Fleur de Fleurs

The best fragrance Nina Ricci ever made. I know this is a pretty sweeping statement; Nina Ricci in its prime made a lot of fabulous fragrances. And I came a little late to the party. I think I had a little bottle of Mademoiselle Ricci sometime in the 1970's, undoubtedly an edt or even a cologne, and I think I was a little underwhelmed at the time. It was in 1997 only when I bought a bottle of Les Belles de Ricci, the green bottle one that's all crisp citrus scents like grapefruit, that I thought I should get to know the Ricci scents better. By 1982 or so, when Fleur de Fleurs came out, Ricci had made a lot of perfumes that all seemed similar to the casual observer, so I think Fleur de Fleurs got lost in the shuffle. All their advertisements were for L'Air Du Temps, its big moneymaker for decades. It's hard to argue with Rene Lalique designed doves on crystal appearing glass bottles in nearly infinite varieties. I'm sure lots of women collected them, which explains why there are now so many on eBay. The L'Air Du Temps juice isn't bad either. But it isn't Fleur de Fleurs. It isn't as light as Fleur de Fleurs, which is both light and long lasting, floral but with depth. It lasts 6-8 hours on my skin, with decent sillage for at least 5 of those hours. And it comes in all sorts of bottles, except I don't think they ever made a parfum. I've bought several mni-bottles that were labeled parfum, but I have my doubts because I've never seen an actual parfum in Fleur de Fleurs. If there was one, they didn't make it very often. The soap is also fabulous. Like L'Air Du Temps, they sell Fleur de Fleurs in cute presentations with regular and mini soaps in little plastic covered soap dishes with mini perfume bottles and whatnot. Admittedly, I'm a fool for these. So for the last 20 years or so, I've found myself reaching for Fleur de Fleurs when I couldn't make a decision in the morning, or when I knew it was going to be a hot day, or even in the winter when I was just tired of winter. Fortunately there is a lot of this online, much of it at reasonable prices. So even if you're late to the party with Ricci, or really can't believe what they're making today under their label, Fleur de Fleurs is a good place to start.

Holy, Wow this is pretty. It really reminds me of perfumes that women wore when I was a child. Women who seemed very glamourous to a young teenage girl raised on a dairy farm. My mother was a leather crafts woman, and it was a major source of income for us. She got some Italian clients from NJ that liked to come to rural PA and hunt. We became friendly w/ them, (such nice people) and they were allowed to hunt on our lands. Anyway, the men bought a lot of custom-made leather goods from my mother. The wife of one of the men always smelled really beautiful to me. I could tell it was an expensive perfume even at the tender age of 14. It smelled so refined and classy but w/ a hint of sensuality underneath all the bright lemon and herbs, lush and vibrant florals and clean powder. This perfume reminds me of that exquisite Italian wife. She must have worn something like this or maybe it was this perfume. It was 1984 when I met her. She was wearing expensive gold jewelry and had on what appeared to be very fine clothes. Isn't it funny how a perfume takes you back to memories you had not thought of in many years. Anyway, Nina Ricci Fleur de Fleurs opens w/ a nice but soft lemon and I distinctly smell rosemary here, but it is not overpowering at all. As the fragrance travels a bit more vibrant greens, aldehydes, a bouquet of fresh cut hyacinth, lily of the valley and a hint of lilac mingle w/ powdery iris, creamy ylang, lemony magnolia and powders. The dry down here is exquisite. Smells like real civet all the way. It gives this perfume that sensual feeling. This isn't just a nice girl floral perfume. This woman is classy, but she is very sexual as well. A woman of many faces wears a perfume like this. She is knowable but unknown, a mystery. Goes from day to evening like a sultry yet cooling breeze. Gorgeous.

I got this vintage item off eBay years ago when I was reliving my youth. I actually could buy Nina Ricci in my regional town chemist (pharmacy/drug store) YIKES fifty years ago. I got Farouche a few times and also fell totally in love with Bigaride, the quintessential citrus orange bergamot chypre which to me also still smells modern. These were actually the sweet gourmands and fruits when Shalimar was your vanilla and Mitsouko was your peach. This iris-y sweet complex but light floral blows the nasty current metallic woody ‘unisex’ floral iris things INTO THE REEDS. Always hopeful, but I’ve been doomed to disappointment and I basically stopped my iris quest after Iris Silver Mist and Irisss. I’ve probably been triggered by wearing vintage LHeure Bleue in both a spritz of toilette and then smearing of parfum just like in the olden days for New Years Eve, thinking of the bravest fighting for freedom from invaders in Europe. Most of the time I’m dragging myself, usually willingly, into the current offerings, but feel myself slumping into another jaded phase regarding my love of perfume. The tacky cheap white and pink floral plastic container , apparently designed to be easily refillable ( everything old is new again), is a bit cringey, and its bulk makes me store it simply alone on a shelf instead of tucked away in my collections. And, after a desultory spray when I’m looking for something else, I always end up shocked by how beautiful the fragrance is. The aldehydes may open stale and dated with age, but the iris is ultra white and powdered, the floral melange is super pink and lillified. The dry down seems to be totally modern in its sweetly rosey heliotropey white musk. All this with beautiful lasting sillage in a ‘parfum de toilette’, i.e., a body spray.

My signature spring/summer daytime scent I wore throughout much of the 80s. A few months ago, I purchased a brand new edt. for sentimental reasons. It still starts out powerfully, but the aldehydes are floral infused and add sparkle to this fragrance. Just Beautiful! But, while I still adore it, I think it no longer fits me. Just as some scents are suited to a more mature women, (think Chanel No. 5), I think this scent is really for a younger woman. There is something very youthful about this fragrance, (though not childish), that I can no longer pull off. (Just as a young girl would have trouble pulling off No. 5.) This is bright, vibrant, and alive, but also soft and pillowy. I think I'll give this to my niece. She's a young, sophisticated professional who loves floral fragrances like Gucci Bloom. I think this scent would suit her perfectly as it is as pretty as she is. I'm sure she'll just love it too. Edit - She does!

I was just wondering if anyone ever used the Nina that the company discontinued..I loved it so much and I was so disappointed to see they no longer made it..That white bottle with bird engravings on it..That was an out of this world clean scent..I also wonder if anyone let me know any of these Nina Riccis' are any close to the one I'm referring..Thank you all perfume lovers! update-since I wrote a comment on this one in 2012 lol--I now know almost everything about this one (and other vintage perfumes I'm obsessed with) This is no longer around and has been a long time..You can find some people sell (of their own collection) but there's always a risk of getting a rancid one. @NinaRicci I RESENT you for not bringing this back. If you won't do it exactly the way it was, don't even bother illusioning us with a new formula. We want this exact one back. And we all know that is not going to happen.