Sortilège

Mysterious and elegant, with profound charm. Sortilège is definitely a perfume born of instinctive cravings. In 1937, Le Galion launched Sortilege. Before that, Arpège was Paul Vacher's most famous fragrance creation. Paul Vacher leaves Lanvin to take over Le Galion. The master perfumer has left many classics for Lanvin, but Le Galion, which he focuses on, is rarely known. Aldehyde aroma has a burnt bitter taste after a long time. Sortilège—meaning witchcraft, in my opinion, pain and suffering complement each other. The old EDT part is missing. The burning smell dissipated, and then it was like saying goodbye to the dense clouds. The sun shines from the clear sky, illuminating the smooth, soft, sweet, subdued non-powdery floral scent of Sortilège. Paul Vacher waited for jasmine and rose to meet on the musk wood base, and invited ylang-ylang and iris to participate in the grand church chant. I wear Sortilege to reminisce about the golden age, because true elegance stands the test of time. Even if there is a stereotyped coordination that I have heard, I have repeated thousands of appointments, and I, who is fascinated by retro, will always be as surprised as discovering treasures for the first time. Aldehyde flower has unique conservative beauty. Sortilège is a child of Arpege. Although it is still difficult to match the height of Arpege, Sortilège can be compared with Caron Fleur De Rocaile and Guerlain Liu, reaching the upper-middle level. It must have been easy for Paul Vacher. Aldehyde flowers are not all similar in style, but they have a common connection at the core. Whether it is Arpege, Liu or Sortilège, they have witnessed the changes of the world together. Then, a hundred years later, Sortilège reaches the finish line. The great ship Le Galion is about to dock. The sea breeze whipped up waves of white waves, I heard the sound of the waves remained the same, the seagulls lingered and croaked, and the far-sighted flags were flying, and I was in a port tens of thousands of miles away. Greet the Sortilege, greet the dawn.

Sortilege by Le Galion is the first perfume I recall from childhood and the genesis of my life-long love affair with fragrance, aldehydic ones in particular.. When I was only 4 or 5 years old my father won a sales contest at work and chose his prize as a gift for my mom: a 1oz bottle of Sortilege parfum extrait in a fascinating crystal bottle with a glass stopper, same as the one in the photo above. Even though she didn't care for the fragrance she wore it for special occasions because it was a gift from my father (good advice for anyone who receives a gift of fragrance from a loved one!). While preparing to go out my mom would put her red hair in a french twist and dab that little crystal stopper behind her ears, on her neck and wrists and then would dab some on me, making me feel very special, indeed. A few years ago I found the very same bottle on an auction site, still sealed and in the same green, black and white paper wrapped box, and I was instantly swept back 50+ years to my parents' bedroom, watching my mom open her bureau drawer to take out that glorious, grown-up scent of heaven. Without hesitation I hit the "buy it now" button and a week later, for just $40.00 (!!!!) my childhood arrived in my mailbox. Many of these original bottles are still available on-line but prices are rising. I realize my emotional connection to this fragrance means no one will experience it as I do but if you love aldehydes Sortilege belongs in your collection. There's a honey-sweetness and oakmoss bite that's very "French" and truly intoxicating. The edt & edp (usually in tall, cylindrical bottles) have soft sillage and stay close to the skin but you'll know it's there for 8-10 hours. If you splurge on a bit of this extrait you'll have wider sillage and 12-14 hour longevity. With any concentration I promise you will feel like a queen!

Trying a vintage Sortilège sample, this is a fascinating aldehydic floral smoothed by a bit of powder with an animalic kick. This is distinct from No. 5. The aldehydes here are more subdued. There is an altogether more soft, sultry, smooth vibe here. It reminds me of DSH's animalic collection (the more I explore vintage the more I realize how her perfumes really are true to the classical styles). The perfume has a grandness to it. It is dressed up and ready to be out on the town. It is unapologetically womanly. And it is quite comfortable being noticed. This was a mainstream perfume! Now most women hide behind innocuous sugar bombs afraid of any note that might be offensive. What happened?

Sortilege original perfume!!!!!!!! I just got my first bottle from Ebay today. My mother wore it, and I remember feeling intoxicated by her glamour when she did. I havent smelled it in 50 years. When I first put it on today, it was rough and raspy, and I wondered if it had spoiled. 15 minutes in, intense sweetness started to emanate. Two hours in, it is heady and extraordinarily beautiful. My favorite perfumes are Joy, 31 Rue Cambon, Quadrille by Balenciaga, Mitsouko and of course Shalimar. Now Sortilege has joined my top tier perfumes. By the way, I also have vintage original Bourrasque by Le Galion. Sublime. (The new version is "meh" but layers well with the original.

i now have 3 different iterations of the "vintage." one like the foto here etched on the bottom "47," one eau de sortilege and one extrait. each is a different strength but each is magnificent. today i am wearing the eau de parfum and looking at the 20% remaining in the bottle of the rich orange amber juice. altho formulated as a woman's fragrance, it's power is equally, if not more, masculine in 2021. perhaps, some of the floral notes have given up to let the base notes rule. so, i get amber and vetiver dominant with sandalwood, musk, and labdanum rounding out the masculine profile. the remnant floral shades are ghosts of memories. there is an inexpressible beauty.