Emeraude

3 Reviews

1. 

   boredCoati9

   Reply

   I wish I had been able to catch a whiff of this in a pre-1980s bottle form!! This reminds me of Jean Nate, Woolworths, CoverGirl, Coty Airspun loose powder, Youth Dew, & old ladies like my mammaw had the dyed red hair too w curlers & a perm. I am fairly certain it’s been reformulated into a faint shadow of itself in its former glory which is a bloody crying shame!! I didn’t realize how many fragrances Coty still makes, they do try & keep themselves current from being obsolete w the younger crowd (N. Minaj, Beyoncé, etc) whilst trying to keep their more “mature” customer base.

2. 

   crushedRat5

   Reply

   I got this for $5.99 at the Grocery Outlet so the price was extremely reasonable. I am not crazy about it, but I am not going to get rid of it in case I “grow into it” or something. Although I think that might take a long time.

   Anyway, when I first sprayed it, it smelled very familiar to me, and had a spicy smell. The die down after that was just a sweet, powdery smell that reminded me of my grandma. I mean that very literally, I am not trying to say this is a perfume an old person would wear, but in my personal experience it reminds me of my grandma and her apartment. I don’t hate it, but I don’t really like it either. I would classify it under “okay”

3. 

   sincereMandrill9

   Reply

   I’ve never been privileged to try any vintage EMERAUDE, sadly; I’m just spraying on the EDC I got dirt-cheap at WALGREEN’S. And as others have said here, even though it may be a whisper of its former haute-couture glory, it’s still HANDS-DOWN nicer than any of the new celebuscents made for women these days. I’m a fella and I have no problem wearing this EDC as a nice, clean daytime, all-purpose scent. At first blush it may seem like SHALIMAR, but really it is quite different: Where SHALIMAR is famous for its head of bergamot, lemon and citronella, whisper-kissed by galbanum, EMERAUDE has instead a head of what seems to me to be sweet orange, “clean” starched linen-like aldehydes, and coriander bestowing the faint lemony-green quality some detect on first spray. EMERAUDE also has a traditional heart of romantic rose laced with near-subliminal notes of cinnamon and clove. What makes EMERAUDE really different is its very prominent opoponax heart… opoponax, that sharp-smelling resin which initially smells somewhat like that spraycan adhesive we used to use in the 2nd grade in the 1960’s on our Christmas projects (haha), but when it settles, it becomes this regal shaft of resiny yellow-gold, with gorgeous, surprisingly sucree hints of burnt caramel around the edges. EMERAUDE’s vanilla is more sweet, floral and unadulterated than the smoky/burnt/incense-y, WD-40 vanillin of SHALIMAR. In my opinion, EMERAUDE does not contain lime; rather, that “creamsicle” quality is a blend of straightforward sweet orange mingled with opoponax, benzoin and vanilla; I think EMERAUDE’s verdant jus is what’s convincing people they smell lime. EMERAUDE’s oriental base contains a tonka bean much more obvious than that of SHALIMAR’s; that cherry-vanilla-tobacco kind of smell, blended with sandalwood and amber. (to some, the cherry-like smell of tonka conjures up McDonald’s restrooms). Strangely, I do not detect patchouly, though I’m certain it must be there in tinctured, “cosmetic” aura, rather than in its usual green/earthy musk. EMERAUDE contains noticeably animalic hints of deermusk (that “kitten’s belly” tender, furry smell, so well-loved in MY SIN and others) and an indolic civet (lending it that slightly urinaceous, slightly “mothball” quality that is responsible for the “old lady” remarks, I am certain.) though EMERAUDE’s civet is dialed-down from SHALIMAR’S ripe civet presence. . Personally, I adore the animalics, so these “old fashioned” smells thrill me. Maybe the crowning note of the base is a fairly prominent vetiver… a tarry foil to the perfume’s sweetness, giving the whole fragrance that earthy, grounded, rooty, “tailored” aura… vetiver is also a very classy smell, I think, and the vet here is much stronger than any SHALIMAR might have. For a mere $11.00, one can get a real feeling of how great French EMERAUDE must have been when it was new. Interesting to remember that EMERAUDE predated SHALIMAR by four years. As I understand it, those now wishing to re-capture its vintage thrill need to look for it on auction websites in the “parfum de toilette” (sic) strength… (basically an EDP). This is a cheap way to smell really, REALLY good.

   >>>UPDATE: A friend has gifted me with some 1970’s-vintage EDT of EMERAUDE. Oh yes, there is a big difference between it…and the new EDC (of Walgreen’s provenance). The older version is much more nuanced, and does a leisurely unfoldment on the skin that allows you to appreciate its note/pyramid better. BIG aldehyde burst on initial spray. A creamy iris is more prominent, bearing an almost-chocolate-like nuance. The vintage has a much more prominent cedar, married to the opoponax, that has a nice “pencil shavings/hamster cage” quality. The vintage has more intriguing bitter nuances to the head than does the modern EDC.