Femme Rochas

I love to read about my favorite perfumes and I found this from a member of another perfumery website regarding the cumin note in Femme. Obviously I can't vouch for the veracity of his claims but it sure is fascinating: [from user PERFUMEKEV] Hello Team, Yes I am a perfumer and an avid collector of vintage perfumes. I have been collecting since I was 8 years old and am now 40. I started training as a perfumer when I was 18 and worked in the industry for 22 years. I have worked with I.F.F.,Symrise, Fragrance Resources and drom fragrances internatonal. I am now self employed. I have a Huge collection of antique perfume bottles more than 4000 bottles at this time. OK enough about me :o) and onto Femme de Rochas, I have spoken with some wonderful perfumers who are no longer with us and some who are who knew Edmond personally. Femme is built around a fruity peachy leathery base from DeLaire called Prunol. Prunol has a decent amount of Cumin Aldehyde in it. Most of the Classic perfumers worked in solutions of alcohol to save money, time, and to prevente accidental overdoses. So perhaps when Femme was originally constructed it had the prunol added in as a 10% alchohol solution. The reaction of Cumin Aldehyde in alchohol forms dimethyl and diethyl acetals of that Aldehyde. The Diethyl and Dimethyl Aldehydes are uslually much softer and much less appernet than a fresh aldehyde. Therefore the older the bottle of Femme is the less "cuminic" it smells. I have a very old bottle of Femme Parfum and I can definitely discern the Cumin note. It is very degraded and almost unapparent, but it is those cumin aldehyde degradation materials that I smell. The bottles from the 1960's and 1970's smell more "cuminic" than the 1940's and 1950's bottles. because they have aged less time. The other material that is so important to Femme de Rochas is another base from DeLaire called Fut Cinque. "Barrel 5 in English". It was used in the original Femme and it came from barrels that where out in the stock yard of DeLaire in the South of France. This "barrel 5" was a reaction accord and it had sat in the sun and the cold for many years. The Roudnitskas realized that there was something really beautiful about the smell of this barrel 5. The original batches of Femme where made only as a PERSONAL GIFT to the best clients of Marcel Rochas. However when the perfume proved to be extremely popular the team at DeLaire whent back to research what had gone into barrel 5. forntunately at this time exact records where kept as to all experimental materials the company was working on. They then Came up with a process that replicated the contents of barrel 5. It was then called Barrel 5 substitute. This secret base apears in many of Edmond Roudnitska's formulas. From Eau D'Hermes, Moustache Rochas, Mouslene Rochas, The Original Eau Fraiche Dior, Dior-Dior, Diorella, Eau Sauvage just to name a few. I also smell Prunol DeLaire in almost all of these great treasures of perfumery. These two notes were central to the style of M. Roudnitska. What happened later when Edomond and his wife moved from DeLaire to form their own company called "Art et Parfum". I belive at some point and time Perfumes Rochas was taken over by other people other than Marcel Rochas and Edomond Roudnitska. I know by the time the cumin monster version of Femme came out in 1989 either the Prunol base was very fresh or Quest the perfume house that reworked Femme could have used their own version of Prunol. Also at this time Haarmann and Riemer now Symrise took control of the DeLaire Specialty Bases. They shortend and modernized the production methods used in the original DeLaire formulas. Also what probably happened as well was that the way perfumes were constructed was done differently in the earlier decades of the 20th Century. It is a technique called nesting, where pieces and parts of the formula are made and aged in specific order giving a very special note to a finished fragrance. Edmond's Wife Therese was a chemist who worked at DeLaire. She understood the importance of reacting certain materials together to make notes that other perfumers would not have. One example is a certain natural material would be heated with a synthetic material for many days, and then could be distilled ,and then heated to a point that it would almost burn this creates a very unique note, this is only one example of the types of tailored made materials that the Roudnitskas' liked to work with. If you use enough materials that are made like this it is virtually impossible to recreate what the original perfumer made. With the amount of variables the perfume will always have a different smell. However this is what made classical perfumery so wonderful. It is the inconstancies and consistencies that makes something truly fabulous. foot note. Fete de Molyneux has a very good amount of Prunol DeLaire in it. That is why it smells somewhat like Femme

This is a beautiful fruity floral chypre. I love the clear glass bottle. I ordered mine from ebay and it came with a liquid that was more like dark red or wine-red, not the orange colored one as pictured in this photo. It was an EDT which meant the concentration was lighter and unfortunately not very long lasting but while it lasted it was heaven. The first accords I am smelling at the time I first spray it are the fruit notes. This is a fruit based gourmand, really, by today's standards. The first of it's kind in 1944 when first released, when most fragrances were soapy aldehyde florals. For this to be a fruity perfume in 1944 the wearer was likely a young woman in her 20s or 30s. I can smell this on the Andrews Sisters, Rita Hayworth, Judy Garland, Mae West (who supposedly inspire the bottle design and shape) and Betty Grable. The young ladies would have worn it in the day time with a pretty dress just to smell feminine as she went about her day casually. Nothing formal and or sexy-glamorous about this one. The fruits are a delicious with citruses, peaches, apricot and plum. It's like a light smoothie. The spices come through to keep it from being overly sweet and tart. The whole thing turns into a kind of fruit scented honey. To my nose the big fruit in it is the apricot. By the time the fruits start to mellow and slowly fade, the flowers merge with their sweet scent so as to become a vague fruity AND floral hybrid. There's definitely a carnation which was quite common as a floral note in those days. Another perfume coming out at this time at the end of WW 2 included Nina Ricci's L'air du temps which also prominently featured carnations. Then there's a jammy red rose in the heart but there's also a delicious bouquet of several other flowers i.e; rosemary, jasmine, iris, and ylang-ylang. To my nose the other floral note that stands out other than carnation is the note of rosemary and ylang ylang. The iris seems to come through for a while as the scent wears on and starts to get a little bit powdery but I don't find this to be a big powder bomb at all and not nearly as powdery or soapy as L'air du temps. The rosemary and ylang ylang are very nicely blended. The florals dissipate and in comes the spice notes. There's cinnamon but not too much of it, cloves, vanilla and tonka bean, just a very unisex kind of spice accord. The spices also make this fragrance come off as exotic. It's taking me to the South Pacific (where WW 2 was fought in part) and so it smells like the Philippines, Tahiti, French Polynesia, or Hawaii. It transports you to the Hawaiian islands too. The exotic air of spices is also further enhanced by the note of leather and musk. There's a dark vanilla. It's earthy, and just slightly mossy and woodsy. There's more musk to my nose than wood but definitely the classic signatures of Oriental base dry downs - amber, vanilla, musk. The dry down is warm. This perfume makes me feel so womanly so sexy you have no idea. No fragrance today selling at Macy's can do that for me. Femme can do it even in it's reformulated state. To me fragrances are personal and can turn into something for me that can't be the same to anyone else. It's my personal escapism. I love to wear this perfume, put on a vintage flower pattern dress, put on a hibiscus flower in my hair or a tiare white flower and look inviting and like an island girl in the day time for lunch dates. This perfume is so Heddy Lamarr, Dorothy Lamour who was the queen of the sarongs. This has to be worn with a sarong. Very hard to pull of that vintage look with this perfume but if Dita van Teese can do it, the young woman with the right make up and clothing of yesteryear can also do it. This perfume is so enchanting. If you're like me and love vintage clothes and vintage perfumes to go with them, then this is totally for you. I wear it in spring, summer and early fall. The scent is so intoxicating and it will seduce you most of all.

Ravishing! That’s the word that makes the most sense when talking about Femme, one of Edmond Roudnitska’s finest creations and one of the jewels of Rochas. Review based on a Parfum de Toilette from the 70’s. In the early 1940’s, with the devastation of WW2, fragrances sought to bring optimism and joy. Miss Dior was one, joyous and optimistic. Femme was another. But Femme was different; it was more sensual, more voluptuous. Originally dedicated to Hélène, the young wife of Marcel Rochas, it soon won the heart of its exclusive clientele and went public in 1944. Although it was created during a period of scarcity and post war devastation, Femme was incredibly rich, both in beauty and composition, featuring the now famous Prunol base from De Laire. Edmond discovered it in an abandoned warehouse and made copious use of it, creating the signature of Femme, and setting the path for future compositions. With a strong connection to Mitsouko, the fruity chypre from Guerlain, Femme amplifies the peach lactones, and marries them with stewed apricots and plums and prunes, creating a boozy fruit compote. Ionones, with their violet and rose tonalities, create a sepia haze of deep oranges and browns that shimmer in a silver ray of light. It’s fruity in a decomposing nature, almost rotting, honeyed; and it’s the most erotic ripe fruit accord in modern perfume history. Femme also makes use of warm spices; cinnamon, cumin (which degrades over time, making the vintage richer but also giving the impression it lacks cumin), cloves, with spicy carnation and a touch of rose and jasmine to create a tantalizing melange that feels warming rather than spicy. Rosewood, civet and castoreum, leather, resins and oakmoss in all its glory...they anchor Femme on skin for hours on end. It’s a candlelit glow, the warm embrace of a loved one finally returning home. Femme is sometimes oriental, more often than not chypre, but always gorgeous and profound. And this worn, lived in sensuality, is what makes her all the most appealing, less cerebral and more human than Mitsouko; they could be relatives, but while Mitsy was brought up among royalty, Femme had to fight her way through, gaining the experience that life brings the hard way. Femme, like many classics, was inspired by others (Mitsouko) but also inspired many; the rosewood in Habit Rouge is highly reminiscent of the woody accord in Femme. The bergamot, furocoumarin heavy in the vintage, has a dark edge just like in Shalimar, another inspiration that lends certain smokiness to Femme. Quadrille, Jubilation 25, Mon Parfum Cheri...tributes to the artistry of Edmond. Le Parfum de Thérèse; Edmond’s tribute to his own wife. There is a certain sensuality, eroticism, that Edmond knew how to infuse in his creations. He worked with many bases, he aged ingredients and created his own accords. His signature is complex, multifaceted, and never duplicated. There isn’t a creation of his that doesn’t scream elegance, carnality and beauty. And that’s why reformulations of his work are very inferior; they lack the artist’s touch. Femme was kept more or less loyal to Edmond’s formula until the late 80’s when it was reformulated to comply with the first big waves of the fragrance industry. From there on, Femme has been losing its chypre character and beauty to slowly become a spicy oriental, which is what is sold today. The complex formulation of the past, with its myriad of ingredients and accords, alchemically composed in a scarce period, as if pure magic, is now a simpler spicy peach that somehow still retains some of its beauty. It’s been facelifted, tummytucked and botoxed, but underneath there is still a glimpse of la grande vieille dame! Vintage: a spicy chypre, full on sensuality. Impecable, complex, engulfing. Not a single flaw. Modern: a less complex spicy ‘chypriental’, light on oakmoss and animalic notes, heavy on spices and cumin to make up for lost ingredients.

Honestly, I was afraid to try this perfume for a while. It's that cumin note that made me hesitate, plus I wasn't sure how the fruits would come across. But, I love big vintage chypres and orientals, and that's very much the territory of Femme. I finally caved on a blind buy and, thankfully, Femme is a "love" for me. At the price it sells for, the perceived quality of ingredients, and the fact that it lasts forever and projects pretty well, it's also an incredible bargain. I bought my bottle in 2020 and it has the clear/gold cap. Not sure how this compares to other versions. I like my fruit dry (not dried) and more "mature" rather than juicy, sweet, and youthful. The fruit here is exactly the kind I like. The plum is the dry bitterness of the peel and the refreshing but restrained taste of the white/clear flesh inside. It isn't a syrupy purple plum like Poison (which I also like, but, it's very different). The apricot does remind me of the apricot in Tresor- sort of a shampoo apricot, but it's tempered here. The peach is a Mitsouko peach. There's a spiciness (cinnamon, cloves) and the slightest touch of rosemary that makes all this fruit lean savory. All this fruit is very front and center from start to finish. Mitsouko EDP is probably the closest "if you like" type of comparison I can come up with. They both share the same approach to fruit laid over a dusty bed of oakmoss and woods and swirled with autumn spices. There's an austere refinement, depth, and a harkening back to older times that they both possess. Where Femme veers off for me is in the absolute femininity it evokes. Femme is indeed well named. I can't help but think of that photo of Audrey Hepburn barefoot in the kitchen and pulling some tasty baked good out of the oven. Both Audrey and Femme are quintessentially feminine in the stereotypical 1940/50s way: domestic, pretty, elegant but soft, and with this ephemeral boudoir air that is never overt but very much there. The leather is very apparent from start to finish and makes me think of the softest, finest grain light-brown kidskin gloves. The word "supple" comes to mind. There's also a waxy, almost creamy unscented but ever so slightly floral candle wax thing going on. Like tallow or the same kind of feeling that oily lilac can sometimes evoke (think the lilac in Mitsouko or Chamade). I find this appealing. I'm not sure if it's the cumin, the rosewood, the patchouli, and the musk (all of which are definitely present, but not distinct like the leather and fruit...they more act to provide shading and character to the main leather/fruit), but Femme also makes me think of fluffy fur coats. Not faux fur, but real fur with that tinge of animalic scent...possibly worn with nothing on underneath. The leather and that waxy scent probably play a role in this too. Again, something from another era but still a recognizable luxury today. This also brings out the other side of femininity, the more animalic, sexual side. While I don't think Femme screams sex! there is a definite undercurrent of sensuality here. I picture it like this: you're invited to a holiday dinner (Thanksgiving or Christmas, definitely, this scent encapsulates fall/winter to me, complete with crackling fire, mulled wine, and snow on the ground) and the hostess is beautiful, elegant, composed. Her jewelry and clothes are classic and high quality. She cooked everything you're eating from scratch, and it is delicious. Her manners are impeccable...And you know that as soon as the guests leave, the children are put to bed, and the dishes are cleaned, she and the host are going to have an incredibly passionate night together.

One Femme, three major reformulations. The clash between dirty cumin and Mitsouko. Fine animalic, fruity chypre with respectable preservation. Due to Rochas's lack of promotion, Amouage Jubilation(w) took over in terms of highlights. To me, the modern Femme is on par with the reformulated Amouage, despite the deviated price gap, which reflects the respect that >2009 formula and Olivier Cresp had for Roudnitska(original perfumer, 1943). So, any formulation of Rochas Femme is for people into chypres or just into complex perfumery. However, the post 2009 batches have obscurities that reflects its low pricepoint. I have briefly deduced the differences between the Roudniskta(1943), Olivier Cresp(1989) and >2009 formulations, for people in a hurry: (This is solely a differentiation based on the DNA, not a review) Edmond Roudnitska original formulation(PDT)- I will regard this has the reference to any consequent iteration of R.Femme. Dense Plum top with astringent florals in the mid coupled with cumin. Cumin as a material in any form is extremely sensitive which makes it difficult for perfumers to handle with. Here, the cumin is balanced around the traditional chypre construction adding depth with its animalic “human skin profile” around the plum and floral heart. The least tenacious version and the most fruity, maintaining a clean harmony between the fruits and BO; despite the cumin. A must to visualize the interlink between Roudniska and Femme, albeit Olivier Cresp was respectful enough. This is the weakest performer, with around 3-4hours of longevity on skin; tho can be extended if sprayed on shirt. I generally respray every 2hours. Olivier Cresp reformulation, post 1989(EDPThis straight up is a much bolder and sharper version, with an amped up cumin over the previous. The sharpness arises due to the anharmonicity of cumin used, and the base is animalic, reminiscent of unshowered human sweat. This is for someone into animalic and sweaty compositions, Salome and Rules of attraction comes to mind from the “animalic chypre” hierarchy. This is the strongest of the bunch, the over 8hrs on tenacity on skin; which is an unfathomable duration for a fruity chypre where the quality is preserved. Current formulation, post 2009(EDT)- An imbalanced cumin bomb with a harsh plum accord uptop. The plum lacks the richness of the original. With time, the entire structure shifts towards a muffled, unsynchronized duet between cumin, plum and harsh oakmoss. The cumin is strong, tho the plum gives off a detergent aroma (butyl formate) which is further exacerbated by an abrasive evernyl at the back. The incoherency of the materials increase with time, making it difficult to tolerate after an hour, often leading to the need to wash it off. The initial 20-30min of cumin+plum (femme) aura is respectable, tho the emerging plastic base ruins the reformulation. Everything has their pros and cons in disguise. Despite the harmonious balance between materials of varying densities in the original, it lacks the longevity expected by contemporary standards. Which infact is not seen in the “less” balanced compositions(2009 → current). A priority of performance over art with inferior craftsmanship does nothing other than induce distortion towards the true root. I personally prefer the original(E.Roudnitska) formulation due to the balance, however the Olivier Cresp reform is commendable. Tho, the modern falls short in every department; disrespecting the quality E.Roudnitska is known for, despite an intact DNA.

October is here again and Femme is the mood. My unapologetic adoration and unrelenting curiosity for vintage powerhouses was immediately piqued by this juice. After poring over review after review, scrutinizing the individual notes, and borderline obsessive ebay scavenging, I finally snatched up a delicate little bottle of vintage pure parfum. The box itself, with its black lace motif, was so utterly inviting that when I opened it to find the richly ambered juice within, topped with the little satin magenta ribbon, delight took over immediately. Make no mistake, even though the bottle was sealed, the intoxicating scent began wafting up shortly after. Bold and lush and perfectly pronounced straight out of the glass, I applied a very delicate drop to my wrists and the bombshell took over. Femme is the kind of fragrance who will wear you if you're not careful, and she is absolutely uncompromising, perhaps not quite to the extent that vintage Opium or the draconic Youth Dew embody, but there is an air of command to this juice. That oakmoss is no joke, lush as it is. The cumin note is what intrigued me most about the scent, but after application, there seemed only a whisper of it amongst the other notes, and it read mostly as a faint, warm skin musk beneath the rubied, heated plums, peaches and cinnamon. I will perhaps have to try the eau de parfum instead of the pure parfum, because apparently the cumin note is more noticeable in that particular formulation! (I'm absolutely mad about cumin in fragrance - it's a problem. Salome is my signature for a reason!) The fruit in Femme is what keeps me coming back, however. Previously I had only encountered an extremely ghastly plum in Marc Jacobs Decadence, which rather put me off fruited scents for a very, very long time. After being encouraged to try vintage YSL Yvresse, with its sparkling nectarine-peach magic, however, I was ready to give it another shot. I am so glad I did. The plum feels infused with what seems like almost violety ionones? It's very "more-ish," and I find myself with my nose almost constantly pressed to my wrist because of it. That might be the rosemary I'm reading, though, because there is an herbal quality undercutting the sweet richness of the fruit that keeps it beautifully balanced, but extremely magnetic all the same. To echo others, I've also found the sillage very intimate, but also I'm pretty conservative in my application. I can see Femme becoming overwhelming when applied with abandon. It is VERY hard not to apply more, because it's so, so beautiful, at all stages. This sustained beauty in a perfume is admittedly new for me - even some of my most adored scents have moments in their development that I'm not overwhelmingly fond of. Femme, however, is delicious and ripe at all stages, from application to drydown. Alternately bold, inviting, soft, elegant, sexy, refined - Femme is a kaleidoscopic, profoundly sensual experience that demands indulgence again and again.

I'd seen this compared so often to Mitsouko (which I own and love in the EdP version) and to Diaghilev (which I've tried and would like to own, but is out of my price range) that I knew I just had to try it. I'm somebody who doesn't like a lot of redundancy in my collection, but I liked Femme so much, and found it different enough from its fragrant cousins, that I immediately ordered a whole bottle. This is indeed pretty close to Mitsouko, which I've reviewed extensively. The dusty, herbal oakmoss, the lactonic peach, the leather and spices—they're all there in similar proportion. The big differences here are the plum and civet. Femme is juicier and richer compared to Mitsouko, precisely because of the prominent plum note, which is very realistic and sweet. The civet is dialed way up here, but not to Bal à Versailles level. So whereas Mitsouko is dry, spicy, refined, and austere, Femme is animalic, spicy, and herbal. I may just be more biased due to my undying love of Mitsouko, but I find her a bit more timeless than Femme, which dates itself, in large part thanks to that strong, dirty civet. Femme is more cloying, yet also more erotic. Compared to Diaghilev (which I will review separately someday once I own a bottle), Femme is less complex and floral. Diaghilev—supposedly an attempt to restore Mitsouko to her former glory, with a nod to fin-de-siècle Russian aristocracy—takes Mitsouko and adds spices, florals (especially ylang-ylang), and civet to create something stronger, sexier, more daring, and closer to the olfactory Zeitgeist of the early twentieth century. It is more animalic, but forgoes the boozy plum of Femme in favor of more oakmoss, narcotic florals, and cinnamon. If you love Mitsouko EdP, you'll like Femme, but probably not love her. The grandest of these formulations is Diaghilev, which is out of reach for most of us who aren't rolling in money. I myself am still torn between Diaghilev and Mitouko extrait, which is also exorbitantly expensive. But I digress. Femme is entirely wearable today, but you have to have to really wear her, or she can very easily end up wearing YOU. The complexity is there, but it is so easily reduced to a plum-civet waltz with an oakmoss orchestra. Definitely need cooler weather to make this work. In terms of gender, Femme is (perhaps unsurprisingly) more feminine and more old-fashioned. The thing is that she's so damn gorgeous (as is her bottle), a real show-stealer. Save her for yourself, or for large, boisterous gatherings, because that is when she truly comes alive. Definitely a more mature blend, but if I smelled this on a younger person (I'm 30, by the way), I'd be incredibly intrigued and impressed by their daring. Femme is an imminently affordable landmark fragrance worthy of any collection. Dance with her at your own risk. ;)

My review is for the EDT current not vintage version. Lately I fell into ! not out of the chypre wagon. It happened rather slowyly to me because although sampling many and except Mitsouko which I liked but felt hard to pull off for a while, I am usually attracted by deep or dark warm orientals. I had Jubilation 25 in the collection because I found that it is the dirtier more oriental and warmer twist to Mitsouko but even that one worked for me only here and there from time to time only. The switch happened recently with Amouage Gold Man and especially the beautiful civet / oakmoss dry down that lasts into the next day and made me say hey, I think I can surely pull them off in the end. And from there a few days of Weekend à Fontainebleau samples by Ideo Parfumeurs definitely made the switch. Now to Femme. I wanted first the vintage version fearing the 1989 reformulation but in the end the new version had some good reviews (despite even more reformulations on the road) - and hey, in the end Olivier Cresp did some great gourmands and cumin ties me to my oriental gourmands that I am not afraid of! Rightly so: the opening is a little bit disappointing as it comes out a bit on the cheap side but this lasts about 5 min. So it’s bearable. Likely fault of “do the same with much less money” disease of the mainstream houses. I think the nice part comes after that where I find a striking resemblance with Jubilation 25 (it’s the cumin add to the chypre structure) but a bit more mild, more gourmand (but also less intense) than J25. I think it depends on everybody’s tolerance or like of cumin, on my side it’s not one of my favorite notes but have no issue with it and find it interesting. But no need to be afraid of either as it is very far from the cumin infused souk of Ayzade by Parfums d’Empire for instance. So unless you are totally in dislike of cumin, it should not put you off. So overall lovely and I will wear it, but with the regret that it is like a grand unkept villa. You can see the past oppulence and brightness and imagine the elegant parties that could have taken place there but in daylight you see the cracks in the walls and the dust all over and old curtains So I will try to see if I can get my hands on a vintage version to really see how it was supposed to be. Why don’t big houses do 2 versions instead of new collections all the time: do a cheap version for big distribution (if they have to!!) and then do limited edition original formulas with all the costs and the initial proper ingredients in there so that we can also buy the real thing!

Femme is so classicly dignified, sensual and utterly womanly. This fragrance is mature, serious, but at the same time lascivous to the core, without being obscene. As many of the vintage classics, Femme takes her time to open, develop and settle, so don't be the inexperienced nose and judge on the first whifs. Wait. The opening is dominated by meaty/fleshy (not fresh/light!) fruit accord (I dominantly smell plum), thickly enveloped in sweetish spicy cinnamon/cloves accord. I've red comparison to vine, and adjectives like "boozy", and yes - the opening (only) bears some resemblance to spicy dessert drinks. But, as the scent settles, fruits are pushed back, leaving only the sense of fleshy fullnes, and from spicy cinnamon/cloves accord the cumin slowly rises and strenghtens, like a shadow of more polite and common spices. Flowers are tame, I can (to the point) resemble their presence somewhere between fruits and spices, and before drydown, but except from certain lightness in the middle of the developement, I really can not pick any of the given notes in particular. Cresp's cumin indeed plays the "ghost note", mimicking the woman's warmed flesh and skin beneeth the noted fruits and spices, and it is blended tastefully not to jump, but to masterfully intrigue while the fragrance settles into plush and smooth mixture of balmy woods, oakmoss and leather. The body of Femme temptingly intimate, yet nobile. This perfume is subtle, but very present, it doesn't project to grab attention, it smoothly lingers and whispers to invite. For me, this is "The Scent Of The Woman" - that's how the archetypal woman smells, when she is either completely nude - and/or - impeccably dressed up. For EDT, Cresp's version, issued (based on batchcode) 2011., bottle with black top, the box with "Rochas" written in red letters right under "Femme" in the middle of the box: *LOVE (In my "top 5", considering the fact that I usually have a problem with most of the fruits in perfumes, I find it fascinating.) *silage: arms lenght *longevity: long lasting (8+ hours, generously aplied) *weather, time: For me, this is strictly colder weather scent, starting from late-autumn. Casual to very formal. Day, but works perfectly as seriously elegant night scent. *discontinued: this version (Cresp's , 1989-2013) is still available, but the prices are going up. I'm planning to compare this version to the newest reformulation (Femme 2013), so update follows.

Vintage 60s cologne spray smells SO similar to the modern yet has a depth the 2019 version lacks. I can't smell skank or cumin or animals in either formulation (I wish I did). Just lots of prunol. I love the vintage, modern is just OK. 2019 smells much better layered with Charlie blue, I found out accidentally. It's like the modern Femme has no base notes. Edit: The more I wear either version, the more I like Femme, either version! I want to get my hands on an 80s/90s bottle for comparison, and the 2013 Cresp. I can definitely see myself going through 4 bottles of this in my lifetime. I've been spraying some in my bed! Such a comforting scent. Definitely a strong resemblance to the fruity side of Mitsouko. Like feminine, warm hugs from my aunties. 2nd Edit: I have the ribbed gold and clear plastic cap EDT version (2019 I believe.) I am addicted to this. While I CERTAINLY would love more oakmoss or leather, this is still a very pleasing perfume. I think it needed to rest after its mail travels to give me what it had to offer. At first I thought it was insipid and all I was getting was sickly sweet plum. My nose can't seem to detect more than that, but it MUST have more going on if I am enjoying it so much, RIGHT? What I appreciate most is the sweetness without being edible. Many of these old scents that have peach are sweet without sugar and not gourmands, and I love them. She's a dream for layering, love it with Mitsouko, Cabochard, Charlie Blue, and Emeraude. You can get Femme, even OLD bottles, for less than $40 on auction sites. If you love drugstore, legacy perfumes, and vintage, it's a must-try. It's definitely the same scent as my vintage cologne spray but sitting on a chypre base that's been neutered by IFRA. 😞 Lovely just the same, and has become a "dumb grab," which is almost unheard of for me. There should be multiple pages for this scent besides the 2013 Cresp version. 8/10 for the 2019--Great performance, feminine & sweet, but lacking moss and leather notes. I still rated this a "love" because while I DO love the scent; it's not pure perfection, when I know what I'm missing! 9/10 for the vintage--Scent is outstanding, but cologne formulation has poor longevity (which is to be expected for a cologne. I'd say get perfume de toilette or pure parfum if you can.) Another edit: do NOT over-spray, you WILL get a tummy ache, like eating too much pie 🍑🤢😂

[350] I have long wanted to try a vintage incarnation of this legendary chypre, as I've heard that the modern Femme is a shadow of its former self. I recently found an unopened vintage miniature from the 1980s on eBay, and it is simply beautiful. A rich, fruity chypre with a generous helping of oakmoss in the base, it reminds me of two of my personal favourite scents: Amouage Jubilation 25 and Frédéric Malle Le Parfum de Thérèse, the latter of which was also composed by Edmond Roudniska. There are echoes of other classic chypres present here also - most obviously Diorella and Mitsouko - but its most striking similarity on first sniff is to Jubilation 25. The beautiful plum note - a more unusual fruity note to feature prominently - reminds me of Le Parfum de Thérèse, which, while not a true chypre, shares some chypre characteristics with Femme et al. Rich yet nicely balanced throughout, Femme (or at least the vintage version) is up there with the very best. As a chypre lover, this is an excellent example of one - a real classic. Femme opens with a sweet, fruity accord, led by the aforementioned plum note. Some citrus adds freshness, and peach/apricot round it out, but the plum is the most prominent note here. Soft woody notes are present from the beginning, bolstered by spices; namely sweet, warm cinnamon and clove notes. After a little while, a herbal quality makes its presence felt, alongside the floral heart. Big, powdery rose and jasmine are most prominent. The chypre accord emerges pretty early on, developing slowly from the first spray, and by the time the florals emerge, the oakmoss and patchouli are very prominent - adding that delicious earthy mossiness typical of a chypre. It becomes just the right amount of animalic as it dries down, with a nice leather note and a soft, salty amber accord. It fades to a musky, mossy skin scent after several hours. Sillage is moderate and longevity is pretty decent. As is often the case with vintage chypres, it could be unisex today. A beautifully composed classic chypre from one of the all-time great noses, (vintage) Femme is up there with classics of the genre like Mitsouko, Knowing or Givenchy III as well as the aforementioned modern great that is Jubilation 25. I must try the current formula for comparison, but I don't expect great things. The vintage however - a masterpiece. 5/5.

Hello everyone it's July 2022 & we are currently experiencing a heat wave in Bournemouth England. I cannot believe it has taken me so long to Review a classic Rochas Femme. Rochas Femme! I have 2 full 100ml bottles! the new version which is outstanding with see through plastic gold lid and also an older version with Black cap as seen in the photo. This is a outstanding chypre from 1943 it has stood the test of time and is a gorgeous smell, it was created by Edmond Roudnitska who is a GOD in the perfume world. Instead of peach from Mitsouko Edmond Rodnitska added plum. This fragrance is not a dry as Mitsouko and I feel easier to wear. Spicy, warm, sensual & sexy, it is absolutely gorgeous & so feminine the title is perfect. It is not a perfume bomb it's not really loud or overpowering just sensual and how a woman should smell. Plum, Woody, cinnamon, think of walking through a wood full of beautiful coloured leaves on the trees in the Autumn with the suns rays shining though ..... this is Femme. The advertisement photos of Eva Mendes on a bed this is Femme carnal, animalistic, erotic. Not sweet at all, not green or floral. Not like any modern fragrances or fruity bombs of recent years. Possibly would be better in Autumn Winter months as so warm and cosy feeling however I've enjoyed wearing it at the moment. Excellent value for money. The new version with see through plastic gold/silver cap is fabulous. Highly recommended. It's July 2024 & I am wearing Rochas Femme it is perfect, sensual, the scent of a woman. Femme is fantastic value for money for a high quality fragrance. It's 13th July 2025 the day of the Wimbledon Men's Final, I'm sat in the garden under the patio umbrella in the shade wearing Rochas Femme with Silver/Gold cap and the fragrance is divine! The heat of the sun has caused the fragrance to dry down very quickly and it's all plum, Musk, cinnamon, and just fabulous! I'm 58 years old in 2 weeks, & I feel Femme is perfect, maybe not so more for more youthful fragrance lovers as Femme is very robust, strong, a real perfume made of quality ingredients. Oliver Cresp has done an amazing job! But, I need Femme in my life. It is how a real woman should smell and it makes me feel incredibly feminine & sexy. Try it for yourself. Highly recommended ❤️🙏

Ahhh, FEMME de ROCHAS, I have worn this gorgeous fragrance for many years & adore all iterations both vintage as well as the newer reformulations, although my preferences are for the earlier parfum's and the parfum de toilette version aka eau de parfum, I just don't understand why oh why cumin was introduced to the reforms, I own a fabulous parfum presentation housed in a oval box covered in black lace & gold outlined impressions of flowers, the coffret houses a flacon made by Lalique circa late 40's early 1950's, it was sealed when I received it and the bottle was almost full, after carefully removing the stopper the emanating aroma hit me with the most beautiful absolute of Turkish rose and a soft herbal note akin to a blend of ginger, nutmeg and the softest grey ambre imaginable. I keep this in climate controlled storage while using it now and then for those rare special occasions, for regular applications I use some of my other bottles of both the eau de parfum & toilette concentrations, not overly crazy about the cumin but that usually dissipates relatively quickly Thank goodness, all versions make good use of plummy fruits and the rose used is of the highest quality as well, the vintage parfum 'imo' has slight similarities to vintage Chanel's Bois des Iles, the oakmoss/patchouli chypre base + gingembre spicy/herbal accords and again the ~Damask~ rose as the main floral note. This is not for everyone but I for one could not be without a few bottles of this fragrant juice in my collection, a must have and a definite LOVE especially the vintage parfum, on a final note I was so fortunate to have won a 50 ml tester spray bottle of the vintage extrait a few years ago and delight in spritzing liberally this dark boozy heavenly jus, it always pays to keep one's peepers on eBay, you just never know when these pre-loved treasures manifest & most times for reasonable sums, one can never have too much vintage FEMME :) keep searching folks, there's a bottle out there with your name on it !!!!!!! Bon Chance fellow Fragranticans...

Vintage Perfume, I think from 70-80s: I don’t like fruity fragrances and bought Femme just because I liked yellowing vintage lacey box standing on the bottom shelf of a small fragrance store. I heard the name before, but all I remembered about the notes that it was supposed to have some oak moss and tobacco (my favorites) and felt like I wanted a surprise. If I’d remembered about any plums and peaches – I would’ve left it on that shelf. It was around Christmas time, cold and snowy, and I opened tiny amphora bottle with a red ribbon in my car (couldn’t wait, you get it) and dabbed some on. Surprise I had! There are sweets made of whole dried plums and apricots covered with dark chocolate with just a touch of cinnamon – this is what I got first in cold winter air, but those plums were not too sweet, candied or artificial, no, they were real black plums on beautifully balanced base of oak moss and leather with some jasmine and rose picking through. When I came indoors Femme warmed up on my skin and added so slight muskiness and patchouli which translated into very comforting scent. I see that not all will like it, it’s easy to overdo, my bottle is old, no cumin (before it was added?). Femme is breathtakingly beautiful on a cold fall or winter day, but I cannot imagine using a concentration other than perfume. I have a 90’s (?) flat round bottle, pre-bar code EDP, for several years, but cannot make myself to open it, dreading disappointment. EDITED: I did open that EDP and now can understand some negative reviews. It is "Eau de cumin" for the first, seemingly very long, 20 minutes. Later it becomes somewhat like Femme I know, but I don't like it at all. If you disliked EDP, try the perfume; if you are one of those who likes strong cumin notes - EDP may be for you.

Oh my goodness how raunchy! Makes me gasp a little in a good way. Deep and spicy; earthy dried fruits rather than fresh. It's more velvet than sequins. But it doesn't have to be overwhelming, just apply with restraint. It's aptly named - smells like a woman. Not a lady, a W-O-M-A-N. Not freshly bathed either, but not in a dirty BO way. More like a pheromones kind of scent. Like you'd catch a whiff in the street and start following after it with your nose in the air and your feet floating behind you. When I first smelled it, I had a kind of raised eyebrows, make a suggestive noise kind of reaction. But I don't really feel that this, or any fragrance for that matter, is "too sexy" for work. I think it would work fantastically as a date night fragrance for sure, but if I smelled it somewhere neutral, like work, I'm not sure that it would conjure up any inappropriately dirty thoughts - it's a context thing! Maybe that's just me and I have a chaste mind at work! I had read lots of reviews suggesting that this is a sexy scent before smelling it, so that had me primed I guess. I have the vintage parfum de toilette and also the fairly recent version (pre-2013 I think? With the flat top lid.) I don't *hate* the cumin in the more recent one... it does make me think "curry", but I also don't think I'd necessarily have identified it if I hadn't been on Fragrantica going through reviews. My nose isn't that talented. The more modern version seems pretty similar otherwise, and I'd be happy with it if it's all I had. In fact I appreciate the pop of the top notes balancing the rest of the fragrance, which can be on the heavy side. My vintage has a murkier quality.

I've given up on this fragrance. I tried the original, and while I liked it, I wasn't crazy about the fruit compote in it. It was nice, but a little too syrupy for my liking. Not that it was sweet, but it just gave off that rehydrated dried fruit vibe, where the fruit becomes syrupy when put in water, like dried fruit does. I then tried the Cresp version, and it was cumin overload. The fragrance was so spicy it actually felt hot, and it completely smothered all the other notes. And that note was unrelenting. It never let up. It was there until it became a skin scent. Well, I read on numerous sites that this fragrance had been reformulated yet again, by Duriez, and this time there was no cumin in it. Not true, it also has cumin in it and just smells like a watered down Cresp version, again with a cumin overload. Doing a lot of research on this fragrance I also found that the original had that note in it, along with clove, cinnamon, and other herbs and spices, but all were much more lightly done where they didn't overpower the other notes. I wish they would have kept it the way it was originally intended, though I doubt I would like it any better since I'm not a big fan of the composition. Besides, I have other adult fruity florals that I like more; specifically Fath de Fath and Patou's Nacre. But if you like cumin I would suggest the Cresp version over the Dietz, since it has more Oomph to it, has much better silage, and lasts until you wash it off. And you can pick up a bottle for only a little more than the latest version. For me, it's 3 strikes and I'm out. This fragrance just doesn't work for me in any version.

TRADITIONAL CHYPRES 🍁 Amouage Jubilation XXV 2007 There is missing some main elements of Chypre scent here but it performs very similarly like Chypre anyway. This is soft and Ambery, very refined. The warmest of these all. 🍁 Guerlain Mitsouko 1919 Mossy and earthy, new epd is a little bit sharp while my new extrait is soft and more round, polished. I used to layer them to get the best from both. This new epd is the most dry of these ones. An extrait version of Mitsouko, even if it’s the most recent one, is mesmerizing, rich and intoxicating blend. It’s very different than edp where the beautiful sweetness from Peach is very faint and a deep, mellow, mossy base is just earthy and very dry. Extrait is so amazing and evocative definitely one of the best Chypres. I highly recommend that one, there is a huge difference between those concentrations. 🍁 Rochas Femme 1944 A little bit more fruity than others, beautiful Plum, Peach and Apricot brings a gentle sweetness. Feels smoky/earthy after the opening but not for long time. Performs darker on my husband’s skin than on mine. 🍁 Roja Parfums Diaghilev 2010 Very strong and majestic dark blend, a challenging to wear for many. This one definitely needs the right kind of clothes, otherwise you look and smell totally ridiculous. Sharp and spicy, leathery@and musky, the most masculine of these ones, actually there is nothing feminine in this. Thank you for reading, I hope my review was helpful. I would appreciate a lot if you want to follow me on IG and/or YouTube (English subtitles): @ninamariahperfumes It gives me a lot of motivation to write more. 🤗

When I opened the outermost box surrounded by black lace, I already knew that Femme is a beautiful perfume that can be seductive, I think Femme's appeal should not be limited to a single gender, it has the ability to drive men and women, let the world crazy . Femme exudes a mouth-watering aroma of ripeness, and countless flowers together produce this sweet forbidden fruit that is ripe and rotten to the extreme, wandering on the edge of corruption. This fragrance looks at women from a male perspective. Should they wear such a sexy perfume? Peel off the hairy outer skin, cut the delicious orange flesh inside, and swallow the plump and delicious peach and apricot into the belly - this feeling comes from the fragrance base Prunol, which contains peach aldehyde C-14, ionone and other materials. Femme creates female ketone bodies with rich spices. Suitable for any tonal bergamot, it adds acidity to the powdery floral notes, and the floral aromas swarm, iris, ylang-ylang, jasmine, jasmine is the most important among them, because Femme is by Edmond Roudnitaka. The floral notes then transition to a lot of pepper, eugenol (carnation) and woody notes, with cinnamon, anise, and cloves flanking each side and doing their part. A hot and flamboyant wave was set off. The salty base of chypre-resin is organized by patchouli, amber, musk and civet, oakmoss, sweat seeps from the pores of the skin, sticks to the spicy leather, and the oil is smooth. Turin once mentioned: "chypre and fur are inseparable." After so many years, still irreplaceable, my only beloved Femme.

This really is classic, but timeless! I truly believe that younger audiences would be intrigued by this scent too if they didn't associate it with anyone already. And even if they did, the idea of carrying on a sort of tradition of perfume is very romantic to me. While I typically think that vintage fragrances are operatic and grand, I don't think that femme follows suit. It is more of an alluring, understated elegance. I can picture this being worn by someone who is laid out on a red velvet couch, hidden by large red curtains, and wearing black satin. It has this dry, animalic musk from cumin or civet, that really grabs your attention. As you come closer this juicy plum reveals itself and keeps you interested. It is all resting on this dusty (like a dust of cinnamon on a wooden table) woody base, that is deep enough to smell a little smoky, like a light incense. I don't think this is a very floral fragrance, but I do think I smell carnation surrounded by cloves and cinnamon in the background of this show, supporting all the main players. This was just so masterfully balanced, because while these all sound like heavy aggressive notes, they are soft and warm. I love it when the fragrance projects off my skin, but I love it even more when it settles on my skin, it works with my chemistry so well, and I like to think it makes it much more alluring. I hope these kind of fragrances come back into fashion in the coming years, because they are so much more thoughtful and artistic than the modern, relatively boring designer releases of today!

This is one of the best perfumes I've come across in my life so far. Classic, but not offensive, fruity but not sweet, spicey but not tikka massala style. If I could say just a one word I would say a masterpiece. Every single note blends with one another so effortlessly that you might have a hard time to pick them. It takes a little bit of time and different moods to find everything what it offers and it still might surprise you - just if you don't expect it. Plum, oakmoss and leather is what my nose recognise the most. If you don't like chypre - you don't buy chypre (just as if you are on low-carb diet, you must stay away from pizza). But on the other hand if you know you like darlings like Estee Lauder Knowing or Guerlain Mitsouko you better try it. They are not really related as brothers or sisters, but the general idea is the same - full bodied and ballanced (and chypre of course). I have the latest (Interparfums) version in EDT (the one with clear cap with black and gold top, bought in store) and it last for over 10 hours on my skin and days on clothes (I could even smell it from pillows on my sofa if I take a nap in the afternoon). It is EDT that outperformes many present EDPs (both in silage and longevity). I don't get that pronounced cumin note that's so much talked about with it, but I bet it's just my own skin chemistry, that loves this scent. Don't be discouraged by me and try it if you are not afraid, but you must have a balls to wear it (or confidence at least).