Private Collection Estée Lauder

3.83 из 5
(60 отзывов)

Private Collection Estée Lauder

Rated 3.83 out of 5 based on 60 customer ratings
(60 customer reviews)

Private Collection Estée Lauder for women of Estée Lauder

Share:

Description

Private Collection is a floral fragrance with green notes, it was reserved for the private use of Mrs. Estée Lauder. The perfume was launched to the massmarket only in 1973.

The fresh floral opening blend green notes, honeysuckle, linden, jasmin and orange blossom. The heart note is composed of Bulgarian rose, chrysanthemum, reseda, ylang-ylang and coriander. The end note includes sandalwood, heliotrope, amber and musk.

 

The nose behind this fragrance is Vincent Marcello.

60 reviews for Private Collection Estée Lauder

  1. :

    4 out of 5

    After using Azuree almost every other day after I bought it last autumn, I expected an equal potent fragrance in Private Collection, 2011 formula. EIGHT spritz needed this morning and it is still somewhat elusive. The only note I woke up to after yesterday’s test was faint OAKMOSS, a love note. I was drawn by the green and citrus top notes in the Perfume Pyramid. Not disappointed at all, just wish it could smell like the formula a friend wore in it’s earliest years of creation and told me it was “Private Collection.” It was an explosion of green and floral scent then. I thought she meant the perfume was from HER private collection of perfumes. This formula is too lady-like for a tiger like me. I’ll wear it to church.

  2. :

    5 out of 5

    I try not to b*tch too much about reformulations, but they really gutted this one in recent years. It went from the ultimate bitter/soapy/earthy green to orange blossom floor cleaner. God, this one was so weird and wonderful and yet somehow still so chic. I open my vintage bottle and I’m standing in my grandmother’s greenhouse on a rainy day. It had so much personality. I’m actually sort of glad they just let it go since they couldn’t maintain the quality. I would rather they maintain the quality, but that seems a lot to ask at this point since everyone is chasing the fruitchouli dragon and few want to smell like a greenhouse. *sigh*

  3. :

    4 out of 5

    I was searching for a green, soapy scent for summer and this is it. The opening is really harsh but it quickly softens into a powdery green floral which radiates a clean scent for a good few hours. I had tried Azuree but found it too harsh. This is an excellent alternative as it has all the green leafy notes without the leather. I think this would be interesting on a man. It’s an expensive smelling scent which speaks mainly to the wearer so Private Collection is well named. Delicious.

  4. :

    4 out of 5

    This entire house is falling to complete ruin. Discontinued one of the most noteable fragrances ? F**k whoever has control over Estée Lauder. Reformulations are also a massive issue with them now. I’ll hold onto what I have but I’m officially done with Estée Lauder!

  5. :

    4 out of 5

    Pure version:
    This is more woody on me than floral with the prominent note a rich tropical wood like teak or koa that is combined with cedar and oak. Upon revisiting I am struck by the nuttiness. I think what I’m smelling is actually kukui nut!
    This wood blend somehow smells both aged and freshly polished and freshly cut. There is a vanilla Amber resin scent supporting the wood. The florals give the green just a bit of softness and smell most like narcissus and hyacinth to me.
    As it dries down the woods and the resins blend together with a bit of soft floral sweetening it.

  6. :

    4 out of 5

    Such a shame they discontinued this Perfume! I wear this for over 30 years. I do not understand they are able to do so, in the knowledge to disappoint so many lovers of this amazing scent. This perfume always gives me strenght if I need it and brings me in a special mood. The one I always had an still have is Eau de Private Collection. I’ve never seen the ‘original’ here in Holland. As far as Estee Lauder told me (by chat), and as far as I understood everything well, all Private Collections will be discontinued.

  7. :

    5 out of 5

    Just a note for every fan of this scent, it has been discontinued in USA.

  8. :

    3 out of 5

    Like Beautiful is Beautiful, Private Collection is Wonderfull!

  9. :

    5 out of 5

    Hi Fragrantica
    Would it be possible to have a separate page for Private Collection pure parfum? Does anyone know the official notes for the parfum? I have a couple of miniature bottles and I feel sure I can smell vanilla in the mid notes but it’s not listed on this page.

  10. :

    4 out of 5

    A quick note to buyers: Be careful as there are many bottles for sale listed as Private Collection but are actually EAU de Private Collection, a different fragrance. The frosted bottle is EAU while the clear bottle shown above is the original. We here at Fragrantica have recently changed the image to correspond with the correct Fragrance.

  11. :

    5 out of 5

    What Janudy said below!
    I doused myself in private collection today at the Estée Lauder counter. I’ve done it before – but I paid closer attention today so I could write a review.
    It starts off with a very strong scent of a very fine French milled soap, that’s in maybe mossy stagnant water – maybe swamp water – in a good way. And, it reminds me of a young tree being chopped in half – or a Green branch being chopped. Strangely, when I got out of my car walked in the cold air I smelled something licorice like.
    It stays that way for a good two hours – then the good part starts – it’s hard to describe – it’s not spicy – but it has that same effect of spice – like something warm & enveloping – a feeling that’s all around you but you can’t pinpoint. And it smells so good on fabric!
    It starts to remind me a lot of Chamade at this point. I would totally buy it, if I didn’t have Chamade. And,I think I like the Chamade opening better.

  12. :

    4 out of 5

    On my skin this fragrance is similar to Boucheron Boucheron. Boucheron is a little more complex butI love both.

  13. :

    3 out of 5

    F.Y.I.
    There are now two Estée Lauder Private Collection.
    The Pure Fragrance Spray
    The Eau de Perfume.
    The second one is lighter and airier. It doesn’t have quite the knock out and projection. If you’re looking for the heavier, knock you on your A** version. It’s the Pure Fragrance Spray. Please be vigilant, the packaging looks identical other than the wording. The ladies that are familiar with this perfüme for years know.

  14. :

    5 out of 5

    This is really a wonderful fragrance, the beginning is a real chrysanthemum. I felt like I´ve just cut one in the garden. And it is very strong. After a while you can feel some green notes and fresh citruses and I can also identify linden blossom. It is absolutely unexpected combination but it works and it is really gorgeous. I must say I love it. I have been waiting for it to try it for a long time, but this is my reward. It is so unique like none of my other fragrances and easily recognisable.

  15. :

    4 out of 5

    This was my first Grown Up Lady scent in the late 70’s …. having graduated from hippie oils and Diorissimo and Yardleys and Love’s Lemon …. it really knocked me out and it’s a complete flashback for me every time I spray it.
    Reading the reviews here it sounds like it has suffered from the Dreaded Reformulations most classic scents have undergone in the last ten years or so. I can’t imagine it being mild mannered ir powdery in any way, but of course our noses and skin chemistry can be so different.
    Mine is of the Vintage Variety, and is uber green woods with expertly blended florals that never surface in their entirety.
    If you are a 70’s buff, this is a must sniff.

  16. :

    5 out of 5

    A very well-blended scent with a less protruding oakmoss than I had expected, even though I own a vintage bottle. The citruses last for ages!

  17. :

    5 out of 5

    This is by far the most powerful and complicated classic perfume I ever encountered and liked (among No.5, Shalimar, First, Opium, and so on). Definitely a collector’s keeper.

  18. :

    5 out of 5

    This is very beautiful. It smells fresh and very green, a bit un-perfume like and very approachable. I can’t believe I found it in the Estée Lauder outlet 40%off! FYI for those live close to a cometic company outlet, this is in Canada.

  19. :

    4 out of 5

    At first, I didn’t like it because it didn’t smell like the lush chrysanthemum that was on my mind. It is a unique strong and bold floral green scent with a good silage.
    Lovely in a rainy day. <3

  20. :

    3 out of 5

    Having been away for a couple of weeks, and unable to take any perfume with me, I was keen to use this once more.
    I wear it at night only to sooth me before I go to sleep.
    After a break, I was wowed by a sense of being on a lake in Europe, trailing my hand through the duck weed and then into deeper water whilst my husband rowed me across the lake on a balmy, late summer’s day.
    I fell asleep thinking of Monet’s paintings,The Water Lilies.
    So glad to be home again and sleeping peacefully in my own bed!!!

  21. :

    3 out of 5

    PC smells a bit different now to what it used to; it is a bit flatter, the greens used to be more earthy, less airy. It started out almost medicinal and with a huge verdant bang that wrapped you almost instantly into a cloud of self love. I know this sounds weird, but that’s just what the right scent can do for you. It’s a bit more tame now, because it seems the big greens are lately having a hard time being recognized as voluptuously feminine, what with the gourmand wave just starting to ebb. The drydown into resinous, balsamic softness is still there but not as dramatic. This was strictly a one-spritz-scent because sillage was monstrous. These days I find that Lancasters Eau de Concentree comes closest to what PC used to be. Do try both! Two of the most empowering, lovely, and stubbornly different perfumes, after all these years they re still beating their own drum. A big, big love.

  22. :

    3 out of 5

    WoW, WoW, Wow!
    This is one Gorgeous, Fresh, and Well Blended Fragrance. I received this as a gift (for absolutely no reason) from my hubby last summer. He said, as soon as he smelled it, that it had my name written all over it. He nailed it. I couldn’t ever pinpoint what notes were in it. It just smells Fantastic. However, there was this one slightly prominent intoxicating scent that I just couldn’t figure out. Chrysanthemum…. Wow. Why isn’t this used more often in perfüme? It’s such a gorgeous, clean, green, and floral smell. I have to say, it works well all year but, in the Spring, Summer and Early Fall is best time to wear this. This is not over powering, but it isn’t shy. This perfüme says “I Have Arrived”, I’m strong, Educated, and Powerful, Classy woman! I can understand why many female executives and professional women wore this back in the day. Estée Laûder Private Collection was created by Estée for Estée Lauder Herself for personal use in 1972. She received so many compliments and requests for her private fragrance. Estée eventually made it for public production. So generous of her to share her personal favourite with the women of the world. Interestingly enough, it’s such a classique scent that it doesn’t smell dated/outdated. The really great thing, Like most Estée Lauder perfumes, it has some height in the Silage. It does last. The initial spray and first half hour is strong.. but gloriously so. After about two hours, the Chrysanthemum scent tones down, and the perfüme becomes softer even more well blended. Pretty much stays like that for the duration of the wear. I like to “touch up” every four hours or so. Because, I just love the first few hours of this perfüme.{Its the Chrysanthemum} So, I can’t really give an accurate comment on the longevity. I can say, I get at least four-five good hours. I literally cannot stop sniffing my wrists when I wear this. I get a lot of “Wows”, “Smells great”, “Smells expensive” & “Clean” “Classy” comments when I wear this.
    *P.S. After not smelling for a while, when I take a whiff of the perfüme, It’s so Devine that it makes my toes tingle.

  23. :

    3 out of 5

    Definitely for the warmer days, do NOT wear im Winter. It goes nasty and metallic… can’t dig that.
    In saying that, in Summer … boy is it classy! My go to scent, even longer lasting than some of the heavier scents. Staple in my collection

  24. :

    3 out of 5

    Very beautiful, lush, soapy scent, full on floral and it won’t disappoint you! Complex yet linear but with an excellent blend. It’s one of those perfumes (along with 24 Hermes Fauburg) that smell expensive.
    I must admit that I had a little hard time understanding the majority of the notes. Chrysanthemum is a new note to my nose, and if that is how it smells, then the mainstream perfumery must be ashamed for not using it more. I cannot elaborate on hyacinth and narcissus, but I can tell you that the floral notes variate, so the perfume is not monotonous.
    The green is quite prevalent and the oakmoss too. Surprisingly though it is a very balanced green scent and not only green-herbal, from which young women stay away from nowadays. So if you had “bad experiences” with sharp green scents, do give a chance to Private Collection.
    To my nose it’s a perfect balanced blend between florals and green notes with a chypre base. Very creative and distinct. Rather springy and summery. Long lasting and projects very well
    A yes from me

  25. :

    4 out of 5

    Tania Sanchez categorizes this as a floral chypre. As a fan of chypres and having several of them, I agree with the Fragrantica categorization of this as a green floral. If this is a chypre, then it’s a great place to start if you’re not so sure about them because it is an extremely mild one – I don’t sense any of the slight bitterness that I usually love about chypres. This seems to be a floral fragrance that everyone can agree on. I usually can’t stand florals unless they have aldehydes, or enough green or woody notes to tone down the headiness and sweetness of the florals. This one just barely has enough green to make it a yes for me, but fans of sweet florals would probably like this too. It smells like a garden in a bottle -I find it similar to Pleasures. It’s definitely pretty, but as I’ve found with Pleasures, It’s a little too “nice” for me. There’s nothing that really makes it stand out – but I certainly have nothing bad to say about it. For a floral I much prefer Estee Lauder’s Beautiful – it has an exquisite quality to it that this one just doesn’t hit for me. For a green floral it’s no contest – I much prefer Chanel No. 19. Some people have compared this to 19, but if you are like me and have a passion for 19, you will probably not find much similarity between the two.

  26. :

    3 out of 5

    Alors pour moi c’est la méga surprise de ce début 2017 !
    Très beau parfum… Très très bien réussi.
    Il a certainement été reformulé (je présume) mais la façon dont il est construit je peux vous dire que mes narines sont aux anges ;o)
    La jacinthe est merveilleuse. Fraîche. Verte. Grasse. Elle introduit le narcisse éclatant et frais. Et pendant un bon moment on a cette symphonie verte…. En plein hiver j’a-d-o-r-e !!!
    Au bout d’un bon moment disais-je, on aperçoit une mousse de chêne grandiose. Mais alors grandiose !!! Associée aux autres notes elle crée un chypre floral de très très belle facture….
    Aucune note ne se bouscule. Aucune n’accuse une incongruité qui pourrait gêner celle qui le porte…
    Une très belle découverte malgré le fait que ce parfum date de …. 1973 !!

  27. :

    4 out of 5

    Green & Powdery
    Used to be my favorite perfume back in the 80s. Estee Lauder had stopped production of this perfume for quite sometime, and I was ecstatic when I found out the old perfume range are available again over the counters.
    It has similarity with Chanel No:5 but not overpowering and less sharp than No:5. I would say the powdery amberish scent dominates over the freshness scent. The vanilla scent is subtle.
    longevity is excellent. I guess this perfume smells better in cold weather.

  28. :

    4 out of 5

    Too sour and fresh and green for me, but dried down into a pleasant powdery chypre scent.
    Beautiful bottle, says 70s elegance like nothing else to me. But not *for* me.

  29. :

    4 out of 5

    Intensive smell of tropical greenhouse, or florists, after spring rain.
    Chrysanthemums and hyacinths with very sour unripe pear skins, bergamot, oakmoss and cedar wood.
    It smells better on the skin, where the softness and smoothness of sandalwood appears.
    Fresh, green, mouth watering fruity sour, woody dry, floral, soapy, elegant and distinguished chypré, very feminine.
    Lovely flacon.

  30. :

    3 out of 5

    This was my all time favorite frag that I wore for years with continuous compliments. I loved the green grassy floral scent-so rich and feminine! I still have an old empty bottle with the original fragrance and a small original vial of the pure parfum which I open and take a whiff of but don’t wear because alas when I purchased a bottle a few years ago it was not the same. I was devastated. The beautiful rich long lasting complexity was gone…….. Used to be my entire closet and wardrobe was scented with Private Collection. It would last for days! The newer version smells watered down and puny….and cheap. Does anyone have any of the older bottles esp the one that is frosted and is called ‘natural perfume spray”? Please contact me if you do and no longer want.

  31. :

    4 out of 5

    An absolutely beautiful green floral chypre. It’s crisp and confident and does lend one a sophisticated air few perfumes do. I dare say it is not unisex, but far in the dry down it is probably close. Sillage is great to start and tones down quite a bit after first hour. Longevity is great. 2014 bottle.

  32. :

    3 out of 5

    OH My Private Collection what fond memories together we have had! All through the 80s to now…my Floral green spicy full of joy and happiness! I’m so happy for all you’ve given me! I hope they never discontinue Ms.Lauder’s Private Parfum she had wore before releasing to public! Private Collection will always be my most intimate and memorable fragrance I’ve had the pleasure of wearing and not to mention I’m a Guy!
    Chrysanthemum Reseda Honeysuckle and green notes with Oak moss Linden blossom Omg #Heaven #Ethereal

  33. :

    3 out of 5

    EL Private Collection is a classic. I always associate this scent with femininity, class, and refinement. (I remember a friend who wore this in high school in the 80s; she was one of those girls who had perfect hair, clothes, and makeup EVERY day.) Very green yet complex. I wear it to work often as it has a professional feel to it. An observation: when I bought my most recent bottle, I had to ask a more mature salesperson at the perfume counter to help me. The younger ones kept trying to push the newer scents and did not hide their disdain for this one. For that reason, I think Private Collection is more likely to appeal to professional women and any young lady who has the confidence to stand out from the crowd. A lovely scent.

  34. :

    4 out of 5

    Totally divine perfume.

  35. :

    3 out of 5

    It is bold, cold and beautiful, there is great deal of lush greens in PC, and no sweetness.
    However, a definite sweaty-animalic touch keeps it away from being a favourite of favourites. Still, a very good scent, confident and memorable.

  36. :

    3 out of 5

    I love this one. Tried the older version, the exact same bottle that they have here in the picture.
    It’s simple, mild soapy, floral here is not screaming for attention. Can easily pass off as an everyday office wear scent. The more I smell this scent, the simplicity and politeness strikes me.
    Surely on my buy list.
    But on fence because it sits very close to skin and slowly fades within couple of hours

  37. :

    4 out of 5

    This is an instant confidence-builder. Wear it, and you stand straighter, walk taller, and fear nothing and no one.
    A beautiful, very complex green floral, but very cold, haughty, almost regal. No shrinking violets here! I can see Dunaway as Crawford in Mommie Dearest wearing this in the Pepsi boardroom scene, as she intimidates all the execs with a “Don’t f**k with ME, fellas!”
    Wear this and no one will f**k with you.

  38. :

    4 out of 5

    why did i not try this before?!
    it is the most beautiful floral green chypre i could ever imagine.
    honestly, if you have not at least tested this, you must.
    it has been a while since a fragrance knocked my socks off with its beauty and this just has.
    Private Collection is a heavenly perfume of such a clean and glorious complexity that it makes me think of sunshine, blue skies, dancing flowers in the breeze and shining smiles that will lift your heart.
    5/5.

  39. :

    3 out of 5

    A very nice and classy fragrance, but unfortunately it has on me a very poor lasting power. In the last stages I feel a resemblance with Must for men from Cartier, and I am happy about that.

  40. :

    4 out of 5

    Dear Ginawadsworth,
    well you have just described me perfectly.
    i seem to do much the same things you do with this scent.
    it is such a great feeling to take off the cap in the middle of the day and sniff this wonderful scent.
    I don’t know why it happens, but maybe there is a reason (or another reason) this scent is called Private Collection. 🙂

  41. :

    5 out of 5

    My love affair with this perfume continues…
    This is the only perfume I use strictly at home. I simply do not want to share it…. so unlike me and how I love to share fragrance with others, often spritzing co-workers. I do not even want to wear it to please my husband, even more unlike me, as he knows how I adore perfume and actively buys it for me.
    I am now convinced that this will be my personal signature fragrance, but for my benefit. Kind of like a talisman or secret that makes you smile inside.
    I have also stopped looking for the ultimate perfume to replace Aromatics Elixir, still my beloved perfume. Maybe I have reached my Zen in perfumery and have become fulfilled and no longer need to fill that fragrance hole in myself which has been missing since it was reformulated. I am more than happy to find a perfume for the day but come back to this at night when I want to be myself again.
    Does anyone else have a perfume that they use in this way, almost selfishly but are utterly fulfilled when wearing it?

  42. :

    3 out of 5

    This perfume is really beginning to get a hold on me in a weird and wonderful way.
    Perfumes are to be worn, but of late I find I simply sniff this from the bottle endlessly and most often just before I go to sleep. Something I have never done with a perfume before.
    It is as if all I need to feel less stressed, peaceful and calm, is to sniff this and I can sleep easily thereafter, and if I feel stressed during the day I do the same.
    Aromatherapy in essence, perfume to boot……. best of both worlds, what a find!!

  43. :

    4 out of 5

    My bottle of PC was produced somewhere between 2013 and 2016. It’s an extremely classic vintage-feel fragrance that smells like something an elegant 70+ lady might wear. It dries down to a pleasant light powdery skin scent, as you might find in a lady’s handkerchief drawer – back when ladies had handkerchief drawers 🙂
    For me personally (40s) the greenness in the opening is too astringent and its older style doesn’t suit.
    As others attest, it doesn’t last well – 80% gone in 2 hours.
    (I tried this because I adore some others in the Private Collection range, such as Amber Ylang Ylang, and hoped this might be a variation on that theme. However, it has nothing in common with AYY and seems to belong to an entirely different genre.)

  44. :

    4 out of 5

    I disagree with those who say this perfume does not have lasting power. And I say this as a 55-year-old woman with allergies, meaning my sense of smell is not how it was in my youth and allergies sometimes interfere too.
    I have just recently purchased this lovely EDP and I am in love. I cannot stop spraying and smelling it. 🙂
    It has all my favorite notes (linden, moss, chrysanthemum, honeysuckle, jasmine, cedar, etc.) and it smells clean, green and rich, all at the same time.
    It is quite a bit more complex than Chanel No 19 (and I love and use that too).
    It lasts about 4 to 6 hours on skin, but on clothing or hair it lasts for days!
    It is perfect from spring to autumn although I will switch to Chanel Cristalle during the hottest days of summer.

  45. :

    4 out of 5

    I Have the 2015 batch (according to the batch numer at the back) and it’s weak. It’s been reformulated to become this thin wispy thing, with ZERO lasting power (less than 4hrs!). Where before a dab was all you needed now you need to spray yoursef liberally and really lay it on thick to even hope for it to last a decent time. Why the hell do companies ruin things we love?

  46. :

    4 out of 5

    It is elegant, not heavy for all seasons , ”grown up” chic, green floral scent that in the end leaves a …bitter note. Very nice!

  47. :

    5 out of 5

    My 12 year old daughter, who loves all things Bath and Body Works…and has quite a range of fragrances herself including Miss Dior Cherie and Coco Madmoiselle, just loved the original Private Collection…Only Estee Lauder could get away with naming it Eau de Private Collection LOL…To me this is just a wonderful wonderful perfume. I test the vintage original mini. Private Collection is a soft sweetish herbal green blend with some unusual florals, maybe geranium. Very unique. Spices, citrus. Lovely. Unique. New and classic at the same time. All ages.

  48. :

    5 out of 5

    After a major disappointment regarding to possible job enhancement, I went straight out and purchased this. It was a reward and reminder to myself that I am still a gentle person at heart and have self worth beyond my work place.
    I will continue to wear this as a badge of personal honour of myself.
    Does anyone else have a perfume which serves this purpose?

  49. :

    3 out of 5

    My interest was piqued because I miss having a signature scent so much. (Former signature scent is Aromatics Elixir which has changed beyond recognition)
    I had been given a sample of the perfume many years ago whilst in the Caribbean and hated it. I think the humid hot weather made it too green and I could not get past the initial opening stage.
    I tried it again recently in the spray version on a card and have found it to be very faithful to how the sample perfume wears on my skin.
    There is the somewhat alarming green opening but this copes better with the New Zealand climate and is not so strident. It then settles into a well mannered perfume. (I am definately not saying old fashioned or old lady)
    I imply a distinguished woman with good ethics, compassion and grace. Visually, a ballet dancer who has retired and is now invited to teach. Her heady days are over, but she retains such grace, poise, confidence and compassion that she is in high demmand to teach the younger students.
    An inoffensive gentle perfume which behaves well and ideally suited to the office.
    This may sound a tad boring, however I could see myself wearing this all the time as it invokes the gentle nature that I aspire to have as I get older.
    Gently soothing and quiet, but because of these qualities, is remembered with affection.
    Following a walk I found it heated up, as I did. There was a brief moment when I could have sworn I smelt Aromatics Elixir. So much so, that I smelt my T shirt to check I had not sprayed it with AE. I( have an old bottle of reformulation which smells better on clothes than on me). Having confirmed it was not the shirt, I found this to be an a wonderful added bonus. This has become a serious contender as a signature scent.

  50. :

    3 out of 5

    Wow! Lush green, mossy and leafy. Im all too familiar with the smell of chrysanths and their foliage. Lush green notes made sharper by the narcissus and hyacinth. The linden blossom adds a dry freshness. Im usually wary of spring flower notes in fragrances as they can be strong pierci g notes but in this they really work. Its spring here in the UK and my narcissus and hyacinths are in flower. It very slowly fades and then the patch/wood notes become much more evident. For me this is spring in a bottle. It has good sillage and longevity.

  51. :

    3 out of 5

    This fragrance is a wonderful change in my vanity. I would wear it for a polo game or a cocktail party. It doesn’t need a lot of perfume to do the job so it should last you a while. It soon transforms itself in this big white floral. This is a classy perfume. The woman who wears this will be strong and confident. She is probably a professional and she will wear no fools. I love it.

  52. :

    5 out of 5

    Beautifully constructed chypre. It does start sharply, bitterly green, which I actually like, and dries down to a lovely, powdery floral, reminiscent of my beloved Aromatics Elixir. The dry down also smells closely to White Linen, without the aldehyde opening. Not too much I can add, as this is one of those love or hate fragrances. I love it and will be getting a FB. This review is for the modern version; I have not had the good fortune to smell the vintage juice.

  53. :

    5 out of 5

    I agree very much with the Swamp Lilly description. There is most definitely the Estee Lauder’s perfumes core ADN in this: Youth Dew, Alliage, Aromatics… Private Collection is like some sort of abstract of all great EL perfumes. Very representative of its time, the 70’s. No wonder that beautiful and elegant women like princess Grace of Monaco and Estee Lauder herself had made of it their signature fragance.
    It has a keen, very green, almost botanic opening. The heart is very rich, opulent, yet not overwhelming floral. Classic, and even so, original without being shocking. There is a rich and flamboyant quality in it that I miss dearly in modern perfumes, that makes me think about a more polite version of the Opium, the Poison, the original Versaces and all the rich perfumes of the 80’s and the beggining of the 90’s. Sadly enough (I don’t know if this is due to my skin chemistry, which not works well with this perfume, much in the Aromatics Elixir way, or due to the many reformulations that this perfume had to endure -I did not know it in its original incarnation), the drydown notes ruin the whole set, resulting in a very dry, almost sour smell, strongly reminiscent of some sort of classic toilet soap which has became rancid or some old cheap men’s cologne (Varón Dandy style).
    Quelle dommage! I really liked to enjoy this.

  54. :

    3 out of 5

    Take the green notes of Knowing, in massive dilution. Add a dash of Intuition and a pinch of Beautiful and then you have Private Collection. The top notes are very ‘perfumey’ but they settle down into a gorgeous green woody concoction that I want more of. Delicious.

  55. :

    3 out of 5

    I bought this yesterday and tried it on before I sleep. It is a blind buy actually, but based on the reviews and the bottle allong with the packaging, I already had an intuition that it’s gonna be awesome. Boy I’m wrong. I don’t feel just awesome, I felt like I own an island and having my breakfast on my veranda with all the lush vegetation, bushes and flowers blooming in riots while I sip my tea, wearing a long, white summer dress and a wide brim hat. This scent is spectacular for my taste, enough for me to daydream instantly. I just love it.

  56. :

    4 out of 5

    Received a FB as a gift. It reminds me a lot of Shiseido “Inoui.” Very nostalgic of childhood years in the 70s. Flashbacks. I like it but it will take time to fully grow on me as I learn to understand it. It is very green. I smell chrysanthemums that are a few days old. And fresh moss. It’s sits close to the skin – a very personal scent for a quiet, reflective, intelligent mood. Suits a day in the office and assists in concentrating on the task at hand.

  57. :

    4 out of 5

    I mentioned my love of vintage perfume to a colleague. The next day when I came in to work there was a small carved glass flacon at my desk. It had belonged to her late mother and she wanted to give it a good home, although she was unsure what perfume it was and there was no label.
    I described it on the Fragrantica message boards and within a few hours it was positively identified as Estee Lauder Private Collection. (Love those fragranticans!)As this co-worker was leaving for the day I thanked her again and asked if she wished to smell it on me. She leaned in to the crook of my arm and I saw all sorts of emotions cross her face.
    “Reminds you of your mom?” I asked
    “Sure does!” she said with tears in her eyes
    It starts off very sharp and green, a good vintage with backbone and dries down to reveal hyacinth and daffodil nestled in a bed of vetiver. What a nice gift.

  58. :

    3 out of 5

    This smells like a field of wildflowers enveloped in a dewy cloud of freshly cut flower stems, oakmoss, orange blossom and cedar. Elegant and sophisticated? Absolutely! It’s an intensely bold, fresh, moist scent that’s the perfect cool down fragrance for a hot, muggy day.

  59. :

    3 out of 5

    I would love to get my hands on a bottle of this stuff! If you have one up for sale/swap, let me know. Postage to and from South Africa is costly though. I may need to use a relative in Germany as a courier/post box for safe delivery.

  60. :

    3 out of 5

    Pow! Woods! Green! Amazing! <br /

Private Collection Estée Lauder

Add a review

About Estée Lauder