it's overcome by spicy as well as soapy notes. Longevity and sillage are surprisingly modest, VdA sinks into the skin. A heavy application will leave a hint of color behind, this is the kind of perfume one sprays and walks through the scented mist. Too bad VdA has been discontinued, only pricey vintage bottles are available. Definitely worth a try - men will also want to check this one out.

To me, this fragrance goes on bitter and woody with lots of oakmoss then the roses come through but not fresh roses, more like roses put in a keepsake box to dry out. Sometimes, under all the dark woods, I get a whiff of a lilac or a violet but the rose is dominant for me.

Here we have an unusual beauty from the 80s, a fragrance that to my nose reads as a violet incense. Heavy ionones, both alpha and beta, greet the nose upon application, with so much beta ionone that is as if boronia absolute is used in the composition—the likelihood of this is arguable, especially given that it was a mainstream designer release, but one can wonder. It really does have the feel of boronia as the top notes transition in the heart. There is this earthy, ripe, somewhat blackcurrant-like quality reminiscent of the absolute from this beautiful Australian plant. One theory is that, if boronia was not in fact used, the ionones from both the rose and violet accords possibly used in the composition create this olfactory illusion. The incense quality is more apparent as Volcan settles, as if a fair amount of olibanum and myrrh were used, incorporating a simultaneous luster and bitterness: it's really a shocking beauty. Its like a gray and purple foxfire or will-o-the-wisp deep in some marshy woods, bewitching and imposing. There is also curiously a tannic tea-like quality that further captivates, making it feel so much more layered than one would expect from a supposed volcano. Perhaps it's more a volcano in slow motion, with plumes of incense smoke ever so gradually ascending. And as we reach the base of Volcan, the myrrh and oakmoss still have sheer layers of violet-hued cellophane, almost holographic in periodic whiffs. Scarce, but worth the sniff as it stands out considerably among many smell-a-likes from this time period. It could even be considered a more unisex, woodier progenitor of Dior Poison. Great stuff.

Not for everyone & not for the faint hearted. But what a beauty! I wore it in the early 80's & came by a bottle later when another perfume collector sent it to me asking "Is this how it's supposed to smell or has it gone bad?" Yes, that's how it is supposed to smell. I have heard some describe it as a basil note that some find hard to take. I think it is in the same general family as Aromatics Elixir or Givenchy III but nicer. I will miss it when my supply is gone. A misunderstood fragrance for the true individual

I wore this as a kid and, in a fit of nostalgia, picked up an old bottle on an an auction site. The violet is perhaps a bit too full-on for me now, so it is an occasional pleasure. I love the richness and the subtle bitter note that are so out of step with current fashion.

It makes me think of Balenciaga's "Le Dix". Nice but loud, very much an 80s kind of a perfume. "Le Dix" in steroids. If you like violets go for it. I was able to get a 1.5 oz bottle on Ebay for $6.00. That was good because I am not crazy about it.

Had a bottle when I was in my 20s in the 80s. Found several bottles through Colonial Pharmacy, they lasted me for a good while. Found a couple of bottles on auction (and not as high-priced as I've been). Love it, love it, love it.

The box and the colour of the liquid seems LA NUIT by Paco Rabanne.