Scandal

The Best Leather, period, It is THE scent that you put on when you want to feel like a million bucks... however, do be aware that there is a reformulation happened backing the days between the gold label and the silver label. The gold label from the 50s -70s is significantly less leathery, in fact the leather note has been toned down to almost non existent, rendering the scent rather a chypre with smoky undertone than a true leather. The silver label, however, is gorgeously leathery. In this is where you find Edmond Roudnitska’s praise of the scent being “snapped flower bouquet encased in a new leather bag.” I cannot say for the sliver label with blue font since mine is of red font. But I would make an educated guess based on the review below and the reason that Cuir de Lancôme went out of production (cost), that there might also be a difference between the two silver labels. In the one I have, you can smell a significant amount of castoreum, which gives the leather its buttery smoothness. Considering the natural castoreum’s cost and the rising regulations, it would not be wild to say reformulation might have occurred between the 40s and the 50s within the silver label. ————————————————————— Review ————————————————————— This leather perfume treads a path less trodden, employing the sly allure of castoreum to mimic the hide’s essence, thus evading the vulgar sting of tarry smoke, and bestowing upon it a warmth unknown to common leather scents—a velvety suede softness, as gliding as a whispered secret. Castoreum and chypre, ah, they are a match forged in the heavens of olfactory delight; the top notes and florals have gracefully aged, leaving behind the spectral aldehydes, the zesty bergamot, and a floral dominion ruled by iris and rose, which illuminate the faux leather conjured by castoreum. At the base, vanilla drapes a veil of hazy tenderness over all, rendering this a sublime leather chypre, where the hide transforms the chypre’s customary chill and laxity into a taut, yielding embrace, as if one were to recline upon an exorbitantly lavish mink coat and surrender to slumber’s silken depths. Like a silent film, it embodies an incomparable beauty that belongs not to this prosaic century... The EDT accentuates the florals with a sharper vivacity, yet it is lamentably thin, failing to enfold the leather in its bloom, thus birthing a bitterness in the heart notes, sharp as a wit too keenly edged, which lingers through the entire symphony of scent. I beseech you, seek the parfum for trial; though the EDT mirrors its structure, it is coarse, bereft of the soul that elevates this perfume to art.

I have a very old, partially evaporated silver and blue label bottle of this, and I agree with Barbara Herman, who wrote the book about vintages, Scent and Subversion, that this is not as deep a leather as I thought it was on first getting a good enough amount of it. The newer bit of it I have in a gold label bottle is fairly citric and sweet in its top notes. It has very little leathery depth. What happened to the clary sage? I also get a lot of aldehydes and soapy rose, as one reviewer mentioned. Perhaps it has to do with how well your bottle has withstood the test of time, but my bottle of Scandal has now become more of a mewing kitten instead of one with a whip. Sadly, I think once opened this perfume tends to go very rapidly.

Scandal Scandal is like a lighter fresher version of Bandit by Piguet. I do love my Bandit but this is a beautiful fragrance and as much a bad girl. I used to wear this in the 1950's and early 1960's when I was deeply in love with exotic Oriental perfume. There is that old time magic. I didn't detect aldehydes which would have been nice but it does have a fresh citrus based top note formula. Neroli, orange, and lemon. Fresh and citrusy, perfumy and a bit astringent. It's almost (but not quite) similar to the citrusy opening of Shalimar. The floral notes are made up of rose, iris and ylang. There are only three floral notes but they're enough. The rose is the weakest note and the iris takes over the scent. This is a deep iris, and quite perfumy. Once the floral notes have settled down, the musk emerges and develops as a civet or leather. I never thought this was as leathery as Bandit but it has a very warm and unisex musk scent. There is also an incense note which is smoky and cover those flowers with a thin veil of smoke. Also I get oak moss, lots of moss. This is a chypre floral Oriental, with little woods, mostly moss and warm incense and musk. The scent smells like a perfume worn by a beautiful and glamorous Hollywood movie star from the Golden Age of Hollywood. If I had to pick one out I would say that it would be Joan Crawford. She was fond of citrus and musk and this is what this is - lots of citrus at the top and musk at the bottom. A confident, bold fragrance for mature ladies who have already accomplished much in their life and smell like success. I wore this fragrance when I was much younger and today it would be classified as "old lady church perfume" but this was the style of the time. Young ladies did not have the choice to smell like toddlers smelling of raspberry or fruit candy or cotton candy. This was a time when perfume was perfect, deep, mossy, floral, aldehydic, fragrant and exotic. Orientals ruled and women smelled better in their perfumes than they do today. I have nothing but fond memories of this perfume. I continued to wear it during the 1970's by which time it was outdated and musk was being replaced by "greener" notes and patchouli was everywhere. This is a lovely musk. and it makes me feel sexy and powerful, if only in my imagination. It seems to evoke a tall beautiful woman wearing a large coat and nothing underneath. Formal, elegant, classy and warm. My Richard my first husband and love of my life loved this perfume but hated the name. This is a fragrance that could have been worn with the "temptress" theme of fragrances like My Sin by Lanvin, Shalimar by Guerlain and Tabu by Dana which is my favorite. Today you would have a hard time locating this vintage classic but I'm not going to sell mine on ebay ever!

Fragrance Review For Scandal By Lanvin Top Notes Neroli Bergamot Lemon Clary Sage Mandarin Orange Middle Notes Iris Rose Ylang Ylang Leather Base Notes Incense Oak Moss Benzoin Vanilla Vetiver I think of Scandal as the follow-up to My Sin. This lacks aldehydes at the top so it can't be compared to My Sin, Arpege or Chanel No. 5. Instead it's an Oriental incense and chypre combination. It's unisex. This has a dark elegant sultriness. It smells like a naughty woman who is about to start an affair behind her husband's back. There was a time when women didn't "go for it" but wanted to smell like they could do it LOL This is a gorgeous citrusy floral with leather accords, oak moss and an aroma to die for. The opening of Scandal is fresh neroli and citruses. It's light fresh and perfumy. Old fashioned citrus top. Not heavy like Shalimar. The scent softens into a floral with iris and rose as well as ylang. These flowers are pretty typical as they are the same flowers in No. 5 but that's not bad. Here the iris stands out and smells more aggressive like a man's cologne with iris note. There's plenty of leather and musk as well which drown out the flowery scents. The incense is warm and resinous, like a warm myrrh on your nose. There's oak moss and vetiver. It's opulent, Oriental, aromatic, bold and seductive. I can smell this on Marlene Dietrich Joan Crawford or Heddy Lamarr. This is very old school glamorous and it doesn't hold itself back. Everything is here: citrus, flowers and incense. Beautiful. Perfect for evening wear. I had the privilege of smelling the remnants of this perfume at a friend's home in London. She let me have a sample and I wear it very little because it does smell so ancient but it's now mostly leather and musk. I wear it to dinners.

I first came across Scandal in the 1950s in Sydney, Australia, and was instantly attracted to it, although I later bought other magnificent Lanvin perfumes then available, including Rumeur and Pretexte. Susan Irvine, in her book, Perfume - The Creation and Allure of Classic Fragrances quotes Edmond Roudnitzka's opinion that Scandal was his particular favourite describing it as "a ravishing flower snapped into a fine leather handbag". Roudnitzska is also quoted as praising Andre Fraysse, Lanvin's house perfumer at the time, as the creator of "the most spectacular tetralogy in the history of perfumery" - Arpege (1927), Scandal (1931), Rumeur (1932) and Pretexte (1937). A great pity that of these early Lanvin perfumes, only Arpege is still available, though perhaps, as is now so often the case, not quite what it once was.