Picture of the Day

A nice gift from a friend: the rare "Lantern" by Jean Paul Gaultier (limited edition, year 2001).
Contains both JPG Classique and JPG LeMale.

(Jean Paul Gaultier is a French fashion designer whose first collection was presented in 1976. Having no formal training in fashion design, he began his career at a young age by sending his sketches to famous couture designers of the day. Pierre Cardin and Jean Patou are among the designers who recognized his talent and helped him get started in the business. Known as the enfant terrible of fashion, Gaultier's designs run the gamut from street wear to haute couture. He introduced skirts for men in the 1980s and designed the distinctive cone bra worn by Madonna in the early 1990s.
The first perfume of the Gaultier house was launched in 1993—the famous Jean Paul Gaultier EDP for women, whose name was subsequently changed to Classique. Classique was followed by Le Male in 1995, and Fragile in 1999. All of them were known for their peculiar packaging and unusual compositions. Limited edition flankers have been released for many of the fragrances, featuring new "fashions" for the bottles.)

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TERRE D'HERMES: 9-batches review (2009-2014)

"My Terre d'Hermes is no longer the same as before! 
...the scent seems different!"

TERRE d' HERMES, EdT: reformulated or not?
Many loyal followers asked for a comparating-review of "TERRE d'HERMES" EdT, since apparently there are many differences between years. If you read something about it  (on websites such as Fragrantica, Basenotes, Parfumo, etc.), you will find plenty of arguments in favor and against a reformulation, and differences apparently due to amounts of "Iso E Super" contained in the mixture.
So, what about "reformulations"?
Well, thanks to great friend Gianni (owner of a perfume shop and generous scents provider) and extra help provided by Donato and Claudia, there are nine different samples of Terre d'Hermes EdT available for testing (since 2009), plus the "PARFUM" and the "EAU TRES FRAICHE" bottles.
Here we have 9 different samples, tested in the same moment and in the same room.

TERRE d'HERMES, Eau de Toilette
Nine different Batches from years 2009 - 2011- 2012 - 2013 - 2014, and precisely:
1 batch from year 2009
1 batch from year 2011
2 batches from year 2012
2 batches from year 2013
3 batches from year 2014
(TERRE d'HERMES EdT arrived on the shelves in 2006, so nothing can be affirmed about the period 2006-2008, since tests begin with the "year 2009" bottle)

Here are the pictures:

Batch 9ACBY = year 2009

Batch 1ACCS = year 2011

Batch 2FAAX = year 2012

Batch 2HAAD =year 2012

Batch 3LCAI = Year 2013

Batch 3FBAI = year 2013 

Batch 4FADC = year 2014

Batch 4EAPC = year 2014

Batch 4ECAL = year 2014

And here is the whole group of nine paper strips, for "open" and "blind" trials.

Nine-batches test.

RESULTS: interestingly, there aren't "notable" differences between samples. The only relatively small difference is between the bottle "year 2009" and the others. But it's a minor difference, you have to stay focused to detect it. 

Only a small difference between year 2009 and other samples.

The other eight batches from 2011 to 2014 smell exactly the same (PARFUM and EAU TRES FRAICHE apart) when tested in the same time and conditions.

So, why so many people affirm there are "notable differences" between different bottles? Well, it took a bit of time and several experiments and discussions, but maybe an answer exists. Apparently, TERRE d'HERMES is a very temperature-dependent scent. I found some "notable differences" in the same TERRE d'HERMES sample, when tested at different temperatures.
Look at thes two picture below.
In the first one, I tested TERRE d'HERMES outside, at cold temperature, sprayed on paper and on the back of the hand: (temperature 10 °C , or 45 °F). Wait a few minutes. Scent is very crisp and the "orange" note literally shines.

TERRE d'HERMES on both paper strip and skin.
Temperature 10°C = 45°F

And then I tested exactly the same batch inside home, at warm temperature ( 24 °C, 75°F). Again, wait a few minutes.Well, differences are quite noticeable. At warmer temperature, notes are softer and more balanced. 
So, the scent "appears" different, without being different at all (actually, it's the same).

TERRE d'HERMES on both paper strip and skin.
Temperature 24°C = 75°F

Since a scientific comparison is almost impossible unless you have proper equipment, I put (quickly!) "cold" and "warm" paper strip aside to verify this assessment. And yes, it's true. The same sample has "notable differences". The "cold" strip is brightier and sharper, on the contrary, the "warm" one is softer.

"Cold" and "warm" stripes.

Conclusion: TERRE d'HERMES has not suffered any "heavy reformulation" (batches tested under the same conditions). Most likely, a light reformulation happened after 2009, but it's negligible, and you can forget it. 
What we call  "post-2011 reformulations", are probably only a consequence of temperature. Under the same conditions, all batches since year 2011 smell exactly the same. 
But, smelling a single batch and varying the temperature, you could think to deal with "reformulated" scents.

In a nutshell, if you wear TERRE d'HERMES outside, in the streets, you will smell a definite scent. On the contrary, if you wear TERRE d'HERMES inside home, or in the office, it will appear a different ("reformulated") scent.
Personally I like TERRE d'HERMES and, in this case, I would not pay much attention to different years and batches, unless for collection purpose. 
All differences do not depend on the chemical composition, but only by external conditions.

A final word for the two flankers:  what about "PARFUM"? Well, it is not a stronger, more concentrate version of EdT. It basically shares the same top notes with the EdT. The real difference is the strongly "woody" heart- and base-notes. If you like a "woody" TERRE d'HERMES scent, you could prefer the PARFUM over the EdT.

 

About the EAU TRES FRAICHE, it's very fresh and light (and a short-longevity scent indeed...), but it's not the classic "TERRE d'HERMES" anymore. If you like fresh scents, you could give it a try, but keep in mind, it has only little resemblance with the original EdT.

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FAHRENHEIT: a 10-batches REVIEW

FAHRENHEIT by Christian Dior, is one of those scents that needs no introduction, being immensely popular worldwide, and still in production (since 1988). 
Fahrenheit was probably the first "conceptual" scent: this means the whole structure is turning around the feeling of something "burning". 
It happened due to a violet-leather accord, resulting in a sort of "gasoline" or "petroleum" top notes (the beginning of fire), concluding with a sort of "burnt woods smell" drydown (the ending of fire). Even the bottle reminds of a fire in the night. with a bottom colored in red-yellow, slowly changing in black in the upper part.
This "conceptual" view was, in fact, one of the most appreciate, discussed and controversial aspects at the time of launch.

"Woods Burning"
(thanks to Cornellpines.blogspot.com)

Obviously reformulations occurred in a such complex scent, during a 25-years span.
So, in this review, we collected our Fahrenheit bottles and did a comparative work. 
How did Fahrenheit change during the years? 
Follow us and discover it!
(For the "Fahrenheit visual guide", bottle-by-bottle, year-by-year, see HERE)


We are considering only the "classic" Fahrenheit perfume (during decades a lot of "flankers" appeared, Fahrenheit Absolute, Fahrenheit Summer, Fahrenheit Aqua, etc... but we are not considering them now)
We collected a total of 10 different EDT bottles during years 1993-2014

Here are the samples used:

Year 1993

Year 1995

Year 1996

                         Year 2001 (a 2ml sample)

Year 2004

Year 2007

Year 2011

Year 2012

Year 2013

Year 2014

The last three bottles were testers, kindly provided by our shop-owner friend, who lent us the back room for tests. Here are the bottles (for decoding "Christian Dior" batch-codes go here )

Batch 3608N = year 1993

Batch 5N103 = year 1995

Batch 6W183 = year 1996
(note the batch code printed on the cellophane. 
when you remove the cellophane, you lose the batchcode)

Batch 4L01 = year 2004
(note the short ingredients list "alcohol-fragrance-water", 
used until 2004-2005)

Batch 7H02 = year 2007
(there is the long ingredient-list on the side of the box) 

Batch 1Z01 = year 2011

Batch 2R01 = year 2012

Batch 3T02 = year 2013

Batch 4Q01 = year 2014

RESULTS

10 samples blind test

10-batches blind test

Basically there are 3 different versions coming out from the test. 

The first one dates until 2001 and it's the "strongest" of all, with clearly defined "gasoline" or "petroleum" notes, great "burnt woods" effect in the drydown, and greater longevity. All samples from 1993 until 2001 are pretty identical, so you could assume all Fahrenheit bottles between 1988 and 2001 are the same.

The second one could date roughly from 2004 until 2012  (no info available about years 2002 and 2003) and appears a bit watered-down. The gasoline/petroleum note is still present, but it (and the whole scent) appears weakened. Someone affirmed that there was a reformulation around year 2005 (during 2005 the box had minor changes). However, in my opinion all samples from 2004 until 2012 are pretty similar. Maybe (I repeat *maybe*) older samples have a bit more depth and richness, than newer ones; i.e.year 2004 sample appear a bit stronger and richer than the year 2012 one, but there are not so many differences. 

In a nutshell, year 2004-2012 Fahrenheit is the same perfume (if we compare it to the previous version), but appears to be weakened in depth and strenght.

The third one is "since 2013". it could be called "the Vanilla Fahrenheit". Since year 2013 Fahrenheit smells heavily different than before. There is a sort of  sweet, "vanilla" note. Personally I like it, but this is not the "classic" Fahrenheit anymore. The gasoline note disappeared almost completely, and, actually, it's more similar to another Fahrenheit "flanker". 

Interestingly, the batches produced during year 2013 and 2014 appear to be more similar (shifting towards) to the "Fahrenheit Parfum" version. 

Modern Fahrenheit is still a good scent, but we are considering an almost different scent retaining the same old name.

(please note: no bottles for sale. All bottles shown in this article come from private collections)

Original "vintage" Fahrenheit ,
with the "Red Planet" (or the "Burning Planet") box,
years 1988-2001

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ADDENDUM

During the first half of the Nineties, Missoni perfumes launched "Olympios", 

a scent that received plenty of critics because it appeared as "a Fahrenheit clone". 

Actually, Olympios is very similar -not identical- to vintage Fahrenheit. Olympios wasn't a huge success and today (2014) a few bottles can be found at cheap price. 

If you want to try something similar to "vintage Fahrenheit" but can't afford the high prices asked, you can give "Olympios" a try.  

On Basenotes you can find a few "Olympios" reviews written by customers, and everyone point out the similarity between the two scents.

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(September 2014 Update)

Following a few requests by “Fahrenheit” enthusiasts, another experiment was carried out.

How does the (vintage) After-Shave compare with the (vintage) Eau de Toilette?

In this experiment, vintage After-Shave (A-S, year 1997) and vintage Eau de Toilette (EdT, year 1993) were analyzed side-by-side, both on paper and skin.

Initially and for the first 20 minutes, on paper, both A-S and EdT show the same strength and intensity (oddly enough). It was almost impossible to distinguish between  EdT and A-S during first minutes.

Then After-Shave starts fading away, while the EdT continues to hold steadily.

A-S slowly contues to fade away after 2,4,6 hours.

After 8 hours, A-S is barely detectable on paper strip.

After 10 hours, A-S paper strip is “empty”. 

On the contrary, EdT, although faded, is still recognizable after 10 hours.

Of course, performances on skin are a different question, and you should “divide in half" times.

So, you can recognize both A-S and EdT (on your skin) as “identical” for just ten minutes; then A-S will disappear almost completely on your skin within 4 hours.

Keep in mind Fahrenheit is mainly a winter scent, so, during summer or in hot weather, you could miss the experience and find it disappointing.

There is a big difference between A-S and EdT in longevity, but if you want try the vintage “Fahrenheit experience” (gasoline, fires, burning woods, for at least 10 minutes!) well, you could try to find a vintage After-Shave bottle, since it's cheaper than an EdT one.

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Dior Homme Intense UPDATE 2014.

(please note: this is a review of  "year 2014" batches only.
If you want know what happened during years 2007-2013, read HERE ) 

Since so many friends asked me to investigate about Dior Homme Intense "Year 2014" batches, I had quick calls with a professionally-involved friend. He collected DHI "year-2014- labelled" bottles (actually, a few testers). Then we met inside his perfume shop, and I performed the blind test in the back room, away from the main hall (the classic perfume shop is one of the worst places where to perform tests, indeed).

We had: 

-the reference DHI bottle (the first one produced, year 2007) 

-one bottle dated "2013" ( October )

-three bottles dated "2014" ( January, February, March )

At the end, I brought back home all paper stripes inside plastic envelopes, for longevity tests.

Here are the samples:

The "Golden Standard" (reference bottle)
batch 7H01 = year 2007
(without the word "Vaporisateur/Spray" on the front)

Batch 3X01 = 2013, October.

Batch 4N01 = 2014, January

Batch 4P02 = 2014, February

Batch 4Q01 = 2014, March.

5-samples blind test

Results: good news for you. All "year 2014" batches (January, February and March) appear to be identical to the "year 2013".
I noticed only a slight difference with the "Golden Standard" (year 2007). Probably the "year 2007" bottle is the best one ever, but differences are minimal, in my opinion.
Longevity is very high -as usual- on paper (many, many hours), and I could say "enormous" on clothes (it lasts several days, I sprayed it on a cotton t-shirt, too....)
Sillage/projection is very high. You can smell DHI even 2 meters (six or seven feet) far away. 
In my opinion DHI remains a very solid scent in 2014.
Iris, vanilla, and cocoa are intense -and persistent- in all batches considered. 
There are no traces of the famous/infamous "year 2011-2012 reformulation" that wiped off all cocoa notes.

Conclusion: if you are a Dior Homme Intense "vintage" fan, you can buy any year 2014 batch without any problem. You will not disappointed.

(Disclaimer  I am not involved with Christian Dior perfumes house in any way, and I have no personal interests or affairs in evaluting perfumes)

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How to recognize LANCOME perfumes.

Climat, Magie Noire, "O de Lancome", Trèsor....
LANCOME is one of the greatest French perfume houses, created in 1935 by Armand Petitjean, and got fame and prestige worldwide thanks to many celebrated perfumes.
How can we recognize and "put a date" on LANCOME perfumes?
It appears difficult, but -actually- it isn't.


Most of LANCOME products, since 1978, sport a "Copyright date" on the box, so, coupling it with the batch-code, the identification could be easier.

Other clues: 
-EMB code on the box appeared at the end of 1970s; 
-Bar-code since 1990; 
-Greendot since 1992.
As often happens, old and new boxes could have been used together for many years, so, if you want the "vintage", the best thing is to check the batch number.
And here the batch-code explained:


BATCH NUMBERS LIST:
(please note : since there are no official statements by Lancome, some minor mistakes could occur)
the MOST IMPORTANT digit is the second one from the left.

1982 = CAxx
1983 = CBxx
1984 = CCxx
1985 = CDxx
1986 = CExx
1987 = CFxx
1988 = CGxx
1989 = CHxx
---------------------------------------
here the bar-code appears on the box
---------------------------------------
1990 = CJxx  
1991 = CKxx
1992 = CLxx
---------------------
shifting to 5-digits
---------------------
1993 = CMxxx or UMxxx
1994 = CNxxx or UNxxx (letter O not used)
1995 = CPxxx or UPxxx (letter Q questionable)
1996 = CRxxx or URxxx
1997 = CSxxx or USxxx
1998 = CTxxx or UTxxx
1999 = CUxxx or UUxxx  
----------------------------------
switching from "C" to "U"
----------------------------------
2000 = UVxxx
2001 = UWxxx
2002 = UXxxx
2003 = UYxxx (UZ probably not used)
2004 = UAxxx
-------------------------------------
here the long list of "ingredients" appears on the box
-------------------------------------
2005 = UBxxx
2006 = UCxxx
2007 = UDxxx
2008 = 38Exxx
2009 = 38Fxxx
2010 = 38Gxxx
2011 = 38Hxxx
2012 = 38Jxxx
2013 = 38Kxxx
2014 = 38Lxxx

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Previously:

-GUERLAIN perfumes ( here ) -YVES SAINT LAURENT perfumes ( here ) - CHRISTIAN DIOR perfumes ( here ) - GIORGIO ARMANI Perfumes ( here ) -VAN CLEEF et ARPELS perfumes ( here ) - CHANEL perfumes ( here ) - BVLGARI perfumes ( here ) - HERMES perfumes ( here ) - VERSACE perfumes ( here ) - GIVENCHY perfumes ( here )- GUY LAROCHE perfumes (here) CACHAREL perfumes ( here )

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TUTORIAL PICS

(all pictures from Ebay unless otherwise specified )

"Climat", before 1980
no EMB code on the box

Trophèe Lancome, Copyright 1982,
batch CB3E = year 1983

"O de Lancome Intense", Copyright 1986
batch CExx = year 1986

"Climat", Copyright 1979, without barcode
batch CHxx = year 1990

"Magie Noire",
batch CKxx= year 1991

"Trophee Lancome"
batch CKxx = year 1991

"Trèsor",
batch CLxx = year 1992

Magie Noire, Copyright 1986,
batch CM3F = year 1993

"Climat", Copyright 1979, with barcode and greendot
batch CPxxx = year 1995

"O de Lancome", Copyright 1985,
batch CPxxx  = year 1996

"O de Lancome pour Homme"
batch URxxx = year 1996

O de Lancome, copyright 1995
batch CRxxx = year 1996

Poème,
batch CTxxx = year 1998

Climat, 
batch CUxxx = 1999

2000 et une Rose, 
batch UUxxx = year 1999

"O de Lancome", Copyright 1995
batch UWxxx = 2001

"Attraction",
batch UYxxx =  year 2003

Mille & une Rose
with the long list of ingredients, = after 2004

Magie Noire,
batch UCxxx = 2006

Benghal, Copyright 2006
batch UDxxx = 2007

38Exxx =  2008

38Fxxx = 2009

38Jxxx = year 2012

L'Autre Oud
batch 38Kxxx= 2013

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