Les Voyages Olfactifs 01 Paris-Moscow

Did you notice that 8 years after release, this frag still doesn't remind any other frag to any contributor here ? The reason for this is probably the very construction of the parfume: like all of Guerlain's Voyages Olfactifs, it is clearly two-phased. It opens with the scents symbolizing Paris, with all but invasive fruity notes of dominant red currant, discrete plum, the pine needles stirred by your aircraft's engine leaving CDG airport, and the discrete lemon notes of your drink after gaining your cruising altitude. When you start to feel sleepy, the red currant is gone, but not the plum, it faints to vanish but never really does, as the jasmine appears, amplified by vanilla which helps you not to fall asleep completely. Approaching Moscow SVO airport after 3 hours of flight, the jasmine is still there, resisting the growing tonka. The plum once again faints leaving, and after touch down you enter the streets of Moscow with a seemingly different soft musky frag nuanced by tonka and vanilla. There vanilla finds its second partner, and guess who it is ? It's the remaining sweetness of the plum, though the tonka, tender sandalwood and the muscs remind you where you are now and where you come from. I'm really amazed by this kind of construction, only great houses can produce. By the way, as I read that some parfume lovers desperately search discontinued frags from Guerlain, I just bought a 250 ml white bee bottle of Paris-Moscow in a Guerlain boutique in Paris. It's probably 5 years old, but they store the older parfumes in cellars, and I didn't detect any effects of age. With the exception of Iris Ganache which didn't resist well to ageing, it's often not too much of a problem to find discontinued frags by asking the boutique SAs to dig into their cellars and whenever they find what you need, you can buy your frag in older bee bottles. Nevertheless I often need to go to several boutiques to get what I want (9 of them in Paris, so it might take an overnight hotel stay). Anyway, a great and unique frag, incomparable. Longevity is excellent (at least 8 hours) and sillage ... I don't care as I'm a man.

If I had smelled this without knowing it was a Guerlain scent - I would never have been able to place it in that house! Lacking that typical powdery Guerlainade, this is something very different. Mowscow opens up with a strong boozy wormwood note, and a ton of deep plum on a backdrop of sticky, natural-smelling pine needles. These three notes are really only present in the top of the fragrance before fading away into a slightly-gourmand, creamy, tonka/vanilla based red-currant cake flavored lollipop! (With a hint of sneaky jasmine - my arch nemesis. Surprisingly it can sneak by in this scent and I'm not bothered, but I feel it there.) It's a shocking difference from the unisex, prickly perfume Moscow takes the shape of when first sprayed, vs. the confectionery all-things-pink-and-fruity candied scent it morphs into! Definitely a bit fairylike, while still thick, luscious and sophisticated. In the very drydown, there's a sweet/tart "perfumed berry" meets jasmine borderline-Victoria's-Secret-Body-Spray scent that is SO FAMILIAR and cozy, I can't get enough of it. (I'd love to know exactly what I'm being reminded of, so if anyone has suggestions, I'd love to hear them!) The two faces of Moscow make it something unique in my collection, and very pleasant to wear. The longevity is great, and sillage is softer in terms of Guerlain standards, so I don't find this 400$-full-bottle-worthy, however I think I will always have a nice big decant of this in my collection so that Moscow and I can happily gallop off into the sunset together. Definitely categorized in my collection as a fall & spring scent, I love the heck out of Moscow!

I bought this at a guerlain store where I sampled four of the scents from Voyages line. This one was by far my favorite. I was not expecting to buy anything that day but I couldn’t leave without it. This is such a unique fragrance. There is nothing that smells quite like it. I’ve worn this as my party and events fragrance and my friends, coworkers, etc remember it. I’ve gotten so many compliments on this. It really changes as you wear it, but in a most amazing way where it seems to meld to your skin and become a part of you. I’m so sad this was discontinued.

lovely!smells really nice!will be great for summer because it is really light.

A Pink, That made me Think... As thrilled as I am at receiving samples of untried, and hard to get fragrances, I nearly overlooked testing this, as it was pink, and has fruit notes. I'm not against the color pink by any means, but most of the ultra fruity/floral combo's that I have tried, have just been boring berry clones, with no specific character. But, finally I have come across something with real personality! Another thing that nearly stopped me from trying this, was the pine needle note..another thing I dislike in my choice of perfumes. I have to say, I am really impressed with this. The opening is super fresh, but in no way lemony. It has an open air feel to it, like somewhere where there are lots of beautiful trees, surrounded by drifts of snow. I can almost detect a pin sized drop of eucalyptus, this could very well perhaps be the pine needle note, but it is so well done, it is very enticing, and soft. The fruit notes are also done to perfection! The red currant and plum are smooth as silk, have a natural feel, and drift in and out throughout. The jasmine note is also soft, and blends very well with the fruit accord. Then comes the wonderful, delicious dry down! I was drawn in to the dry down! It is smooth and elegant.All the notes meld together like a mini symphony, a harmonious blend of perfectly matched notes. I find it keeps quite close to the skin, which is a shame for my liking, as I would love a Big sillage on this one! Longevity is aversge, which is OK for my skin type. At least it lasted a few hours! Yes, this is really a Pink, that makes you think!