Crepe de Chine

This has been "long lost" twice. First it was a legendary green chypre produced by F. Millot in the 1920s that was considered very chic (it was a favorite of Mary Pickford, one of the greatest stars of the silent screen). After that company went out of business it was revived by Long Lost Fragrances--which has sadly also since gone out of business. Now you can only get old bottles of either version off the Internet or in antique stores. This is a review of the Long Lost fragrances version. It's a great green bitter chypre, with all the classic elements of bergamot, labdanum, and lots of oakmoss, plus aldehydes to give it a lift, and plenty of florals (although these get subordinated to the aromatics in this and to the woods at its base). It's very aromatic and very dank, and has a lot of swagger. If the original was like this, it's a great loss to the art of perfumery. I would rank this today as very unisex rather than feminine (as it was originally intended). I bought a used bottle of this, and I'm very grateful I have it.

Years ago, this was my fragrance; I was in my early twenties, and just loved it. Now, as my perfume interest has grown, I wanted to try it again, to discover, of course, that it was long discontinued. I have a vial of the vintage, as well as the long lost perfume version, and have finally been able to compare both together. Vintage version starts out much warmer; it is a green chypre with a wonderful mossy undertone, and without the bitterness that many green fragrances share. As it develops, it became a touch sweeter, then developped a soapy note. Unfortunately, it was fairly short-lived; three hours later there was nothing left...but it is truly wonderful! The LLP version starts out with a blast of green aldehydes, much sharper than the original. Thankfully, the scent develops from a crisp green to a warmer, just slightly sweeter green note, and in the dry down there is the wonderful, oaky green chypre that crepe de chine reallly is. Sillage is reasonable, and the longevity is good as well. So, while the vintage version is a more classic, elegant scent, the LLP version is quite wearable and a decent interpretation of the original.

The aldehyde opening is refreshing, without the slap that happens when they're used immoderately. Bergamot is detectable. Then a cool chypric harmony with subtle floral and green undertones. Kiku describes it perfectly as, "floral without being sweet and green without being bitter." As the fragrance develops it gets warmer. I assumed the name was simply part of the Orientalist vogue of the 1920s, but smelling the perfume, I find it apt. Crepe de Chine has the familiar oakmoss huskiness (that I love in chypres), but there's a slithery quality to it, very much like crepe de chine fabric. I've never worn this before, or known anyone who wore it, but it smells somehow familiar. Crepe de Chine has an eternal loveliness articulated with retro style. Sillage and lasting power are both excellent.

Crepe de Chine by Millot was one of the great perfumes. It should have a place of honor on every dressing table. It was floral without being sweet, green without being bitter. And the coolest fragrance ever, it could take the heat off a sultry day. This version by Long Lost Perfumes is not bad. All the notes are there but too weak to make an impact. Millot's Crepe de Chine was really rather intense. LLP's version is a case where too much would have been better. Spray this on before going to bed. It's a great scent to take you off to sweet dreams.

This wonderful gem came in today, after I found it this weekend on the net. An Almost full 120 ml bottle... for 20 euro. I am one Lucky B. Now, I am a collector and lover of heavy orientals, woody, spice and all, but sometimes I crave for a fresh (not harsh) chypre. Crepe de Chine is going to be my new best friend in that category. How delightfully light yet present, other-wordly yet realistic, how new and yet ancient this mossy scent is. One Long Lost Perfume has come home.

I have a vintage sample of this..it is divine. Many fragrances with floral and aldehydic notes go awfully wrong on my skin..this does not. The balsam is very pleasant. It does go powdery, but somehow maintains this amazing balancing act.

I have an original bottle but it's not great because it's very old. I keep it, not to wear, for sentimental reasons.

Crepe De Chine Vintage Splash Bottle I have a set of miniature splash bottles that come in a fitted box with a stand for the bottle. I purchased these fragrances during trips to France in the 1950's. My 1st husband and the love of my life Richard indulged me with perfume. I was looking for a simple soapy scent or toilet water, as well as a skin freshner, nothing too luxurious or formal, and this little perfume was just what I was looking for. At the time this perfume was still selling like it was new even though it was rather outdated and old-fashioned. This was a fragrance originally launched in 1925 ON THE SAME DAY AT THE SAME EVENT AS GUERLAIN'S SHALIMAR, June the 6th 1925, the Paris Art Deco Exhibition. This was a scent that never really achieved the level of fame or success as Shalimar. It lacks the aromatic-chemical magnificence of the Oriental body of Shalimar, despite sharing some similar notes in the base. This can hardly be called an Oriental even though it has occasional Oriental moods. This was never an EDT although it acts like one. It's applied with your own hand and onto your skin, usually the neck or bosom, or wrists. The fragrance opens with aldehydes which are quite soapy and strong. One whiff of the original will make you want to faint. It's an even bigger blast of aldehydes than Chanel No 5. The first time I smelled it, I was aware that this was potent stuff but it softens and turns to soap rather quickly. On me the notes of neroli and bergamot do not come through. It's aldehydes that go straight to florals. The floral note that most comes through is the rose. This is a powdery rose, delicate and womanly, yet, for some strange reason, also masculine/unisex. She starts off powdery but darkens and deepens like a rose that is made into an incense. There's additional floral notes of gardenia, jasmine and lilac, and they are each detectable as floral scents. The flowers are pretty, sweet and soapy. I wish to God they had created a matching soap. Like I said, the flowery scents become deeper and darker. The moss of oak is strong, the patchouli, the woodsy notes, and possibly animalic scents of civet or musk. There is balsam and incense. This part, the dry down, is unfortunately the weakest performance. I don't know if it's the age of the fragrance or the fact that the aldehydes took over, but the dry down that is Oriental in nature is but a whisper. This is a soft patchouli, soft wood, soft incense and soft moss. I love my oak moss and mossy scents but I want them to come on strong. For me this is not a chypre but more of a floral aldehyde. The soapiness appeals to me. I loved how it smelled on me. It was casual, not elegant, and cozy. It was a piece of cake to wear every day, although I wore it in the mornings when I taught music classes. There is a beauty and simplicity to this fragrance that has been overlooked because at the time the only 2 major fragrances were Chanel No. 5 and Shalimar. This appears to be a hybrid of both scents but it certainly is a fragrance that can stand alone and has her own personality. It's charming and innocent but it also has a bit of a sauciness. That basil note! Where is that coming from? Spicy one moment, floral another moment, and then mossy. It's unusual, interesting, and worth getting if you can find her. This is a discontinued fragrance and so hard to find. It's a shame they stopped producing this perfume. I'm absolutely positive the mini bottles are still out there somewhere waiting for you to discover her, whether in a rummage sale or on ebay, or in the home of a vintage fragrance collector like myself. I have sold 2 bottles on ebay already but I won't buy my last one because that one is mine! What a gorgeous and simple but never boring floral aldehyde beauty.

LADY IN RED PERFUME CREPE DE CHINE A CLASSIC THAT MUST RETURN Notes in Felix Millot's Crepe de Chine: Top notes: neroli, bergamot, basil, peru oil and aldehydes Middle Notes: gardenia, ylang-ylang, sage, Otto rose, chamomile and jasmine. Base Notes: sandalwood, musk, oak moss, vanilla, vetiver, patchouli and benzoin. Felix Millot is the grandfather of Jean Desprez who created Bal a Versailles. Back in 1925, he launched Crêpe de Chine at the Paris Art Deco Exposition on June 6, 1925. It was a night of eternal fragrance classics. That same night, Jacques Guerlain introduced the world to Shalimar and Jean Patou introduced not one but three frags: Amour Amour, Que Sais-Je, and Adieu Sagesse Crêpe de Chine was reportedly the first perfume to be assembled under argon gas, away from light, and under controlled temperature for consistency and fidelity. It ws revolutionary and very modern for 1925. However, it comes out of the same fragrance family as Chanel No. 5 and from many years prior back in 1917, Francois Coty Chypre, but with the addition of never before heard of notes like hazelnut and authentic jasmine flowers from Grasse where modern French perfume was born. This fragrance exists today as a vintage classic of two kinds: the original 1925 which is shockingly expensive because of the Grasse jasmine, and the re-release in the 1960's. I have a vintage splash bottle 1960's edition that comes in a white box with a rose logo (F. Millot) and comes with a stand for the perfume bottle. This is an aldehyde floral chypre. To me it's really more about roses than woods, as the wood notes, musk, vetiver, oak moss and patchouli give it a solid foundation for the headier feminine red rose scent. It smells like a bold red rose. This is a lady in red, a glamorous, sophisticated and mature confident woman in a drop dead gorgeous red dress making an entrance and smelling of red roses. Attar rose petal essential oil in perfume, once finished, has the power to change itself and turn into different familiar domestic scents: soap, powder, lipstick, nail polish, you're usual feminine cosmetics smell. This is where it has something in common with Francois Coty's La Rose Jacqueminot, launched back in 1904. It smells like a rose that has two lives: masculine and feminine. Where as La Rose was masculine and strong on my clothes and soft and delicately feminine on my skin, Crepe de Chine is feminine on my clothes and masculine on my skin. Applied to the skin (neck, forearms, chest) it becomes a man's cologne. This is totally unisex. It is a masculine rose but that's because it has been layered in a foundation of the woodsy notes of sandalwood, oak, vetiver and patchouli. The patchouli is never that strong and the woods give it a nice lift, but it develops into a purely sweet heady rose. Yeah it can smell like fancy rose soap and it is very old fashioned and old timey but that's why I adore it. It's recommended for evening wear and formal dress. This is a fragrance to be worn with suits and ties, and beautiful evening gowns. This is a night out at the opera, theater, or a dinner party or gala. It smells of the night, and has a distinctly scarlet red color. This could have been a perfume worn by Gloria Swanson or Rudolph Valentino, at the same event. This is very beautiful and for a lover of old perfumes like me, this is a real treat. They still sell discontinued and vintage 1960's editions on ebay and in specialty stores in Europe and South America. But they should re-release and relaunch the fragrance with the same original formula. Smells great, it's a confident, sexy, provocative red rose and also because of the soapiness it's a clean, fresh out of the shower scent that would totally sell today.

Crepe de Chine Long Lost Perfumes I’ve never been the type to go to the Renaissance Festival, but one of my best girlfriends goes every year. She is an expert seamstress with a background in theatre and believes in making historically accurate costumes; however, since she is also a belly dancer, her costumes have an opulence and flair that stands out. She looks a lot like a wood nymph in a flowing crepe de chine dress with mossy flowers in her beautiful long blonde hair. In her dress, she could easily play the fairy queen in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer’s Nights Dream, but the 1920s version with the hand tooled art deco jewelry and head piece over her light green dress with gold trimming. This fragrance suits that costume perfectly. It’s the most feminine light mossy green scent next to vintage Chamade that I have ever smelled. It’s not a deep green like being in the center of a pine forest, rather a light green like being in a forest meadow at dusk – at that hour when everything is gold just before the sun sets. It smells decidedly vintage, but it’s an extremely soft, feminine chypre. This is not flat green either. It has an effervescence with an opulent gold shimmer, as if the ferns in a fern grove were covered in a light glittery gold fairy dust. As with a lot of vintage perfumes, this one had a strong aldehyde opening. This one was probably the strongest I’ve ever smelled and I nearly scrubbed it off, but I avoided the urge and waited it out, and I am so happy I did. I was richly rewarded with this unbelievable beauty from another age. Simply stunning.

This is yet another outstanding Long Lost Perfume revival! I have to laugh in frustration with people comparing a 30 year old sample of an old perfume to LLP's recreations and in effect saying the original is more mellow or rich than the new one. Top notes always mellow with age. The formulas I have seen for Crepe de Chine all have quite large doses of aldehydes. Such chemicals are characteristically sharp. LLP makes fresh batches of classic scents so they will be more vivid, more colorful and sharper when called for. Also, this is an EDT so you cannot get a cologne or perfume and compare these to LLP's version. What you get with LLP is a quality aldehydic chypre of tremendous character. Sparkling and clean it is one of the best buys out there. The top is resplendent with heady white floral ylang and bracing aldehydes. The heart and base are classic chypre to the core. I must say the base is quite masculine and the heart accord recalls Neutrogena's Rainbath to my way of thinking. I don't know if this has amyl salicylate in it or not, but it certainly smells of it. All in all a wonderful fragrance. Performance is just ok for me, but the top is so wonderful, it really calls for reapplication anyway and the second sprays build on the old and help the longevity. However, the performance is not an issue, it sticks around for hours and functions like an EDT should.

This review is for the vintage...Crepe de Chine is one of my vintage perfumes that I don't wear very often, solely due to a certain type of powdery note that says elderly to me. Please know that I NEVER use that moniker indiscriminately---I adore old perfumes and wear them daily! There is a specific thing going on with this scent which triggers the response, and I'm unsure which components are doing it. It could be as simple as the fact that it reminds me of my great-aunt's perfume, although I doubt it as I love several other vintage perfumes used by my great-aunts and my grandmother. I have a small bottle of pure parfum from the mid-to-late 1940s, in perfect condition. It improves greatly throughout wearing; though it never 100% loses whatever powder note disturbs me, the lovely base surrounds it and minimizes it. In fact, about 20 minutes post-application, I find it perfectly enjoyable. It's nicely complex, definitely a classic chypre, although sweeter than some. I so enjoy the old oakmoss in it, and the balsamic elements are just gorgeous. Definitely a well-executed perfume, and definitely wearable now, despite the little hitch at the beginning (which may not bother others at all). Moderate sillage and duration. Well worth a place in a collection of vintage scents.

(Original review, not Long Lost's version) I"m at a loss why this went out of production, but it did, so there you are. With today's restrictions it wouldn't have fared well anyway, so it's probably best that it went in peace. But I would put this on the short list of 'top 25 best perfumes of all time'. In 1925 Guerlain released 'shalimar', and we can only wonder how the these two compared in their original glory. Chene is basically a pitch perfect green chypre. It is so vibrant and rich. The aldehydes are kept at bay, thankfully, and the florals are very discreet. This scent smells like life to me, as if a bolt of electricity was buzzing about your person. They just don't make 'em like this anymore. Please, please let this oakmoss crap be a replay of the Coca-Cola disaster; and soon we'll get a big apology from the industry when the old formulas are restored and the term 'classic' is slapped across all bottles. Try Chene if you can.

Review for longlost version. This is another well over 20 year old purchase that has been refrigerated. Very green, intensely woody and I discern a much more animalic note than in the other 200 perfumes in my collection. Good longevity and sillage.A quintessential Chypre. This is a scent which is totally out of the mainstream of modern fragrances. In other words, it is a perfume that would probably attract comment, and not of the “you smell good” variety. This is for a woman with an occasional dramatic temperament. Those who enjoy Bandit, as an example. (Not a crazy person....)

When I was in high school, I boldly asked our Indonesian history teacher (who, herself was Indonesian)what her perfume was and she told me "Crepe de Chine." I then went to the local chemist and asked for a sample vial (which you got for free back then) which I kept for ages, using a little every now and then. When I started work years later, I bought it....but it's hard to get now. It's a stunner.

Years ago, I too used Crepe de Chine and loved it. I knew nothing about notes. I just loved it. I finally ordered the current formulation. Not disappointed if I douse myself with it. Doesn't have the same potency I remember, but hey...lucky if I can smell it two hours later. It brings up the romantic in me. For now, I'll get all the enjoyment I can of this classic.

Wait, there is a listing for the faux version and not the original masterpiece by Millot? This feels like just 10 kinds of wrong. Please update the database to include the original. Thank you.

This is enchanting-the vintage version-haven't smelled the reformation. Does anyone get a resemblance to Quadrille when they wear this?

Nothing like the beautiful and great original CDC by Millot. :(