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First by Van Cleef & Arpels

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When I started my fragrance journey, I got a bunch of these from Target to give as gifts. I liked the shape of bottle and its name. It smelled decent though a bit old school.

With time, as I tried more fragrances, I thought this is a knock off of other aldehydic florals. Stopped caring for.

A few years ago I came across vintage version on eBay for cheap and snapped it up. And I am glad I did cause this version is simply amazing. 

You can smell the whole floral symphony with 3D effect. But that is not even the best part. The drydown is where you see its beauty in full. Soft, powdery sandalwood.

It is hard to describe how good this is. I have Arpege, No. 5 and Joy in vintage formulation and I find First to be superior. Arpege is too indolic, First goes low on indoles and uses civet to add the funk. Arpege and No. 5, both blind with aldehydes while First uses it for a shimmering glow. Joy is a great white floral but it is overpowered by Jasmine. Lacks the evolution First has. 

All I can say is that this is Ellena's best work and he should have stuck to this style.

A word on vintage vs current version - Current version has lost the balance that vintage had. Too much aldehyde. It just does not work. As it dries down it gets better but the lack of real sandalwood and nitromusk does take a toll. The florals are muted too. It is not bad but I think of it as a 2D picture of a 3D sculpture.

Top Notes:

aldehydes || mandarin || blackcurrant || peach || raspberry || hyacinth

Heart Notes:

turkish rose || narcissus || jasmine || lily of the valley || carnation || orchid || tuberose|| orris

Base Notes: 

amber || tonka || oakmoss || sandalwood || vetiver || musk || honey || civet

Labels:

Comments

  1. JeffDecember 30, 2021 at 8:50 AM

    Sounds tempting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. epapsiouJanuary 3, 2022 at 7:39 AM

      Oh but it is :). The development is something you will appreciate.

      Delete
  2. GrayspooleJanuary 2, 2022 at 5:41 AM

    Completely agree that the vintage is a masterpiece, and the modern forms are shadows of it only. The modern EDP was very harsh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. epapsiouJanuary 3, 2022 at 7:41 AM

      Yes I agree and the harshness is mostly because of bad blending and balance. As it dries down you can smell more than the shadows of original. I realize that many of the original ingredients are not available but they could have made something decent with what they have. A shame really.

      Delete
    2. John VickMarch 15, 2022 at 1:15 AM

      I really like it the most. You have really done a great job by sharing the beautiful post. Thanks lot for the informative post. Learn to read more about Fragrant Perfume Boxes

      Delete

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