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Gallev – :
I love reppique, it is vintage smelling, but in a good way! reminds me so much of the 70’s, soft clouds of scent swirling around of beautiful flowers with a powdery bass. I have two 10 ounce bottle (full, one with box) is anyone interested
pia1966 – :
Ditto on the Big G Glamour. Ditto also on the Mom’s good leather handbag smell. Replique is part of a group or perfumes that are grown up, classy and sophisticated. To me it is smoother and softer than Chanel No 5, richer than L’Aimant. For anyone partial to 1940’s woody aldehydes, this one is on point. The drydown is really lovely.
Alexis_fromAC – :
Starts aldehydes oakmoss, and settles aldehydes heliotrope soapy. After settling i keep on sniffing clary sage in a powdery blend with bits of ambergris. Coriander, olibanum, white musk, and neroli are there.
Right after around 15 minutes in the settlement gets on clary sage powder at max softened with heliotrope. Nice but expected more as it is mostly soapy musk, or clean must to be specific.
JOHZY – :
My review below was from a Spray-EDT (exactly like the main photo) but now I got a vintage EDT Splash in the hourglass-kind-of-shaped bottle with the beautiful vintage writing style (red label) that reminds me of vampires… lol… (I am an old goth after all).
I did a dab on my hand. Lovely, and slightly different that my spray EDT.
I get decadent woody-powder-aldehydes that combined give off a “maple syrup” type woodiness. Odd. I also get maple-syrup from Miss Dior, Chantilly, and other vintages.
This is creamy and kinda sweet, but def vintage elegance! I love this, and plan on trying an extrait/parfum someday.
herringboness – :
A fellow Fragrantican and vintage lover showed me this entry, and for $10 you can get a 1oz EDT on ebay.
OLD FASHIONED. And I love it. There is no way around it, this is old fashioned. It doesn’t smell like an old person… but it’s def something you don’t smell anymore. It’s antiques in a gothic Victorian home.
Vintage soap, dusty/musty musk/woods, lots of powder, a bit animal/citrus/spicy. More like vintage Chantilly than Shalimar. Powerful juice, but not overwhelming. Not as sweet as Chantilly or Shalimar.
veu339elipseskism – :
My much more mature and beautiful best friend all through primary and high school was gifted a bottle of this by her racy city suitor when she was about 16. I was a year younger and one of those gangly horse loving country tomboy kids and a very late developer. But I had a nose on me even back then! I mean how decades later, did I even remember it and hunt it down! It sat like a little pellet of plutonium ignored on her dressing table (with a wild fluffy shag pile stool) and every time I stayed over at her parents’ little farm cottage I was drawn to sniffing it like a moth to flame even though it was supposedly untouchable, a bit like I have heard happens in Japan…(by the way, guys, thanks for all that vintage Mitsouko!!)
Anyway I remember it as being quite “sharp” compared to my Tabu! Yes, I know – us old ladies…
However I’ve had my huge bottle of Parfum for some years now and am still surprised at how modern it smells. It opens with a glorious fresh bergamot lifted with another sweet citrus and a heart of heliotrope and maybe sandalwood (real). Also a sweet musk, not much oakmoss but maybe galbanum instead giving it a slight cypre vibe but to me it’s sort of a soft oriental-woody-maybe chypre. It’s more like Shalimar than Miss Dior. It’s quite extraordinary really. I’ve dredged my wrists tonight in reverence to the stonkering Superstitious surely one of the most incredible things to land on we perfumistas since they banned oakmoss. Maybe I had stolen a smear of Replique when I pushed through the overgrown hydrangeas to get to the bush shower under the rainwater tanks after the all day ride to Judy’s place and back….
alexwol – :
When I first purchased this I wanted to die after spraying it, but it’s growing on me. The first hour is indistrial floor cleaner death but if you can power through, it becomes a soapy, green, clean smell but not lame clean like bath and body works, more like I’m a hot babe with a mansion in Beverly Hills who just stepped out of a 2000 dollar bath. It’s fancy french soap and 1950s Capri pants with red lipstick and cat eye sunglasses and I fucking love it now.
Deroxwgfmc – :
First of all, this stuff has STAYING. POWER. I got it in the mail this afternoon, and, excited, sprayed a big ol’ spray right into the crook of my elbow. Immediately I was assailed with a…I can’t really describe it, but the closest I can come to it is industrial strength floor cleaner. I knew I should let it sit, but I panicked and ran around my house looking for something to wipe it off with, and in my haste, I grabbed a Clorox bleach wipe, hahahhaa! Even THAT did not take this off my elbow. And now, as I sit here, periodically sniffing my arm, do I realize that the reviews that say this smells like fancy french milled soap are absolutely SPOT on. This is a BIG. BIG. BIG perfume, omg. I can wear Bal A Versailles, which is a big perfume, like, to bed without being overwhelmed, but this baby is something else. It’s out of this world! I really think I’ll end up loving this, it’s seems like it would be great for spring and summer.
I can smell the lemon, right off. The people who said this smells waxy at the middle are totally right. It smells like green, waxy leaves. It’s soapy, those are the aldehydes, and I can briefly get some other florals in there. But this is primarily soap right now. I can’t wait to see what it dries down to, and am hoping for more of the woody notes, because right now this is a little too green for me, although I want it to work SO bad. We shall see. I do know this – this one ounce bottle is going to last me for the rest of my life because more than one spray of it will clear a room! With Easter coming up, I see this possibly morphing into a beautiful perfume with enough punch to take me through the last few cold weeks of winter and into the first warm days of spring!
EDIT: I can’t do this one, at all, unfortunately. If somebody wants to swap, I have a full 1oz bottle of it, please let me know!
Donduell – :
(1950s Version) Replique reminds me of modern Quelques Fleurs by Houbigant, without the harsh notes that irritate my throat. I have a bottle of Replique that came out of a 1950s gift set. I don’t normally like aldehydes, especially vintage ones, because I think something tends to “turn” in them with age, and they end up smelling off. However, to me, Replique smells like something right off the shelf in a modern department store. It has an “estee lauder” vibe to it. I’ve gotten many complimants while wearing this scent. To give you an idea of the lasting power of the original vintage Replique, I applied some this morning (about 6 dabs), at 8:00 AM, and at 11:00 PM, I’m still surrounded by a cloud of scent.
xnsslvuy – :
I was incredibly fortunate to find a pristine bottle in a perfect, undamaged box for a very reasonable price; the bottle has the 3 spiked stopper which was discontinued in 1964 and replaced with the 2 spiked one ….. this means my bottle was made between 1944 and 1964. I wear the perfume every few weeks and am wearing it now. I am stunned that perfume this old can smell this exquisite.
The bottle itself, the label and the box are all works of art and an absolute joy to handle – the fine workmanship of the box, which opens out to display the bottle on a little bed of white velvet, reminds me of the care that was once taken in the making of such things …. when perfume was made to be a luxury, a joy, a treat, a work of art ….. the perfume itself reminds me a little of Un Air Embaume by Rigaud, it has the gorgeous soft depths of all the old perfumes, it has the dense complexity, it unfolds quietly and nostalgically and you can tell that the very best of the best went into this, developed patiently and seriously by someone intent on creating something beautiful and meant to last. Thank you to the wonderful perfume aficionado who sold this treasure to me.
sergey 2008 – :
I’ve had 2 bottles of 30 ml of my dear, dear friend Marie from Panama here on Fragrantica 😉 Thanks again marie! The bottles are probably from the 70’s and are fantastic! This is heaven: beautifull oakmoss, aldehydes, heliotrope and ambergris…Powdery, woody and fresh. Such a beautiful perfume! Last on me for about 6 hours, projection is moderate.
alexsetas – :
I had a small bottle of Replique given to me by an elderly friend so I’m sure it was the original formulation. I remember it quite clearly, it was an unusual scent for sure. I didn’t want to wear it on my skin….it just seemed wrong for me. But I did like to scent a tissue with it and stash it in my closet. It evoked imagery of Gothic European cathedrals …. Funny how scent can bring up such vivid images!
cbj302InsuffBooni – :
Really Rita Hayworth wore this?
means I def need to try! Peace
-nikitos- – :
I can’t get no oakmoss, only a slight citric opening, quickly followed by these superpowdery, soapy aldehydes that stay in the dry-down and forever. A very old-fashioned feel. Mmmm, not my taste, I’ll just keep the bottle for collection and try not to open it much for preservation. Rita’s favourite maybe, but not mine…
msy237InsuffBooni – :
I would LOVE to try this one. The oakmosss…..wow!!!
Peter321 – :
This is a wonderfully, powdery vintage full of oakmoss, citrus and some heliotrope in the background. It’s so fresh smelling and it stays like this for a couple of hours before it morphs into a fragrant French milled soap, but it is not soapy. Today I wore my vintage parfum in the 80 degree weather and it was just perfect. This is a very classy perfume.
drayv_live – :
A vintage standout in my opinion. It’s oakmossy, herbaceous and ever so classy. I found myself reapplying Replique today, not because it had faded but because I wanted to smell the topnotes again. It does remind me a bit of Lentheric Tweed. Like an elegant woman from the 1940s who wears a smart hat and kid gloves.
katarsis – :
Replique is one of those scents where the quality and character of the scent is closely tied to the vintage. Today, I am lucky enough to be wearing (what I believe to be an early 80s) splash EDT by Parfums Raphael, with little discoloration and oxidation. The bottle is hourglass shaped and the box has an abstracted French flag.
The application opens with the a blast of vintage aldehydes, but once upon warm skin, it develops quickly. Replique is a heavy, classic chypre, weighted more with Lemon than Bergamot. In this way it reminds me of Adolfo II. The heart is primarily Lily and Jasmine, almost certainly an absolue. The heart is vegetal and waxy. Spices are perfectly balanced, because without them, the heart would be unbearably sweet, however they do not make a stand of their own. This is like an incredibly rich, honeyed dessert with spices and lemon rinds. Delectable! The base is primarily mossy and resinous, and for sure has authentic musk.
Sillage is big, and longevity insane (20 hours and going strong, what with all the fixatives in the base). Initial drydown retains a good dose of all the ingredients in the top and heart, for a couple of hours. Long term drydown is Powder over Ambergris. Really intense stuff! The green, soapy character reminds me a bit of Aromatics Elixir.
KostaR – :
Replique opens with a scent that I can only describe as “vintage chypre.” Although the opening notes differ, it reminds me of Ma Griffe, or Faberge Flambeau.
The opening is sharp–green and aldehydic. Almost harsh, but after a little while, it fades into a lovely, powdery floral that seems out of character with the opening. It honestly took me a few minutes to figure out where it was coming from (oh–me!). The floral phase of this reminds me of Youth Dew. I had a difficult time identifying any individual notes here, it’s so well blended.
I’ve heard this compared to Bandit, and at first, I thought the comparisons were crazy. Yes, it has a sharp green opening, but I don’t smell any galbanum here, and that’s about all I get from Bandit’s opening. And then, the flowers? No. But in the drydown, I do see the resemblance. I smell a lot of oakmoss and musk in both. Replique smells much “cleaner” and a little greener to me, with occasional hints of flowers. Bandit, at this stage, is musk, oakmoss, and dirty leather. Replique’s leather is cleaner, and laced with tobacco.
This review is for the vintage EDT, although I am not sure how old my bottle is. It’s a scent that some might find dated, but I like it. I think that if you enjoy vintage chypres, this one is worth trying.
shagova – :
I now have about 50 ml of the “spray mist” in a bottle that looks like it was made in the 1950s. It is a tall glass cylinder that is transparent with a metal cap (not the bottle pictured above, as the glass is fluted and the cap is more of a gold tone, and where the glass ends toward the top there is red band with the name Replique on it). There is a paper label on the bottom saying it was made by Raphael (1.9 ounce size). Anyone know for sure when this style bottle was marketed? At first it has a dense and aldehydic quality but then I can barely smell anything (2 sprays). My sensitivity has been fairly low recently but I was surprised that it was almost non-existant! Perhaps a bit like vintage Cachet but I don’t even want to make a firm statement on that comparison. My plan is to wait until my sensitivity is high and give it another chance.
sxscxtziokt – :
My mother wore this in the 50s and elegant as her later perfumes were – Joy and Amarige – nothing has ever entraced me like Replique. I bought a bottle of something new of the same name and burst out laughing at the audacity, it smells like soap. I actually took it around to several women at work and asked what the thought it smelled like and they all said soap! You should not be allowed to reuse and degenerate a great name, this is like like someone with no voice singing Ave Maria. This site says Mystere by Rochas is similar, I will give it a try…..
Oblom666666 – :
Raphael Replique vintage parfum
My best friend recently had a birthday party with a vintage burlesque theme. It was a black tie event, and everyone dressed the part. I wore a fitted lace fishtail dress by Mandalay that reminded me of the original Barbie from the 1960s. I received so many compliments that night, but the best one was when someone told me that I looked exactly like Rita Hayworth in her iconic pin up photo wearing a black lace dress. He even dug out his iPhone to show me a picture of what he meant. I caught my breath because the resemblance was uncanny. Ever since that day, she’s been one of my idols. She was a lifelong dancer, as I am, so I loved her immediately and since I already look like her, and dress like her, I also wanted to smell like her. I learned that one of her favorite fragrances was Raphael Replique, so naturally, I had to have it, curious to know what “The Love Goddess” smelled like.
On a backpacking journey to the rainforests of Costa Rica, I was fortunate to have met a biology professor from the University on vacation with his children. I told him that it was my deepest desire to see a black panther in the rain forest. He laughed, but indulged me. That night, he took us hiking through the rainforest in search of my black panther. I cannot describe the feeling of being in one of the most beautiful rainforests on earth, in the dark of night, surrounded by the thick dense greenery teeming with animal life looking for one of the most dangerous animals on the planet. Raphael has bottled this scene for me.
This fragrance is a deep resinous sexy green. The top floral notes in my vintage perfume have probably faded, but what remains is this musky base created by the olibanum, musk, oakmoss, and ambergris, all softened by a well blended heliotrope, mimosa, and jasmine heart with the tiniest touch of clary sage and powder. This is probably the sexiest scent I own. I found my black panther.
One blog described it as a cross between vintage Tabu and Bal a Versailles, but that’s not quite the whole story. It’s even deeper, greener, and muskier on me. I would say it’s more of a mix between vintage Tabu, a touch of Piguet Bandit, and a drop of Bal a Versailles with a sharp opening of Irish Spring soap (which I love). All I know is that I feel incredibly sexy and dangerous in this, like a black panther circling her prey ready to pounce. This must have suited the Love Goddess perfectly. With this on, I have a bit of Rita’s swagger in my walk now, and I have my vintage Replique to thank for that.
smarik – :
happened upon a vintage bottle of this
i must say, i am well-pleased
it is a classic, woodsy, warm expensive leather scent
upon me…
the bergamot, sicilian lemon, cardamom open
perfectly upon my skin with a bare hint of sweetness
and settle into a lovely
rich sandlewoodsy italian suede that lasts a long time
upon my skin
unisex friendly – all i have shared this with like it
it is a cozy autumnal scent that makes me want to wear a good sweater, and find a friend to join me sipping chocolate in front of the fire, sharing good conversation long into the night…
(i was told jacques guerlain was the nose behind this)
Averre – :
Recently I have been searching for Replique for a good friend who used it as her signature scent. In sampling the product I ask myself why I ever stopped wearing it.
In my experience there is no other fragrance quite like it. I can’t wear Chanel No 5 EDT at all and see absolutely no similarities thereto. However as another poster mentioned there is something remenicent of Cabochard in Replique.
I have both extrait and EDT of Replique. It’s my opinion that the EDT has retained it’s notes better than the extrait. I have sampled several bottles of both.
There is something so incredibly compelling and mysterious about this fragrance. I keep finding myself trying to sniff out the source of this aroma. The smell is wonderful, refreshing and very engaging.
For anyone who wants to try a vintage fragrance, this is a good one. There is lots of it around for very reasonable prices. For the most part, even partially used bottles have held their notes well.
This scent, even the EDT has great longevity and quite a healthy sillage. Remember this is a fragrance that was around before deodorants. If you adopt this as your fragrance, you surely will be a trendsetter!
Vip_Baron – :
I just bought this blind from ebay and I am very disappointed. Not in the fragrance itself (which is lovely) but in the fact that, to me, it is so similar to Chanel No5 edc, that owning Replique seems utterly redundant. No, they are not identical; Replique has a certain sharpness that I don’t find in the Chanel. And also I don’t have much of a nose; perhaps someone more experienced and discerning than I would find them to be drastically different. (Also I have no idea how old my bottle is; it has the hourglass shape and looks old.) I am writing this review (my first) because I want to tell others something that I wish I had known prior to my purchase.
Black2704 – :
Réplique was my mother’s favourite perfume in the 50s and 60s. She only ever had two small bottles of it – a standard mini (which, though long since empty, I still keep in an old clutch of hers along with her compact, hankie, etc) and a fancy, though equally tiny, bottle of pure parfum (shaped like the bottle in the second photo). When they ran out, my stepfather remembers being charged with a mission to find her another bottle! But to no avail.
Now, in these days of internet auctions, it’s a relatively easy thing to find vintage Réplique. Not such an easy thing to win an auction, mind you, but I did eventually manage it and now I have my own mini (about 2ml I’d guess).
To me it smells very strongly of oakmoss, which must account for the strong “leather” note I get. Definitely aldehydes – in fact I was surprised aldehydes didn’t get any main note votes until I came along. Only a hint of sweet florals with a rich, creamy note floating over all.
But most of all, it smells like Mum. Leesee’s description is spot on!
hap11 – :
im still so in love with this. Pretty sure my bottle is at least 40 years old. I imagine it may have lost a lot of the vibrancy of the top notes but its so perfect just like that. It may have come from a French house but the scent and presentation draw me into the dark heart of a German black forest.
shv62 – :
Up-front disclosure: I am selling off my (large) collection of perfumes in advance of leaving the U.S. permanently.
Having said that, I am in two minds about Réplique. I like its classic style which reminds me of the (later) Cabochard and the fact that it is persistent without being aggressive. On the other hand it is definitely redolent of the forties and fifties and to me it seems a bit dated.
Just to clarify, I am talking about the original and not the modern formulations. I have two cartons of the perfume in the original glass-stoppered bottles, mostly in 7.5 ml and a smaller number of 15 ml. I may even have some larger sizes.
I would rate Réplique at 7 out of 10.
lommaxyCoca – :
Yep……a classic scent. I have used the vintage as well as the new version. Not for everybody, but translates well into a perfume I’d use in a business environment. Doesn’t scream flowers.
vaz058Bessinepome – :
I should add that another lovely thing about it is that this was the first gift of perfume I ever received from a boyfriend! (-;
Nexducceerb – :
I have to concur that whoever bought it changed the forumla. It used to stay with you all day and was a very fresh scent. Later versions don’t last and smell a bit cheap.
mash – :
i had this perfume years ago, it always took on a coconut kind of scent on me after it dried. i wasn’t crazy aboout it. wore it to work in the colder months. i didn’t rebuy it.
izabella – :
Definitely smells of the 40s. It’s one of those elegant, formal blends, complicated but well done. Glittery aldehydes, golden citrus and the classic smooth warm base keep it fresh without making it smell old so much as historic. It’s just a bit like a visit to the past on me. I’m pretty sure I’m sampling the new blend. If it smells this nice, I’d love to try the original.
NARUTQ – :
Replique can be bought anywhere at most online perfumeries. I LOVE THIS SCENT VERY VERY MUCH!!! I have received many compliments when I ware this scent. It dries down to a very nice powdery scent. Its a crispy powdery scent unlike anything else so I cannot compare it to a scent that is like this. I like to give examples so if anyone who ever wanted to give this a try would have an idea but this one is a lone ranger on the planes of scents………….sorry.
Jonny-smerch – :
Bought this aeons ago and still have that teeny weeny little vintage bottle. Recently, though, during a house move, the stopper was chipped slightly. It’s still such a pretty bottle…
rudik-1979 – :
The genuine Replique has not been manufactured for years, so what is available commercially is not the real thing at all. The only way I’ve found that I can get my hands on this is through eBay, and that’s frustrating since it’s hard to outbid someone.
I’ve been searching for something like Replique for decades, and haven’t found it. It like Youth Dew (the original stuff) but recently discovered that it has almost not notes in common with Replique.
Any suggestions?
Olesiabel – :
I don’t know what the original version of this perfume smelled like, but this smells like wine and wood on me. I’m sure some people might like this, but it’s not my cup of tea.
Editing to say I’ve tried this one again tonight, and it’s growing on me a little. I imagine this is what it would smell like if you had a picnic with wine at a lumber mill lol. The first spray goes on very strong of wine and wood, but after a while it settles into a nice warm woody scent. I think this could be a unisex scent. For the price I guess it’s alright.
pop_koRn – :
Like just a few other classic scents, Replique has always reminded me of the scent that wafted up from the inside of my mother’s good handbag. . . soft leather, flecks of tobacco, an elegant powder compact, a tube of red lipstick, and the indescribable but instantly recognizable scent of glamour. In reality, Replique is a transparent floral chypre with elegant bone structure and impeccable manners. But in my memories, Replique will always be my mother after “a lovely evening out.”