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 :)

Using Amarige in Voodoo? Now THAT's scary!!

My new flacon of L.T. Piver POMPEIA came in today. I'd paid $14 US for it. I splashed some of the "lotion", as they call it-- basically an eau-de-cologne, I'd say-- onto my hands. I immediately could tell it was a very old-fashioned style of cologne. POMPEIA is very pleasant, though not, I would say, highly distinctive or identifiable. I primarily get an amber, masculine style, inflected with an herbal patchouly, lavender, some neroli, petitgrain and a powdery iris, with hints of lemon zest, carnation and jasmin peeking through. Perhaps some tolu balsam or styrax afoot? Possibly a whisper of tarragon? No animalics, oakmoss or vanilla do I perceive. And that's about it-- frankly, this simplicity is what I would've expected for such an old formula. As a reviewer has noted, it does remind me a bit of JICKY if it were completely devoid of Guerlain-esque vanilla, heliotrope and civet. I think it reminds me most of Corday TOUJOURS MOI... as in, a pre-1920's slightly spicy ambered fougère, aimed ostensibly at women, but with a decidedly masculine/barbershop character to it. It reminds me of the very retro "magical" colognes one can find at a Mexican "yerberia/botánica" (brujeria witchcraft) store... you know, with B&W Art Deco designs on the label, and such quaint titles as COME TO ME or TAKE ME BACK, and so forth. Not sure when and where I'd wear POMPEIA-- fougère is my least favorite olfactive family-- but it is a good addition to my perfume education.

Very old fashioned and vintage style fragrance. Out of the bottle you get this pungent powdery smell. However, this is deceiving as applying it to your skin creates a very pleasant and gentle floral aroma. Lasts a decent while, but probably would not wear every day as it may not suit many modern noses.

Beautiful bright floral lotion I use for spiritual purposes more so than wear as an everyday perfume. It sits nicely when dabbed on the skin and invokes a feeling of power and attraction. The bottle and scent is a vintage lover’s dream!

i get a lot of geranium and lavender, an i get a bit of the mothballs someone mentioned below, but my skin seems to bring that out. i don't get it straight out of the bottle. this reminds me of antique stores. there's a soft powderiness from the iris as well. overall it's primarily lavender, iris and something animalic...maybe from the patchouli?

Mothballs. Going to let it sit another few months then try again. Pure mothballs. Edit It has changed since I first opened it. The mothball smell isn't up front and I can detect the florals. Edit Sigh. Mothballs. Ultimately.

So disappointed. I Love Pivers heliotrope, first sniff this one is promising... but then all I get is burned rubber and vinegar. Yuck On the plus side, it was inexpensive.

Purchased this one because of the bottle. I really like old fashioned perfumes. But this one is a real dirty smelling grandma frag. I smell through the aluminium closing clip under the plastic screw cap a powdery dirty water note with a not so nice patchouli. I just don't dare to apply this on my skin. It was dirt cheap so there is no harm, but this one is certainly not a winner. Edit: 29-7-23 I tried to open the very tight aluminium lid under the plastic cap and the glas broke of. Well, smelled it directly from the bottle and it's definitely a no go for me. So I keep this as a decorative bottle on a shelf. Smell wise still rather horrible. Very old fashioned and dirty.

Fragrance Review For Pompeia By L.T. Piver Top Notes Lemon Lavender Geranium Middle Notes Rose Jasmine Ylang Ylang Iris Base Notes Patchouli POMPEIA CLASSICAL ENCHANTRESS' LOVE POTION "Send him to me Dagon God of Love! Make me the most desirable of women, my lips sweet as honey, my skin as soft and fragrant as the petals of a flower. Give him to me! I want him at my feet! - Gina Lollobrigida as The Queen of Sheba Praying To Her God To Make King Solomon Fall In Love With Her, Solomon and Sheba, 1957 Film I'm currently exploring these affordable classic treasures of perfumery by the French house of L.T. Piver, regarded by historians as the first established fragrance line in France dating from the 1700's. Their scents still sell! Cedre and Cuir de Russie are still beloved and popular. You can purchase Pompeia cologne along with a lotion on ebay and Amazon.com for under 15 bucks. This is the kind of high quality but inexpensive historic fragrance we associate with such perfumes as Florida Water. As a history lover, this is totally my bag! This is a beautiful little gem. It affected me quite deeply. I'll begin my review with the technicalities and practical uses of this fragrance before I get into the realm of the spirit. When you smell Pomepeia vintage cologne, it smells like something your grandmother would wear - if your grandmother was a Creole lady from New Orleans at the turn of the century. It also smells Haitian and Caribbean, like an oily floral cologne for women and for men. It opens with a unisex lavender and lemon, almost the same way that Guerlains' Jicky opens. A sweet lemon citrus gives it a freshness and cool quality (again just like Florida Water) which smells even better in the summer, at the beach, or on vacation or something to put on after a shower to elevate your mood. In simplest terms, this is a floral with an herbal medicinal dose of patchouli. It's aromatic and green-flowery but the patchouli is more an oil and not really an Oriental type of patchouli, nor anything like the patchoulis I've experience in other fragrances. Because it's in the base and dry down, the patchouli is what gives this scent it's character, it's foundation, it's life. But unfortunately on me although the patchouli is not lost, it doesn't give the scent a long enough longevity for me to enjoy. This smells like something to wear for a little while, while the flowers wear off, and for something awfully serious. It smells like Church, but there's something pagan about it. I would recommend this for fans of vintage fragrances, flowers and patchouli. Best worn in spring summer and early autumn, and definitely a night time evening cologne. It's also formal/romantic. It's very unisex as the lemon is that of a man's aftershave. The lavender scent is also found in men's colognes and it gives the scent an aromatic, spicy floral touch which seals the deal for me. I'm a big fan of lavender. The lavender is not alone. An iris flower joins her, both violet and blue in color, the color of twilight. It's nocturnal, and if it were more elaborate and even more powdery, it could almost pass for an early prototype of the had-not-yet-been-released Guerlain L'Heure Bleue. Keep in mind this fragrance is from 1907! Aldehydes had not yet been introduced and only anise and citrus served as a fresh sparkling opening in the top notes as the wearer first put on the perfume. It is also more like oil or scented water. All the flowers come at you at once and the fact it's not a very elaborate fragrance makes this a bit linear in it's progression. The flowers are like someone deliberately put the flowers together for a reason, for a purpose. The jasmine, the iris, the geranium, and the ylang ylang flowers appear to give it a touch of magic. After a while if you are paying attention the single flower that takes over is the geranium. It's ancient geranium. I wondered why they called it Pompeia, an ancient Roman noble woman's name. Sounds like the wife of one of the Roman Emperors. The feeling it gives me is that this was a magic potion, elixir, a scent of seduction, a love spell. A Roman noblewoman put all these flowers together into water and used it in a ritual magic to get the future Emperor of Rome to fall in love with her and ask her to marry her. This is reportedly a fragrance that is used in voodoo magic, for the same reason: a love spell. And it really does smell like a spring time floral scent of a woman in love, desperately in love, a woman of passion who must have the object of her affection or die trying. I would not be surprised if this fragrance, used as a magic potion for a love spell, actually worked. I have never been more moved by such a cheap fragrance! I was feeling this exact same way with Coty's Emeraude which to me is a bit like this, except with additional notes of incense, bigger patchouli and a sandalwood. This feels like it should be an Oriental, like it was trying to be an Oriental, but it's missing that sandalwood to go with patchouli, or an incense. And yet it does smell like it could have these notes. It's an aroma of power and substance despite it's brevity. I love this perfume and every time I wear it I fall in love with it more and more. I have known love and heartbreak. I date when I'm not wrapped up in my career but I hope that one day I can find the perfect match, my male counterpart, my soulmate, the man my soul would marry even if I never legally marry. If this perfume is indeed a love potion, I pray to my patron goddess Athena to find me the man that can complete me.

Pompeia Roman Perfume This is a beautiful floral patchouli fragrance which can be purchased at an affordable price. I admit I'd never heard of it until a good friend of mine told me about it and convinced me that it was my type of perfume. I'm a shameless floral fragrance lover and patchouli lover and this fragrance is essentially a very aromatic, rather green floral with distinctive patchouli leaves, and heady iris, rose, jasmine and lavender. These are old fashioned florals with enormous sillage and projection, just as I like. These flowers are quite graphic. This fragrance is composed of floral distillation and patchouli oil, which can smell a bit medicinal. That lavender is the biggest note to my nose or on me at least. The lavender embraces a deep iris, and they smell like night blooming flowers. A lemon note sweetens and freshens the fragrance but it deepens rather than softens and it never becomes powdery. In addition to the lavender and iris, there's a jasmine and rose which smell somewhat soapy and a lovely geranium. The patchouli leaves are noticeable as the fragrance dries down and the florals disappear, leaving behind only a faint iris scent. This is an herbal dry down. There might be more going on as I detected a little bit of musk. The fragrance can be worn by both men and women. Though it's a floral perfume, they are deep and dark patchouli-florals which can be worn by men as well. This is a unisex fragrance. It's also coming off as Oriental, but because it lacks other signature Oriental notes like sandalwood and amber, and it's mostly patchouli, this isn't even a quarter of an Oriental fragrance. It's a floral with a dark patchouli in the base. Neither too sweet, fresh nor feminine, it's a sexy Gypsy type of perfume. The woman that this fragrance embodies is a mysterious and dark haired psychic with a crystal ball and with an eccentric and dominant personality. She wears black or deep purple colors. She is regal and aloof. At times this fragrance smells like it would be worn by a witch. It might even suit your Halloween costume this year. This is a strange fragrance indeed. I have never before come across a floral that embraces patchouli as intimately and as completely as this fragrance does. The sillage is excellent and duration is an all day affair. I think this is worth a try and the price can't be beat. It's under 12 bucks online. The concentration seems to be more of a cologne than a perfume, and yet it can last as long as a parfum. Deeply floral. Not for the faint of heart and hard to wear because it is such an old fragrance, and far more outdated than any of your 1970's perfumes. This perfume dates from 1907, and at the time, fragrances were mostly floral. It's possible this is the first time a patchouli note was used in perfumery. The patchouli dominates this scent. At times it smells like an old lady Church fragrance but that's not a bad thing. I am an old lady and I do attend Church. For me this fragrance is a God send.

I love the retro bottle. It looks and feels like it belongs on your shelf. The waxiness of the sheen on the lid is just lovely and reminds me of old school bakelite. In the bottle, this is dry, arid. It makes me think of empty churches and crossroads in the dark. This is forbidding and distant. I took a leap and put some on a wrist, expecting the worst. WHOA First I got a right hook of patchouli, and then a few moments later, the florals hit. And I do mean hit. It doesn't have monster sillage (but then I literally just dabbed a bit on one wrist.) It developed very quickly, in a matter of minutes. To my nose, this is the worlds best hippie shop. There is nag champa and 19 other kinds of incense in buckets on the floor, there are dried flowers in jars with tidy labels lining the walls. This smells like the priestess running the shop. Shes been there so long the smells of the shop radiate from her even at home. She doesn't seem to age, but she isn't young either. She wears velvet and pearls with jeans and beaded sandals and she does not care at all for what anyone else thinks. This is a fragrance with Purpose. You don't wear this to the gas station and grocery store, unless you are Up To Something. A man might be able to wear this, if he is confident and relaxed enough to carry it, rather than it carry him. Oddly, after the main incense phase, the flowers came back. I've never had that happen in a perfume before. Now there is almost a dewy aspect to it. How on earth is that possible? THIS IS SO COOL! I definitely see why this is used in spiritual work. This is a commanding and insistent scent. You cannot be ambivalent about it. This is a power scent. This is what a woman wears when shes at the chefs table, or in the box at the opera. This is Red Dress territory. No blush or ivory here. My husband says it smells like a very good bath bomb. He says it smells clean, like I just showered. I love this. I may only use it in spiritual work, rather than as an about town due to how I perceive it, but this is truly a lovely concoction at a ridiculously affordable price. If you're looking for an expansion to your spiritual practice, or a power suit fragrance, this is your girl.

Pompeia is an unpleasant scent. It mostly smells like a badly blended carnation accord (not listed), mixed with various other powdery off-notes. Others who mention anise or spices must be smelling the same thing. I've tried a couple other Piver scents that I found enchanting (Reve d'Or, Heliotrope Blanc) and was hoping this would also be redolent with antique charm, but alas not... I'm also very curious why Geranium is listed as the predominant note. What are people smelling here that makes them think 'geranium'? To which 'geranium' are they even referring?? Also, the way Fragrantica uses the 'Geranium' note is confusing at best. Scented geraniums (actually Pelargonium species) include a wide range of species, hybrids, and cultivars thereof. The genus Pelargonium produces a vast array of aromachemical and thus there are many different scents produced. However, in perfumery, 'geranium' is often implied to mean specifically rose geranium (P. graveolens and similar species and hybrids). The smell of rose geranium is usually very similar to rose itself, therefore the note of rose geranium should just be listed as 'rose', not geranium. Of course, one could potentially use another Pelargonium that smells quite different (lemon, mint, chocolate, ginger, etc. etc.) and many pelargonium grown for their flowers also produce a bitter pungent odor that could potentially find a use in perfumery.

Great review from Jennifer60656! I had a quick encounter with Pompeia while I was testing Heliotrope Blanc. I know a place in Italy where they sell these perfumes but not Reve d'Or anymore. Pompeia is brilliant and multi-faceted. What impresses me in these perfumes is a kind of unfuss semplicity matched to old French elegance. I heard that it is used in Tahiti Voodoo and also Reve d'Or and this could be scary indeed, but if you keep it at the perfume you can enjoy without worries! The reason why it is used in that case it is probably historical. Piver is one of the oldest French perfume maker. It was famous at the age of slavery to New World from New Orleans down to the south. Rich, elegant pale ladies of European descend used to wear Piver from France, pearls, silks and drank champagne and also smoked fine sigarettes and were generally kept much cleaner than servants. All these became symbols of richness and feminine beauty there also for lower classes and they associated with their own deities. I read somewhere that when Reve d'Or is not available anymore they use Amarige or even Chanel 5 instead with same purposes. If you find this line somewhere, just try it because it is worthy enough and not expensive, regardless of alla associated beliefs, it is an old fine maker with soft, elegant never sickening vibe.

I am very confused by this lotion. I ordered a bottle two years ago, based on the reviews and price...and when it arrived and I opened it, it was about as offensive as it is possible for a perfume to be. No flowers, or patchouli or spices...just sulfur. Very strong sulfur. I tried it on, thinking something must happen in the dry down...but although I got a faint whiff of flowers, it remained pretty repulsive. So I set it aside, and every time I opened it, sulfurous fumes emerged. This is so unlike what anyone else is experiencing that I am inclined to think I have a bad bottle. Recently I ordered L. T. Piver's Heliotrope Blanc..and it is heavenly! So I went back to the Pompeia languishing on my counter and it is better now, having been opened and aired out over two years. Not great, still a little sulfury, but I can now sense very pleasant flowers and patchouli lingering in the background. Has anyone else had this experience? It wasn't a matter of individual sensitivity to scent or skin chemistry, because others I had smell the bottle had the same reaction. It is so inexpensive, and the notes sound so good, that I am inclined to try again. But I do wonder, has anyone else opened a sulfurous bottle of Pompeia?

Yes, I shared the experience had by Ann.Sundwall! When I initially opened my new bottle, the scent was horrifying. I was CERTAIN it had gone bad. But then something strange happened. A few weeks or months later ( can't recall which! ) I again opened the bottle and more generously sampled the juice. Now the metallic or sulphuric note had all but vanished, leaving an old fashioned lavender based cologne in it's wake. Some of my first dismay seems to have been the way the cologne reacts with it's metal dispenser. This is not a spray bottle, but the kind designed to be shaken over the skin. Once evaporated off the metal - with which it seriously clashed! - I could actually smell what it was intended to be. Furthermore, it most certainly improved for having been allowed to air and then rest. While lavender based colognes are hardly my cup of tea, Pompeia is a good example of a cherished traditional scent. Those who enjoy a good Florida water might give this a whirl. To do it justice, Pompeia has the same uses and benefits as the beloved 4711, and is an absolute bargain.

Revisiting this. L.T. Piver's Pompeia, a name referring to the famously doomed city of Pompeii. This still smells primarily of overdosed carnation, mixed with a lemon-forward cologne formula. One could make a rough approximation of this by layering with Vanderbilt, plus the original 4711. Yes, this can be atypically refreshing if splashed about in hot weather, ...if, and only if, the wearer find such bountiful carnation to be palatable. Lets just say, at the moment, I'm willing to explore the irony of its archaic novelty. This rather graceless, but effective, attempt at carnation is not listed, ...and may even be unintentional. All the same, a eugenol-rich (cloves) and mixed floral (rose-geranium leading) blend such as this is the basis for a carnation accord, and easily translates as such. Of course, that patchouli at the base may be what makes this so questionably tolerable. Patchouli is the kind of note that will do that. ...Either that and/or eugenol sensitivity.

Pompeia is a classic perfume holding significant status in the history of perfumery. For the vintage Pompeia (1907) Parfum I have, I would praise it without hesitation. If memory serves, Pompeia appears to be the second fragrance by Piver to feature pentyl salicylate following the release of Le Trèfle Incarnat. Pompeia contains a substantial amount of salicylic acid pentyl ester, bridging the three classic fragrance families: oriental, fougère, and chypre. It opens with bergamot and sweet orange, transitioning through a heliotrope and violet accord into a classical aldehyde floral heart. This includes iris, rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, and orange blossom. The base blends eugenol with patchouli, vanilla, musk, civet and oakmoss. Coumarin and lavender form the fougère aspect of Pompeia. L'Origan's influence is discernible here. Pompeia is warm, spicy, and heavily smoky, with a sweet orange peel note. I find the later Knize Ten bears some resemblance to it.

This is a tricky one for me because the first spray instantly and strongly reminds me of bad breath — a flat, dull, slightly mothball smell that you definitely would not want on your skin. That was the dominating smell in the air, on my skin and on the pillowcase corner I was using as a test patch. But my experience of vintage/classic perfume formulas is — sometimes they really deliver, once you get past the opening. On the pillowcase, I start to get a very pleasant spicy vintage woods and floral blend — I would call it unisex. It reminds me of Myrurgia Madeiras de Oriente. I find on the pillowcase it smells the most floral, and, to me, rich and pleasant. On my skin it retains the bad breath aspect for too long — I can’t wear it. I think on another person with the right body chemistry it would smell amazing.

This is similar to an eau de cologne in that it comes in splash on type glass bottles in various sizes, but it’s not citrusy, and a little stronger in concentration. This scent is like a vintage men’s cologne. I wonder how popular this was with people of older generations when I was a child (70s-80s), because it reminds me of older men during that time period. First whiff, I immediately thought of my (late) grandfather. I could also see tv characters from the past smelling like this (Darren Stevens from Bewitched). Old suits in someone’s closet that have been hanging there since the 70s, with remnants of cologne, would probably smell something like this. Herbal, lavender-patchouli (with the other notes well blended in) retro cologne with a touch mothball. It’s a nostalgic smell; I like it.

I'm smelling it now on my skin, but I think this is more suitable to spray in atmosphere, not to wear on body! It lacks something, this lotion is not complete yet, think with me if you wear it next time, and please please comment here, what do you imagine will fill this gap in the notes (if you agree with me that there is one). My favorite lotion from L.T Piver is Reve d'Or by all means. Edit: the longer the time Pompeia spend on my arms, the more Fougere it gets! do you notice that it is a soft Fougere!? Maybe thats why it suits men too... masculine. It sells like cake, the supplier in my city told me they import it in huge quantities and send it to supermarkets and small shops, together with Reve d'Or.

Breaking Da Rulez by this not being an actual review, but rather a question. Has anyone tried using this not as a personal fragrance but in something like a fragrance diffuser, a homemade candle, a sachet or room freshener? Or maybe freshened up some potpourri with a drop or two of this? I was also intrigued by the mentions that it could be used as part of a spiritual ritual. The scent sounds intriguing, classy, retro, different. I would not, however, enjoy wearing it. I wanted to wear Jicky but it was just so bad bad bad on me. Won't try that again.

LT Piver est une des plus anciennes marques de parfumerie française.Le flacon n'a pas changé et tant mieux, très vintage. Elle ne coûte rien et c'est une belle eau de cologne rétro (je l'ai en lotion). Je sens des fleurs capiteuses, l'impression de tomber dans un poudrier ancien et en effet un fond un peu canaille. Elle a une très bonne tenue pour une eau de cologne, des heures plus tard on la sent encore chanter sa petite chanson au gré d'un mouvement. Rien à voir avec les parfums modernes, mais quel charme désuet!

@ Sherihan: I don't feel it as a gap, but I see what you mean. It's dry, (''mothball''..haha! I love that ''mothball'' smell). You could try to give it more ''life'' with a drop of Soie Rouge (Maitre Parfumeur) if you can find it. Or a tiny drop of La Vie Est Belle En Rose. Not layering, but Pompeia on one wrist and all over, and the other perfume on the other wrist. Not too much. Maybe you could spray on your fingertip an dab.

Bought this mostly for the bottle as a history lover and because of the price, and I honestly disliked it the first time I smelled it. But as each day passed I found myself wanting to smell it more and more, and it almost seemed to shift into different and intriguing notes each day. Intriguing and somehow moreish. I'm obsessed now, though others will probably inform me I smell like an old woman.

Pompeia is a beautiful abstract accord based on amyl salicylate. It is wonderfully complex and does not really smell of anything recognizable in nature. It is a smell unto itself similar to how No5 is its own entity. The performance is great for what it is; a beautiful perfumed lotion that stimulates and refreshes at once.

So interesting to find Pompeia here .. it was my grandma best perfume ever :)