Ivoire de Balmain (Vintage)

10 Reviews

1. 

   lazyTortoise9

   Reply

   Scent-of-the-Evening: Pierre Balmain IVOIRE in the vintage Extrait de Parfum. [1980; Nose: Francis Camail and Michel Hy] Green/Floral/Chypre.

   Thanks to Dede Grant for allowing me to try this perfume masterpiece.

   TÊTE: aldehydes, chamomile, asafoetida, mandarin orange, violet, benzoin, artemisia, marigold, galbanum, bergamot and lemon;
   COEUR: nutmeg, carnation, cinnamon, narcissus, pepper, orris root, jasmine, Turkish rose, neroli, ylang-ylang and lily-of-the-valley;
   FOND: sandalwood, tonka bean, amber, cistus labdanum, patchouli, musk, raspberry, vanilla, oakmoss, vetiver and incense.

   Gorgeous, complex scent, with many facets. I am testing the vintage Extrait.

   I love the liquid/juicy fruity takeoff with “apple brandy” whispers (the Spanish word for chamomile is “manzanilla”= little apple), melded with an undisguised benzoin gum that smells uncannily like powder white cocaine (I’ll bet this scent was a hit at Studio 54) and the dusty yellow pollen smell of chamomile.

   Then the airy, sunshiny dance of bitter, dusty, pollinated and yellow-green herbs, creating a feeling of both the country and the city. Managing to smell both chicly urbane… yet somehow French pastoral, á-là-fois.

   In the head is a slight whiff of “sweat + onion”, not unpleasant, but rather character-ful, and that is the sly note of asafoetida, a bitter garden herb that has long been used in folk remedies. It is the same note one recognizes in the opening spritz of YSL KOUROS and Carven MA GRIFFE. Too much of this note would be awful, but a delicate hint of it seems to suggest an herb garden in May.

   Then, the pristine, feminine (but not “girly-winsome”) tea roses… they smell palest pink to me, and they smell very cool to the touch, if not downright cold, like roses from a florist’s cooler. Luca Turin was right– the floralcy in this scent possess a chilly aura, pleasantly so.

   A gorgeous chypre base, rich with oakmoss and patchouly, and also (to my nose) possessing some sophisticated balsams, like myrrh and cistus labdanum. Somewhere lurking in the scent is a ghosted, not-there, non-sweet cinnamon. Or it may be balsam tolu? All the hushed spicy notes in IVOIRE remain subordinate, throughout the life of the scent, to the bitter/yellow/dusty herbal notes, and the tart fruit nuances declared in the head.

   IVOIRE is an exquisite chypre, with its toes in the “green/aldehydic/floral” vogue of the 1970’s. For such a glam scent, I admire its relatively restrained sillage… a rarity for the powerhouse 80’s.

   To me, this is the more expensive-smelling, more complex, ultra-glam big sister to Balenciaga CIELENGA which I used to adore.

   I don’t know why, but I feel IVOIRE would suit blondes more than any other type (feel free to disagree). In fact, I somehow picture Sharon Tate wearing this, had she lived to see 1980, walking through Benedict Canyon on a golden afternoon in autumn, her blond, glossily brushed hair doing a “Breck” gallop in the sun.

   Or like Catherine Deneuve when she is out in the countryside in BELLE DU JOUR.

   It does smell mature and very polished, in no way a debutante/sorority girl/cheerleader fragrance.

   I must obtain a flacon of vintage IVOIRE!

2. 

   aloofMallard7

   Reply

   Very happy to score a vintage bottle of this and for a very low price , after discovering it in a shop where I live , people here are talking about it being changed , mine is certainly the old formula , if you are an aldehyde lover like me give that a go ..So classy and elegant .

3. 

   grumpyBuzzard4

   Reply

   I wore this years ago, loved it. It made my day brighter, just a whiff, and I was happy. Felt better about myself. The other day, I bought a new bottle.

   I don’t know if the formula has changed, or I have. But it’s not the same. For me.

   Many many years ago, this was one of my go to perfumes; after college and law school when I could afford real perfumes. Then I bought it again 16 years ago; then 14 years ago; 12 years ago, 6 years ago, 5 years ago, 3 years ago, still loved it (as a perfume addict, I track each perfume if the perfume is worthy, some are outright “no’s”). Just a serene, sexy scent. Now I smell more “green”, and less of whatever it was that made me fall in love with this fragrance. It dries on me to a pleasant floral, but it’s not what I remember. It’s missing something. Something powdery?

   Maybe my memory is incorrect, because I always thought this was an incredible perfume.

   It could be me, it could be the bottle I received, or it could be that Balmain changed the fragrance.

   Will review again. Going to wash in ivory soap and non’scented moisturizer.

   Bottom line- it’s nice, it’s pretty, it’s classy.

4. 

   scornfulPoultry1

   Reply

   No. Just no, no, no! Loud, screechy, harsh, and overwhelming. Holy crap. This is NOTHING like Chanel no 19. I read all the positive reviews and bought a bottle of vintage EDT. After scrubbing it off, I tossed it in my garbage because the smell was so piercing and strong I just wanted to get rid of it. Now my back door stairwell (where I put the bag) literally reeks of this. I love perfume and have dozens of vintage fragrances. But this….NO. Now excuse me while I air out my stairwell.

5. 

   troubledCockatoo7

   Reply

   This is difficult to review. I have a clear memory, circa 1979, of smelling this and thinking “oh I have found my lifetime perfume!” hardy har har, thankfully turning out to be very untrue. Many of the males I associated with at that time were similarly relegated to the bin of cast-offs, but I digress. At the time it seemed so sophisticated compared to the musk/strawberry oils we wore in those days. Ivoire de Balmain will have a lot of haters because it is both green and yet pungent. It is reminiscent of a very early spring day, fresh yet with the bitterness of winter still clinging. Even the EDT is powerful so perhaps one spray should suffice. While I enjoy it to some degree, it is unfortunately rather dated. I have an enormous bottle and pull it out a couple of times a year, hence no need to repurchase. A great value for those who enjoy it, but probably not really office appropriate.

6. 

   exactingRaisins7

   Reply

   First thing I got upon spraying this was a blast of green. Woah! Cut grass, lush green foliage, ivy, moss … made my eyes water.

   However, once the shock of the green tones have passed you’re left with a strange soapy aroma.

   I have to admit I’m not sure about this one. The green is way too intense initially, but the drydown is very different. It’s ALMOST pleasant. I do like the creamy soapiness (I know the soapy smell isn’t for everyone) but there’s a strange undertone which doesn’t sit well with me. I find it a bit annoying.

   The perfume is certainly different and I DID purchase this as, at the time, I quite liked the drydown but after wearing it for a day I’m not so sure. It COULD be nice … but there’s something in the drydown just ruining the whole scent,

   I wasn’t aware this was an older scent as it seems to have been ‘rebranded’ and relaunched with new packaging but I think I will set this down to rest for now and see how I feel about it in a few months time.

7. 

   lazyPonie6

   Reply

   Ivoire can be one of those ‘difficult’ perfumes. Circa 1980, its intense green chypre character is a little standoffish and tightly buttoned. When I picked it up unsniffed for $10 a decade ago I tried it and almost recoiled. This was back before I discovered that one can come to appreciate – and even adore – perfumes that were once hated (oh, to have those tossed bottles back!).
   Ivoire is a very unique scent that is easy to admire, a little harder to like.

8. 

   merePaella8

   Reply

   I have heavenly memories of this from the early ’80s, but the tester bottle I got a few years ago shattered those memories. I suspect the scent has been reformulated for mass distribution on eBay and TJ’s, but I also suspect that what passed for a “light, soapy green floral” 30 years ago is actually fairly ponderous and dark by today’s standards. I have the same feeling about Norell and Fidji– when I re-sniffed after decades, I was surprised by how smoky, dark, and claustrophobic they seemed. Ivoire does start out with a promise of pure, green grass and lilies, but it then takes a musty turn that reminds me of sweat and cigarette smoke. Can’t manage it.

9. 

   joyfulLlama1

   Reply

   Oh horrible…

   I bought this sight-unseen (or maybe I should say smell-unsniffed) from eBay b/c I didn’t know where else it might be sold to test it first.
   I read someone’s review that said it smells clean & very similar to Estee Lauder’s White Linen … it entirely does not.

   While White Linen remains one of my all-time favorite scents (in fact it’s my signature fragrance), Ivoire is a loser with me. It reminds me more of Norell, which is a classic old-lady scent, but Ivoire is even more old-lady & cheaper smelling.

   I couldn’t even wait for it to dry down. Having tried desperately to remove it from my wrist with rubbing alcohol, it would not come off completely. Even spraying Haiku on top of it hasn’t helped…I still smell Ivoire.

   Blech, I dislike this scent intensely. It brings back too many Norell memories, & that’s a scent I no longer care for at all. I’m sorry that I took the chance on this & risked $15. So many positive reviews on this fragrance…I wish I felt the same.

10. 

    joyfulToucan4

    Reply

    Beautiful, soapy, creamy fragrance that I’ve discovered recently. It’s rather strong and has a lasting power. Very pleasant, ideal for the office, but could be worn in any occasion. I also find it very chic. I love everything about it including rather cheap looking bottle. It’s one of almost forgotten little treasures that can be found at a ridiculously low price.