Shalom

SHALOM By Judith Muller Year 1970 Shalom! This is the way we greet you in Israel. It's our hello, howdy, Aloha, hola. It means peace be with you. In a part of the world where peace is very hard to get, we maintain the hope of peace. Shalom is a mossy fruity chypre in the style of such fragrances as Mitsouko by Guerlain and Aliage Estee Lauder. Shalom also has some things in common with Femme Rochas. This is an aromatic and very pleasant light fruity and woody perfume for day wear and summer. I got my hands on a vintage from eBay. I first wore it in the 60's when I was an adolescent and also wore Judith's other scents like Bat-Sheba and Judith. When compared to those two, this one is much more mature and quite elegant, a full bodied chypre. This can also be worn by men and should be classified as unisex by today's standards. The greener of moss, the animal notes of civet musk, spices, and wood make it quite masculine while also being feminine with fruit and florals. Quite a gorgeous perfume. The notes in Shalom should read as follows: Top notes: Peach, plum, rosewood, cardamom, bergamot Middle notes: Jasmine, nutmeg, rose, orris, carnation, ylang ylang. Base notes: Benzoin, leather, oakmoss, vetiver, sandalwood, amber, civet Opens with a peach and deep plum juice, quite fruity and summery, a tad hesperidic with citrus notes mainly a bergamot orange. There is rosewood and ginger, nutmeg, spices which then embrace soft florals of jasmine, rose, iris, carnation and ylang. The flowers are not green floral but they are powdery and quite delicate, tenuous and if it was not for the dry down the florals would be fluff. They are beautifully arranged and spread out with a dominant ylang ylang and jasmine, just gorgeous Oriental flowers of Israel. The dry notes and the conclusion of this perfume goes from day to night, feminine to masculine. There is a smoky incense note from the benzoin, a sandalwood, and some musky animal notes courtesy of civet and leather. Finally a green bar of soap effect comes through from the vetiver and the big load of oak moss. This is so old fashioned with moss. The oak moss note in 1970 was still around but today the scent has been dubbed toxic by the International Fragrance Association and so it has been banned. Moss is replicated as a chemical aromatic note instead. This is the real deal. A gorgeous moss with a green soap and toilet water type of scent. Very soothing, herbal and elegant. Reminds me so much of the green chypres of the 70's. This is an enjoyable day wear perfume which can still be worn today in smaller doses as splash perfume. I love wearing it. This is probably the most Jewish of the fragrances from the line along with Bat Sheba. Great for wearing to a bar mitzvah. Available from sellers on ebay

Israel closed in... the bottle.