Private Collection Legacy

It is with great sheepishness I confess that Private Collection Legacy is my favourite of the Legacy line and it is the least similar to its original counterpart. Original Private Collection was grassy, dewy, spring floral chrysanthemum and a modernised or updated equivalent would be Chanel's Bel Respiro. PC legacy is, by contrast, actually a flanker to Synthetic Nature by Malle, and I smell almost no relation to the private collection I already know save the fact they're both green florals. Having spent sometime with PC Legacy, I have found that I actually prefer it to Synthetic Nature - it smells less harsh, better balanced, less desperate to get its point across (still love SN though). PC Legacy opens with a luminously green, herbaceous basilesque dance of fresh light foliage, the very same shade of green as Synthetic Nature. Where I find it really goes a step beyond, however, is in the mid - with a flourish, PC Legacy introduces a very fresh and full floral composed primarily of rose with some jasmine for support. Thus, the utilitarian herbs are encircling this aestheticist core of a green-tinged, rained-upon white rose note - it conjures all fantasies of soft linens hanging in the garden to dry, the landing of a butterfly on a child's nose, rolling around in the plants with your true love in your arms. It's just so exquisitely beautiful, almost nymph-like... and much less literal than any of its forebears. It smells like it was composed by someone who truly believes that the purity of nature is the ultimate luxury, that man's natural home is among the trees and flowers. PC Legacy exits pretty much through a slow fadeout, no doubt courtesy of a series of white musks. For its 4 hour lifetime, it somehow manages to go beyond all other herbal fragrances (in my opinion) and truly takes you on a journey through the enchanted garden. Gigantic love from me.

Estée Lauder has a precise understanding of American perfumery's soul. The original PC is Vincent Marcello's grand tribute to Germaine Cellier's masterpiece: Vent Vert, the Queen of Green Floral Chypre. While, he polished the wild idea into an exquisite, smooth green resembling a fair lady at an upscale American department store. I own a bottle of the original Private Collection (Parfum), solid and raging, as if a hurricane had slammed against a poor wooden door with a torrential, intimidating sound. Suddenly, the green fire burns through the doorway, transporting you to a colorful kingdom via "Floo powder". Private Collection Legacy, on the other hand, is a crisp, light interpretation made by Anne Flipo. Not only does she prove the monumental construction of the original masterpiece, but she makes what was once a dense, drooping olfactory fabric to be suddenly light, breathable, and waving in the air. The large proportion of green note lifts my spirits, and then the sweet floral notes (jasmine and so on) is getting clearer, remove the cold fear, and make me want to rush out to catch the breeze so that I won't miss the mysterious invitation of the green kingdom . Is this the literal meaning of "gone with the wind" or "sous le vent"? Finally, in my opinion, Private Collection Legacy might be renamed as Private Collection - Breezy Chill.

This is so interesting, at first a truly green and herbaceous offering as different to the original Private Collection as one could imagine. But over time the bright grassiness dissipates almost completely and I am left with a very close approximation to the original, perhaps minus the gentle woodiness in the drydown. I actually tested this, with Legacy on my left wrist and a dab from my mum's vintage original on the right and there are undeniable similarities. Such an evocative perfume; it was my late mother's signature for many years - I bought it for her every time I travelled - and memories are flooding back. Nevertheless, I have the small 4ml from the Legacy discovery set and I'm not sure I need a full bottle of this. But the vintage is definitely calling me - an almost forgotten beauty.

As I adore green fragrances I blind bought it and it does not disappoint. Synthetic Jungle but with a stunning floral dry down . Will save for a back up, it’s so beautiful.

The original Private Collection is something special. I have a vintage miniature of the parfum, and it is the best green scent I've ever smelled - a big statement, considering I have vials of greats such as Cellier's Vent Vert and vintage Chanel No. 19. I was excited to try the Legacy collection, updated versions of Estée Lauder's classic scents as directed by Frédéric Malle. Thus, it shouldn't have surprised me that Private Collection Legacy more closely resembles Synthetic Jungle from Frédéric Malle's eponymous house than any version of Private Collection itself. PCL is grassy-green from initial spray, thanks to the tarragon alongside the vintage-style galbanum. I get tomato leaf up top, vegetal and fresh. It is crisp and dewy, a satisfying, realistic green accord that is rich yet airy. As it develops, the florals emerge, led by clean, sweet jasmine. It remains dewy, even damp, with basil adding a fresh herbal edge to the green accord. Some dewy rose follows, and a soft chypre base emerges as it dries down, grounding the dewy green florals nicely with some subtle earthiness. It remains bright and clear, green until final fade. Sillage and longevity are moderate. It is feminine-leaning in my opinion, and is tailor-made for spring days. A pleasant, satisfying green scent made with high-quality materials, PCL is like a more rounded, floral Synthetic Jungle. It isn't soapy like the current Eau de Private Collection either - this is a streamlined, crisp and pared-back verdant scent. However, while lovely, it is a far cry from the baroque green bouquet of my vintage parfum. 4/5.