Escarmouche

I am sampling what I believe to be a 1950s parfum splash, never before opened. When it arrived, there had been leakage at some point and the label had soaked and dried. I didn't have high hopes. Color was a little deep, and there was some viscosity to the liquid, but there was an unexpectedly fresh aroma of sweet, heady lilacs near the neck. Oh my, when I opened the bottle! It didn't need to breathe, so obviously had already been subject to oxygen. Upon application of a minute drop to the skin, I was enveloped in damaged aldehydes, purple and white flowers, green notes, twigs, and well behaved indoles. The flowers feel to be lilac, jasmine, and gardenia/tuberose. There is a polite earthiness, and a beautiful creamy quality which is certainly sandalwood. As for other notes, I get a restrained vanilla and a sweet woody feel to the base that could be cedar. A guess says the animal base is musk- nothing terribly skanky. It is in the genre of Joy by Patou and Snob by Le Galion. Possibly also to Mary Chess Lilac and Guerlain's Ode. Such maintenance of notes is rarely seen in a perfume of this age, especially a partially leaked/evaporated splash. Absolutely divine!