Raffinee

Sorting though the perfumes I have stored in a spare cupboard not currently in rotation, I curiously sampled my Raffinee. The delicious ambergris/orange spices accord is just what I am in the mood for wearing lately, and put it back in with my fragrances in heavy circulation... Next, I re-read the review I wrote some time ago, and it sounded like it was written by a stranger. How could I have not loved this gently sweet, amber, orange and spice melody is the great mystery of the moment. Raffinee is such a blessedly beautiful composition. The amber warm as melted butter and maple syrup. I have to laugh to myself for how ridiculously easy it was for me to spend more than 4 times its price for 24 Faubourg, a fragrance which for all it's incredible beauty I have found doesn't budge on my skin after the initial spritz. Raffinee, although not the same by any means has the silage I am looking for, and hits upon many of desirable elements of 24 Fauborg.There's the orange with spices accord along with warm, heavenly ambergris drydown.The orris,ylang, hyacinth are all there. Layer on some of the high quality gardenia soliflore I possess if and when I want to duplicate the strong white flower accord. The contrasts between white flowers and earthy amber are surely the central component of 24's legendary status. Raffinee projects much more boldly and warmly, like the ambient heat of the sun rising off warmed skin at the beach. I get to enjoy Raffinee for myself, instead of having to steal a sniff my arm or hope to get a ribbon of scent drifting past.. Here I am again.It's -2/24/16 and sadly I sold my Raffinee when I realized that another bottle could not be obtained for an amount I could afford to keep me in stock. This really rips me...I am really annoyed that Houbignant has not stepped in to pick up the rights considering it's phoenix like re-appearance on the perfume scene. To some this perfume is just another ambery Oriental. I thought it unique with it's heavly Orange accent. Just love Orange flower Soliflores and Florientals..

What makes (vintage) Raffinee stand out as a spiced floral amber is its unmistakable Juicy Fruit (is gonna move ya!) tuberose and ylang ylang, a bright and fizzy yellow mimosa, and a carnation accord that reminds of the scent of wallflowers. Wallflowers? Scent? What? Yes, for those who aren't aware, there is an actual wallflower in the plant kingdom, and its aroma is often a heady, clove and cinnamon with powdery honey undertones. There is a stage in Raffinee where everything falls into a place where it smells like wallflowers. However, this is no figurative wallflower: Raffinee is bold, almost strident, albeit delightfully so. A notable plum wine accord seems to orbit around all of the floral pageantry. In Raffinee, we see not only a delineation from Opium, Cinnabar, and the like, but it's also a harbinger of what is to come in such dramatic bouquets such as Krizia Teatra Alla Scala and Dior Poison. As it unwinds, an incensey accord, which feels to my nose like a combination of myrrh and benzoin, sustains this anisic spiciness and the sweetness of the florals in sort of a consonant refrain. This further dries down into a sensual spice-accented, creamy sandalwood in its last stages. From my research, it is clear that Raffinee was not treated well in subsequent iterations as offered by Prism and Dana, and that these should be avoided in favor of the Houbigant-produced versions.

I wore this in the 80s / early 90s during the winter, and I am actually relieved that I did it while I was young. I don't think I have the chemistry, hormones, skin dew to carry this off now. It was pure luxury, and I would bury my face in my turtleneck neck to inhale where the heat and scent radiated from my neck to the sweater. I especially found it to take me into a meditative state good for studying and long hours of reading and reflecting and writing. This was a contrast of the time to Liz Claiborne Realities, which was citrusy bright and corporate, and the Lauren floral. Anais Anais was somewhere in the middle for everyday. I had super short hair in a time when that was considered to be androgenous. Most women were rocking the long perms and making them big. My hair was tucked tight at the nape of my neck in a very short 'do. This fragrance made me feel feminine without being girly. It was sensual without the annoyance of Opium. There were some flowers buried deep in there that you were rewarded with if you got close enough. If a boyfriend would kiss my neck and I would kiss him back this almost gourmand sweetness was still there and I could taste it on my lips. I'm sorry you all hate this. I have stunning memories of it.

By some stroke of amazing good fortune ( thank you SadieBluesLady! ) the amazing vintage Houbigant came my way recently. OH MY. This is good.... In the opening we have the kind of sweet orange blossoms found in L'origan or Tabu. Richly sweet. And the spices and other fruits and florals perfectly blend in a kind of rich and riotous melange. Powder, Cinnamon, Plum, and Tonka are especially prominent. This kind of heady splendor is from another era altogether! While the opening is exceptionally rich, it is not as loud as one would expect for such a note combination, and gradually softens to quiet beauty. Dry down is soft and long with Raffinee. She becomes a gentle Mimosa-Sandalwood of real elegance, justifying her name, meaning 'refined'. The only drawback with a discontinued fragrance of this intoxication is availability, sadly driving prices skyward. Otherwise I would buy more immediately and DIE HAPPY. Five Stars!

Oooh, man! Just seeing the bottle on ebay brings back memories! I was searching for Tabu on ebay, and came across Raffinee. I remember this! I wore it, I loved it, I wish I still had some! So deliciously spicy (if you read my other reviews you'll see there's a theme) And it would stay for ages. It was probably my signature scent in 1983-1984, when I first headed off to college. I felt expensive when I wore it, much like when I wore Red Door. I don't recall noticing a similarity at the time, but I'm sure there was. I'm drawn to these scents, with cinnamon, carnation, anise or clove, sandalwood, amber and rose or jasmine.... It just smells "rich' to me. I'd hate to buy a new bottle and discover that Dana has done me wrong. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for a vintage one, tho!

the original EDP version by Houbigant is a true masterpiece indeed. It is useless to try a Dana version, cheaper, weaker and totally different smell. pPrism actual version is an insulte - a totally different scent I have no idea how some online markets can sell Raffinee by Prism as long as it totally something else, a pungent cheap cologne and no connection with the original Houbigant. so if you want a true raffinee, buy a Houbigant, as vintage as posible (pre barcode are the best) and in EDP version. On ebay I found it for less than 50 $ wich is a real steal for sure. The sillage, projection and longevity are MONSTERS. Hope to save some money and buy a new bottle as long as it is still available. 9/10

I bought a bottle of Raffinee by Houbigant back in 1985, and I loved it!!! A year ago I bought a big bottle of Raffinee by Prism, and I think it smells a lot like my old bottle. This bjuty holds so many nice memories from my youth - and all my hopes for my bright future to come ... I got Raffinee when I was in my early twenties - and still had a future to come - which in my eyes looked very bright at the moment, Raffinee - you are my for ever love!!

This is the best aged champagne in the house. Smooth, well-blended, beautiful. I wore this back in the 80's and just recently purchased an old formula bottle. It's that expertly crafted full-bodied powdery cinnamon spiced potion that I remember and loved so well. It does remind one a bit of Lou Lou...a bit more grown up. I never get tired of this scent, it's just beautiful. My all time favorite face powder scent! ;)

I have worn this fragrance off and on through out the years since the early 80s. It is that woodsy, spicy, Oriental type floral that I love. I just gravitate to these Oriental florals that are strong in their base notes with lots of what I call "bottom" (more earthiness) to it. It lingers well after 8 hours or so. This is a flirty, seductive, sensual type fragrance not for the faint at heart!

This smells simular to Oscar De La Renta with more spice in contrast to La Renta have more frankincense and suble woods i prefre Raffinee It stands out without the overpowering Effects like Giorgio of Beverly Hills Red Has. i love the color of the liquid the bottle a little above average but noting to whrite about but it's worth keeping when it's empty and put colored sand in it.

As a fan of spicy scents, I love this one. My favourite flowery scents - carnation, jasmine, mimosa - also put in an appearance. Strangely enough, colleagues mistake it for "L'Air Du Temps" (another favourite!) when I wear it at work. A warm and feminine scent, with good staying power.

I have found the original one in a shop near my house, the bottle isn't like the picture! The cap is os like a prism, like a diamond shape! Is very powerful, lots of incense! Loved it after 5 min, too heavy in the beginning but its the original so it was to be expected!

Beautiful, initially spicey powder and aldehydes. Smells like a freshly bathed lady who lunches who is off to an art gallery to have a little look. A scent from the past, when people were so polite and had time for each other.

I probably have 25-30ml of the Houbigant version which I LOVE! For me it is so delicate and composed perfectly! I haven't tried the other formulations but will probably give them a shot as I see them come around!

I loved the original Houbigant Raffinnee but I do not care for the Dana Raffinnee of later years. I would love to find another perfume that is very similar to the original.

Lovely stuff, a cheaper Lou Lou and Red Door rolled into one :)

My bottle is Houbigant's , and it is AMMAZING

I have a bath oil version of this by Houbigant that I am wearing as splash perfume. This is a really lovely powdery, warm white floral. It does remind me quite a bit of L'Origan, which is similar to L'Heure Bleue. I think the oil is probably different from the actual alcohol-based perfumes. That's usually the case, although it's not always true that the oils are less intense. Zibeline oil, for example is crazy strong. I suspect Raffinee oil is indeed slightly less intense, based on orhers' reviews. The spices in particular domt jump out and grab me in the way that, say, Opium does. But then L'Origan has never struck me as very spicy and according to votes here, it is to other people. I think perhaps the oil is just sort of muddling everything and making the scent more rounded and smoother. I get a lot of refined carnation, orris, vanilla with the other florals coming in to keep it from being a total carnation bomb. I get a bit of the pluminess, but I wouldn't call it a fruity perfume. It's as though the plum is just enriching the floral aspect. And the spices/incense are sort of dusted over everything else to create a nice warmth. I am enchanted that there are still bottles of this gem that remind me of L'Origan, 60ish years its senior. It does not have the anisic aspects of L'Heure Bleue, but all three of these similar perfumes I've mentioned have a sort of warm floral powderiness that I think is quite romantic and seductive and rarely inappropriate. I need to try the regular perfume now.

I would call it a "Spiced Oriental". I would not call it a "Spicy Oriental" because the spice is light and mainly for the top notes. The spice lasts gently in the middle notes, but, not strongly. However-the whole perfume is strong! Itś pungent, persistent,loud, and the fixation is great. I suppose I used this fragrance, um, 20 years ago, and Raffinee instilled my love and fascination of uniquely styled orientals. Itś very Oriental, itś a tad gourmand. The spicy opening with sweetening plum leads to the strong florals that enwrap you like a velvet cape-next you wander into the mysterious, dreamy realm of sandalwood, musk, and insense, tonka, and vanilla combination wich creates a fantastic scent and carries the perfume all day, while creating the illusion of Amber and powdery notes in the base. This perfume is definetly perfume in the 1980s category, for sure. It is remeniscent of Ciara, Lutece, and then a later more sophistcated Spellbound. I had this perfume as a teen and a generous member sent me a large decant recently so I could enjoy it again. I am enjoying it again, however it feels unusual and a bit cheap or lower quality to me now beacause the powdery dry down is so strong. It is only a touch sweet, and very strong!

Just got a vintage brand new bottle of EDP...and wow, this is gorgeous! I didn't get my hopes too high because you never know with these old school "stinkers" and I had to send back quite a few of them recently, but Ruffinee turned out to be absolutely beautiful. Warm carnation and jasmine, slightly sweet and spicy, it feels like pure luxury on the skin. I think this is what Gorgio Red is trying to be but completely misses the point and lacks the complexity and this luxurious feel. Ruffenee is a wonderful choice for a dinner at a fancy restauraunt on a winter night. And don't forget to wear your fur coat to match this beauty!!! Don't know about the version made by Dana, but Houbigant quality is always exceptional.

This is a review for the remake of Raffinee, made by 5 star fragrances. Notes: Ruby Red Grapefruit, Juicy Mandarin, Passion Fruit, Soft Jasmine, Fresh Violet, Dewy Rose, Sensual Musk, White Woods, Creamy Vanilla. This is light fruity floral not oriental floral. Not spicy, not oriental, just sweet watermelon water with some powdery note. This heart note is like sweeter(watermelony)Acqua di Gioia EDP, last note(skin note) is like weak Pitbull Miami women plus powdery note. It's OK perfume,not great.(I got this at $10 to get free shipping at PERFUMANIA.) Be careful, this is very different from original Raffinee.

My mom wore this in the 1980's so there is that olfactory connection there for me that is full of sentiment. I love this! If you are a fan of the original version of Raffinee, you may also love a not to familiar gem called "Red Pearl". They are very similar in composition but I feel Red Pearl is more complex and longer lasting on the skin. It is also very inexpensive which always shocks me! You just never know what you are going to get with perfume! I think that these can be worn in the winter for the "cozy" factor or even in the summer....hot nights would make this incredible.

Was one of my favorites back in the 80's. Cinnamon, Carnations, and Class! This is a strong, sweet, confident scent that begs for fancy clothes! I love to wear it anytime. Is sweet, warm, slightly spicy, and lovely. It reminds me of LouLou, but is softer, sweeter, and more wearable. Powdery like Lou Lou & Gloria Vanderbilt. Sweet classy powder. Just lovely. UD: And I used up at all up and need another! ADORE it! Be sure to get the vintage!

@vivavoice - No, it s a reformulation by Dana, one of them. Houbigant has the logo down on the box (always!) and the version with bottle similar with this one- of Houbigant is a rectangular bottle, the cap is squared, not rounded. I sent you some macro photos. Raffinee logo is written on the bottle, not on the cap and the amount is different. So, it s a Dana version of Raffinee. That explains the price.

I wasn't looking for this one nor was I familiar with it but I found this little gem at an estate sale and was so pleased to find out it was by Houbigant. Raffinee is full of spices, cinnamon and incense but keep smelling and you also get carnation, tuberose, orange blossom, vanilla, sandalwood in the background. I'm loving this perfume and am glad to have added this masterpiece to my collection.

i recently acquired a pretty old bottle with just a bit left. this opens with plum, orris, carnation, sandalwood and spices. it smells warm, vintage and spicy-cozy. i really love these carnation-heavy spicy vintage scents, and this is no exception! perfect for fall/winter. on my 2nd try, it's more powdery/clovey and like oscar de la renta. either way it's gorgeous.

So sad. I tried the new version of Raffinee by Dana and it is just a whisper it used to be. My mother wore the original in the 80's so it is a "memory scent". It has pretty good staying power but NO sillage. I am going to give it to my mom because she likes lighter perfumes than I do. :(

This is a review for the remake of Raffinee, made by Prism Parfums. I have never smelled the Houbigant version. The new Raffinee is a soft musk, slighty spicy, it is pleasant, sweet, I do like it. It is very inexpensive.

I have the Prism version and I'm disappointed. On me, its a lot like spicy bubble gum.

I received a tester of this fragrance and it LOOKS potent. Very dark amber and kind of thick. So I knew I needed to try just a dot on each wrist. Let me just say that I like strong perfumes, but this one started turning on me within about 15 minutes. I'm not sure what made it turn into such a horrible experience for me. I think it might be the carnation. It started with such a mish mash of notes that it just smelled odd. My husband didn't think it was as bad as all that, but he said it was too strong for him to make a decision about it and asked me to wait for a couple of hours. I couldn't do it. The dry down made me want to get away from myself. I wanted to give it a chance but I wound up having to go in and and actually wash it off.

I have an old miniature bottle of this, and the fluid inside had also turned thick and dark. However, I don't think it has turned - it doesn't have those typical sour, vinegar-like, sharp top notes that turned perfumes usually have. Nevertheless I don't like it at all - so perhaps it has gone off after all. I smell tons of cumin and ground coriander in a sweet concoction that I figure must be the carnation. It is warm and comforting indeed (the incense), but I cannot get over the cumin - I smell like I doused myself in some heady, super strong sweet perfume after I fell into a pot of curry.

Woa, I bought this unsniffed this morning and had to take it back by lunch time! I never return fragrances but on this one I had to. I guess I can't pull off most fragrances made in the 80's. Those powdery notes they used back then had some power... POWER POWDER! Civet and aldehydes does not mix with me and my chemistry. I love the 2 reviews below but all I got was cinnamon that got swallowed by the powdery pee-pee fairy! I think even in the 80's this perfume was low in cost, so maybe its just cheaply made.

The original version of this perfume was probably okay but the reformulation I got was disappointing. The top notes were pretty but they didn't last long. I couldn't get past the jarring, cheap middle notes. The composition of the bottom notes is a throwback to yesteryears when they didn't have the advanced perfumery techniques we have today. This perfume will be returned promptly to the store. Why waste time on a mediocre fragrance when there are so many excellent perfumes to explore?

Ugh, this smells just like the commercial strength insecticide used by the pest control service in an apartment building I had the misfortune of living in years ago in Queens, NY. The second Monday of evey month I smelled it and knew that roaches were dying. Me thinks if the exterminator just used this he'd have gotten the same results.

Sooo 80's; such a powerful scent. On me, it's smelled like a spicy, orange flower tea. Not bad, but I don't want to smell like tea. It gave me a headache. The dry down is too powdery for my taste. I gave it to my mother in law, who seems to love this dated fragrances.

I was unduly influenced by this having been worn by someone I didn't like in a situation I liked even less.

Fragrance Review For Raffinee Houbigant Top Notes Carnation Orange Blossom Plum Clary Sage Jasmine Lemon Bergamot Orange Rose Middle Notes Mimosa Tuberose Tonka Bean Orchid Osmanthus Orris Root Hyacinth Ylang Ylang Base Notes Spices Cypress Sandalwood Cinnamon Musk Vanilla Vetiver Incense Similar to Cinnabar by Estee Lauder and coming from the 1981-1982 period, this is a powerful full bodied fragrant Oriental fragrance. Where would one wear this? Where have you worn Cinnabar? It smells like it ought to be worn to an evening party, dinner party, or black tie gala, wedding, or big awards ceremony. It's glamorous, smoky, spicy, woodsy and as far away from the sugary garbage selling in perfumeries today. There was a time when fragrances with names you've never heard of smelled like REAL PERFUME throwing up amazing scents that made you swoon and want to smell it again and again as it ravished your nostrils and you were so glad to be born with a sense of smell. This perfume is for those of us who enjoy our hot Orientals like Opium, Youth Dew, Coco, Teatro Alla Scala, Passion, or Red Giorgio Beverly Hills. Raffinee has a fresher opening of citrus than the aforementioned scents. This is a citrusy top of orange and lemon. However it's not an astringent or aftershave. It's fresh and sweet. The floral notes that emerge out of the citrus juice include: mimosa, orange blossom and rose. This is a very beautiful dark rose, a citrusy rose that smells like it's been warmed up by incense. This is almost like the rose in such frags as Egoiste by Chanel or Portrait of a Lady by Frederic Malle. That unisex type of masculine bold rose. Beautiful. Other floral notes that I can detect: hyacinth, jasmine, tuberose ylang and osmanthus. Watch out. It's floral with a capital F. But not a powdery floral. Smoky floral. Dark floral. These are night blooming flowers. They release their aroma only under pale moonlight. Another image I kept getting while smelling this scent: Smells like when you have a hothouse and you are growing tropical exotic flowers out of season. I have a hothouse in my townhouse in Manhattan and I'm growing orchids and bromeliad. This is the smell of leaving those flowers to their own devices in a heated room with artificial light. But it smells good as a perfume! Exotic, Oriental, hot, sexy flowers. The dry down is where it gets good. The incense develops and it's an incense I'm used to and love. It's the incense from Cinnabar. It's the incense from Passion by Elizabeth Taylor. There's a lot of other ingredients and chemical notes of the Oriental kind: aromatic, spicy, woodsy notes of cypress leaves, sandalwood and vetiver. The dry down is a man's cologne and this is decidedly masculine in the dry down but it's like the gender-bending scent of Opium and Passion. If you like those type of darker, non-fresh, mysterious and deep Orientals with incense, this is a ravishment of the senses. I absolutely adore this fragrance. The bottle is also similar to Cinnabar and Avon's Timeless and can be worn by women who love those type of colognes. Something about it is also very warm dark vanilla a la Shalimar and also a bit like an amber. Where is that amber scent coming from? There is an illusion of hot amber coming out of the spices and cinnamon/woods. This is astounding and beautiful. I wear this to evening affairs in black gowns. What a shame that this fragrance is not as accessible as it used to be. Look for it on ebay!

Whoa! Shoulder-pads, hairspray, full face make-up....the 80's come flooding back. This is a full-on, sweet floriental with a plastic punch. I admit: I am NOT a big fan of the 80's. The music, the outfits, the attitude, the food. I grew my way around it, but I never fully embrace it. OK - I owned a pair of pixie boots & a reversable cartoon animal jumper...but I was very grateful for the 90s to arrive. Raffinee is exactly how my mother's hair & make-up drawer in her beautiful wooden dressing table smelled. EXACTLY. If I could gather up all the Max Factor Gay Whisper pressed powders, blue Cover Girl eye shadows, waxy Rimmel lipsticks, Elnett hairsprays, numerous powder puffs, Opium samples, polishes, lotions & potions I would have Raffinee. I should hate it....but....but.... Raffinnee is strong, sweet & filled with cinnamon. At first, a plastic-plum & sage arrive followed by a peek-a-boo floral aspect - strong & sweet. The main body of this scent is cinnamon, carnation, osmanthus & a whole heap of powder on My Little Pony plastic. Whilst Tabu made me feel uneasy (in the same way that Kingdom did), Raffinee is wearable. You could go out on the town with her without being embarrassed & she'd last her way through a few disco dancing moves. Raffinee makes me feel happy. You can't buy happiness but you can buy a whole heap of memories in just one squirt.

Spiced plum-wine coloured juicy fruit tuberose. This smells like Noix de Tubereuse, or more precisely, NdT smells like vintage Raffinee. Then a dash of Opium vintage extrait and a splash of Nuit de Tubereuse. A twinkle of LouLou in there too, if her plastic were softly wrapped in Xmas spice. Definitely an inspiration for LouLou, which came out 5 years later. 1980's for sure. Spicey, powdery, juicy fruit gum, tuberose. After the tuberose, I smell far more Mimosa! (and something akin to wallflower) and orchid, perhaps some jasmine. No longer much carnation from my bottle. There's almost a cocao thing going on in the background too. What a totally weird and wonderful fragrant experience. Definitely one to try. I wish we could find out who the nose was for this. (for reference: Box as photo above, Parfums Houbigant, Batch F0003, no barcodes, no ingredients, 60ml, gold/burgundy lid with pointy golden diamond shape on centre.)

I just received a 30ml bottle of the original 1980s Raffinee by Houbigant. I found it on Ebay. It's the first time I've smelt it since about 1990 when I used to wear it as a 16/17 year old! I was obsessed with it - I loved it, even though I was always worried it smelt a bit strong on me. It was my first perfume - the only other scents I wore around that time were Cool Charm and Impulse, so Raffinee really stood out for me. Sniffing it now: it's actually really nice - a spicy, oriental with something a bit old fashioned about it. I don't know much about perfume yet, but it smells so different from everything around nowadays. It's not as powerful as some of the perfumes I tried a few years later like Opium, Obsession and Poison but still smells of that era. I am definitely going to wear it occasionally and enjoy a blast from the past!

I have the Prism Parfums version. I have unfortunately never found the original but would love to try it as it sounds completely my cup of tea. The one I have is a weak smelling take on an oriental scent. It smells like the base of most cheaper perfumes, a little like an avon scent with a touch of hairspray aldehydes and a barely detectable spicy note and maybe what I would deem a vague resemblence to red door but not by any means a similar frag. Unfortunately this was a rather expensive blind buy thinking I was getting the Dana version so was bit miffed when the Prism parfums was what I received.

Oh yes! This is lovely. It smells like all the good parts of Cacharel LouLou and Vanderbilt. The jasmine is not very dirty, so I can stand it. I hate indolic flowers... Incense, spices, sandalwood, vanilla, amber... warm, smooth, dark, mystical and sexy. Very potent oriental. Not for the shy, cause you WILL get noticed wearing this. Very vintage and fantastic. UPDATE: I got myself a reformulated bottle of this made by "Alladin fragrances", and it smelled really really bad. Like cat pee and stale cigarett ashes. It`s so damn sad! :,-(

Raffinee was one of my flea market finds that I keep as a reference for a type of scent. It just seems like a mish-mash of notes that was Houbigant's attempt to cash in on the popularity of the Oriental-style of Opium that had just come out a few years before, but the materials weren't of the same quality and they even put the pure parfum (which is the concentration I have) in a cheesy, mostly plastic bottle.

I really wish Houbigant would take back the rights to this fragrance & rerelease it. I really loved it back in the day. Several years ago I smelled the newer (Dana?) version & it was ok but it didn’t smell familiar to me at all and was very powdery. I don’t remember the original being *overly* powdery. This used to be a beautiful floral oriental & also easy to wear.

I do love hot and spicy food - spicy meat, fish, chicken,soups, chocolates and other sweets:) That is the reason why I really loved Raffinee! Raffinee has the edible spicy smell of black chocolate with chili peppers. I can also smell a nice note of cinnamon, no flowers, no fruits. Raffinee is a very intriguant, complex, unusual oriental fragrance. Love it!

This is very nice but it has changed dramatically since the 1980's! Its way weaker and less powdery than it used to be. Time has a bad habit of changing things most times for the worse. Although this is a very nice scent, I have something to compare it to and I know the difference that most others don't know. Pretty scent still though.

Raffinee by Houbigant wow, I had forgotten that this ever existed. It was released when I was working in a retail Pharmacy in the early 80's. I think I may have had a bottle of my own but only one as I recall it was quite strong. I did actually prefer it to the likes of opium and tabu which were stronger and headache inducing for me

Thanks gatsby and zyby - Dana version it is then. I will have the pleasure of smelling it soon. Glad I did not get the latest reformulation by Prism. Autumn will be here soon in the UK, so Raffinee sounds perfet for cooler temperatures. Cheers perfumistas x

Can someone please clarify if the picture on this page is the real Houbigant version? I saw ne on ebay for a steal at £8 inc postage! Its a slightly used 50 ml container. Fingers crossed. Its arriving in a few days. Wil do review when I get it.

Sherihan, at the very beginning the smell is really spicy and hot, but not sweet at all. (I just thought it reminds me the smell of Chinese spicy chicken soup a bit:)) But then it becomes sweeter like a black bitter chili chocolate.