L'Air du Temps

I bought this fragrance at a very affordable price at a CVS store. Love the bottle in clear glass with plastic doves. At the first spritz, I'm smelling fizzy bubbly aldehydes, reminiscent of Chanel No. 22. I am also picking up on the neroli. This is a fresh & bright citrus and orange blossom opening; but almost soon afterward I am getting mostly white floral accords and soapy, powdery florals. I can detect the floral bunch in the heart rather quickly. The performance progression is not slow at all. I don't think this perfume is as complex as the note structure makes it out to be. Yes it's primarily a floral, but to my nasal detection it's more of one or the other kind of flower. The first flower to reach me was the carnation. It's a slightly spicy carnation. The carnation floral note is put into the formula two times. Then there's gardenia and jasmine, which give it a white floral kick. Then there's a tangy violet and finally an iris. The iris is giving this scent a powdery body. Beautiful and soft flowers. The reformulation selling right now is a subdued, subtle floral bouquet. Perhaps at the original release year, 1948, the perfume were stronger. Of course today we can't tolerate heavy florals so they re-make classic florals and subdue them.The whole thing is like a sweet floral scented bath product - a soap, a bath oil, a powder. It's delicacy evokes a very clean and pristine white walled bedroom in a mansion that has an adjacent white bath tub. I can see a white bed with all white pillows and sheets and covers. The bath tub has white bubbles. Because of the 'white' coloring and the soapiness plus florals, this is also very similar to Estee Lauder White Linen. It's one of those classic aldehyde florals but not as va va va voom as Chanel No. 5. It's definitely demure, innocent, and very lady-like. This would make a beautiful wedding day fragrance for a bride in a white wedding gown. Besides a bride, it also conjures up the image of a nun! Like a white habit color on a nun. A clean and very peaceful, spiritual woman would wear this, not necessarily a nun, but you get it. The floral soap lingers for a while but I wish it lasted longer. This has a duration of no longer than 4 to 5 hours (at least on me). The dry down is a white musk, amber and possibly a hint of vanilla. I'm not picking up on any vetiver or green notes. This is a gorgeous cozy white musk; soothing and simple. Some bright amber in there acting as a fixative to hold the whole scent together. This perfume is hard to wear in public for me. It is too comfortable and peaceful, and also too domestic. This belongs only inside the house. I feel I can only wear this with my nightie right before bed after my shower or bath and to help put me to sleep. I spray it over the bed in the air and over my pillows. It's a relaxing and very therapeutic fragrance. Talk about aroma therapy. At the ridiculously affordable price of under 40 bucks, you are getting an absolutely lovely perfume. It's a vintage that tries to evoke the glory of white floral classics like Chanel 22 but more affordable! I also love it in spring and summer months because it's so cool and refreshing. I just love L'air du temps!

Starts off with fresh neroli, Powdery clovy carnation, and aldehydes. Transforms after 30 minutes into a heady realistic lily with carnation and a dry woody powdery texture. Give it more time, and it turns into a honeyed floral amber. It has been a long time since i have smelled something so layered and transformative. The opening is nothing like the wear of this scent, which i dont really experience a lot with other scents. I frequently keep smelling the opening notes until the end of a perfume, which can be good or bad. something opens with something bad, i will keep smelling the bad thing until the end of the perfumes wear. Which shouldnt be the case but it is my experience Air du temps is a beautiful vintage floral. Florals in all their glory. Its hard to mix so many flowers and still get it to smell good, but it works amazingly here. Modern floral bouquet shampoos always smell too clean or vague, air du temps smells convincingly of each flower in here. The opening might be a bit baby powdery, but that disappears fast. Edit: longevity and sillage is shockingly good. I sprayed it on my wrist in the morning, then went somewhere for quite a bit and i continuously got strong wafts of this. No, not a feint smell, GENUINE strong wafts. After about 4 hours it did stop projecting to my own nose, but i always have that issue when im inside the same building for too long. 8 hours in i can still smell the honey carnation woody drydown. Im in love. Decidedly a feminine perfume but i wear it regardless. Good statement maker if you’re a boy who doesnt gaf like me

Oh my lord. I'm not sure if this perfume totally works on my skin, which seems to pull the scent of freesia (not listed in notes) out of it. But on fabric it's deeper and richer and I honestly just love sniffing the bottles, too. I am not sure if what is reading as freesia to me is the peachy notes mixing with carnation. It is not a carnation like I have encountered in many old vintages, which might just be because my older bottles have degraded and deepened with time. The two L'air bottles I have are an edt and edp I believe to be from the early 80s (columbes d'or glass bottles) and they do take me back to the time when I was 13 and had one of those tiny sample bottles with the plastic doves. That bottle was probably mid 90s. I think it was darker and more bitter somehow. The first really grown up scent I ever really wore. I remember being slightly repulsed by it but also unable to stop smelling my wrist. This is such a sexy scent. No wonder it was too much for me! It's very floral and perhaps old-fashioned, but the notes seem to combine to form a scent like warm skin or breath. The warm skin of an amorous woman. This seems to be common with Nina Ricci scents and I definitely need to seek more of them. I can't smell an overwhelming clove like in Indiscret, Styx, or Nuit de Noel, and I'm surprised it considered warm spicy. The spices like other notes are masterfully blended and round. This is a classic for a reason, and it reminds me of trying to grow up too fast. Just gorgeous.

Perfect scent for after the bath, fresh cozies, snuggled up in a soapy clean hug with beautiful flowers and grounding wood. Must be in the mood for LDT, or appreciate that rich French soap, as it is prominent here. Mine is EDT, and I dream of one day owning the stronger EDP... I want this to last the whole night and wake up to be embraced by her unconditional love, again. I save this gem and layer over Ylang-Ylang, cedarwood and sandalwood essential oils and sometimes Heaven Sent for extra wood, powder, flowers and soap, on the nights I miss her the most. The flowers are the cherry on top as they bring beauty to this vintage classic. The history alone is enough to catch your attention... There is no syrup, no cookies, no sugar, no candy. Times are tough, and she means business, she has work to do around the house, and as they say, cleanliness is next to godliness. If you have this sitting around collecting dust, go soak in the bath and indulge in this afterwards, before bed. If you don't like it, try it again next season. This is a safe blind buy for those who love that intense rich soap and cleanliness scent, if you want to smell clean while you tidy the house, if you're missing your beloved grandmother and nothing short of her holding you in person will do.. Alas, she isn't here. L'air du Temps will hug you back as Grammie smiles down at you from the Other Side.

L’Air du Temps is a scent which has been the victim of its own success, a creation which, at the time, was so marvellously unique and masterful that it’s popularity made it commonplace for many women to wear it. Because of this, it began to get left behind and its beauty and charm all but forgotten by most. It is a warm, spicy floral scent which captivates the heart immediately, seemingly moving and swirling in the air around you. A fresh, vibrant harmony of bergamot, neroli and aldehydes radiate off the skin through the inclusion of a gorgeously smooth and comforting rosewood note. Among a typically vintage floral heart, the profile is made warmer still by an overwhelming dose of carnation, but also that slightly bitter-spicy clove note. The end result is enchanting - dry, spicy and warm, wrapping the wearer in a blanket of dense florals. I love this fragrance, I think it should continue to receive the praise it deserves. I have two bottles in my collection, a vintage EDT and the current EDP. There is a great similarity between the two, but I find where the modern formulation is much smoother and more rounded with the floral heart, the vintage is far more confident and brash in its spicy facets. Both are stunning, I often layer them together as the vintage doesn’t last long on my skin.