L'Interdit

this is my first review here. L'interdit was my signature scent for years until it ran out of stock here in Finland. It is my all time favorite ever to exist. The original eau de parfum has not been available since the 80's. I have only had eau de toilettes since then. My last bottle of the original ran out before the year 2000. I have now gotten bottles of the Les Mythiques 2007 version on Ebay. The price and availability of that is also not good any more. So I am on a long and hard quest for something like this as a signature scent in the future. The best part of this for me is the wonderful old fashioned powderiness of the drydown. L'interdit is a subtle soft sensual scent on me. It never gives me a migraine. I love it at all times of the day and year. It is great for work, play and everything. The eau de toilette does not have a lot of staying power. That is its major con. If anyone suggest a new signature scent for a L'interdit lover I am open to suggestions. I also like the original Ferre by ferre but that feels a bit overpowering sometimes. And also a discontinued hard to find scent.

Enchanting. I sought out a sample of L'Interdit because of Audrey Hepburn, and I've been in love with it ever since. I am now fortunate enough to own a bottle and I consider this the gem of my tiny collection. Givenchy really has captured the essence of a stylish Hepburn, as this is elegant, graceful and feminine. I understand why she loved it so much. The opening is characterised by soft, soapy aldehydes, followed by the sweetest, most beautiful strawberry you can imagine. The strawberry in this perfume is my absolute favourite. The warmth of my skin then brings out a softly sweet peach, before the heart of a feather-weight floral powder, which is so incredibly delicate, and a beautiful, creamy sandalwood-amber dry-down to finish. I consider this the most perfect "posh hand cream scent" I've ever encountered. It settles very well on my skin, and is never too overwhelming, impeccably well-blended and quintessentially French. Soft to moderate sillage, longevity is for about 6 hours. Love.

French feminine wiles in iconic Givenchy style. Beautiful for spring with her powdery iris rose. Thus has a gentle soul. Not many perfumes can capture this delicacy. The parfum is a little tricky, too much you get nail polish. The lightest hand you get all her fabulous notes. Again back to her theme of gentleness and delicacy. The parfum has an oily quality about it for adherence. The edt is slightly lighter but the fragrance is similar to one another. The drydown with the powdery sandalwood is wonderful in the EDP. Not to be missed. L'interdit focuses around the fruity aldehyde opening, then revolves around a powdery violet/starchy orris and ylang ylang to give it body. Its probably the first :Lipstick: type of scent. The drydown is beautiful with the real mysore sandalwood. If you can find a bottle in relatively decent shape, go for it but my buying history with it is half of the aldyhydes have turned by now giving it that hairspray effect. Make sure to try to go after a sealed box.

An incredibly beautiful fragrance. I'm fortunate I guess, as I've never gotten any sort of nail polish scent from it, and the opening aldehydes that seem harsh to many younger reviewers make my heart beat faster. I have the parfum in the bright red presentation boxes and pre-barcode edts in the gold boxes with the flower stems on them. Very, very softly aldehydic - much, much less than Arpege, Chanel, Caleche. Well blended florals - I can think hard and pick things out but overall it's just the impression of lovely soft flowers to me. I don't get any dominant rose, iris or violet. The strawberry notes are lovely and strong, and there's some peach that dances through at times. Gorgeous creamy sandalwood, amber and orris make a powdery drydown to die for. While I believe that perfume has no gender L'Interdit feels so very feminine to me. This is one of the greats that I've replaced every time I've used up a bottle.

I purchased this about a week ago. The store had no cards to spray so I tried it on my wrist. Out of all the fragrances I tried on different areas of my arms, this was the one I kept going back to. I didn't read up on it before trying it because seeing woods puts me straight off. The sandalwood in this is just about bearable. It reminds me of Balenciaga Rumba which gives me a sick migraine every time I sniff it - although all I have to do these days is think of it and I feel queasy. Having said that, this works well with the florals. Along with strong sandalwood I get strong nose tickling aldehydes which I have to be in the mood for. On paper, I'd have walked straight past it but the pretty fruity florals persevere and are well worth the small negatives I've mentioned. On my wrist, the sandalwood and aldehydes are even more tolerable. This has challenged me and I love it for that.