Arpège

Such a heartaching beautiful perfume. I will never forget the first time I wore it. It was delivered to me all the way from Palm Beach Gardens by a mutual friend who likes vintage perfumes and got me hooked on them. For me the mystery was what did the liquid look like (color) if the bottle was clear and not black. I love the bottle with the mother and lil daughter holding hands. Arpege is favorably compared to Chanel 5 but I frankly don't see the connection other than the aldehyde floral category. Nothing like No. 5. This starts off instantly sweet with a dash of peach and citrus and a zesty refreshing start especially on the spray version. On the small dab bottle it's almost immediately powdery with a super sweet floral rush. The flower notes that come through for me are something like an orange blossom, ylang ylang, lily or lily of the valley, soft jasmine, pink rose and iris. These flowers give the scent a kind of rainbow effect which is missing in No. 5 which can be colder. Arpege is warm. Colors that this perfume give off to my nose are yellow, pale gold, white, off white, beige, light blue, violet, and lime green. The honeysuckle note is delicious and giving the florals a slight green earthiness and spiciness probably also enhanced with some neroli and green leaves of orange blossom or citruses. But it's not what I would call a modern citrus-floral. It's very grown up and yet innocent and girly in an old school glam way. I can't explain it well on a mere review. It's like a perfume for a young woman back in the early to mid 20th century (1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s) who was young enough not to know all there is about life but grown up enough to wear perfume. She would be like 18 or 19. She has not gone beyond kissing or making out. She wears dresses and only dresses, just hyper feminine with well cared for nails, feet, soft hands, girly long hair, wears make up but not too much. She's classy but not worldly. She's also a very loving, giving, kind young woman with kind eyes, sweet face. There is such a warm and loving aura such an angel vibe I get from this perfume. It has a iris and violet powder vibe like cosmetics and lipstick make up and boudoir vanity table vibe. It's also very prim and proper, sophisticated but not too much. The spray is soapier and bathy like something you wear to bed for comfort. It's as delicate as a silk negligee. It's satiny and womanly but not seductive. It's dressy and feminine but not in the do me sense more like in the respect me sense. The dab on pure parfum is sweeter and more of a long lasting floral powder with a distinct benzoin note and plenty of amber. The dry down is amber and a touch of musk, small dose of vanilla too. Just a perfect well blended floral perfume that is it's own unique and stand alone fragrance. Formal and elegant to wear at formal events. Definitely a day time and spring time scent. I can't stop smelling my wrist and when I spray on the neck it lasts and I get those lovely colors. It's a sweet charming feminine floral fragrance. If you like vintages and especially aldehyde florals or floral amber perfumes and like No. 5, L'Air du Temps, Joy, L'interdit by Givenchy original, Ombre Rose, Cartier La Pantere, Paris by Yves Saint Laurent, this is in that kind of perfume group. Brilliant. I will never tire of wearing it. Merry Christmas.

(Comparison of vintage Arpege extrait of the Lanvin Perfumes era, and Arpege Eau de Lanvin, both prior to 1990) This was going to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in all of my years of perfume collecting and writing. I can sum it up in one sentence if this is an undertaking you wish to do yourself: good luck picking out most of the notes in either one of these. Arpege is a true floral amalgam, the kind that No. 5 only wishes it could be (yes, I know those are fighting words). So, I’m not going to bother with my usual way of going about this, and we’ll look at the forest not the trees. The first thing to note is that the extrait plays around with the fruit and florals a lot more than the eau. The eau pushes the honeysuckle and muguet very far forward, which in tandem with a big clove note gives a honeyed animalic type feeling - also likely thanks to some base materials already playing upwards. Strangely, and rather opposite to what happens with these concentrations, the extrait is brighter than the eau. Richer, sure, obviously, but the eau has dimmer light thanks to more spices and more emphasis on the darker and durable materials in the base. The extrait is compelled to hold on to the brighter fruit and brighter florals for as long as possible, and it does so for a long time before the fruit departs first. The heart of the extrait still keeps the lights on, seeming to focus more on rose, ylang-ylang, and mimosa rather than spices, and keeps the base materials firmly underneath and well covered. It’s no surprise that the eau reaches the base before the extrait, the former going a more convincing chypre direction while the extrait commands a more amberic lean. The eau is classically mossy, and given sparing doses of sandalwood and spices to help it along. The extrait is very sandalwood, vetiver, and spices forward with a touch of leather. Thanks to the slightly green vetiver, the extrait still feels brighter with the eau feeling like a forest walk at dusk. There is a lot more to Arpege than what I have described, but the primary thing to note is the extrait is more amber, the eau is more chypre, the extrait has a sunnier disposition while the eau prefers to play with shadows. Arpege is quite grand and statement making; many will not find it easy to wear, but that’s not because it is loud, ostentatious, or challenging, far from either of those things, it’s because it has one of those profiles or personalities that is so intricate, beautiful, and unique that it will capture the full attention of whatever room it walks into. Whatever the concentration, know that you will get a perfectly seamless composition of exquisite materials that will defy any attempts to break it apart or pigeon-hole it. There you go, folks. That’s the best that I can do, which doesn’t do Arpege justice. It is a perfume to be experienced in its entirety and reveled-in from moment to moment, not a perfume for study or reductive commentary as above - though it certainly tempts study in every perfume nerd that comes across its path. In any and all forms Arpege is a legend, a maverick of modern perfumery, and one of the best ever made.

Forgive me, for this is not really a review as much as a crusade for all perfumes being trash talked for being “dated” and “old-fashioned.” I wear N°5 as my signature. It’s a scent my daughters, aged 10 and 4, love on me. They tell me it’s my “Mamma” smell. And I think no other perfume makes me feel this way. I bought Arpege because I wanted something that smelled similar but not the exact same as my signature. It was a blind buy, but I didn’t hesitate because I knew I would already like it. I agree with everyone who says N°5 and Arpege are in the same family but definitely not the same. I find N°5 to be more powdery than soapy, specially when it dries down, whereas Arpege retains its sparkly soapiness. I definitely get more florals out of Arpege as well. Comparisons to N°5 aside, I think the bottle fits the perfume so well. This belongs on top of a glamorous vanity. The kind that comes with a velvet padded stool. A woman dressed in a satin nightgown sits in front of it and starts putting on her lotion. One delicate spritz of Arpege on each wrist, which she then dabs on the side of her neck - it’s bedtime after all. She doesn’t need a lot. She brushes her hair, and applies face cream. She looks at her laughter lines and smiles - her years might be starting to show but she doesn’t regret any one of them. A little girl runs into the room for a last goodnight hug and the woman holds her tight, kissing her forehead. Having said goodnight, the little girl leaves the room, her hair faintly smelling of her mother. There is something so nostalgic about Arpege it makes me smile each time I smell this. That’s the word - nostalgic. Not dated, not old-fashioned, but romantic. No one around me wore perfume when I was growing up, and yet certain scents are so evocative they tell their own stories. N°5 does it for me, of course. As does First by Van Cleef & Arpels. I think it is the aldehydes? The same aldehydes that people love to demonise these days? Are there any modern releases that paint a picture as vivid as the ones from the 80’s and 90’s? It’s a grey rainy day here, and having taken my shower, I found myself reaching for my Arpege. The minute I sprayed it on me, my ten year old said “Mamma you smell so good!!” And that’s how I know I am playing my part. There’s a whole generation today who still clings on to perfumes that their mothers wore - regardless of whether they are popular now or not. My way of making sure these beautiful masterpieces are not forgotten is by wearing them around my little girls so that this is the scent they associate with their mother when they grow up. My only hope is that when my daughters are adults, sniffing perfumes generated by AI and what not, they find beauty in good ol’ Arpege and the likes. One can dream, right?

[825] I first encountered Arpège during a brief stint working in a local pharmacy as a young teenager. The bottle, a shiny black opaque orb with its vintage-style ridged gold lid appealed to me. My boss dismissed it as "rancid", but this only piqued my curiosity more (particularly as she said the same about Shalimar). When I (furtively) sprayed it, my mom's signature Chanel No. 5 is what came to mind - nothing rancid about it in the slightest. I have a full bottle of the current EDP and a vintage extrait, and it smells just as good to me now as it did when I first tried it on the quiet shop floor. Arpège is similar to No. 5, but is more muted, less radiant and less refined (but in the very best way). Like No. 5, it is a classic aldehydic floral, a scent profile that I adore but feel too young yet to wear day-to-day. It is a bold yet elegant floral bouquet, brightened up top by citrus and Chanel-like aldehydes, becoming wonderfully woody as it progresses. It is slightly animalic in the base in the manner of Van Cleef & Arpels First. Arpège opens with the aforementioned aldehydes, bolstered by tart bergamot. Neroli adds an orange sweetness, paving the way to the floral heart, complemented to perfection by a juicy peach note. It is at its airiest and brightest here. The florals bloom on my skin as it develops. I get sweet, creamy ylang ylang and green-tinged muguet. Muted but waxy lily is in there too. Clean, powdery jasmine adds body. A powdery rose note follows, becoming quite prominent in the later stages. Iris enhances the powder, Chanel-style. The woody notes creep in as it begins to dry down, rich and nutty, grounding and complementing the florals to perfection. A slightly animalic vintage-style muskiness emerges at this stage, adding a nice edge to a classically elegant perfume. A little dry vanilla keeps things sweet as it fades, becoming a musky-amber skin scent. Sillage is moderate and longevity is long-lasting. The parfum is very similar to the EDP, which is what I focused on above. It is more radiant up top, but quickly becomes very soapy, with (curiously) more limited performance than the modern EDP. It is more white floral dominant with lily-of-the-valley a focal point, and is less powdery, even if rose is present too. It is fresher and less musky, but the lovely woodiness is intact. Arpège is a beautiful example of a classic aldehydic floral that holds up marvellously despite inevitable reformulation throughout the years. An affordable gem to boot, this is a great alternative to Chanel No. 5. Feminine-leaning muted glamour for everyday use. French perfumery at its finest. 5/5.

I am reviewing the new reformulation not a vintage bottle. OMG! This is really beautiful! I wish my bottle of # 5 smelled half as good as this I wouldn't have gotten rid of it. This is aldehydes and florals done right. I feel this is a perfume of opposites. At first it is clean and soapy, bright aldehydes, crisp starched white shirt and then it shifts, and you begin to smell a flower garden, ylang, ylang, daffodils, tulips, red roses, jasmine, and pink camellias. Especially pink camellias, red roses and ylang. All are blooming and new then the shift begins again, and the flowers and fruits are a bit too ripe and going off. Images of a graveyard and funerals come to mind. This perfume makes me contemplate the impermanence of life. It begins bright and hopeful but in the middle and the end it becomes wistful, and a bit melancholy. A contrast between strength and tenderness and tenderness wins in the end. Arpege is bright, fresh, floral, soapy, creamy, w/ just a slight touch of powder. Very soft and tender, I know I keep coming back to that word Tender, but Arpege is really like a loving hug from a Mother or Grandmother. (Elena who wrote an article on this perfume knows her stuff and her reviews never steer me wrong) It brings me to tears but they are happy ones. It reminds me of my Grandmother, she would have loved this perfume so much. I wish she was here to smell it w/ me. Bravo Lanvin, Bravo. Edit: Comparing this to Patou's Joy right now and I can see the similarities, but Joy is not a dupe for Arpege. Both are bright aldehydic florals in the beginning and both finish tenderly. Arpege is slightly powdery and slightly spicy from the coriander. Joy is much more indolic jasmine w/ rose where Arpege is rose, ylang, and camellia cream. Both are indolic but Joy is much more indolic than Arpege. I read several biographies on Marilyn Monroe, and it was said in one of them she was a fan of both Joy and Arpege and wore both of them and actually preferred them to #5. Now I don't know if that is true, you have to take some of these biography claims w/ a grain of salt at times but I know I favor them both very, very heavily over #5.