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Gusein – :
This is NOT a chypre like a “straight-up” chypre. If people think so, they have not smelled enough chypres. This is a floriental/chypre. The oakmoss is not bitter. It is woody and dominant but balanced by lots of dry spice. This isn’t sweet like Opium, Obsession, Cinnabar, Ciara, Rumba. It is a chypre-hater’s chypre. The floral notes are blended so none is distinct. There’s a bunch of benzoin and some vintage amber to round it out. As it dries down, the oakmoss does take control.
baron_parik – :
EDP
Top notes(fresh spicy): BERGAMOT, LEMON, neroli, aldehydes, marjoram, coriander
Mid notes (floral) ORRIS, jasmine, rose, lily of the valley, ylang-ylang, lily
Base notes (wood, sweet, powdery): CEDAR, MOSS, patchouli, vetiver, vanilla, benzoin, amber
Top notes not very apparent in my vintage bottle. I get the floral and a touch of coriander(soapy to some) and the sweetish base. Soft floral Chypre.
DarhanAltai – :
Lovely, but a very soft chypre with my chemistry. When I did catch a whiff of my EDP, after six spritz, it reminded me of a 1950’s fragrant soap-Camay. Sorry I can’t identify individual notes-not even the oakmoss! At least, not yet.
paskudass – :
Here is my moniker, chosen for my love of the original Helena Rubenstein perfume of the 70s. The closest I feel to Courant is when I was given a sample of Diptyque’s 34 Boulevard Saint Germain, which is just a little more masculine than Courant. The restrictions on oak moss may have already impacted on 34 Boulevard, but I can only comment on the sample I was given when it was first released.
Frenk – :
I am truly sorry about your vanilla overload, Hadas. I do not smell that note at all, so it must be a matter of skin chemistry and note sensitivity.
For me, Courant is the ultimate “chypre” (and I have tried vintage Coty Chypre–the original). I get oakmoss from almost the first sniff and I love it! I have also owned Herbessence, however this one is better by far!
TillyWave says it much more elegantly than I ever could!
Student6067 – :
If you want to know what classic chypre perfumes smelled like, this is your girl. A bergamot/citrus top, a leather/flower middle, a woody drydown.
I am positive that the perfumer for Courant loved Gres Cabochard, because the two are kissing cousins. Courant could be a Cabochard flanker, if the two were produced today. Besides the mysterious short note pyramid listed I also detect a LOT of leather, an edge of white flowers, and some sandalwood along with the load of oakmoss in the drydown.
Positively bitter and dark and sassy, not sweet or sugary in any way, with a divine wooded-animalic base, a perfume completely of its own time. My bottle is old but seems to have held up just fine, and was had for less than $10 on Ebay, give it a shot if you want a history lesson in perfume.
@Hadas, That is fascinating that you smell vanilla in this perfume! I wouldn’t be surprised if it was in there somewhere, but truthfully, beyond the citrus notes I don’t smell anything sweet at all, and certainly not vanilla, or an oily vanilla. Maybe if the perfume degrades enough it becomes more obvious, or in different concentrations if is more apparent (I think I actually have a pure perfume, as it is a 1/2 oz bottle that simply states Courant Perfume.)
mobilman – :
I’m sad that I can’t remember this smell. All I know is I very much loved it in the early seventies. As hard as I try, though, I cannot recall even one note of it. Every other fragrance I had, I can reconstruct in my mind.
2525max – :
Review is of a vintage perfume concentration.
As a lover of oakmoss, I adore vintage 70’s-style chypres and have sampled many. Of all the ones I’ve tried, Courant may have the most oakmoss, with the dark, earthy, leathery aspects of the note emphasized. There is nothing crisp, sparkly or Cristalle-like about Courant; it’s closer to darker chypres like Sinan.
Other notes of spice and florals only provide subtle accents to the dominant oakmoss. This is not a criticism! If you love the oakmoss note as much as I do and miss it in our IFRA-dominated era, Courant is an aromatherapeutic tonic that will take you back to happier perfume days. I’m happily huffing away, IFRA be damned.
WhirmWemaresk – :
Courant was a soft, warm, straight-up chypre. I remember wearing it in high school in the 1970’s, it was quite popular then. We wore strong scents at a young age; it probably would not be attractive to the young women of today! It was very wearable, and I miss this one as chypres are favorites of mine. It has long since disappeared, I look for it on Ebay but I worry about it’s quality after so many years.
Doubt I’d wear it, but I’d love to smell it again!
MobAccenonactg – :
Fabulous classic chypre. Softer than many. Even better (IMHO) than Rubensteins Herbessence which is touted as a marvelous chypre. I believe nearly anyone could wear (Courant) this without being overpowered. It’s a sin that it is no longer made. I’m actually wearing it today!
Genarek9b – :
Absolutely amazing chypre! It reminds me of a Versace classic. I Love, love, love it!!!
driepaddecefe – :
My grandmother always wore Helena Rubinstein perfumes. They were Apple Blossom and Heaven Sent. I would love to smell these perfumes again, purely for nostalgic reasons, and also to read reviews. However, I see they are not listed on this site, they were popular perfumes once upon a time.