To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
karabaz – :
Green/chypre/oakmoss, sunshine, leathery animal funk! It’s a winner!
I found the vintage EDT on ebay for a great price, so I also bought the (new) version. The new has not come in yet, so I can’t comment on that yet. ($25 for a cap-less 100ml tester of the EDT, and $23 for the 90ml EDP new version from Fragrancenet)
I think this most resembles Azuree… because Azuree also has citrus-sunshine. This is a great vintage aldehyde-chypre-animal scent… much like Bandit, Cabochard, and the like. But I need them all. I’m a collector! 😉
Someone said Calandre and Azuree equals Empreinte and I agree! The melon and citrus notes give this a lighter/sunny feeling, but make no mistake it’s a heavy vintage chypre… melon/fruit just sets it apart from something REALLY heavy like Bandit. As with vintages… this EDT is potent!
Dries down rather light and creamy, at least on a tissue. I can’t wait to get home and wear this proper!
Hmmm… with a proper wear…. skin and clothing… I found this NOT that potent and I got a very strong lemon Pledge smell (furniture cleaner product). I still like it, and look forward to trying it out in diff weather/circumstances.
Atabechka – :
Stylish, refined but modern, elegant, warm, witty and sophisticated. Wear it in an MG or a Rolls; the beach or the opera. It’s not for everyone – thank goodness! Think Emma Peel, Jackie O. and Lee Radziwill combined.
sfairat – :
history in a bottle ..memories of my mom aunties social gatherings parties and fun times.. after noon teas.. and celebrations.. this how everyone smelled like.. in one way or another ..this is what perfumes smelled like to me as a child.. i thought it was way to leathery ..too perfumey.. they said it was sophisticated ..and classy..aldehydes for some reason where the epitimy of modern westernized aurora of sophistication at the time ..any thing else was a meh or got negative criticism which bothered me even at the fragile age of 5 i wanted to smell everything not only chyprees and green accords and aldehides..and they didn’t like the hippie perfumes with al the resins and patchoulis which i found so mesmerizing ..i was a rebel.. and always wanted to try and smell every thing ..what they called cheap.. and what they called hippie ..and what my grand ma did for everyone from the poor to the rich as wedding gifts…i learned to appreciate scent from every aspect.. and didn’t really care about where a perfume was made….or what was in it as long as it found a place in my heart..i learned to love see the best in everything ..
back to this gem that i smell now almost 30 years later and i am trying to appreciate it what used to give me headaches and and a feeling of false pretense i am learning to some how appreciate now 30 years latter i am seeing the beauty and the mean sophistication of the old leathery chypre perfumes that never found a place in my heart they were never me they were so unreal ..
anyway i got 2 bottles and gifted them to my mother and aunte and they were so happy to smell them again for they have lost hope in perfumery with all the gourmand and synthetic frutchulies gong around for the past decades..with all the insanity going on i am actually wishing perfumery would reinvent such accords again to fine tune the new generations olofactory experiences atleast give them a chance to smell what perfumes were suppose to smell like its sad that they dont know and will never know !
this perfume is clean pungent floraly musky astringent dry mesmerizing energizing full of aldehides and leathery soapy frenchy clean goodness that gets to your head it just smells like a sophisticated classy rich confident over powering woman it fills the air with confidence and an aura of prestige and fines in a mean utterly pretentious vibe !
smells like uterlly clean soapy powdery chypre types of perfumes like calndre paco raban mixed with azuree estee lauder and maybe hints of fidji guy laroche on a bed of first by van cleef and sisly au de sour and ivory balmain and many more from that arena ..to my nose now yes its beautiful in a heart breaking way in an aching way its too beautiful in its own way ..i use it for layering now it adds that bit of finesse and cleanliness a touch of frenchy sophistication to many of my more hippie and ethnic creations !
elala – :
A warm & feminine take on the traditional “Eau” (a light water of citrus & herbs). If you enjoy other scents based on the “Eau” such as ‘O’ de Lancome, Diorella, Sous le Vent, etc., then Empreinte may be right up your alley.
I don’t detect any notes like melon or leather. I mostly smell bergamot & herb/s (marjoram?).
I’m reviewing the vintage parfum.
lokatirr – :
I am the owner of the vintage version of this, and i simply love it.
The leather woody spicyness attracts a lot of attention, and it is in no manner evasive. Sharp and crisp toned.
StarKiller – :
Andre Courreges, the revolutionary designer of the 60’s and 70’s, just passed away in January 2016, and Empreinte (Imprint), a green chypre-leather, is a wonderful vintage perfume from his house. I have the vintage EDT that was packaged in a very space age, 1970’s clear plastic tube. The vintage EDT has excellent longevity, with beautiful notes of rose, jasmine, patchouli, and sandalwood.
I cannot begin to explain why this scent has castoreum listed as a dominant note in the Fragrantica pyramid. While castoreum is probably being used to create its leather note, Empreinte is not at all skanky or strongly animalic to my nose, but then again, I love strong vintage leather scents like Cabochard, Miss Balmain, and Azuree. In comparison to these, Empriente is clean, polished, white patent leather. Empreinte is Bandit’s more reserved younger sister. Or perhaps it is Paco Rabanne’s Metal set upon a base of leather. Empreinte was reissued in 2012 (see separate listing) and it appears to have been changed. Reviews for the vintage and reissue are predictably mixed together.
The nose behind Empreinte is Robert Gonnon (1926-88), who also created Cardin’s Paradoxe (which is not identified as Gonnon’s in the Fragrantica database but is elsewhere), Rabanne’s Metal, which contains a liquid, smooth, metallic damascone rose that is similar to the one in Empreinte, Gres’ QuiProQuo (a vintage green leather that has eluded me thus far, alas!), and Cacharel’s Anais Anais (which I have not tried). It is difficult to find information about Gonnon. It seems he worked for Firmenich, and he won a young up-and-coming perfumer award from the La Société Française des Parfumeurs in 1954, when he was, yes, all of 28 years old. I think he was simply one of the best perfume noses of the 1970’s.
gika1407 – :
I came across this perfume recently and fell in love with its packaging. I always look for the luxurious, jewelry-like type of bottles, that make me feel very feminine and confident. So I decided to check the reviews here immediately and purchase it.
DON’T BE FOOLED BY THE REVIEWS, IT’S AWFUL. To me, at least. I don’t know what it is that makes it feel so old, not in a good vintagey vibe but really OLD & HEAVY. It reminded me of perfumes my mom liked so I passed it on to her. I thought she’d like it, but then I moved out to my own place, and when I came back for a visit I suddenly saw it in the bathroom being used AS AN AIR-REFRESHNER. Really, mom??? It cost me a lot and I didn’t have a lot of money so it hurt me in a way, but oh well, I can’t blame her. The only way to somehow deal with the smell is to use it in the air or on carpets and bedding.
Maybe the formula has changed for the past couple of years and it’s not the same as you all remember?
Because this is by far the worst perfume I’ve ever bought, and I really regret buying it and taking advice from the reviews I’ve read.
deys – :
Empreinte by Courreges smells NOTHING like Rogue Assassin by Jovoy. I don’t know what possessed people to vote that they are even similar fragrances, so don’t be fooled. I now sympathize for the beavers of the world. Empreinte smells like straight up Castoreum in the musty stinky way. Like the way senior citizens smell in retirement homes when they can’t bathe themselves anymore and think that their fragrance is covering up their body odor. It’s awful! Even headache inducing. Rogue Assassin is a sweet powdery lipstick type fragrance that makes you think of glamorous vintage style cosmetics. Empreinte does not smell even remotely decent at all. This one is going in the goodwill box, maybe someone else will find it and actually like it.
kynonlinekino – :
This is my favorite perfume ever.
I wore it back in the early 1980s. It was sublime. A true work of art. Just the right balance of crisp, sparkling, floral, spicy, and powdery.
Ruchka003 – :
I just can’t bear most chypres now. That aldehyde smell is just not pleasant. They smell old and musty to me. I have too many from blind buys. I use these on my carpets as house fragrance scents. I’m able to tolerate them at least this way.
anita – :
This was my mum’s perfume, she had the little tiny perfume bottle and she’d wear it only at night. In my head I remember it as a dark and velvety perfume, intense and sublime. I’d love to get my hands on the perfume again…
Mienkoff – :
Lucky me, I have it again! I’m so thrilled. I was waiting for long so as to grab two bottles of the old version. What happened suddenly and it appeared again in such low prices? It is as I remember it although I bought edp versions. (I was using edt’s)
DESERT – :
Adorable! spiced fruity, herbal chypre. My old favourite that I cannot find it anywhere these days. It’s been discontinued since 1999 -I think- but there is no stock in most of the e-stores and if you may find it, it will be very higly priced! Empreint was a bit citrusy at the beginning but not in a sharp ways. After a while, you smelled moss and spices in a fruity backgroud,(melon and peach were not sweet) but co-existed in harmony together with cream florals. The dry down was sensual, dark but subtle as well. If I could give an overall discription, I would say that the composition was warm, creamy but not candied. It was spiced with herbs giving some bitterness and fruits were marvelous hidden behind the herbal and animalic notes. Everything was well balanced, so the smell was not overwhelming. It was sporty, sexy, appropriate for casual wearing.
NewsPR – :
I love this scent!It’s very sensual and warm.Doesn’t matter it was created in 1970.Still it may be found as a present fragrance.
borisgasil – :
At first emerges as something citrus explosion, which quickly becomes sweet and creamy, very fruity effect of peach and melon that reminded me slightly banana Jellies:) in few minutes, the perfume is based on the skin and becomes soft, sweet, creamy and floral with notes of pink cooler, iris and jasmine very well balanced with melon and other fruits, at this stage patchuly makes an appearance and enhanced by the coriander which gives a hint spicy .
I was surprised … but not my type of perfume*
zja072elipseskism – :
En Europe ce parfum s’écrit Empreinte. Quand les notes de fond s’épanouissent sur la peau,le parfum devient très sensuel. Ce chypré floral/animal facilement reconnaissable est un vrai aphrodisiaque.
La version parfum (dans un petit flacon doré) était sublime. Aujourd’hui, on ne trouve plus que l’eau de toilette qui est parfaite sur des lainages en cachemire.