Description
This fragrance became a part of the perfume water collection «La Collection Fragrances», which was launched to mark the 70th anniversary of Lancome’s perfume tradition. La collection fragrances were introduced in elegant, limpid bottles designed in the 1960es by George Delhomme, one of Lancome’s founders.
This sensual floral fragrance with amber was launched in 1950. The main notes are jasmine, violet, musk and amber. A magical night of a theater premier, a young, charming actress with roses in her hand just leaving the scene; a vase with a branch of jasmine is standing in the corner of her wardrobe, she is looking pensively at her mirror and then notices a small bouquet of violets on her desk. She is touched by a gentle token of affection sent by an anonymous admirer, she puts the bouquet near her heart and leaves with a gentle trace of musk and amber behind her. The nose behind this fragrance is Armand Petitjean.
orator – :
I have a FULL vintage bottle of this that I cannot open! Glass stopper stuck in bottle. Same with 3/4 full bottle of vintage Envol. Nothing seems to work, and I don’t want to break the bottles.
Дмитрич80 – :
My review is for 1960s vintage Magie Mist. This is a soft, ambery, well-blended traditional floral. It’s very very soft and dries down to powder in just a couple of hours – not enough staying power to interest me, really. The top notes are mostly amber, followed by very well blended florals with no individual note standing out – nothing harsh or woody about it anywhere. I think in a stronger concentration, I would like this but as it is, it just smells lie perfume leftover on your clothes from the night before.
Pollfarm – :
Testing today a vintage EDC in perfect shape. It has a floral aldehyde opening, but swanky and bourbon rich too. A taller brunette cousin to the Madame Rochas crowd, a little wilder, sexier, almost delicately brooding in the corner, not even wishing to dance, but absorbed in ancient poetry. This is Perfume with a capital P, and of the old school era for sure, but classy and swanky all the way. White gloves and sterling, fine wool rugs and candles.
EDIT Testing again later and the drydown is exceptional. The aldehydes burn off quickly and then the floral chype starts but the drydown….WOW , lovely and soft and NOT cloying at all, disappears fast but OK because I think it is natural, or mostly natural.
katushka_tlt – :
Opens with a vintage blast. I can’t place exactly what fragrance it reminds me of, but I feel like I’m a child testing the bottles on my Grandma’s dresser. The musk dominates the opening. It’s a powerful, animalic musk, but rounded out just enough by the amber to stay on the beautiful/sexy side. The jasmine blooms in and provides the transition over to florals. It becomes a powdery, violet dominated floral a little over an hour in. The whole progression and blending keeps the vintage vibe going. Where it loses the vintage touch is in the longevity; it’s Gone, except for a very light skin powder within 5 hours.
insuncspuse – :
I get a thick, heavy yet sweet amber resin (arguably a near styrax-cousin type of amber resin), a lot of a surprisingly likeable vintage boudoir powder scent, and an underlying skankiness I was not expecting (as it dries down more).
I’m pretty confident the skank factor (a fun touch & probably my favorite part of this scent) is from INDOLES in the jasmine, artfully blended with a rich, warm, almost crystallized-sugar infused amber. (For the heavy presence of indoles on my skin, I rated jasmine ‘very intensive’. Probably a chemistry thing!) I believe this is what sherapop is finding as ‘CIVET’ in her review below, because I absolutely agree and get a lot of the tone, too. The comparison to a more resinous/MUCH less floral ‘Joy’ Patou is not far off in this respect.
I’m drawn to it, but I feel like it is a bit too heavy for me all considered. I feel it’s a high quality, less fruity spiced, more concentrated cousin of Femme de Rochas.
yhs998InsuffBooni – :
Lancome Magie EdP. Wonderful scent perfect for fall/wintertime. Fresh, lots of Amber and Musk and on my skin a hint of oakmoss. Moore Chypre than Oriental if you ask me.
Lancome Magie EdP. Ljuvlig doft för hösten/vintern. Fräsch, rejäl dos Amber och Musk och på mig även en luftig not av Ekmossa. Mer Chypre än Oriental om du frågar mig..
smfd – :
These comments are for Magie Spray Mist:
Magie was created in 1950 (the year my parents were married). My bottle is vintage- Box says “No. 6171, Lancome Dist., Div of Cosmair Inc, Clark N.J. 07066.” Since zip codes were used in US from 1963 on, my box must be mid 60’s possibly through the 70’s.
One spray of this baby is super potent to my nose. The nozzle is big and dispenses much more than current little plastic nozzles do. The scent is warm and powdery but, in an eerie kind of way, not a soft and cuddly sweet way. The top notes are likely dissipated.
I’m sure I must have smelled this enveloping an aunt or two in my childhood. For some reason I’m getting an image /feeling of being hugged and enveloped in a scented fur coat in the dead of winter.
This is classic perfumery style of the era, and probably full of stuff now banned by the IFRA, those devils.
Without the floral top notes, Magie seems pretty dark to me so I’m wondering how much darker is Magie Noire ?
ЗМВ – :
This is based upon the La Collection reissue.
Quite musky – very much in the same vein as La Nuit by Rabanne, and almost a twin sister – definitely an animalic type of oriental, but nothing like Shalimar, Opium or Coco or even its younger dark chypre spawn Magie Noire. This has none of the vanilla or spices of the others, but more of a fleshy, resinous timbre. It’s very soft and tender and with an intimate sort of human body aroma – like the nape of a neck.
severnov – :
I have no idea about the original Magie, while I have loved and worn a lot the original Magie Noire ever since its launch.
Indeed Magie Noire bears resemblance to Magie in terms of being an oriental, classy, wonderful scent.
Period.
While Magie Noire was (I am talking about the original formulation) rich, deep, a bit loud, certainly intense, Magie is light, soft, discreet.
Both spectacular, both wonderful, both worth having, wearing, enjoying.
If you like oriental, spicy scents but are a bit intimidated by their being overwhelming, Magie is the choice.
If you love orientals but sometimes get tired with their being loud (I am thinking about Bal à Versailles, Opium, Cinnabar and the like) and do not want to give up orientals, Magie is the one.
I have a soft spot for orientals, I admit I love orientals even in summer, but too often I finish being worn by them. I find Magie is perfect, never too loud, never out of tune, never too much.
(All this being said let me add that I would be more than happy if the original Magie Noire were resurrected and if I could enjoy it the way it was instead of the pale shadow it can be found today).
70m173 – :
Oh, lovingthealien, you are so mean! We like a lot of the same scents, so I am really wondering if you got a bad bottle? (The kerosene part especially makes me wonder). I recently got a 1/2 oz of quite vintage cologne and have become quite obsessed with it. It is lovely and haunting. Mine is very musky, it is deceptively simple and light. Fairly long lasting for a vintage cologne too. Yes, there is an hint of mustiness, that only adds to its charm. I have a bottle from La Collection on the way, and I want to try the vintage parfum version. A gallon or two of this scent might be enough for me to rest easy. Try it again, really!
vl_vic11 – :
I was able to get a bottle of Magie Mist to compare to the remake and it’s definitely a winner.
The original is more openly floral and powdery and lacks that particular note that comes with the remake. Magie Mist also has an obviously musky/animalic base. It seems to wear softer than the remake too but is so much more refined and beautiful.
timmaster – :
This is a soft and primarily dry aldehyde on me. There’s slightly skank musk and amber which do make a for a sexy dry down.
In the heart and base I get a tinge of the same strange almost vetiverous note that a lot of classic (reformulations) seem to have on my skin. Arpege, Jolie Madame, Bandit all end up smelling a little of bug repellent… I’m not sure if it’s an intentional note or just me but either way it ruins a lot of these fragrances for me.
Despite this, Magie is a subtle and soft intimate scent for dark nights.
Soknoussy – :
I really enjoy the current formulation of Magie Noire by Lancome, so when I discovered that there was another fragrance that came before it, I ordered a sample almost straight away.
Magie is one of those classics that really need to be brought back. The scent is heavy, powerful and reeking of confidence. It’s quite a powdery scent, but not necessarily clean. I find it more animalic and slightly earthy. Magie tends to be rather sensual too, especially towards the drydown.
This fragrance smells relatively dark and seductive on my skin. There’s also a subtle note that resembles dirty fuel, that I must admit, intrigues me greatly. It has obvious unisex qualities, a fragrance that would wear just as well on a man as it does on a woman.
Magie reminds me of Chanel No.22, however it’s much dirtier and a tad more masculine. The opening is bitter in some ways, and also heavily concentrated in terms of aldehydes and musk. As it settles, the amber accord is more apparent, bringing to light a hint of beauty and superiority.
Before the drydown, Magie is at its most animalistic stage with a thick muskiness combined with unsweetened amber. I should also add that the sillage at this point is rather soft and intimate. So this is in no way a loud and offensive blend.
Despite the fact that Magie doesn’t contain a leather accord, I think many women who adore leather-based scents will love Magie. It has a similar rough ‘biker-chick’ feel to it which I personally love. I’m very much taken with the drydown, which was a beautiful and smooth ambery incense blend which suits a cold Winter’s night perfectly. I highly recommend.
vesen – :
My husband said he fell in love with my perfume before he fell in love with me(1967)! Magie Noir was no substitute I found it too headachey. When it was phased out he presented me with several sample phials he had collected from Lancome sales staff. On me Magie was a warm snuggly fragrance that on cold winter nights made me feel wonderfully cosseted and loved.
славко23 – :
Yummy. Magie is a tasty animalic fragrance, with what smells like scads of civet and castoreum. Amber and musk give the fragrance a fleshy warmth. There is a *slight* urinous smell that I’d also describe as “warm hair”, but overall, Magie is an extremely sexual fragrance. The fleshy musk smells are exactly what I want in a musk fragrance – not so much stinky as they are sensual and comforting. It also lasts a very long time. I’d probably wear this when I plan on getting laid.
Hansa – :
One of the great perfumes of all time. Magie Noir is a disappointment in comparison. Was my signature scent until it disappeared from the shelves. Good winter perfume, soft and heady.
9gramm – :
Extremely powdery warm amber floral vintage scent. Lovely, but if you don’t like powder, this is not your scent.
kvnmn – :
I thought Magie had disappeared! Glad to see it’s not. A wonderful gem of a perfume.
Serega_188 – :
Magie Conjours a esoteric mystery Opens with the darkest
and the most animalistic note of amber pure and unsweetened, Walking though a dimly lidded cave on a
nocturnal moment threads of Calligraphic Arabic verses
of gold Dangles with an Ethereal glow, Elusive jasmine
grows in the Rock’s crevice elegantly grows on the on
the bare walls with sinuous beauty with it’s leafy vines. I detect Civet in it’s purest form adds to the
Dark Exotica of this scent Wisp of incense smoke pierces
though the utter darkness of the cave following the smoke until you saw where the smoke is burning from
a beautiful incense burner etched in the shape of a
dragon burns with the note of dry sandalwood, as the
incense burns your transfixed by the smoke dancing
revealing our Inner thoughts.
Magie is a dark beauty delighting in sensual pleasure
a bit of danger with Civet and meditation with amber.
badsven – :
Lancome La Collection MAGIE opens rather intensely, reminding me somewhat of JOY. I’m pretty sure that the official note list is abridged: there’s a lot more going on here than amber, musk, violet, and jasmine! Given the similarity to JOY, I was initially convinced that there must be civet in the mix. However, I ran my wrist under my resident civet detector and received no response (a positive reading is indicated when he licks his lips), thus refuting that hypothesis. Something in this composition is very deep and dark and strong, and unless I’m witnessing a case of alchemy, it’s not violet, jasmine, amber, or musk…
The great news is that MAGIE dries down so beautifully that I can justify waiting through the opening in order to get to it: a thick golden layer of amber with floral notes as garnishes. This is a big-time, no-holds-barred perfume! Those who appreciate bold florientals will surely be taken in by MAGIE’s spell!
Alentinka – :
I didn’t like it all at first. Very musty, old smelling, but in about an hour it had dried down to jasmine and powdery violet and musk. Still not right for hot summer nights but might be OK in fall and winter.