Norell

This smells like old money to me. Or maybe it's my association with this scent and who wore it that is making me think that way. You see, this was the signature scent of my godmother. Her apartment was the top floor at the Stanhope Hotel, opposite Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum. She wore Chanel suits, tastefully exquisite jewelry, and Norell. I purchased a bottle of the vintage cologne and with just one spray was transported back in time. Sophisticated, worldly, classy, refined, elegant; that was my godmother to a T and exactly what this captivating fragrance exudes. It's very complex. As complex as she was. A beautiful chypre with strong dynamic florals on an Oriental backbone. It's said this fragrance shook the world of French perfumery when it was released. Of that I have no doubt. A fragrance with this level of complexity could certainly go toe to toe against anything created in France. Considering the popularity of this fragrance, even in that country, I am sure French people at that time would agree. After not having smelled this for over 30 years, smelling it again flooded me with memories of the lovely lady who was a second mother to me. Though she is long gone, I still have all those wonderful memories, and now something that will bring back those memories in even sharper relief. That makes this little bottle worth its weight in gold. One thing I want to say about the versions that are available. I wanted to get the exact version that my godmother wore. I know it was the first. Something that impossibly rich couldn't possibly be anything else. While doing my research I learned that this was manufactured 4 times, as follows in this order: Norell Perfumes Inc Norell Prestige Perfumes Norell Five Star Fragrances Norell Norell Parfums New York I've only smelled the original formula, Norell Perfumes Inc., so I can't speak about or recommend the others. But I do recommend the original Norell, especially if you want to experience something uniquely beautiful that will make you feel, and smell, like a million bucks too.

I’m happy I bought Norell even though the similarity to Fidji is there. Norell is a creature of her own! There is familiarity between the two. Catapano composed both after all and in Norell you can smell that ethereal floral halo that is part of Fidji. But Norell is closer in character to something along the lines of Occur, Mystère and even Charlie. Aldehydes, ylang butteriness and light spices are there in the start. Gardenia with tuberose remind me of the alabaster skin I smell in Chloé. The purple feel of hyacinth and iris tie it to Fidji. There’s a sense of skin cream and powder that to me feels familiar, safe and comforting. From what perfumes used to be and smell like. Fidji is a nightgown in the summer breeze. Fidji du Soir goes R-18. Norell takes a more dynamic character, with the galbanum, oakmoss and resiny spices giving it a power chypre personality. The hidden animalics give it a dark side that reminds me of the floral chypres I mentioned above. Norell is sexy while Fidji is innocent. Kinda like Chloé is the peach fuzz to Ysatis glowing tanned skin. A bold and powdery floral chypre, spices instead of leather and subtle civet/musk notes that make it the Americana version of the best 70’s French and Italian perfumes, the high end version of Charlie (a stunner from when Revlon was gold) and the nocturnal side of Laura Mars, who brilliantly captured the essence of Norell in the ads. Norell, like many perfumes, is inevitably inspired by others and has inspired others that came. But even though Fidji and L’air du Temps are the ‘closest’, there is a darker development, a bolder character and a more visible ‘I don’t give a fuck’ attitude. If this was released in the 80’s, it would have become a sought after unicorn. Masterpiece! And as far as the European ‘Soft Eau de Cologne’ version, which I own in 240ml; this is downright edp in strength with 73° concentration. This ain’t a wallflower!

A kind Fragrantica friend here gave me a partial bottle of this vintage fragrance and I love it. For some reason it actually reminds me a bit of vintage Stetson for Men but like a woman version of that. And it's not at all like Lady Stetson. This is a powerful fragrance. The type of fragrance that announced your arrival. You were marking your territory back in those days. I remember formidable, strong willed women wearing this type of fragrance when I was very young in the 70s and I didn't understand them or these types of perfumes. I was still in Princess mode in my mind and had no use or liking of Evil Queens. I wore Avon Roses roses. I was pure and innocent. But as a middle age woman who has seen quite a bit of life and has suffered the blows the world can give I understand this type of perfume and why women of that time wore them. Norell is green stems pulled out by the roots and transplanted in a musky dark black earthy ground. It is the sharp arrival of spring with pouring rain of thunderstorms, the aromatic driving wind carrying the aroma of tender spring flowers, the muskiness of the past autumn leaves, grasses and past animal skat newly free from the winters snow. But all of this is done in a perfume way because this is a real perfume, not nature. It is a mimic, or more of an impression of wildness. This is a perfume wore by a woman who is a thunderstorm. A beautiful old school green, musky, animalic, floral. Dated for most but for me I still say it is chic. Retro chic. And ps the dry down is a purring tiger.

before I joined this club,I had read the term chypre, but had never really known what it meant. I knew that certain perfumes contained oakmoss or cedar but did not know how it affected the perfume. After having read several reviews and doing some research I decided to try a chypre floral,now I had tried Norell several years ago in a local drug store and had really liked it but for some reason did not buy it. I have preferred oriental and oriental floral perfumes, most of my life. After trying Cuir de Lancome and Nike de Saint Phalle, I decided that I love chypre florals and am trying to branch out. I saw Norell at a local department store for a very reasonable price and decided to get it. One of the Fragranitica members was asking about green chypres and mentioned Norell. I realize it is considered a floral, but it is much more complex than that. I am still trying to improve my reviews so bear with me. Norell does start out fresh and green and soon after blossoms into a rich and beautiful floral. I can smell the carnation and mimose, but the other flowers and spice seem to become one opulent note. The dry down is amazing, warm, but with a fresh note as well. It like Niki,is very underrated. It is elegant and classy, perfect for any age or sex. It can be worn anytime day or night. One of the best 1960's perfume out there and(this is the best part)it is very affordable. I bought the cologne because I understand it has not been reformulated. Even though, a cologne, it last several hours.

Not being a purist about fragrance formulations, last year I bought a bottle of the Norell EDT at TJMaxx. Unlike the reformulations of other well known fragrances, I could find no improvements over the old scent, only very very bad characteristics. The new EDT opening is so harsh it's almost unbearable and the opening is very long lasting, over an hour. The dry down is not much better. The original was a beloved fragrance of mine back in the 60's and 70's and this new formulation made me question my olfactory memory. I just had to check my memory so I purchased a bottle of vintage extrait. There indeed was that wonderful fragrance of my past. This led me to purchase a lot of 2 partial bottles of the vintage EDT, one a splash, the other a spray. These were also excellent specimens of the original fragrance. These EDT's have the longevity and sillage of the best of today's extraits. Loving the Alien wrote the most apt description of this divine scent. I had to laugh at the comment about Norell being suited to outdoor activities. I first encountered Norell on my Lacrosse team opponent during a game in the spring of 1969. Isn't it amazing how often we can recall the first time we smelled a fragrance? If you are looking to try a vintage fragrance, there is a lot of Norell available at reasonable prices. All of the concentrations have held up well. I've since bought several bottles for friends and they all agree that a vintage bottle of this is a priceless treasure!

I can remember seeing this one frequently at discount stores for the last 20 years or so. I never really gave it a chance. The "plain" box and bottle and the inexpensive price led me to assume that Norell would not be a pleasant scent. It seems I should know by now to never judge a fragrance by its packaging. Norell is a humble reminder of this. I purchased the Bath Oil, after hearing that its scent was closest to the original formulation of the fragrance (pre-1997). The bath oils works just fine as a perfume, by the way. And oh, lovely Norell, I am so sorry I passed you by all these years! The scent opens with a blast of sharp green, followed by heady florals and spice, all on a woods-and-moss base. The floral phase lasts the longest and the flowers are bright and powerful, reminiscent of Patou's Joy. I get a waft of oriental spice every now and then. Something in this phase reminds me of Molinard de Molinard as well. The beautiful dry-down, however, is classic chypre. I agree that "Floral" doesn't adequately classify this complex scent, but neither would "Chypre." The scent is a perfect match for what I now recognize as the understated elegance of the box and bottle. Norell would be a classic beauty at any price, but it would be a shame if any Chypre or Floral Chypre fan let this one slip by when it is priced so low.

(parfum, 1st formulation) This one is an extremely 60s green floral chypre. It is largely a "clean" scent of the 60s genre: think Estee and Climat. Norell has a brilliant and lifelike hyacinth opening which is just picture perfect. On fabric and paper this crisp delight lasts a long time. It is so difficult to find a good hyacinth note in perfumes but this one nails it. Shortly afterwards a spicy and intensely waxy carnation comes onto the scene with a big slug of yellow forals, a "soapy" overdose of linalool and a touch of galbanum. There is a lot to admire here - the buttery ylang, the beautiful daffodil, and the smooth spices float like a puff of smoke over the golden chypre base. There are other aromas in here that give a hint of golden fruit. The whole thing dries down somewhat close to Estee, its strange, musk-laden, golden chypre base being unmistakable to me. It has great longevity and is delightful for sunny mornings. It has a distinct sillage that is both airy and implacable. As such, it would be the perfect scent for daytime outdoor activities which conveniently matches its affinity for picnic weather. It's very intense, though it doesn't seem that way when you first dab. Apply less at first for a better effect later on.

Norell...WOW. I hoard the vintage stuff whenever I can so I will never be without it! This is my number 2 favorite fragrance, only slightly overshadowed by my signature, Estee. Norell's composition is complex and sophisticated but still warm and dreamy. I am biased because it has some of my top favorite notes: Coriander, Myrrh, and Cardamom. The strong carnation and rose notes are moderately heavy. It can remind me of Tea Rose (which I love), but Tea Rose is linear and has little warmth. The Coriander, Myrrh, and Cinnamon make this fragrance more pleasantly approachable. The bath oil (which I also occasionally use as perfume) is slightly sweeter and translates the same as the cologne spray, but lasts on my skin until the next shower. The cologne has good longevity too and 2 sprays lasts through the work day. When I wear Norell, it adds to my confidence and assertiveness and definitely ramps up "FIERCENESS" in my persona. LOVE!!! I know Faye Dunaway was once the face of Norell, and when I wear it, I think of that scene in Mommie Dearest when she's meeting with the board of Pepsi and shouts, "DON'T F*CK WITH ME, FELLAS!!!!" ---Norell :o)

With Norell on my skin, I know that I am wearing PERFUME in capital letters. I have the sudden urge to say to anyone in front of me, "can you leave, please? You're right in my eye line." Norell is staggering in its heady, take-no-prisoners green spiciness, where all is an abstraction, but silhouettes of carnation, ylang-ylang, narcissus, hyacinth are haunting apparitions among the swirling, golden "perfuminess" of it all. It's super musky, dusky, Venus in Furs costus and lipstick on white collars, and amber-hued Pears soap lathered on sweaty skin. Yes, it's as unisex as the oceans are wide and deep, because this is not a pretty little filly, it's got the muscle of a colt, and I love it for that. A disclosure is necessary: this is not a Five Star Fragrance version. I was advised time and again to avoid it like the plague; this one is all New York, New York, baby. It's fascinating that Josephine Catapano could create both Shiseido Zen and Norell: truly yin and yang. Norell feels like a raspy, chain-smoking, seen-it-all indulgence, and one too many sprays can be intoxicating. Don't say I didn't warn you.

I reviewed this perfume before, but I recently received about 1/4oz. left in a 1oz. bottle of the Prestige version in a lot of vintage perfumes I bought from someone downsizing their wardrobe. Prestige was the second manufacturer for this perfume. While Prestige seemed to have followed the original formula, there is a not-so-subtle change. It is a little skanky now thanks to the addition of civet to the mix. I'm not a big fan of that note so I will stick to the first version, but a heads up for those who like it - the civet is real and not that horrible synthetic motor oil stuff they are trying to pass off as civet today. So, if you like this fragrance and you like civet, this should make you very happy. For me, not so much but I do know someone here who seems to gravitate to fragrances with that note, so I've since passed this on to her. For those who don't like civet, steer clear of this version, because there is no skimping on that here.

I have worn nothing but Norell, daily, since I was 16 years old. I was introduced to it by a woman in her twenties purchasing it in the drugstore where I worked. She and her roommate shared a bottle, and it was her turn to buy. To say it is my signature scent is an understatement. I've used it exclusively at the back of my neck for 30 years, and can actually hear men inhaling when they hug me. I've had so many people stop me to ask me what I am wearing. People whom I know have bought Norell for themselves, but then have noticed that it doesn't smell the same on them as it does me. Thanks, more for me! I'm heartbroken it's discontinued, but just keep taking chances and buying vintage bottles on EBay. The scent just intensifies with age. So far, only one has been counterfeit, and the seller refunded my payment without question. I wish a perfumer would consider producing it again! I will need it for another 40 years, I'm hoping!

if you want to make yourself known this is the right perfume this fragrance demands your attention. the begining the cypre greens with undertones of bergamot lavender & hiacynth the lemon just floats into the backround. a couple of minutes later going though a sweet narcissus gardenia stage but the spicy residue of cypre still lingers but in a earthier scent with rose cinnamon and cardamon. the drydown is an intoxicating myrrh. a bit dated now but i think it was ahead of it's time released in 1968 but the perfume design and the box with it's big bold black lettering NORELL makes you think of a 80's bussiness advertisments or a barbara kruger famous piece of work your body is a battlegroun this is one of those sex in a bottle perfumes because it is sexy a perfume for a young women with an old soul.

I was always intrigued by Norell, i finally got to try it a few days ago when Nyoka generouslly sent me a decant sample. Norell is a beautiful floral green - it is the only foral green that blended well with my chemistry (so far). The projection is wonderful and staying power good. I wore this on Wednesday and as usual carried the sample along with me when i went out. In the bus i decided to retouch (not because it was necessary but simply because i like building up mega sillage) so i took it out and applied it discreetly to my wrists; well i fell asleep and when i awoke my sample was gone. The lady sitting next to me had pilfered it! I guess she found it's beautiful aroma irresistible but i would have happily given it to her if she had asked!

This my recollection rather than a review. Norell by Norell utterly transported me with its burst of florist-fresh air. I ADORED it, but as a Junior in college, in 1971, couldn't afford it. Not to be denied, I walked to Saks from my university, and no matter the weather or season, I wore a sweater under a coat, carrying a sweater in a shopping bag. Upon arrival, I beelined for the perfume counter, liberally and heavily sprayed both sweaters, promptly closing both jacket & shopping bag nearly hermetically containing the fragrance. Returning to my dorm, I shoved one sweater in my underwear drawer and another with my other sweaters. I imagined the fragrance trailed lightly about me for weeks until I could meet my paramour and tryst again.

When capital "P" Perfumes went out of style, a lot of us felt lost. Reformulations had gutted our old favorites (if they were still around), and many just disappeared from shelves altogether. Vintage Norell is not a beast. She is a Perfume. In my humble opinion, a perfume of this complexity does best in dab form, and that is how I wear her. Others have stated her notes and development better than I ever could. What I can say, though, is that my vintage dab bottle is an experience, not just a smell. Side note: I bought this at an estate sale from a woman who was reeking of Light Blue, thinking, I am sure, that she smelled fresh and clean, and happy to unload this old dinosaur. If only she knew!

This is an elegant, captivating perfume. It makes me sing that old song, "sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey" cos that's what I get. Honeyed, enduring warmth and sweetness with a great balance of depth. Goes on nice and strong, and mellows slowly from the green, flowered opening through the beautifully balanced middle notes (loving the carnations!!!), into the final, lasting depth that for me really makes a perfume matter and endure as a stayer. Very female, in a refined and classy way. Filled with that classic 60's vibe, both in the notes and the balance. No screeching here, just mellow, enticing moments. 10/10 for this one...already getting another bottle.

My mom wore Norell back in the 70's and of course, my sister and I did too. It made us feel sophisticated and grown up. Over the years I've seen the reformulated Norell in various places, but this past weekend I found an almost full vintage EDP bottle at an estate sale. I bought it along with a vintage bottles of Mitsouko EDT, L'Heure Bleue EDT, and First parfum. I sprayed each wrist with Norell before leaving the house to run errands. I could not stop smelling my wrists. I adore this stuff! It reminds me of 1000 and to some extent, Chanel No 22.

Testing Vintage Mini 71% perhaps 1960 ́s or 70 ́s. Some mentioned top notes have maybe faltered, but I get quite an amazing sort of hybrid between a powdery floral aldehyde such as Chanel No 5, but then there is also a green aspect, but a different sort of green, a soft green, almost like a little Cristalle and No 19 were added. I use three Chanel examples because I want to mean harmony because to me, Norell is very harmonious. I am not a big fan of Chanel No 5, but Norell is a more pleasant cousin I find. It is fresher, still sweet mind you.

How I wish I loved the current formulation. I wore this in the 1980s and got so many compliments. Five Star took over in 1999, and it hasn't been the same since. I ordered the bath oil and the cologne spray, thinking they would be closer to the original than the toilette spray. Then I ordered vintage Norell from The Perfumed Court to compare, and though the current cologne spray begins the same, it falls apart. Oh, to have the vintage back!!

I just got this in the mail, due to the great reviews I read here and being a HUGE fan of anything falling into the chypre family. My go-to is typically scents like Ciara and Aromatics Elixir. Norell did not disappoint. From it's "in your face" opening to the lovely drydown, it's definitely in my top 10 spots. Will be wearing this in heavy rotation among my other scented friends.

Vintage. I like this scent very much for acerbic, aromatic greenery with that resounding bitter note it gives me. I like the scent very much for the flowers peeping through the greenery, as they get softer or louder. Narcissi, hyacinths, roses, and jasmine. They smell very natural to me. And those wonderful animalic notes of Norell... I like it. Very much.

I have a little vintage bottle and now I am hunting a great big vintage bottle! It smells, rich, spicy and makes me want to hug myself! It does have an edge of soap, but I am finding that I can still love something with that if it isn't the leading player.

I love Norell and I love it best straight out of the shower- a spritz on warm, damp skin is my favorite thing in the world right now. Bitter and very dark green, kind of like its own shower. Not for the faint of heart !!

I remember getting this perfume as a set one Christmas... it soon became my signature scent and I wore it all the time. I was devastated when they stopped making it and I have yet to find something that comes close.

The great perfume love of my life! An impossibly elegant show-stopper just like the Norell gowns. The imposter of today is hideous. I feel I shall never inhale the true beauty of Norell again.*sigh*

The new Norell has nothing to do with the original. It is now a bland floral of no distinction.

A haiku for Norell: Cosmopolitan An elegant extrovert Class in a bottle

I love this. Fresh - green - but with cream. PERFECT. ...Peace...

Norell cologne reminds me so much of something my granny would have on her vanity. I'm sure that I've smelt something like this when I was fingering among the small porcelain perfume jars, powderboxes, lipsticks, jewelry (on a piece of sea-shell) and the lovley small perfume bottles. Of course I did it secretly, a bit thrilled by the whole experience of womanhood. Norell smells so wonderfully dated. I especially like the citrus-lavender mix that smells so fresh and clean. In combination with the flowery and slightly powdery heart it seems like two fragrances are at work: One that provides an air of fresh soap and newly washed clothes and then another scent built on more classical perfume ingredients like jasmine, hyacinth, iris, mimosa, and ylang-ylang. (Somhehow this part reminds me alot of Givenchy III minus the strong amber note). From this point of view Norell is a very intelligent innovation from a time when people probably not took a shower or washed their clothes every day: A perfume that makes you smell both clean, fresh AND scented. However, this part is not going on forever: gradually the basenotes enters the scene and Norell becomes warmer, rounder and sweeter. And several hours later the freshness is replaced with a slihtly dirty note from the oakmoss. I've bought a small bottle of the cologne, that was low fill or evaporated eventhough it was new and sealed. I read somewhere that the edt was created during the 90's when Norell was relaunched, and that perfume and cologne were the only alternatives until then. I'm therefore pretty sure that this is the original vintage cologne. If you like vintage smelling fragrances you should really give Norell a try. The cologne has a great sillage and is very longlasting. edit: This is super strong stuff even for my nose, so apply carefully, or surrounders will drop dead around you (as suggested in the first ad above)

I am wearing this lovely Vintage today. There is a green powdery feel to this with the depth many classic vintage perfumes have. Along the lines of Chanel No 5 but with a touch of Fiji. It is elegant and a privilege to wear a fine example of historical perfume. And one I will turn to periodically, but not hurry to source another, as this one doesn't bring a longing to me to wear and wear again. Edit: So I was wearing Norell Cologne (a very vintage bottle) all day yesterday. I was cooking dinner and my teenage son came in and said, "It smells like grandma in here". I twigged it was the Norell and I offered my wrist. "Yes, that's the smell". My mother is dead and she didn't wear Norell, but did wear vintage Rochas Femme in his vicinity and other perfumes of a bygone age. I do NOT want to smell like my mother, although Femme I do wear as I've also worn it since my teens on and off. I just gave my husband a whiff of it today and he likes it. So I might not give up on it just yet!

I've got a new bottle (definitely current reform) and I'm so torn by this one...It opens right away with earthy moss that just isn't in line with the beautiful top notes it's supposed to possess. I expect more citrus and lovely light floral but all I get is oakmoss overload!! It overpowers everything and never softens. It's really sad as the notes all look so beautiful, this should smell like a heavenly forest romp. Instead, it smells too much like moldering dirt and decaying leaves. Update: Duh!! The lightbulb just went on! This is a chypre floral by every possible definition. The dark heaviness is just too much of the oakmoss monster. It drags the fragrance down and won't let it up for air. If they would cut it in about half, this would be perfection! Fragrantica people, you need to re classify this one!

I am wearing Norell, a gift from a younger friend in the 1990s. I was in the 30s when I received it. I remember it from the advertisements in Glamour Magazine in 1970. Billed as The First Great Perfume Born in America. Today I won an Ebay auction for an almost empty tube of gold Norell lipstick from the estate of Lita Baron, a Spanish born beauty, singer and dancer, who played Ricky Ricardo's dance partner. She also was in movies and some of the earliest TV jungle films and westerns. The lipstick is a grooved square gold tube with an N in the middle. I am trying to place the year. It came in a velvet pouch with a matching vial of Norell fragrance. The tube is aged. Ms. Baron died in 2016 at 92 years of age. If anyone remembers when this product first came out I would love to know!

EDC/Vintage bottle Yum, this bottle of Norell goes on sharp and green and floral, it is loud and strong, the green has a pleasant bitter screechy texture to it. Once the citruses in the top disappear it becomes a darkish floral, maybe a little spicy--is it the carnations? The top and heart burn off in an hour. The base is quiet and sweet, even a little soapy. There is a bit of oakmoss, a tinge of sandalwood, and some sweet woody soap. Far into the drydown I detect a note of leather. Lasting power all together for my bottle is 3-4 hours. Norell makes me sad, because I love bitter green oakmossy perfumes, and they are so out of style it's not funny. If I want to smell fresh and clean I'll take a shower and shampoo my hair, really!

A beautifully spicy green floral, I would say it resembles the original Charlie in some ways except for the spice. Some time after it first came out it was reformulated, but thankfully was then reformulated again in 1997 back to the original 1968 formula; the bottle I have is from '97 and smells like the vintage I remember from way back. Faye Dunaway was brought on as the spokesperson for the perfume. It's one that I collect more than wear, I wish the green would hang around longer before it sweetens up to the extent it does with the florals and vanilla, but it's fun to wear now and then when I'm thinking of that era.

BIG mistake! I added two sprays to my usual two or three of Norell. Norell reminds me of " NOEL," thus I was celebrating the season. Never, never has my husband referred to my fragrances with anything but positive comments. He uttered the disrespectful, "uuuugh, smell like an old lady's perfume." I'm waiting for the floral to emerge before I decide to swab some of it off. Happy Holidays, all.

LOVE Norell and always will... It's the biggest bang for the buck you will find... It's like walking into an old fashioned garden... The narcissus and carnation are dominant on me... You do not need much and it will last all day. It's a very old school glamorous fragrance... When you think of perfume... THIS is perfume...

As charmingly androgynous as the bottle and label would suggest. The only thing that really differentiates it from a cologne are its powder and soap notes. A very fresh mix of cedar, cinnamon, lemon, and clove.

Bought a nearly full vintage bottle of this at an estate sale. It smells expensive and refined, old fashioned. A good alternate if I want something within the realm of White Diamonds but softer and brighter.

Saw this during the holidays in a two-pack for a song. I couldn't agree more that this smells like an expensive soap. When used sparingly, it is the perfect office scent.

I am using the Eau de Cologne and very sparingly but still, this stuff is so strong... It's such powerful complicated stuff that I am struggling slightly to seperate the notes. At the top there is a LOT of narcissus, with some dry lavender running underneath it. I also get some carnation which gives it an interesting warm/cool see-saw effect with the lavender. There is something ever so slightly sweet that comes in a few minutes later. I can't quite put my finger on it...not quite hyacinth and not quite jasmine..sweet pea is probably the closest thing. Oh wait...here comes the jasmine! As it dries down it becomes very very soapy on me. It's like an expensive, top quality triple milled french soap, but soap none the less. Vetiver comes on strong now and rose as well. To be honest, I am having a really hard time with this. I definately agree with Jalutschka about it being an earthy green chypre, but it's also definately floral. It is rather sophisticated I suppose, it's definately not for shrinking violets. It brings to mind an authoratative woman with absolutely unshakeable self confidence. For some reason I envisage Sigourney Weaver in Working Girl! This would probably put the fear of God in all your employees if you were the executive wearing this. I doubt that this one will help you break through the glass ceiling, but if you were clutching a bottle of this, you could probably put quite a few cracks in it.

I remember I did a blind buy of this fragrance about ten years ago or so, it came with the body wash & lotion. I remember purchasing it because it was/still is very affordable & I said wth not? When I first smelled this, it definitely is a vintage type fragrance if I could use that term ever so loosey... I knew from the first spray that this would not be for me as it is too floral with carnation & gardenia taking over & those are two florals that I detest so I put it up & never touch it again until about a few weeks ago. A lovely fragrance friend of mine who lives out in the bay area in Cali loves vintage style frags so I gathered up a nice package with some samples & sent her the set, she was thrilled with this fragrance as she loves it. I am glad someone will get good use out of it & will actually enjoy it because I knew I was not. I will give this fragrance credit for having good projection & longevity especially given the price point. I do enjoy my vintage types of fragrances, but this is a big thumbs down for me!

Norell is like walking into a department store circa 1972 with all the popular scents swirling in the air. Worn in abundance, perfumes like this gave perfume a bad name. I had a large bottle some 25 years ago and somehow disposed of it because I never wore it. Too many notes, 28 are listed here. It is neither professional nor sexy, not sure how I could ever wear it. Too much all around

I've read so many lovely reviews but sadly this does not work on my dry olive skin neither does Ch 5. Norell was gifted to me in the eighties but I never liked it. Maybe now that I'm older I might have another go and see if I have changed enough to be able to appreciate it... I can only hope.

I really wanted to love Norell but it just doesn't work for me. I tried the vintage perfume, circa 1970. Love the bottle but can't get enthused about what's inside despite the fact that I love pretty much all of the stuff that makes up Norell.

This was my grandmother's perfume for almost the entirety of my life until we just couldn't find it anymore. To me this was a strong sharp floral with some earthy spiciness. It's not for the faint of heart and follows suit with the strong potent female fragrances of their time. The dry down to me is the most pleasant. It dries to a powdery floral that still holds a bit of warmth. I think this would be more fitting of a night out when it is more cozy, feminine and romantic as it ages. I personally didn't care for this fragrance because of its bold strength. While pregnant it often made me sick when she would wear it.

Fragrance Review For Norell Norell Top Notes Lavender Mandarin Orange Galbanum, Hiacynth Bergamot Narcissus Lemon Middle Notes Mimosa Coriander Carnation Iris Gardenia Orchid Arum lily Cinnamon Jasmine Ylang-ylang Rose Cardamom Base Notes Sandalwood Amber Musk Vanilla Oak Moss Vetiver Myrrh Cedar Wood Norell (1968) by Josephine Catapano My mother had this fragrance in her dresser table at her old Long Island family home. This is still in her collection but she says it might have been reformulated because it doesn't smell the same to her as it did back in 1968 and 1970 when she first wore it. She tells me over a cup of tea everything she lived through in the 60's which fascinates me. That is my favorite era in American history. She told me about the way she wore her hair in updos and beehive domes and hair like the Ronettes wore them "Hairspray" hair! She tells me of the way people dressed and behaved in public, how smoking and the cigar scent was everywhere including in the grocery stores. She recalls the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, race riots, the Civil Rights movement, LBJ, MLK JFK and RFK. For her this fragrance is the 60's in a bottle. Josephine Catapano the nose who formulated this perfume is also the nose who created 2 other vintage beauties I love to wear: Zen by Shiseido and Fidji by Guy Laroche. This is a very beautiful floral fragrance in the style of those other 2 perfumes although nothing like them that is not a dupe for either of them. A fresh green citrusy and soapy floral woodsy perfume of mature elegance, sophistication, lady like ways and tranquility. It gives me the same kind of relaxed clean coming out of a bath scent. I can't compare it too much to other vintages but if I had to drop some names as far as the category and essence this is in the same group as White Shoulders Evyan Chamade Guerlain Charlie Revlon and to a degree similar to Stetson Coty. If you have worn those type of fragrances, you'll know what I'm talking about. Soapy, clean, fresh, floral and powdery very conservative and no nonsense. It was probably worn by Lady Bird Johnson. It's also pretty modest and unassuming, straight forward and mature. Norell opens with bergamot orange mandarin and a lemon that is rather sharp and a tad sour. The fruitiness does not last long and it goes from citrus to florals fairly quickly. A lavender is present in the opening that comes and goes before it embraces the flowers that make up this perfume. A carnation scent is what I detect most in the performance of the heart notes, but the mimosa and ylang ylang are also present. So this is a kind of carnation and rose reddish flower with yellow floral notes and white floral notes. The white flowers that stand out are the Arum lily the gardenia and the narcissus. For a while the narcissus is the dominant note and it is very soapy, like a kind of flower power scent. It makes me visualize flower print minis worn by young fashionable hippies in Haight Ashbury San Francisco. This is a soapy fresh and sudsy perfume. It smells very leisurely and laidback. It has a dash of spice in it too but it is never too smoky or sultry. There's ginger for sure. Cardamom ginger. There might be some cloves that are not listed but there is definitely coriander. Spicy floral and soapy floral at the same time. The myrrh seems to only lift up the florals and give them some support. AS the perfume dries it turns into a very lovely soap and a skin scent, like your own natural fresh skin smelling of this perfume with a drier woodsy undertone. The cedar wood is the big note in the dry down. Very woodsy and yet feminine. Though there is a detectable musk, it's always feminine. This is not a unisex. The florals are rather lady like. The scent of musk is not too powerful. Finally my nose sensed a greenish note of vetiver a warm resinous amber and sandalwood. Not enough of it to make it even slightly Oriental. The floral note of iris from the heart comes around full circle and the whole thing turns powdery. Norell is a casual day wear perfume. She matches up with white blouses, dress shirts, long sleeves, buttons, and conservative neutral colors. Nothing about this is glamorous or attention grabbing. She is mature in today's world of youthful gourmands and fruity florals. She takes herself seriously. This is a great perfume to wear in job interviews and to work in an office. My mother wore it when she was ages 18 through 22 and said it was a very lucky perfume. She got the jobs she wanted every time she wore it. She is also very attached to it and continues to wear it. I am very enchanted by it as a vintage and will wear it from time to time. I love the flowers and the vanilla note that creeps its way into the base although it's more about the woodsy note of cedar. This is a gorgeous floral for the lady who loves her flowers and her perfume to smell of flowers.

Norell, the signature fragrance of New York fashion designer Norman Norell. Norell is no longer a household name, but of course he did design some beautiful clothes. I recall him mostly for his sequined sheath dresses. Fonda (Jane) featured one in her Oscar-winning Klute performance. Norell called them 'mermaid' dresses, ...though of course they're quite different from the kind with obvious tails and other ichthyic details. Anyway, ...Norell, the perfume, is a rather green floral chypre of such complexity that it paradoxically fuses together into something almost seamless. Though it does change over time as a whole; ...starting out very galbanum green and then shifting by slow degrees upon its oakmoss base, into a much more honeyed state. That honeyed quality may be what some identify as narcissus, though Perhaps just knowing that Norell is a deeply mossy chypre, of both green and honeyed aspects, is the main take-home message here. Despite its many notes, Norell is very oakmoss-dominated, ...even for a chypre! As for Norell's purported similarity to Fidji, ...yes, it is present, but only as a generality. They may arise from common ground, but each leans in a different direction. Fidji is relatively light, spicy, and florally sweet, compared to Norell. Frankly there are a number of other chypres that partly overlap here, though none fully replicate Norell. I sampled a few that seemed similar for comparison: Creation by Ted Lapidus, Knowing and Private Collection, both by Estée Lauder, ... all are in the general vicinity, but none are quite the same. With Norell, the oakmoss dominates more fully and overtly than with any of the others.

I smiled when I saw RobBob's review here because I remember seeing Norell in "The Eyes of Laura Mars" too!!! And, to me at the ripe old age of 17, and just having started to wear Norell, I thought that was so awesome! I LOVE Norell and have for almost 40 years. When I was in high school, my favorite Biology teacher; Mrs. Sunny Denes, wore Norell, and I always complimented her on her perfume and asked her a million questions about it. I was lucky enough my Junior year to be an aide to her biology classes and as thank you at the end of the year, she gave me the most wonderful present - my very first bottle of Norell!!! I was so touched and thrilled - it meant the world to me - there was no way that my family or I could have afforded such a luxury. I still have the empty bottle. I was really sad when I could no longer find Norell at Department stores, then it started to be carried very cheaply at drug stores and then it disappeared here in San Diego, CA entirely. I still can't find it - not even at our higher end stores like Nordstrom...and while I do see it very often on eBay, I'm too suspicious to purchase there again - in 2012 on eBay I bought a bottle of New Sealed In Box Climat by Lancome and it was a total fraud from the Soviet Union and it smelled like hairspray. Sigh...

I was happily surprised to read Whit’s comments about a new version of “Norell” being sold on the Bergdorf Goodman site. I can only assume this is a new reformulation and not the ghastly Five Star version of this masterpiece. I consider “Norell” as Josephine Catapano’s best creation ever. Even better that “Fidji” or “Youth Dew” (allegedly created by her). I have five vintage bottles of this perfume. On four of them the sticker at the bottom of the bottle states “Dist by Norell Perfums”. Onkly one of them is “Dist by Prestige Perfums”. “Norell” was made by Revlon who sold the license to Prestige. There is no difference between the Norell and the Prestige perfume. However, there is a huge difference between the Prestige and the Five Star version. Also, the original was a Cologne, never an Eau de Toilette or an Eau de Parfum. If you have an Eau de Toilette or Parfum, then it is a reformulation and not the original one. My most beautiful version is the one exclusively sold by Tiffany jewelers. The shape is the same however the color of the bottle is black and gold. It really looks like a Tiffany gem made of ebony and gold. Let’s hope that the new version will do justice to this olfactory masterpiece.

As far back as I can remember my mother wore Norell as her signature and periodically Estee and Bal a Versailles. She was a force of nature, an amazing saleswoman, loved world travel and always dressed a little "over the top". I have a few of her vintage things: angora beaded beret, beaded/spangled evening bags, scarves. Ok, folks this is DECADES later and there is still an echo of Norell where there's a small stain in one purse, a scarf I never wore, but couldn't part with...you get the idea. This chypre has some serious staying power. I had a Mother's Day bottle stashed for her before she passed away. Awhile ago I opened it and sprayed a scarf. It wasn't the same and now I know why...reformulation. It wasn't as "rich" and full, just an echo of the original, a more shallow scent. I love scents with "presence" like Aromatics and Eau de Star, but I can't carry this newer addition, nor the vintage. It smelled gorgeous on my mother, maybe you have to be a Diva, or have been royalty in another life. I curtsey to those who can carry off this forest-vetiver cloud, queen of all you survey :) enjoy and definitely wear some spangles and satin!