Private Collection

(Comparison of the Parfum Cologne Spray (EdP), referred to as PC below, and Parfum Spray (extrait), referred to as PS below, both c. 1990) Something about Vincent Marcello has always intrigued me more than any other perfumer. It’s certainly to do with him being an enigma in his time almost as much as he is now (presumably he’s long passed). Incredible talent, rakish good looks, and, as far as we are aware - which must be emphasized, he only signed three perfumes, but they are three legends, and all three sit very highly on my list of all time favorites. (Four if you count the Halston twins separately, but even his involvement in both is dubious). One of them was Private Collection, but we the masses very nearly didn’t get the chance to experience it. This incredible nose signed a perfume that was intended to be solely for Estee Lauder’s personal use, for her private collection, and thusly its name when she was finally persuaded to release it commercially, if the story is to be believed. Imagine that? - Being a perfumer of his talent that only publicly signed three perfumes, one of which wasn’t going to be public at all? - Was this actually his career? - How could you make a career of three perfumes? - Or was he just an absurdly gifted hobbyist? Color me intrigued, very intrigued, by this character. One day I’ll put in some real investigative effort to reach out to those who know better, but for today I am enjoying the company of “two different concentrations” of Private Collection. Estee Lauder’s penchant for odd concentration-naming conventions considered, there is not much of a difference between both of these and it shows. There are a couple marked differences but that’s it. PC’s opening is super green galbanum and sharp hyacinth made a pale green color rather than neon green; the cold white floral facet of hyacinth adding white to the green of galbanum. PS is full-on neon electric green. The hyacinth and galbanum are sharp and vivid, fully leaning into the green character, and notably richer and saturated compared to the PC. Rather quickly in both a very delicate and sweet narcissus and rose combo slowly blooms from underneath, which is more apparent in the PS. This combo lying just underneath the vivid greens and whites is a bit fruity-floral-honeyed, and heart-wrenchingly gorgeous. The heart layer shifts the focus solely on the hyacinth, narcissus, and rose, with PS being noticeably headier, and a touch sweeter by really pushing the narcissus. The floral hearts of both don’t shy away from the muskiness of any of the floral notes. After this layer dispenses in both, which very nearly happens in the same timeframe, they both swell with oakmoss and musks, and are gently touched with sandalwood. There they stay for the rest of their very long lives on skin. PS goes slightly darker and deeper by emphasizing the balsams a bit more but this could be forgivably missed. Allow me a moment to nerd-out on a little detail: the PS, Parfum (Extrait) Spray, has one of the best atomizers I have ever used. A very gentle and very tiny push releases the perfume for nearly two full seconds, creating an ultra fine mist that superiorly and evenly coats my skin. This is one of the little things that made Estee Lauder great in these days. With their mandate of making beautiful perfumes affordable to all, they knew that the working class was not going to put up with dodgy atomizers, like the bourgeoise-buying-French would, when they are spending their hard earned dollars on a luxury item, especially a more expensive one like an extrait, so they made sure it worked flawlessly. Ok, thank you for that, now back to the Parfum Cologne and the Parfum. Well, actually, what more do I want to say? I don’t know. Flawless, perhaps? Maybe the best perfume to come out of the 70s? As far as the classic greens of the 70s go, I am a No. 19 devotee; she will have my unconditional and enduring love for the entirety of my life, but Private Collection tempts adultery. I can see why Estee Lauder didn’t want to share this with anyone. I can easily be the jealous type too.

EL PC: One of the GREATS of all time, place, & person. This juice is DIVINITY incarnate. This perfume is an absolute masterpiece! EL's webpage defines it as a "Lush Floral", & provides the following structure: TOP: Honeysuckle, Jasmine, Citrus MIDDLE (HEART): Orange Flower, Ylang-ylang, Coriander BASE: Sandalwood, Patchouli ? No mention in the description of the secret formula which yields the fresh-cut lawn, & earthy richness, that render this such a treasure of perfumery. Other reviewers report an indescribably true, perfectly balanced garden / floral- Meaning flowers, roots, dirt, earthy/earthworms & all. NO worries about cotton candy/ fruit punch / icky / sticky / gooey garbage here- PC is all old-school, world-class, REAL PERFUME !!! There is nothing quite like her- RICH, elegant, class. I notice reviewers lamenting that she's strong & lasts long, as if these are negative attributes! At $62 / 50 ml bottle, PC is neither super cheap, nor prohibitively costly. I wear perfume from toes to scalp... And, while she opens strong, PC very quickly (5-15 min's) settles into a rich, intoxicating, gentle frag, that lasts maybe 8-10 hours- And draws compliments every time I wear her! So, I'm humbled by El PC's cost / sillage & longevity ratio. I'm GLAD she goes on strong, & wears long! I applaud EL's continuation of this divine perfume. Also, she's year-round wearable- The warmth of a Sun-drenched Garden, yet the coolness of a stick digging in the dirt of a tree-canopied forest floor, lakeside- deep emerald green glacial lakeside in the Summer. I think this of this, as one of her (many) attributes that make her so "perfectly balanced". Although not inexpensive, she'd still be a bargain at half the size, & twice the price! This is a RICH perfume, that could easily be priced out of reach... Thank you to EL for offering her at a price-point, where many of us can find space in our budget for her- She's wearable wealth :) A true pleasure treasure! PC has a permanent place in my life-long frag. rotation. I'm that impossible to please b*tch, who rejects 99.9% of all sampled perfumes, men, & music (I am classic rock. It is my religion). Private Collection unexpectedly stunned me into a state of simple, indulged happiness- the art of perfumery, the reason we wear it. PC is to perfume, what Zep is to Rock. A religion. My religion. Yes, Led Zep & Private Collection are my religion, along with other Master's of the 'verse in their respective domains. If you haven't tried her, go to your local department store Lauder counter, & ask the SA to dig deep, & find the Private Collection. You may have to explain that "Private Collection" isn't a collection, but rather is the name of a revered perfume, among perfumista's in the know. If you can't find PC @ the Estee counter, small sample bottles are floating around eBay for $10 or so. I bought several fb's direct from Estee Lauder for $62, it was richly wrapped/packaged (along w/ a mini-sized Estee Lauder black mascara). This is one to stock up on, before she's changed or discontinued. (In my nightmares). I presently have only 6 or so bottles (which, btw, I could easily go through in a year)- I admit I do tend to spare / wear PC for special occasions. Yes, I keep her in the cool basement- I'm just SO afraid of discontinuation - Her primary market is aging. PC is ripe for re-discovery by a new generation of Women in their 20's, just starting careers and (finally!) having enough $$ to splurge on 1 or 2 must-have perfumes! (Remember when?) I was actually in my early 30's before I earned enough to spend this much on perfume. Sorry so long-winded! Private Collection is a divinely, earthy, green, floral, rich, elegant, perfectly balanced, wearable fragrance for Women of all ages, who love perfume!

I have had a large bottle of the Private Collection EDP in my refrigerator for years. I don't wear it too often; my best friend associates it with a problematic late ex-mother-in-law, and now I have the association, too. But when I wear it, which is maybe once every two or three months, if even that often, I'm impressed anew by its sophisticated and distinctive blend of the characteristic EL accords, as well as by its projection and longevity. (No wonder Ms. Lauder hoarded this fragrance all to herself! I would have done the same.) This smells a little bit like White Linen, a little bit like Estee, even a little bit of Sensuous (or perhaps Cinnabar, which I haven't tried yet), but mostly it just smells like a classic, perhaps THE classic, Estee Lauder concoction: assertive, aldehylic florals with generous citrus splashes (the bergamot is noticeable for me in the beginning), interesting and unexpected midnotes (the chrysanthemum that's reputed to smell like insect spray but is pleasant on my skin), and lovely lasting slightly soapy chypres. I hope I can smell the linden lingering from the top notes. I don't know if I'm imagining it, though; the scent of linden blossom is so beautiful and so evanescent, not unlike verbena in that way. At any rate, thumb's up for Private Collection. I'll probably keep this large refrigerated bottle until I die. It's too strong to wear anywhere you're likely to encounter a captive audience (the symphony or opera or ballet or anywhere with assigned seating I suppose), but I think it's a wonderful fragrance to wear at home or in small gatherings of people who don't get scent-triggered headaches. It lasts and lasts and lasts. Update: I'm wearing this today, and I'm admiring the green notes and the linden even more. This isn't technically a fougere, I suppose, but it works that way for me. When I wear it, I feel clean and sylvan, like some elegant manicured park in a refined and gracious city. If it contains pyrethrin, all the better! As the mosquitoes evolve to become resistant to the standard killers, maybe it's time to bring back some of the older repellents. It doesn't remind me at all of roach spray, but I haven't smelled any of that in a very long time, thank goodness! I'm really grateful that my late father-in-law was such an Estee Lauder partisan. Over the years, he gave his wife, daughter, and me a truly remarkable collection of fragrances. I think his mother might have worn this one, so I will think of her (and of his generosity) whenever I wear it instead of my best friend's problematic former MIL.

Stunning! I love perfumes like this, it is a complex mix of oh so many notes that you can see on here so l wont waffle on about all of them. My take on this is a fresh mossy bitter garden smell. I can smell freshly cut grass in this, it's bitter and mossy and sophisticated. All the women in my family wore this when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s so it's a comforting familiar smell to me. Now I'm mature I've bought myself a bottle and everytime l smell the fragrance l fall in love all over again. It doesn't surprise me that Estee had this made for her own private perfume collection as its so grown up and classy. It's woody and bitter and sharp and green l smell many green plants in this too and leaves, you know when you were young and you were in the streets playing with friends you would rip leaves off trees and bushes and play with them and break them up in your fingers and your fingertips would be green where the juice inside the leaf rubbed off on them? It would smell green & bitter but fresh and leafy, thats in this too, and its also a bit powdery in the dry down 3rd stage, not creamy, smooth, iris, baby powder, but french perfumed designer talcum powder that only really posh people own. (Its giving images of a rich beautiful french woman at her fabulous dressing table with lots of expensive products delicately dabbing herself with a posh powder puff looking at herself in the mirror getting ready for a decadent night out). I can also smell slight traces of Youth Dew in this too. I love this and am not surprised as Chanel no 19 is a firm mossy favourite of mine. That fragrance drips class and sophistication. It's true what others have said its a confidence booster, l feel classy expensive and unique when l wear it. I can almost guarantee that no other person l come across in life will be wearing it. I don't think many people know of it, just the oldies like me and even older generations. It projects well too, it's not nuclear but strong enough to be a bit of a beast. It lasts the day too. It's a beautiful fragrance, but not for the young, sweet, syrupy, bubblegum perfume lovers or first time perfumers it would be too bitter and green for them. I love the soapy stage in this too, it's subtle because there's alot going on in this fragrance but it's there, and I'm here for it. Private Collection you are a thing of chic vintage beauty in an ugly filthy modern world, and l will always appreciate you. I give this fragrance a 10/10.

The origin story is the argument. Private Collection was not created for the market. Estée Lauder wore it herself and kept it private — a fragrance made for the founder’s personal use that was only released publicly in 1973 when enough people asked what she was wearing that it became commercially irresistible. The name is therefore literal rather than aspirational. This was the woman’s private collection of a self, distilled into scent, and the decision to release it is itself a kind of vulnerability — an admission that what she wore when nobody was supposed to be paying attention was more interesting than anything she had put into production. The opening is galbanum and green — sharp, slightly resinous, the specific brightness of a leaf torn open rather than a flower held up for admiration. Honeysuckle, linden and orange blossom soften it in the top notes without eliminating the green character that defines the fragrance’s personality. The heart is Bulgarian rose, chrysanthemum, reseda, ylang-ylang and coriander — a floral complex that is simultaneously abundant and contained, the rose present without being romantic, the chrysanthemum adding a slightly austere, almost Japanese quality. The base is sandalwood, heliotrope, amber and musk — warm and rooted, the green sharpness of the opening having descended into something quieter by the time it settles. The community comparison is consistently to Chanel No. 19 — which arrived in 1970 and is the decade’s other great green chypre — and the comparison is structurally accurate. Both are green, both are serious, both wear in the register of a woman who does not explain herself. Private Collection is warmer than No. 19, slightly less austere in its green quality, less challenging to modern noses. Where No. 19 has the architectural coldness of a Karajan conductor, Private Collection has the warmth of a woman who knows the music by heart and plays it for herself. This is the fragrance Estée Lauder wore when she wasn’t performing. The performance was everything else she made. Private Collection is what she smelled like when she was only herself, which is why it belongs in a collection that wants to understand what the house was actually built on.