It’s a full-blown spring here, and since I feel that chypre perfumes fit that time of the year. Of course, you might love them all-year-round or hate altogether. So, let’s talk about them.
Saturday Question #211:
Do You Like Chypres?
If yes, do you choose them more often in any particular period/weather? What are your top 3-5 chypres? If no, is there an exception – one or two that you do wear?
My Answer
I can’t say that I dislike chypres, but they clearly constitute the small part of my collection. I counted 12 perfumes in this family that I periodically wear, but for today’s SQ answer I’ll choose 5 (I can’t believe I don’t have a picture of PoaL with Rusty!): Miss Dior, Amouage Memoir Woman, Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady, Sisley Eau du Soir, Chanel Cuir de Russie.
How about you?
Undina's Looking Glass 
Love, love, love them. Maybe it’s my age and when I grew up. Portrait of a Lady, Cabochard, Azuree, Ma Griffe. LOVE. THEM.
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I don’t think I tried any of the three you mentioned: they weren’t available where I grew up, and when I moved to the US, I haven’t come across them at a store.
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I wouldn’t say they are a favourite category of mine, but I expect I like more of them than I realise, because I’m not aware always of something even being a chypre, for example Cuir de Russie, which you mentioned. So I am afraid I can’t answer the question properly. I seem to remember that Jasper Conran Woman is a chypre come to think about it, which is rather like Cristalle, so that might be one.
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Weren’t you the one who liked Magie Noir? It’s a Chypre. But yes, without looking, I wouldn’t have thought about some of them as well.
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Yes, well remembered!, but I don’t care for it now. ;)
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I’m also not always sure what is or isn’t a chypre. I generally like rose-patch compositions and love PoaL as well. Olfactive Studio Chypre Shot is one I liked on first sniff, and I just got a sample so will be getting to know it better soon.
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I also liked Chypre Shot on the first try! But the second one was less magic. I’m giving it some time before I test it again.
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I’m having a similar experience, unfortunately…
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Not a big fan and not even sure exactly what constitutes a chypre. Maybe Mitsouko?
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Yep, it’s a Fruity Chypre. Doesn’t work for me at all, but I respect it from afar :)
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my favorite perfume style. Aromatics Elixir, Fidji, Scherrer, Eau de Rochas, Dryad, Niki de St Phalle etc, i love most of them. so sad they are out of style! I tested Roja Diaghilev some weeks ago, but when i asked for the price of a bottle….900€….????? i told the sales person i would return when i have sold my kidneys ….
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I tried Diaghilev a long white ago (I think, it was ~ $600 back then), and I thought it was beautiful but not enough for me to want to spend that amount of money.
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This is one of my favourite type of fragrance. I love fruity chypres like Femme, Mitsouko, Shangri-La, Chypre Siam, Flora & Fauna, Le Parfum de Therese and Diorama and I enjoy animalic chypres (La Nuit, Salomé, Bal a Versailles, Jubilation 25). Lately, I also started to enjoy green chypres (Bandit, No 19, Dryad, Etrusan Water, Magie Noire, Parure, Sous le Vent). I enjoy the depth and complexity of chypres.
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seems like we overlap in taste, 😊and the newish ones you mention I don’t know, so I’ll look into those.
which just reminded me of Tyger Tyger, which I really like too, perhaps you know it?
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You are a carded chypre enthusiast! :) Most of those on your list that I tried didn’t work for me (No 19 is an exception – love it!).
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I’m not a fan of the traditional chypres with a sharpish opening and lots of oakmoss. I can appreciate the skill that goes into creating them, but I don’t want to wear them. I like more modern chypres with patchouli such as POAL and Amouage Memoir Woman. Jovoy’s Chypre is nice, a honeyed rose with patchouli.
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It looks like we’re on the same page regarding chypres.
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oooh, excellant question! How interesting you associate them with spring-i associate them with fall! I love smelling chypres, but find them a bit difficult to wear. I think they require verve, and wit, and chic. Almost an acquired taste. I did like Knowing, back in the 90’s. Recently I bought Paloma Picasso’s Mon Parfum, at Shoppers Drug Mart-think it’s a rose chypre. I remember it having more patch back in the 90’s.
I had wanted to try Mitsuko for a long time and when I finally tried it I recoiled – it was too much for my nose. But I kept my 2 ml bottle, in its perfect tiny replica of the actual Mitsuko bottle. Much much later I bought a lot of perfume, and one was Mitsuko EDT. It was very late August and I didn’t think I’d like it. I was right-I didn’t like it-I loved it! there was the peach, and cinnamon. I wear it to work once in a day’s age and it always receives compliments. love it.
Some others in my collection : Miss Dior Original EDT, a gorgeous gardenia chypre. Irisia by creed-my brother calls it my roots and leaves perfume (it’s a compliment). Small amounts of Eau de Soir and Soir de Orient, which are both so potent they almost wear me. Eau de Rochas-limes over patchouli, and I love its glass ribbed bottle. Reminds me of water flowing over pebbles. Femme, on occasion. Those are all I can think of, right now. Love the picture of Rusty thinking about extending a furry paw in the direction of the small gold bullet of fragrance. I still miss my orange cat, Marmalade. I find orange cats are so loving. My current tuxedo cat must have been a drill sergeant in her past life.
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I think that orange cats are very special (not that all others can’t be great – or not but still loved). It’s awful that our furry family members are destined to leave us much sooner than we’re prepared to.
I have a mini bottle of Paloma Picasso, and I liked it when I tried it, but it’s not in my perfume wardrobe.
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Great question! I adore chypres (aldehydic floral chypres being my absolute favorite – Chanel no 5 or Vero Profumo Onda). But give me any with tons of oak moss. I remember when I first started getting into scents and thought all chypres just smelled like “French perfume” in a not great way. But over the years I’ve grown from appreciating them to searching them out. I love that you can find so many interpretations of the genre even if they aren’t in style in the mainstream. Thank goodness for the artists creating modern masterpieces like Angelos Olfactives.
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it’s interesting that while our tastes match for many perfumes, when it comes to chypres we are as far as we could be: No 5 is my constant struggle (I keep testing different versions in hope to find the one to love – in vain); and Onda was just horrible on my skin!
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YES for chypre. Am still to meet one I even mildly dislike.
Y U M M Y
Portia xx
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when in started down the rabbit hole I didn’t “get” chypres and thought they were too complex for me. As my nose matured, I started to get it. Hiram Green Shangri La might have been the first one to capture my fancy. Now I’ll try any of them!
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I love fruity and leathery chypres., Rochas Femme, Parfum de Therese, Patou Colony, amongst others. While I do have a nice little collection of chypres, they are definitely very specific and not the classic Miss Dior, Aromatic elixir etc. I think, I wear them more often compared relatively to how many I have.
They always feel so sophisticated and skilled to me. It’s like they keep surprising me during a day of wearing them, being both more challenging and more rewarding to wear than most of my other perfumes I would say.
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Chypres may easily be my favourite perfume category. No wonder, I grew up in the 80-ies. I love the first Giorgio Armani, Jil Sander III, EL Private Collection, JL Scherrer, Chanel Cristalle, Trussardi Donna, Trussardi Skin,… there are so many gems.
If anyone knows of some modern chypres, please let me know.
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Chypres are amongst my favorite in the perfume genre. I’m with you on Cristalle, also Patou’s Eau de Patou, a very similar scent.
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I adore chypres! Below are favorites broken into sub categories.
Citrus/Chypres – Cristalle and Eau de Patou mossy/rose chypres – Halston, Knowing, Alliage, Private Collection, Diva, Paloma, Aromatics Elixir, Gucci III, Halston, Chypre by Coty, Niki de st Phalle, Philtre d’Amour, Armani Classic, Jour Ensoleille, and Coriandre, Leather Chypres –Halston Couture, Azuree and Sikkim
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Narcisco Rodriguez reads as a modern chypre to me, as does Jour Ensolille by Sonoma Scent Studio, both very accessible and won’t cost a kidney.
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I love the green chypres, but very few of the leathery chypres. I do have a problem with this category, and that is the changing definition of what a chypre perfume should really be, I guess it has to do with the restrictions on oak moss, but I get confused.
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