Byzance

Rochas byzance So I have the vintage and the 2019 remake. They are NOTHING alike. I’m not talking just typical failed reformulation whatever, no. These are two COMPLETELY different scents, they have NOTHING to do with eachother. The vintage is a spicy aldehydic carnation that to me smells of a very specific type of incense that I can not currently recall, but it makes me think of ancient places, tombs, pharaohs, old Byzantine (appropriately lol) churches, and even curiosity shops, but the nice ones with real old curiosities, not your run-of-the-mill headshop filled with cheap trinkets that are probably made in China. It is DIVINE. The new one, however, smells like your typical 2000s/early 2010s vanilla-heliotrope-ginger sweet but “young” (but not childish or teen-like) a la Hugo Boss Deep Red, Dsquared2 want, Dior Poison Girl Unexpected, etc. Except it’s even sweeter and much thinner and cheaper smelling than and not nearly as good as any of those, not that I’d consider any of those to be “expensive” smelling in the first place. It smells much more like an impression of vanilla, heliotrope, and almond, without actually using ANY of those real notes and just using the cheapest aromachemicals around to vaguely approximate the smell of them, hence the impression of ginger without an actual ginger note, or without smelling solidly of ginger. I’ve noticed that can be quite a good tell-tale sign of really cheap aromachemicals used in place of vanilla-they have this very slightly tingly almost ginger-like scent but it *doesn’t* smell like real solid ginger but rather like a vague impression of ginger. I don’t think this is even always intentional as I smell this “gingery” edge in a lot of really cheap sweet vanilla based scents, especially from the 2000s and early 2010s. 2019 Byzance is clearly another victim/result of that. No wonder a 2oz bottle can be had BNIB/SIB for $20. Believe me it is no steal, you’re getting exactly your moneys worth. In fact, most of the money must be going towards the bottle, which for the price is very pretty. But even with THAT said, the vintage bottle is MUCH more beautiful! The new bottle even LOOKS cheap compared to the vintage bottle, which is gorgeous and looks like a museum artifact. It feels like a gorgeous glass antique, which I suppose now it actually is too lol! Whether you are new to Byzance, or true to Byzance, do NOT even BOTHER with the 2019 version!! I’m a collector so I figured I wanted both for collections sake anyway, but it’s honestly such a tragedy (especially after smelling the vintage, but even before that it wasn’t something I’d ever wear and would’ve/will served strictly as a decorative piece in my collection lol) that even though I only paid a measly $21 for it, and I can’t even think of another perfume that can be had for that price that I even want, I wish I’d put that $21 towards the purchase of another more expensive perfume than wasting it on this. But the VINTAGE Byzance, I am THRILLED to have in my collection. It is utterly GORGEOUS, and not just the bottle but the scent too! Seriously. It is STUNNING. And I’m not even an incense-freak nor a massive aldehyde fan. I like incense, love it irl, but can be picky about it in perfumes, especially as a central note/accord. As for aldehydes, take that and double it-I love a good aldehyde but am even more picky about them than I am about incense. So by no means is any incense-aldehyde a guaranteed like for me, even if I can appreciate as a perfume otherwise. But this is both something I can appreciate as a perfume/work or art AND that just plain smells GREAT. It’s one of those perfumes that has me huffing my wrist repeatedly, it’s addictive and intoxicating and I just can’t get enough! It also reminds me a bit of Catholic Church incense, not a literal interpretation but the nod is definitely there. I went to a Polish Catholic Church (in America) so maybe the type of incense they used was different than your typical western Catholic Church, because while this certainly does NOT smell like your typical “Catholic church incense” perfumes such as CdG Avignon, it totally does remind me of my church that I attended as a child. Sorry this is sort of a double review for both, but it felt important and also, kind of impossible NOT to review one without contrasting with the other, especially since I have both side by side so I’m in a perfect position to compare the two. But if you are thinking about going with the 2019 to save a buck, just don’t, ESPECIALLY if you’re familiar with the smell of the vintage trust me you will be SO DISAPPOINTED they’re not even in the same genre! Sad they’re clearly just trying to ride the Byzance name and bottle and its popularity because they clearly did not even TRY to make the 2019 version an actual reformulation. It’s not even a SEMBLANCE of a reformulation. Even the WORST reformulation (that is an actual reformulation attempt and not just a blatant rip off of the name like this) is a better reformulation than this. 2019 “Byzance” could’ve and should’ve been a completely different perfume under a different name if it had to be released at all (though I suspect it never would’ve been if not for the Byzance name because this juice is clearly NOT an attempt at any sort of actual composition but rather just total worthless filler that they created quickly and cheaply so that they could sell the CONCEPT aka name). But even if you’ve NEVER smelled the vintage, still don’t get the 2019. Because even aside from the COMPLETE lack of ANY sort of resemblance to the vintage/original, the 2019 version is also just a bad scent in its own right. Cheap, generic, and THIN-like it doesn’t have any real notes, just a dirty dishwater blend of the CHEAPEST aromachemicals there are (we’re talking like cheap Walmart/dollar store body spray level) that are then drowned in some sickeningly sweet aroma chemical that ALSO doesn’t smell/feel like REAL sugar, but rather like a nasty chemical artificial sweetener that is simultaneously TOO sweet and lacks the depth of real sugar making it feel too sweet and not sweet enough at the same time. I don’t like to leave scathing reviews, especially since most scents I dislike are down to simple personal preference, but in this case the 2019 Byzance is actually BAD. Not just not to my taste. It’s simply bad, very poor in quality. I actually love vanilla and almond and heliotrope, a LOT! Many of my favorite scents contain these. In fact, I’d say these are some of my all time favorite notes, especially almond. If the scent was well done, I could’ve and would’ve definitely enjoyed it as a scent in its own right, even if I considered it a terrible reformulation, or NOT a reformulation at all. But that’s exactly the point here-it’s NOT well done, it’s just as bad of a scent in its own right as it is a reformulation. But since I don’t want to end this review on a negative note; you simply MUST try the original/vintage Byzance! This stuff is MAGICAL. A true magic potion! And with a bottle to match! The name, the scent, everything fits PERFECTLY. This is one of those perfumes that is not a mere perfume but an *experience*. This is one of those perfumes that has the power to whisk and transport you away to an ancient Byzantine palace (back in its actual time too!) every time you pick up the bottle and/or sniff or catch a whiff of the juice. Wow wow wow! And it looks like a stunning ancient artifact on my perfume table! Although I bought a rather sizable bottle, this is a perfume I will DEFINITELY be obtaining backups of-MANY of them! And it will be a lot of fun as the vintage Byzance has been sold in many different bottles over the years, all beautiful, so it will be great fun to collect different ones! I can’t believe I waited this many years to try it, and, despite the fact that it actually *does* get a decent bit of hype on here at least, I can’t believe this doesn’t get a lot MORE hype! I mean imo this is every bit as classic and incredible and magical and timeless as vintage YSL Opium, which is another STUNNER. But dare I say I think I actually might like this one even a tad bit *more*? And folks I ADORE vintage Opium!!! This is honestly one of the best vintages I’ve ever smelled. THANK GOD I decided to order both versions at the same time as opposed to getting the 2019 first because had I made the mistake of getting the 2019 first, I fear it would’ve turned me off of getting the vintage for many more years, possibly even forever, and what a crying SHAME that would’ve been. Never judge a vintage by its reform! ;) And go get the vintage, you won’t be sorry :)

Byzance Wow! I bought this is a lot on eBay and I love the bottle itself. It looks like some ancient magic oil that belongs on an altar, anointing statues of the Old Gods. Someone here said it made her feel like a High Priestess anointing herself whenever she puts it on and I can’t agree more! I have a vintage bottle with the delicate pink string. Since I only bought the lot for the Opium and the Magie Noire, I had no idea what to expect from Byzance since I had never heard of it. It starts off feminine and dries down to a masculine white musk. I’d say it’s a unisex perfume for a man who can pull off the initial florals and wait for the dry down. When it first hits, I think of the word “White” for some reason. Some people on here compare it to a marble statue. I guess, but it wafts and swoops in a way that statues DON’T. It’s more like white incense. There’s something dry about it, like a white sand desert. Every flower under the sun seems to be present in its ingredients list. But the spices come in quickly underneath them, undercutting them as if the flowers were mere bystanders and beside the point. I know it’s called Byzance and people are likening it to pristine white churches of the Byzantine era, but honestly, no one remembers the ancient world further back than that. Or maybe ancient Egypt. The blue and gold bottle and the strong scent of incense makes me think of ancient Babylon instead. Its huge blue and gold Ishtar gate, specifically. There’s supposedly cedar, which I haven’t encountered yet, but it certainly would call to mind the middle east. Babylon stretched all the way to present-day Lebanon, so that makes sense. Of course, the Byzantine empire at its height also encompassed that region, so...potatoe potato. I still prefer imagining myself passing through the Ishtar gate when I smell it. This scent has really held up over the years in this vintage bottle. Even if some notes have deteriorated over the years from the original scent, it’s still imminently wearable today. It’s not heavy or brocade in the way some ambers are. It’s light and bright and has an uplift at the end. Maybe that’s the mandarin orange. This is definitely someone’s Signature Scent. Not mine, but someone’s! Some people are saying it’s cold. I don’t get that AT ALL. It smells warm to me, hot even, like fire. White Opulence is all I can think of. I love it, but beware! You CAN overdo it, easily! It can be overpowering if you do.

So, I had to investigate the possibility of a return of Byzance after reading the two posts below mine by Ioanna Touliatou and wyvfonseca claiming to have seen/obtained Byzance at two non-U.S. sites. News Parfum seems to be owned and operated by the same company that is in charge of origines-parfums. Both sites have the same/similar inaccuracies in their naming conventions and images for their purported "Rochas" fragrances (and for others I glanced at as well - do your homework before you buy much here because some of it seems okay and some is just plain old not right) and I am sad to say neither is selling a new Byzance - although they both use the name or a version of it to perhaps encourage you to think they are (or maybe they just don't know better) The one shows their fragrance lablelled "Byzantium" which is interesting as of course as well as Byzance Rochas briefly had a Byzantine - but there is no Rochas Byzantium anywhere else, including the official Rochas site, in the world. Proctor and Gamble sold Rochas in 2012 and who owns the majority of the fragrance names now I don't know. I do know that Origines' Byzantium/Byzance isn't trying hard to pretend to have any resemblance to Byzance at all - the notes given are Head: Cardamom, Cedar, Heart: Jasmine, Rose, Base: Vanilla, Sandalwood, White Musk. No spice, carnation,tuberose, aldehydes, etc Cedar? Nah. News Parfums, which lists it as Byzantium but refers to it on it's page mostly as Byzance, is sort of honest in their description where they say flat out Byzance no longer exists and they can't sell it, but the honesty ends there as they have a Madame Rochas styled blue bottle of something for sale. I hope that whatever fragrance is in those bottles is pleasant, so buyers get something for the not miniscule price tag. If you're really seeking Rochas Byzance though, these two sites are not the places to go. You'll only find disappointment. =(

To me there are no words to say how astonishingly beautiful this perfume is. For many years it was my absolute favourite. The only thing is that, although I think the later formulation still deserves that comment, the quality of the perfume was downgraded. It was much more sophisticated before, absolutely divine. The only negative point was that for me as the wearer it was too feeble. Nevertheless, the other people kept smelling it even at a distance. The reformulation is stronger, but the scent is not so special. It is sweeter and more common. I do not like it nearly as much. It was more metalic before, more out of the world of common experiences, something people would identify straightaway as a very good perfume. The first thing I like about it is the aldehyds soapiness, really well tempered by the other notes, because it is not overwhelming as in other aldehydic perfumes, it is sharper but in a very subtle metalic way. Although I do like strong perfumes, the subtlety of this one, because the projection was great nevertheless, is another quality I do appreciate about Byzance. And I like everything else about this perfume, including the bottle and the colour of the perfume. The original bottle produced colour effects due to the colour of the perfume, changing colour depending on the angle you looked through. It is a big loss this one to have been discontinued. Thank God I stockpiled several bottles before that happened and still have several bottles. Because though I think the original was superior, I admire very much the reformulation as well. To me Rochas had the most beautiful perfume collection in the world: Byzance, the original Lumiére, Mystére, the original Femme and Madame Rochas.

I simply adore this fragrance. It's as full of mystique as it is of rich sensuality. It's creamy, romantic, decadent, incensey, deep, and fascinatingly mysterious. Like the glorious Byzantium from antiquity, Byzance has the characteristics of a melting pot, it embodies the fusion of different cultures, the fusion of Europe and Asia, of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, too, and in the same ambiguous way it features and blends notes that are distinctive of different olfactory groups (is Byzance really a Chypre floral, or rather a spicy oriental, or even an aromatic scent, as some reviewers have stated below?). Byzance and its sister fragrance Byzantine share the same solemnly beautiful bottle. If Byzance's intensely cobalt-blue bottle reminds us of the mysteries of night, Byzantine's golden bottle could evoke the luminosity of the sunny Bosphorus and the golden mosaics on the walls of Byzantine churches. Indeed, both border on mystic bliss for me, and above all Byzance. All the enigmas from the Orient and its ancient civilizations seem to emanate from its blue bottle. The inscrutable secrets of time let themselves be glimpsed for a second the moment we apply this superb fragrance to our pulse points. Ancient, yes. Enjoying Byzance is now a matter of archaeology and many of us will mourn its absence forever. Being a lover of archaeology myself, I'm treasuring my only remaining bottle as if it was a Byzantine balsamarium! Why did Rochas have to discontinue this enthralling creation, and keep launching offensively shallow fruity scents like the new Muse? It's a shame that Procter & Gamble show such little sensitivity to the art of perfumery!