Decollete

First,...... as far as I have checked , and I just bought a bottle, this IS STILL AVAILABLE, but you do probably have to buy it from a Merle Norman salon or dealer. ( check local listings). Although I am Ancient now, I've been wearing this since it came out, and it isn't EXACTLY an " old lady perfume". But it IS TRADITIONAL, and it smells like a REAL French perfume, to me, at far less than French prices! That's the chief draw , for me, and it wears long. After a good dry down period , I think it's wearable anytime of day or season, ( maybe not on a real hot summer day..) ..;and I get more " You smell Goods" from this, than anything else! It's definitely floral and might well read as " semi powdery" if you don't like that. By the way it DOES remind me a bit of the dusting powder I used to recieve every Christmas as a girl too young to wear perfumes. I still love that smell! On a more mature level , it is very balanced and romantic but it stops short of formal evening , if you use lightly! It's also great for clothes, etc... having just a touch of a really nice sachet smell. I tend to love Joy, 1000, and others that are REALLY expensive now, so I'm looking for classy bargains that don't give me headaches or smell like a fruit cocktail that needs a bath, or so many new scents that are so light and fade immediately into non commital sameness! If you find your good bottles getting low, and want to stretch your joy juice budget but still smell like you CAN smell... this might be a nice addition to your collection.

I remember this so well when I worked at merle norman. What a masterpiece! It is very difficult to find this at a reasonable price (discontinued). This is up there with coco and channel#5 for sure. So strong and elegant. One of my scented memories I would love to get back.

The acquisition of this perfume was a pure accident. I purchased a couple random bottles at an estate sale and didn't have a chance to look at it closely until I was home. I had heard of Merle Norman, but I didn't know they had their own perfumes. This one is something of an oddity for my collection and my aldehyde loving nose. The tuberose, jasmine and woody notes got me though and I fell in love with it the first time I wore it. As others have said, this comes off as a more mature scent and I am inclined to agree. 20 year old me would have never looked twice at this whereas 40 year old me enjoys every note and nuance. This perfume doesn't get a lot of use as I tend to select what I wear every day based on my mood, but when I do wear it I always receive compliments and it is one of my fiance's favorites as I always hear "You smell good" from him when I wear it.

A friend of mine wore this and only this for a very long time and she smelled amazing! It was her signature scent and it suited her so well. I did check it out at Merle Norman at the time but it didn't seem to suit me as well. It was floral, not to sweet, womanly and elegant on my friend. It also smelled great on paper, woodsy with oakmoss and rose. The florals are very well blended and rich. Janeofdoe was spot on with her review, shame it has been discontinued.

I love the wood and spice tones in this fragrance, however, it does smell like something a much older woman would wear, because it is strong. So its not for the younger crowd, in my opinion. Its definitely also a winter time fragrance.