Pompeia

This is the enchanted forest scent of my dreams. Seriously, you can almost picture wild roses, the lavender, and the woods, along with unicorns, a full moon, the fairy castle in the distance and along comes Prince/Princess Charming. Not a sexy, knock-em dead scent, but truly, hopelessly romantic. A big problem with very old fragrances like this is they are typical cologne waters that are VERY subtle and last approximately one second - this one is not like that. You can actually smell this and for quite some time. Additionally, what I like about this fragrance is that it would be great for anyone - young, old, in-between, male, female, anyone at all. There is something about Pompeia that is very youthful without being "dumbed-down," that I think is great and is what could make it wearable for anyone. I think that a pre-teen or teenager who doesn't want to smell like all her or his friends would like this. I don't think this is actually a chypre - it's more of an aromatic woody/floral. The lavender and patchouli are top-notch. I never thought that geraniums smell minty like it says in the description of geraniums (although there are many varieties). The typical geranium I am familiar with is somewhat vegetal and woody to me. There is nothing sweet about the fragrance except the sweetness of the magical-ness you feel when you wear it. At the same time, there is no bitterness. Yes, it is true that Pompeia is used in Voudou and in Santeria; I did buy my bottle at the botanica, but that does not make it bad or scary, or "dark". As far as I understand Pompeia is something to put on when the body feels tired but the mind is restless. In other words, it is used to revive the body and calm the mind. I don't know about that, but I do know this is a glorious summer scent, maybe more for daytime but it would work well for lovely strolls in the moonlight with someone really special. I don't mean to wax poetic about Pompeia but I guess it does bring out the romantic side.

I bought quite cheaply all the old Piver's fragrances I could find, out of curiosity and also as an attempt to find good 'nostalgia' fragrances (i.e. recreations/reissues of old formulae). The bottle is charming and it does have a vintage feel to it, with an old fashioned plastic cap and simple packaging. It is called 'lotion' in French, which is sometimes interpreted as eau de cologne strength, but I think it is much stronger, definitely EDT. It has a genuine old fashioned 'vintage' vibe, both the bottle and the juice. Strong resemblance to Tweed, but better than the current Yardley version. I think the Tweed style was a fairly widespread and generic fragrance in the 50s and 60s and this one comes very close to that. It took me a while to think this through and get used to it, but I think it is wearable, even as a unisex fragrance. It is a decent lavender-patchouli-floral combo, not sweet and not cloying. It is somewhat simple, but avoids smelling cheap or vulgar (I also bought Reve d'Or from the same range - pretty bad, that one). It is not modern - actually, it couldn't be further away from modern perfumery. But one would buy and use this for its evocative charm and retro feel.

@ Matusha, Thanks for sharing your experience with us. As I said in my earlier review of Pompeia, it really does bring out the romance! I'm never without L&K Florida Water. It is so lovely and refreshing, I use it for everything from dry scalp to make-up remover and pore cleanser to when I have a stuffy nose from allergies as well as when I'm just hot and need something refreshing. It's the greatest well-kept secret! Kananga, as it is referred to in hoodoo, is none other than that beloved floral scent Ylang-Ylang. I do believe that scent is tremendously magical in many ways. It can certainly alter our perceptions of ourselves and others. It creates glamour and beauty, can make us feel like we can take on the world and bring up the past and give us dreams for the future.

A chypre floral fragrance all the way from the early 1900s, this perfume is much lauded for its spiritual uses. it’s a favorite of sweet and cool spirits and often given as offerings to them or used in sweetening baths. I really love this fragrance, it’s one of the few perfumes I’ve bought multiple bottles of! I like to add it to baths, splash it on after a shower or before bed, I spray my bed sheets with it...one of the few jasmine perfumes that doesn’t go too indolic for me, it’s a deep, complex floral scent that lasts with me through the day, eventually fading to a wonderfully warm, clove-like scent. I wear this all year round but it really shines in spring and summer.

When I first smelt Pompeia I was immediately hit with memories of sunny days rolling in a field of clover, making clover chains to hang around my neck. When I couldn't find those notes on the list, I went and researched the fragrance. Pompeia was one of the first fragrances to use a synthetic scent Amyl Salicylate discovered by Georges Darzens. He describes the scent of Amyl Salicylate as "the fragrance of flowering clover under the heat of august". Yes there are Roses, Geranium, powdery Iris, Jasmine, Ylang-Ylang, Citrus and Patchouli notes but.... This IS a field of flowering Clover under the heat of August. Memories of my childhood, perfect...

Finally I found this perfume :) I just had a chance to use it once when I was just a little girl. It was classy and really a must-have perfume for vintage loving people. In fact, I first smelled it from my grandfather's handkerchief and daddy's sweater. You guys nowaday may fancy Miss Dior Cherie' or DKNY Be Delicious or whatever, and laugh at the old-fashioned brand name but this has been my childhood's obsession (I'm seriously addicted to this scent):) I'm looking for it but what a pity that is not available in Vietnam or anywhere else in the world, so sad...

Absolutely love this cologne and one of my spirits love it as well. It's more used as a spiritual cologne now. What they sell now is more floral and powdery. I purchased a vintage version from the 50's and wow, comparing it what they sell now is very different. The vintage smells more floral and sweet with a hint of powder and you can actually smell the patchouli in the vintage. Wish the modern smelled the same as the vintage.

Two distinct fragrances are discussed here, that of the 'lotion' (bottle displayed in the picture; I guess comparable to an edt) and that of the perfume - and really they should have separate entries in Fragrantica. The lotion seems to be much more citrusy-fresh and soapy, while the edp is obviously richer (a proper floral chypre) and very much characterized by the addition of peach and orange accords.

It was only $12 & I thought I'd be disappointed but I really enjoy it. It's the scent of the Botanica. The iris geranium makes it seem mature but I love the woody drydown & I layered it with Bulgarian rose oil to brighten it. I threw some on the bedroom carpet in the morning & I can still smell it when I enter the room. It's an attracting scent. I understand the spiritual use

Bought this 15 years ago for the bottle, never thought of using it until it popped up on the website for me. Absolutely adore the scent! When sprayed, it smells immediately strongly of anise somehow, kind of licorice-esque, which I did not expect going by the notes. Then it dries down into a gorgeous powdery floral, just for it to end with a bang or intoxicating florals.

This humble little scent is very refreshing and calming. Old fashioned lavender and iris with some more sensual florals to fix it. It gives me Sweet William or carnations as a heart note. It looks really cool on your dressing table and a splash makes you feel light and feminine.

Much more complex than the notes listed above. Soapy aldehydes, green aromachemicals, creamy and indolic flowers, on a bed of ambery and dirty leather. An old-wordly, fastuous and decadent gem. Amyl salicylate is a proven source of happiness, try Pompeia if you don't believe me!

I'm not sure about this one. I purchased a new bottle of the current formulation (as far as I know). It is very strong. I was afraid a lotion concentration would be too weak. First sniff from the bottle and immediate application on skin has some very intense radiant floral accord that smells a little strident and overly chemical, and now that I see lavender is a note it seems perhaps like the lavender, iris and geranium are sort of rubbing up against each other harshly. It makes me think that in the past this fragrance would have been smoother and better blended, but now the powerful synthetics are a bit too harsh. After a few minutes the geranium is very strong and the base, which to me smells like an incredibly strong synthetic civet starts to come through and it gets stronger as it goes on. On clothing the dirty base is everlasting. This does not really smell like Jicky to me, but I can see now with the lavender and civet note how it reminds people of Jicky, but there is no vanilla in this. I may try layering it with a vanilla perfume. In general I think I will use this to bolster the base notes of other perfumes I have that will mesh well with it. If it were made with better materials, it would be very lovely. Kudos that Piver is still making something like this though. It does feel like it comes from another time and place. This would smell great on a man, perhaps a country gentleman.

My friend Stefene, a poet, recommended this fragrance to me, describing it as "haunted," and that is exactly the right word for this lovely "lotion" (I think it's about like an eau de cologne, meant to be slapped on the skin quite liberally rather than sprayed or dabbed on). Pompeia doesn't exactly smell like my beloved L'Heure Bleue, but it smells like her working-class cousin: a jolie-laide waif, un ombre de la rue. The floral accord--maybe the iris and geranium?--are giving me a teensy bit of anise, which probably accounts for the slight resemblance to L'Heure Bleue, but it's really more of a feeling than a strict accord-for-accord similarity: gentle, wistful, but perhaps a little secretly wild. A touch of the chypre, the fougère, the forest in the city, the darkness at the edge of town. I just read Miguel Matos's description, in an Underrated Fragrances evergreen column, and enjoyed it very much: "It doesn't get any more vintage than this. Strong florals with spices and woods, this smells like an ancient love potion."

Pleasantly surprised. Tried this one out of curiosity and also because it was inexpensive. Cool retro bottle, etc. At first thought I didn't like it - couldn't make sense of what it was going for, seeming like a vague old-fashioned flowery eau de cologne vibe. At first seemed almost barbershop but while leaning slightly feminine. I suspect it's possible my bottle was old and one of the notes (which faded within the hour) went a little sour. Maybe not, have no way to tell. In any case, after about an hour (maybe less) it dries down to a beautiful, satisfying and pretty rich and lasting powdery patchouli-lavender. Wow. Couldn't stop sniffing my arm where I'd splashed some on. Definitely is unisex (as I think it was intended, like many other products of the time), but in today's culture I think it leans somewhat to what would be thought of as the masculine side. Great stuff.

I had a similar experience. Having purchased many bottles of perfume and cologne on ebay, opening a bottle to find a nasty skanky smell is not unusual. However, I have nearly always been able to fix that problem by leaving the cap of the bottle for about 24 hours. If it's a spray bottle, spraying a few times onto a paper towel will also clear up the remainder. Even after doing so, I didn't think I would care much for Pompeia, but after wearing it for awhile I was surprised by how beautiful it became. It's been too long since I smelled this, guess I'll retrieve my bottle and wear some tonight.

This feels very old world to me but not quite ancient- more so an 18th century tapestry portraying Ancient Rome rather than than the real thing. It reminds of the type of scent profile of something like Black Jade by Lubin, not in the exact notes but in sensibility, very old world French. It's slightly spicy and medicinal. It makes me think of the type of fragrance a turn of the century lady might wear to a tea house decorated with marble statues of Venus. It's not quite my taste but I can appreciate it

My favorite of the Piver fragrances however is Floramye, a beautiful green perfume something like Heure Exquise by Goutal. I should have bought more of this when I had the chance! I'm writing about it here since Fragrantica doesn't have it in its database.

This is such a gorgeous old-fashioned floral with a touch of spice. Extremely comforting. I love putting it on before bed and falling asleep as it develops.

I read it is used to Tahitian Voodoo???, scary! :), but i will order it online because is cheap, super curious for this "lotion" fragrance :)