Les Parfums Mythiques - L'Interdit

This is a reformulated fragrance AND it’s beautiful. Purchased from Fragrancenet, I bought the tester, and I am assuming it’s the current formulation...can’t tell what the box looks like because the tester box is plain white. Back in the ‘70s, I used to buy the parfum which came in a little red velvet box...it was a dab on, the bottle was a little squat and it had a round gold cap. I loved it and hadn’t experienced this beauty in decades. A very elegant older lady at work wore this as her signature fragrance, and at 19 I wanted to smell just like her. I had been eyeing off this version on line for some time. It’s not available in Australia from what I can see, so I had to decide whether to risk it...not just to pay the AUD$90 but the shipping as well. Anyway, I got it and if you’re debating this purchase, I hope my review helps you. First spritz I recognised L’Interdit of old...enchanting! If someone had blindfolded me and sprayed me with this, I would have been able to identify it..you know how sometimes if you know what you’re spraying, your expectations may get your judgement a little carried away? Then it seems to do a little back flip and become something else for a while, I can definitely agree with the comparisons to No. 5 Eau Premiere, but it keeps wafting back and forth, teasing your senses with that magical smooth floral aldehyde kick...it’s divine. It’s going to be tough to wear anything else for a while as I have fallen for this one...it’s taken me back to the ‘70s, in a good way! If you’re not a child or fan of the ‘70’s, but you admire and appreciate a classic floral aldehyde that’s smooth, elegant and timeless, I think you will love this one. Update - sprayed once on my wrist at 8am this morning, still going strong at 8.07 pm tonight.

Ethereal Woody/Floral Aldehyde I really like the original L'Interdit, but I never wore her in her heyday, and I am sure that my vintage juice is starting to turn. Nevertheless, the Mythique L'Interdit is a beautiful homage, while still lightening up the mood of the perfume considerably. This really, really does smell like Chanel No 5--in the Eau Premiere formulation. The two perfumes could be sisters. In fact when L'Interdit first opened that's all I could think of--those soft, ylang-ylang infused airy sweet aldehydes are almost identical, and have the same floaty lightness. As the perfume warms up on the skin the florals, mostly heliotrope and rose, are well blended and dusted with a sweet peach and strawberry powder. Suddenly, though, the perfume darkens (slightly) with an earthy iris and sandalwood accord. I also smell a tiny bit of woody tuberose at this point as well. I would venture that there is no oakmoss in the new L'Interdit (and actually there isn't--it's not listed on the box at all) but a nice green vetiver. Because that's what the perfume dries down to, and orange blossom-peach accord over a bed of light green vetiver and sandalwood, all dusted with a powdery iris. The lasting power is very good, over 8 hours, but this perfume wears quietly (just like Chanel No 5 EP.) Also, I smell a lot of iris, vetiver, and a hint of strawberry in here, why aren't those notes listed? L'Interdit would be nothing without an iris note!?! Anyway this is very well done and worth a try, even if you don't have any association with the original. This perfume is soft, powdery, floral, fruity, and woody, and has a nice subtle life of its own once on your skin. Beautiful.

After loving the original for years and not finding it any more I turned to this one as a consolation. It is quite near to the original and easy to love. The staying power is very bad. It is a bit more masculine smelling than the original. The powdery drydown seems similar, though I have never had the two at the same time to compare them. This is more woody and musky than the original but it comes a close second. I just wish they had eau de parfum strength. And too bad that even this is only available on ebay at a very expensive price.

Smelled this again at My BFF's flat yesterday, and oh my is L'Interdit yummy! Classy, soapy, powdery, green, old timey, white flowers, ladylike, classic. Too close to my Chanel no 5 eau premiere for me to buy it now (my nose smells a rose!), but when I run out, I may just run out and do it.

Lovely, powdery, clean fragrance. I blind bought this based on reviews I saw here. It starts a little sharp and peppery for my tastes, but quickly settles down to a light, but projecting powdery floral, with rose playing a prominent role. There is no strawberry note here. In fact, though listed, I don't smell any fruit at all. My tester bottle, according to the batch number, is from Oct.2017. The notes listed on the back are different from what is listed on this site. Aldehydes Bulgarian Rose Jasmin Pink Pepper Iris Tonka Bean Maybe what I got is a reformulation of a reformulation. Seems the majority of the ingredients were stripped out. It certainly isn't the new tuberose heavy version that came out in 2018. That has nothing to do with this. Whatever the case, this is very pretty but it reminded me of another fragrance and for the life of me couldn't remember what it was until it hit me today - L'Aimant by Coty. I did a side by side and they smell almost identical except I could pick up the vetiver in L'Aimant, which isn't a listed ingredient in L'Interdit; and the silage is much better with L'Interdit. L'Aimant seems a little sweeter too. Other than that, they are so similar one could get mistaken for the other. Actually, I like the L'Aimant more. Crazy as it sounds, despite the probability of cheaper ingredients used, L'Aimant just seems more polished. I wish I could have remembered what this fragrance reminded me of earlier while I still had time to return this for a refund. I can't justify owning two fragrances that smell almost exactly alike, especially at this price.