Madame

It was packaged differently when it first came out in late '70es. My best school mate and I went together to buy a bottle each after receiving a sample, using and loving every drop of it. She went on for years to use Lancetti while I betrayed it with a hundred different scents. I remember it was classy and very long lasting, very green and flowery in the opening and very woody in the drydown. I agree with Sherapop in that this "opens in a typically Italian way" and I am of opinion that this scent showed the way to the many Italian couture scents that would have soon come along (Armani first of all, Trussardi white bottle soon after and Genny black box - the first Genny scent I mean - in third place). It has always struck me thinking that this was soon discontinued and now some Lancetti scents are found at supermarkets selling for few Euros. That's sad. Pino Lancetti was a pioneer in the Italian haute couture and perfumery too. A sad ending.

Honestly......I blind bought this by the notes alone. I normally go for REALLY bold and long lasting fragrances. And, as you can see, this gets a few points for longevity, but the projection is a little lacking. Those votes are true after having tried this. However, I do not care. This fragrance is SO LOVELY that I will douse myself continually all day long if I have to. Now understand that this is during winter. I understand that it is better in summer. Hopefully the projection will amp up with warm temperatures. *fingers crossed* I am a floral chypre fiend from the 80s. I WISH that I had discovered this in the 90s so that I could have lovingly worn it since.....

Madame Lancetti is one of the most neglected perfumes I’ve come across. Immaculately executed, profound and rich. Classy and full of a comforting warmth. Notes are expertly blended so that no one note overwhelms the other. It’s not animalic. Nor can I call it a floral. Chypre, patchouli oak moss form a balanced trio and ylang, gardenia and freesia sweeten it gently. Surprisingly, listed as the leading note, rose lurks in the shadows. Seamlessly crafted, it remains one of my top favorites, very long lasting, great sillage and matures divinely. I wear it all year round. A beauty for all seasons. If you can find it, get it!

It reminds me of Ivoire by Balmain! Do we have anybody who can support that argument here?

Rarely do fragrances have suitable names. This one does. I have a first-series bottle. With more than a half of perfume inside. I rarely open it. I consider it as a part of my collection. Others, newer versions I use. When I open the old bottle I smell and I think to myself "Madame." Do you know which females we call Madame? Ones who earn it. The ones which impress with intellect, suitable behaviour, cleanliness of their spirit, body and clothes. Females with taste, elegance and particularly the ones, who are presenting femininity. One's, who are at peace with themselves. All that Madame Perfume is. Elegant, calm, gracious beautiful bottle of decor for the lady. It decorates. Flatters. Supports the character. This is a reformulation of the first women's fragrance from the Italian Haute Couture designer Pino Lancetti, launched in 1976 and simply called Lancetti. The original scent was dominated by Labdanum, an anise-scented gum resin. Also, very interesting perfume. Very beautiful indeed. While Madame is more calm from 1995. This scent radiates white. It's very floral. Very earthly. Captured into a simple yet beautiful bottle. The top notes are gardenia, rose, lily, ylang-ylang and freesia. This is a very strong and wet/oily gardenia allure opening. With sharp rose. With penetrating lily. Floating ylang-ylang. Creamy freesia. Imagine that if you never smelled that. Splash of flowers. All strong flowers. They don't leave, they calm down with middle notes plum entering. That ripe, sweet plum skin. Ohh so nice. Then the middle notes continue to show themselves. peach, more plum, rose and jasmine take over completely! Vibrating. Strong silage. Long-lasting. Layering. Very character fragrance. Lies down into base notes which are patchouli, oak moss, iris and tonka bean. Literally sinks in. Acts with your skin. Your body. You. Becomes powdery and private. This fragrance is eternal hymne to maturity.

(Thank you, O Solicitous Administrator, for adding this one to the database. I have now moved my review to its proper place.) Lancetti MADAME opens in a typically Italian way--or perhaps I should say in a typically Schiapparelli-Pikenz way--with a Moschino-esque solvent blast which happily evaporates in a flash. Most of the life of this fragrance takes the form of a rather standard slightly dark dried-flower chypre with medium sillage. Although this composition has extraordinary longevity, in terms of its character, MADAME is just okay--provided of course that you like light oakmoss chypres. All in all, it's fair to say that I am not heartbroken that it's probably impossible to find this anywhere anyway. (-:

This is a big thing, really!!! And the name "Madame" is most appropriate. Reminds me of an elegant, mature lady (old enough to know what she wants and to have achieved her happiness), in a white skirt, jacket, high-heeled shoes and a hat. The epoch she lives in does not matter - she can be from the 1950's, 1980's or from our times - she's timeless. The most prominent notes to my nose are rose and ylang, some very delicate oakmoss in the drydown, but really - barely any. Gardenia disappears too soon (unfortunately) which makes the scent not as round as it initially promises to be. I'll go back to this perfume in summer, I'm not ready to fully appreciate it on a rainy, February evening:)

The one packaged in the 70s is a different scent than this one. It comes in a pink box. The bottle is unique with a leaf shape at the neck of the bottle and gold cap. It is not called "Elle" or "Femme". It is just Lancetti. . There is no separate listing for it. parfumo.net Lancetti/Lancetti