Adieu Sagesse

My review is based on Jean Kerleo in 1984 reconstructed version of the Ma Collection. According to Jean Patou's advertising strategy, Adieu Sagesse, the final fragrance of the Love Trilogy, was conceived for a passionate redhead, symbolizing the triumph of the sensual over the rational. Adieu Sagesse has a base of musk and civet, and a heart of jasmine, neroli and tuberose, with gardenia imitated by Henri Almeras using a variety of flowers. The tuberose has a smooth, silky feel of coconut and coconut milk. Fatty aldehydes naturally blend into the floral notes, and carnation-lilac accord add a powdery touch to the white bouquet, warming it up without being too spicy or sweet. It is as holy and elegant as a bride's wedding dress. In my opinion, Adieu Sagesse would suit a blonde like Catherine Deneuve rather than a redhead. In terms of quality, nothing can be faulted, and it's great to know that Jean Kerléo has followed exactly the original formula left by Almeras in recreating it.

As I sampled each from the Ma Collection minis I am awestruck at how each enthralls me. I recall a Youtube channel that has since had all its videos pulled as of 2022, "Making a Stink" and the two hosts did their own assessments of these minis and they seemed far more critical. I for a moment thought to myself, should I push my nose to find the flaws or the less savory elements? Yet here I am with Adieu Sagesse, the one for the redheads, and I just can't find anything to pick apart. I am riveted. Hypnotized even. A musky, fecund creamy bouquet of gardenia tinted with neroli and shaded with narcissus, sealed with clove pink; though some noses may find it verging on vertiginous, I willingly get lost in it. Milky, mature petals and nitro-musk-civet euphoria reaching climax, "la petite mort"—"goodbye wisdom" where one is blinded by blind light and loses a sense of time and space in post-coital warmth. [from 1984 Ma Collection mini]

(review is for the vintage pre-barcode EDT) This juice is simply majestic. It opens with an outrageous explosion of earthy, musky GARDENIA accord, and evolves in a sort of carnation based version of l'Heure Bleue, powdery, pungent and warmly animalic. Got to find a backup bottle of this one! ATTENTION: the new version is COMPLETELY different and smells like a cheaper version of Caron's Bellodgia. Avoid.

Doc Elly: couldn't have said it better myself!

I think classic French perfumes are a little like jazz. I, like other people of my generation, started out hating them because they belonged to my parents’ or grandparents’ cultural milieu and were something that should be rejected for that reason alone. However, having ended up studying both jazz and perfumery enough to understand their underlying structure, I now realize the incredible genius that went into the creation of both the music and the perfumes. Adieu Sagesse, originally released in 1925, has sadly been discontined. It starts out with a burst of floral aldehydes that reminds me of my mother’s or grandmother’s perfumes. There’s no doubt at any point that this is an old-fashioned, synthetic, French perfume, but it turns out to be one that’s surprisingly wearable in a contemporary setting. After the first few minutes the sillage is a gorgeous powdery-fluffy medley of spring flowers that envelops me and makes me feel as if I’m a flapper wearing an elegant fur coat, back in the days before real fur became politically incorrect. As it dries down, it mellows into a gauzy cocoon of lovely scent that lasts all day. It is never heavy, cloying, or in-your-face. I could wear this anywhere and not be offensive. I’m beginning to think that some of these old perfumes are more in keeping with modern tastes than perfumes from more recent times, especially the 1980s. I like it and will have to look for a larger decant!

reminds me a lot of Mitsouko by guerlain (eau de perfume). though mitsouko is available while for adieu sagesse i had a friend going to an antique store in paris in order to find me a vintage sample bottle of 6 ml. for 25 euro. now make the caculation for yourself :-)

No for me, tried it once. Specific and not for everyone. May be I tried it in a wrong season. Yellow annoying flowers, the cheap sister of this is Avon TTA Tommorow.