Heure Intime

More animalic than I expected and slightly spicy too. Opening is bright and soapy-floral. A huge burst of aldehydes and I smell LOTV and neroli as well. There must also be carnations in this one. It smells almost like basil, but that’s not very likely considering its age. I know Vent Vert had basil in it, but it wasn’t common in female scents at the time. More likely it is carnations, but amped up to the max. And a good dose of jasmine and a lighter rose accentuating in the middle. Hmmmm. I also smell ylang, vaguely but it’s definately there. And honey, or maybe beeswax. Base is quite animalic with ambergris, but also wood(s). It’s very feminine and floral, yet animalic n’ slightly sweet. It’s beautiful.

I recently purchased a full, vintage travel-sized bottle of EDP. It was a blind buy. This scent is such a gem! It is similar to L'aimant, but without the slightly sweet element. It isn't as soft either. It lasts four to six hours for me, and the sillage is moderate. In New Orleans, many people still use cologne waters for both magical and mundane uses. This perfume reminded me of a cologne I used to purchase called Kananga Water. The smell of Heure Intime is aldehydic, floral, and very powdery, giving it a floral but clean, non-offensive smell. Kananga is made with ylang ylang, but I'm having a hard time telling which florals are in Heure.

The review is for an impeccably preserved sample of Eau de Cologne from an 850ml partially used flacon that I recently acquired. My guess is that the bottle is from the 1940s. There is barely any change to viscosity, I think the amount gone is due to spillage or use. Color is bright orange, and the "vintage skank" blows off very quickly. Heure Intime is a soapy, sweet, aldehydic floral with Jasmine, Ylang-Ylang, Beeswax, and Spice on an animalic base of Amber and Sandal. It brings to mind vintage versions of L'Aimant, Chanel 5, & Sortilege. Sillage is low and longevity good- more in line with what we currently expect from an EdT, not an EdC.

It is MUCH better than Sortilege , it is spicy and floral and woody all at the same time but with a very coherent and well balanced whole. It is one of the best fragrances of the 30s , only Vigny had not the economic strength of a Chanel or the savvy of a Guerlain and became extinct. Along with Shocking one of the underated perfumes of this era.

I bought a small bottle in San Fransisco about 1968. This house of Vigny were superb perfumers. Delightful scent, amber comes to mind. All of their formulas should be re-introduced.