Fantasque

I was googling something else today and stumbled across a picture of this WONDERFUL fragrance. It was given to me by my aunt when it was introduced by Avon in the early 80's. Had forgotten how much I absolutely loved it until I saw the pic. I usually shy away from ebay, but am going to start watching it for this one. My recollection of exactly what made this so spectacular is rusty, and my forte is not deciphering and describing the various nuances of the individual notes, but what I do remember is that it was a powerful, heady, complex chypre; terrific projection and longevity and gathered so many compliments. I have always been a fool for chypres and this was one of the really great ones. Being an Avon fragrance, it did not reach its greatest potential market, IMO. I remember being so upset when it was no longer available, not unlike my melancholy when the original Armani for women was unceremoniously given the axe! WHY do they kill the truly great ones? This was really good!

Fantasque Eau de Cologne is a rich, deep, heady, silky, softly feminine , very smoothly blended chypre. Yes, it would be considered an "old fashioned" scent compared to current fragrances, no doubt. The citrus top notes are wrapped in soft pear, so they are not sharp or tangy. Aldehydes lift and project the scent. Green notes are barely detectable. Rose and rosewood are prominent. Spices and orris are there, far in the background, only lightly noticeable. Touches of sweet jasmine, ylang and lily of the valley wrap around the vetiver to give an overall fresh floral softness. Patchouli, sandalwood and oak moss are blanketed in soft sweet musk and sweet amber. Cedar is barely detectable, smooth, not sharp. Fantasque is a 1980's classic floral beauty. Former Avon ladies have said Fantasque was their best selling fragrance of that time. On my skin, Fantasque lasts easily 8 hours, projecting moderately for about an hour, then wearing very close to skin for the next 7 hours.

Definitely something to try for oakmoss lovers! I am thrilled to finally have this, I've been remembering it warmly for decades! My kind and very generous neighbor Avon lady brought me several samples of this when I was a little girl with a burgeoning lifelong interest in perfume. I knew I loved it then, and that scent seemed to stay in my memory hoping to be awakened someday. Now having sought it out online and found it, it's amazing to think I can wear it every day if I want to. It's a luxurious, refreshingly un-fresh, oakmoss-dominant, one of a kind chypre floral Avon that I think could confidently stand with designer chypres of the era. Although this is a designer fragrance too: Louis Feraud created some real works of art for Avon, I love both this and Vivage. I think it's a lot of fun to wear older discontinued classics like this. Fantasque is beautiful but not pretty, very wearable and approachable for how un-clean it is. I love it.

A beautiful perfume that transports you to the late '70s, early '80s. They don't make oak moss effusions like this anymore. Fantasque is undeniably sophisticated and arguably sexy. To me, very sexy. Plus the black glass bottle is perfectly gorgeous. (I smell exactly what Radchick smells, so I won't repeat it.)

I'm the original owner of a Louis Feraud Fantastique from the 80's, and have always gotten a lot of fruitiness from the pear and citrus on top, along with the other dominant notes. Longtime fan of fruity chypres.

I fell in love with this perfume at the age of 16 my mother gave it to me when we returned to Greece from New York , I could not find it anyware here . I miss it !!!

I remember this ! I loved it so much. It made me feel grown and classy and sexy. I miss it ! I may have to get another bottle. Thank goodness for eBay!

I've teetered between "like" and "love" on this one, but ultimately, it's a like. The reason is, while it is a beautiful scent, it has that thick, heady, waxy, plastic sort of effect that comes from so many classic scents. That in itself isn't bad, because these classic scents we're designed for sillage, not for a sniff directly off the skin. But the second issue is that it's almost like trying to meander through a thick rainforest without a machete. There's no separation between notes. So it's not easy for me to determine exactly what I'm smelling. I definitely get aldehydes, oakmoss, and orris. But it's the other notes I wish would come out a bit more. I think my issue is that I have a couple of scents that are this gorgeous mash of classic loveliness, but those scents do a better job of letting me relish in the various nuances of the fragrance. Then again, who knows? Perhaps next time it will become a love again. Unfortunately I have only a couple of sprays left in this sample.

In my mid-to-late twenties this was one of my favorite fragrances... It is tied in with some pretty heavy memories... I have been watching eBay for a steal. It does last long; is a heavy fragrance. I remember thinking how pricey it was for AVON! I received it for Christmas 1982 as my first marriage came to a screeching halt. And I wore it into my "young divorcee" days! Ah, youth. I recall it as fresh, unusual and a conversation starter with the boy-men who were crawling the clubs back then. Perhaps I will try it again.... The fragrance starts out almost too sweet, but softens to a milder, earthy scent.

Fantasque is aldehydic, woody and mossy. It doesn’t have the soapiness that some aldehydic fragrances have. Rather, it has a dry, almost herbal tone to it. After the aldehydes subside, I like the greenness about it. I’m not picking up many florals or spices, it’s mostly woods and moss to me.

I just picked-up a second-hand bottle and it has a whole vibe! I am just starting to dip my toes into older, vintage fragrances and because I haven’t really acclimated myself to these older bangers - this is merely an “ok”. It’s also a hot, muggy August evening so that may be part of it. This is heavy and moody, very atmospheric. I’m hoping I’ll remember it when those chilly, damp/rainy autumn days come around because I’m thinking this is going to slide into that setting flawlessly. I have another fragrance that I’m still just getting to know, and I’m not saying they smell the same, but they have set the same tone for me - and that other one is Guerlain’s Black Perfecto. I will be doing a side-by-side comparison soon. Ooh - but this one is moody!

This was the worst buy ever !!!! I can not even call it a perfume as it was smelling like a shampoo.I was ashamed to show it to anyone to try and sell it ,because I would feel like cheeting on people. To me it is not worth a penny. Only thing I appreciate about this one is the elegant black bottle.

The oakmoss chypre to end all chypres, LF opens bitter and mellows out slowly. Very masculine trending, this fragrance will appeal to those who grow of sweet floral/fruit scents. I'm not strong enough to wear this fragrance ... seriously. Decent sillage/longevity.

my mother has a bottle of this. maybe the bottle is just that old but this smells, and i cannot stress this enough, like raid cockroach spray.

This is gorgeous!I wore this for a number of years when it first came out in the 80's! Since Estee ,Knowing and many of my favs with oakmoss changed,I started searching for decent vintage Fragrances. Oakmoss is a mood elevator for me and I must have daily doses! I stumbled across Fantastique searching Ebay! Beautiful uplifting memories came flooding back to me... I put a bid on a sealed package 'only' for most vintage 'colognes' I tried just didn't seem to hold up well,especially when already opened.I haven't seen this fume in anything but cologne,yet years ago our colognes were very much similar to an EDP today!) Upon first spray, I immediately detect oakmoss within a mix of well blended flowers and very minimal amount of orris root...I don't seem to get any fruit to my nose...This is very soothing by this point & Rose(a very real rose,green of stem included)mixed with jasmine seem to be flowers I can detect slightly.At the very end where it stays for quite a long time, very delicate patch and sandlewood pull this together,rounding out to a slightly moss green bouquet of gently spiced, powdered, flowers!As if one just stepped out of an elegantly oiled bath,and put a lovely french dusting powder on.Calming and clean feeling...Great before bed too! BTW by accident mixed with EA 'Arden Beauty' and the mixture is fantastic!Got compliments galore!The longevity of AB was three times the usual! I ventured further and mixed with Brasil Dream by EL and this is another head turner of a mixture!Wonderful together! Silage seems more than decent,as people have told me how nice I smell walking past them. Mixed with the other fragrances mentioned, the wind blows lightly and people compliment! How I wish I didn't have to use my Fantastigue so sparingly! I just adore it! My 30 yr old daughter commented that she smells something so comforting & familiar coming from me!Asked what I was wearing for it was bringing her back in time and it felt so good!I used to wear this when she was born in 1986 as I nursed her and relaxed, rocking her in the rocking chair! It's amazing what scents bring to mind...How, even though discontinued, they can stay with us forever...in our memories... (I cannot refrain from constantly smelling my wrists...This lasts a good 8 + hours going strong... then lightens for next 4 hours or so, on me...Love it!!)

I have always liked/love Avon perfumes, I even used to sell for them at one time, The perfumes always seemed to be very floral to me, which is not a bad thing, but Fantasque was the first perfume to not smell like 'Avon' perfume. it was the first designer perfume Avon had sold.. I had bottle upon bottle of this in the 80s, and it was so beautiful....I realise that it must have been Fantasque that opened my eyes to aldehaydes, oakmoss and patchouli perfumes, only previously have been wearing flowery Avon scents.... Years have passed and only when I was talking about Favourite Avon perfumes......I then remembered this one I couldnt even remember the name of it, all I could do was describe the bottle.....and someone helped me with the name...and so now I am on the hunt for this precious juice on Ebay, for the sake of nostalgia AND to wear this beauty again just because I love it so much....

This came in a lot of vintage perfumes purchased on Ebay, I'm not sure how old my bottle is, but it was full and in the box. I couldn't get a lock on this the first time I opened the bottle but on my skin it reminds me of a slightly more citrusy Donna Karan Cashmere Mist. I'm not sure what note I'm picking up that makes me draw the comparison, perhaps one of the floral notes. I also detect no aldehydes, at least not that initial punch that one would expect. For me, this is a very "light" scent but entirely pleasant on this day I am wearing it, which promises to be quite warm. Overall, I am pleased to have added this to my collection and wish all vintage Avon was styled as wonderfully as Fantasque!

This review is for a the colongn concentration of Fantasque. When I first put it on my wrists I could barely smell it. However, as it warmed on the skin, the scent unfolded in a way that very much evokes Deneuve (Catherine Deneuve), of which I have a small perfume concentration. But fantasque is a tad, JUST a tad, fruiter. In fact, they smell so similar that if you have been trying to purchase Deneuve and can't seem to spring for the prices that they're charging for it on ebay, this may be a satisfying substitute as it is a beautiful classic chypre full of oakmoss, as well. For an AVON scent, Fantasque (to me) smells of equal quality to the Deneuve and I'm happy I stumbled upon it.

In 1982 I began selling Avon and Fantasque was my first campaign. They had levels for goals we could set. Goals for ourselves and we could win these beautiful house canisters. The largest being one of an Avon lady at the door of a victorian home. I went for it all and won them all and to this day I still proudly display them in my home. But the best came 3 years later when I was wearing that same perfume and I met my husband of now 31 years. To this day he loves when I wear Fantasque perfume.

Received this gem today. Yes, similar to Ralph Lauren Tuxedo, but not exactly. Fantasque...is...Fantastic !! This opens with aldahydes for sure, the dry down is awesome, retro, vintage .I get the green vibe. mossy...rose, patch. Glad to own this finally. 8/10