Azuree

(Review of a bottle from c. 1992) Lauder and Bernard Chant really outdid themselves with this classic staple. Estee Lauder was inspired to create Azuree from her time on the Mediterranean near the French Riviera, and this context of a visionary American designer taking inspiration from that which has fed the inspiration for countless European perfume creators is a creative brief that was certainly intriguing for 1969. Lauder and Chant delivered on it, and then some, with a neat little twist. As a green chypre of the late 1960s, particularly from a house like Lauder, you would expect florals of the typical types that lean a bit green, such as rose and/or jasmine, bracing swells of oakmoss, finely sanded sandalwood, balsams, vetiver, and a light beige and wispy patchouli. Yes, but not so much the case here. Other stars are at play. The aldehydic bergamot and floral opening sparkles away with plenty of citrusy vitality. Ok, nothing new there; it’s pretty, well done, but also “standard”. At the heart level is where your eyes will go wide, your heart will beat stronger, your back and neck will straighten, and you’ll find yourself wanting to never miss a second of Azuree. White indolic jasmine, and a beautifully done banana custard ylang-ylang pushing a gently sweet quality, are basting a geranium and orris focused presentation that is stunning. Geranium is doing a lot of work here. It is smoothly green and naturalistic by bringing a touch of the lemony quality naturally present in geranium. The orris is powdery, starchy, and dryly floral, making sure all of the other characters are kept in check. The fun continues as, yes, damp woody oakmoss and dried loamy patchouli make their obligatory appearances, but a leather note shows up as well. It’s a very gentle white suede note that is likely a trick of the orris that came through in the heart. The oakmoss, patchouli, and suede are not allowed to dim the lights thanks to a good dose of clean white musks that keep the freshness and energy going. Stunning. This might have been a feminine perfume in 1969, but today it is completely unisex. By keeping the florals well behaved and on the more universally acceptable side of sweet, by giving the effortless geranium a starring role, and by letting leather have a go in the dry down, Lauder and Chant gave us a unique twist on this genre that makes it approachable for all. No, actually, not just approachable - thoroughly enjoyable and captivating. The infectious confidence Lauder’s perfumes used to so convincingly possess - call it loud, assertive, American confidence, if you want - plus the exceptional materials and the way Chant composed them will wear well on anyone. And you’ll want to wear it. Azuree is one of my all time favorites, and certainly towards the top of my list of Lauders, maybe even at the top on some days (I’m going to say that quietly since Knowing and Youth Dew are within ear shot of me).

A reviewer suggested this to me as a good inexpensive leather fragrance. I tried it at the local Macy's: $46 for 2 oz. Price is great! This is far more oakmossy to my nose than leather. (I confirmed by looking at the ingredients on the box, yep - oakmoss is in there.) And, I hate to use this word, I truly do, but upon spraying it on my arm it smelled "perfumey" and not as masculine as I was led to believe it was. So - not for me. But it's a good, distinctive woman's scent! I do like it. This is a long-lasting scent and a good buy. Note: My wife sniffed the Bel Ami I'm wearing on my neck and this on my arm and declared that they smell similar. She's getting something I'm not. I like the upper part of the bottle; it looks like a crescent wrench is needed there. --------- I tried it again on my arm while my wife was with me. She says it doesn't smell feminine at all on me. Three other women behind the counter agree. (One took a look at me and said "Nothing could be feminine on you.") One other women thought it was too feminine. So that's 4 against 1. But, to me, I just can't rid myself of that perfumey note I associate with feminine scents from my youth. So... no. But I might come around some day. --------- Tried it yet again! This stuff is really growing on me. I wish my wife would wear it. It is a seriously good perfume... --------- Tried it again on an arm. Okay, I'm sold. I want a bottle. ------------- And for my birthday in 2025 I got a bottle! 2025 vintage: Evernia Prunastri! Oakmoss! Looking at the ingredients on the box I see it's still included (despite IFRA). Well done, Estee Lauder! This stuff smells indeed like oakmoss and it's glorious! There's a leathery note here as well. This stuff is seriously good, and I bet it smells pretty much like it did in 1969 when it was released. It's butch enough to be unisex.

I discovered Azuree trying to find to find a powerful, woody-mossy chypre in which I could also detect a sprinkling of meadow wildflowers. I was having sucess narrowing it down to a few of Estee Lauder's. In the process, I have become a EL fan when I realized the unusual and memorable variety they offer. I have finally found a kindred spirit in Azuree. Reading through Azuree's reviews, I was struck at how they really bring home the validity in the message that your experiences have everything to do with your likes, dislikes. In the case of perfume,how a specific group of notes triggers memories and emotions, and your own personal interpretation of something seemingly(at first glance) innocuous as scent. While was brought back to the smells of the countryside growing up in rural New England and childhood wanderings in the forests and meadows around my home, others harness the strong masculinity of leather over the superamplified, heavy handling of ingredients that on some might smell masculine. I am glad I imagine not that, but a dark moss and needle covered pine forest after an early autum rain, combined with the wildflowers and decidious trees I would smell in the vast adjacent meadows in spring. Azuree IS memory in a bottle. The amazingly reasonable price and obviously high quality of ingredients has made Azuree something I swoon over every time I apply it. For me it has everything a signature scent should posess: A unique and inspired fragrance loved by it's creator. It should capture the fascination of those who are passionate about thought-provoking, quality fragrances; it isn't worn by just anybody; trend followers stay away! Its has it's loyal die hard fans who understand it's greatness. Welcome, Azuree into my life.

YUMMMMBA BUMM BUMMM. What else to say. Sad for days, since I used the last drop of my Cabochard spray. I actually took it out of my old bottles bin twice to attempt to get more out, shaking the atomizer up and down at all angles mathematically possible. I had noticed this mini, purchased in a big lot, which I had assumed was an Avon because of the bottle shape. Plus, I could not read the font size 1...if that, on the teeeeny label, so it sat there for weeks. Finally I decide to try to examine it. With two pairs of readers on at once,I made out Azuree. I remembered hearing of it vaguely. I open the little bottle - Aladdin ́s lamp. I am sitting in the late morning sun, sipping mint tea and sniffing the cap of my Cabochard bottle. Aromatics Elixir is on the table too, but still in its box. This is a Cabochard relative for sure.....But more, warmer, sweeter, less edgy and more powdery. How, I ask the Perfume Gods, How can something like Azuree be so unknown? In 1969, Azuree was born and I was ten. My grandmother retired from the Canadian Pacific Railways and was given a ticket for our family to travel from Toronto to Vancouver, first class, that summer. From the little beaver emblems on the wool Hudson ́s Bay blankets, to the gloved waiters and hardwood furniture in our room, to me this was like perfumes of the age of Azuree and before. In a word, elegance. Whereas today ́s fragrances, many of them at least, are like traveling economy by air...In a few words....La Vie est Blah.....

This wonderful treasure is my favourite chypre scent. Azuree makes my day sunny even with the darkest clouds. The scent starts off with a gorgeous citrus blast, very warm, very sunny but at the same time some spices kick in a bit. To me there is a tiny amount of cinnamon but despite this Azuree is far from a wintery/Christmas scent. It is Mediterranean through and through. The bitter chypre notes make this unforgettable. There is a herbal impression, very sophisticated and clean. Azuree ́s bitterness is pleasantly toned down by a hint of sugared spices. Just enough to make it nicer but without becoming an Oriental. This scent is perfectly unisex. Great on a woman 30+ who is not in the mood of being fluffy or ladylike or cute. If you wear this perfume gem you need guts as it is a powerful scent with big sillage which stays almost all day. If you are man looking for a sunny and warm scent with a certain freshness without the usual sporty-aquatic notes I recommend you to try this one. And, last but not least, there is one more big plus for Azuree : the price :-) 60ml EdP are sold for less than 50 Euro. Best bargain I could think of. Azuree is a drop-dead beautiful perfume, one of the best I have ever encountered (I dare say this means something). Update April 11, 2015 : As now the new version of Azuree haunts the stores I got myself 2 stock-up bottles for a hopefully long future. I never want to be without this scent again. It might have become my signature scent, if any at all.