Ruffles

I'm so glad that I had the chance to sample this now obscured fragrance that not many people in my generation seem to know about - possibly a well kept secret? This experience felt like a loving whisper in my ear. The scent itself is quite beautiful, unbelievably 80s. There's scents that made the 80s by artificially creating a zeitgeist... and fragrances that were quintessential and belonged effortlessly to the time. Ruffles appears to be the later. The notes listed here appear to be very accurate but like the fragrances of the time, they don't seem to do much listed. The fragrance is so meticulously blended that it doesn't seem to give light to a single ingredient, but more accords or whole ideas. My friend described this as hairspray and shoulder pads but personally, while I get that completely, I feel that it smells of a scent one would use to cover up the scent of a cigarette with? Or like someone just came back from a smoke break? Might sound gross, but it's quite lovely. Just imagine, it's 1984 and you're working your nine to five job in business firm and she comes back wearing a sleek black Chanel suit and gives you a quick wave before sitting in her cubicle. She smells faintly of rich tobacco and this. It's powdery aldehydes, creamy tuberose and honey and a soft civet note that just makes it a bit more deep. It's a little sweet, a little mossy and very floral in the background. Just GORGEOUS. At the start, the tuberose was quite alien and ghost like. Almost as though the other ingredients were completely transforming it or the other ingredients were used to create a tuberose accord. Very unusual and VERY complex. The iris is beyond beautiful. Carnation like in many scents of the time... I never lived in the 80s, but it makes me feel like I could have.

Isn't it amazing that this was once considered suitable for a twelve-year-old, or for a "first" perfume? Nowadays it would be seen as a very grown-up fragrance indeed. I have the esprit de parfum, and it's a real powerhouse of a floral oriental in the high 80s style. Somewhat sweet due to the honey and caramel, with a beautfully blended floral heart. It has a richness and depth that I think are uncommon today. The civet definitely hints at naughtiness. This kind of hidden treasure makes me perfectly content not to be spending £££ on niche offerings as I have never sniffed one with this level of quality - which isn't suprpising since several of the notes here are undoubtedly made from natural ingredients that are now banned. And this was just a standard department store offering thirty years ago. It's just gorgeous, but very much an evening fragrance - and I'm not someone who takes much notice of appropriateness, but I don't think I'd feel comfortable in the supermarket with this on!

My aunt and grandmother bought me Ruffles for Christmas of 1983, I had turned 12 a few weeks earlier and they thought that it was time for my first "grownup" perfume. I was slightly miffed that my older cousin got the regular ODR scent and I got Ruffles since it was considered more "appropriate" for a preteen. I thought that I was getting the "baby" perfume until just recently when I discovered a source on EBay. Upon receiving the tiny bottle one sniff brought me back 30 years! It definitely isn't a "baby" perfume but has a very soft presence that my aunt and grandmother felt was better for a 12 year old sixth grader. I remember getting Ruffles for at least 3 years or so, always at cologne strength. The bottles I have now are EDT with a little more staying power.

I agree with everything previously said here. Ruffles was an exquisite perfume and in one of the classiest falcons I have ever owned. The fragrance was delicious but not in a gourmand way. It was all about the flowers, but not overly sweet. Something in the base notes, perhaps the honey and sandalwood, made all the other notes come together in perfect harmony. I miss the fragrance. It had class and brought many admirers my way. If we ask nicely maybe Oscar will bring this one back.

I no longer have this, but back in the day (1980s) this was divine. It was nuanced and complex. It was not overly musky, and by 1980s fragrance standards, this was among the more subdued. I have no idea how a bottle of this would have aged. I used the perfume and layered with the fragrance powder. Such a great scent memory.