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das-das – :
Violet-powder-iris, mostly. I still have a scent memory from my grandmother’s bottle, which I always opened, but never applied. I just didn’t like it – but, it was fun to investigate the fancy gift set on her dresser. I don’t recall her ever wearing it, either.
Wow, what a memory!
brother57843printer – :
Oh this vintage juice is GOOD! LOVE IT!!
I got 1 oz of a 2 oz bottle of cologne (half full), cobalt bottle, screw-on top. This must have been well stored because when I got the top off, it whooshed a bit, meaning it’s been closed and not opened for quite some time. This is the tear-drop shape. The juice is very bright orange colored.
I am in love! I get a woody/sweet/animalic start much like vintage Chanel No. 5, My Sin, Shocking- that lasts about 30 minutes. Then it dries down totally different to a ladylike baby powder, much like L’Heure Bleue or L’Air du Temps. I love it!
Not much lasting/sillage on skin, but lasts 12+ hours on clothing.
I have a current EDP coming to compare (super cheap used) and another 4 oz of the vintage cologne. So excited!
My 4oz bottle is here, cobalt blue but shaped like an Upside down “U” instead with a screw on cap. I agree with another older review that says some formulas are “nutty”. This is also very nutty/wood/animalic- almost smoky maple syrupy. I just applied, so it hasn’t gone powdery yet (dried down). I love any of this! Well, except the current EDP- I will try that soon!
As the “U” shaped bottle dries down, there is a sweet sharp powder, but it’s def mixed with a sweet smoky wood. I am not getting the baby powder of the other cologne bottle. At ALL. This juice is more of a yellow-brown color.
This vintage stuff is now on my radar. I must hoard/collect a stash. 😉 Any vintage formula!
EDIT TO ADD: My 2nd bottle of cologne, the 4 oz, smells totally different than the first. This one dries/smells like Mitsouko without the mossy spices, therefore making it a light peachy musk. No powder to be found! Weird! But I love both!
I can see why the current EDP reformulation has the peach note. This vintage cologne does too.
nvs234Unlogrere – :
Bad blind buy. It’s mix between Tresor and some powdery flowers (violets), but it’s not interesting for me too much, but apricots are lovely. Headache included. :/
ALEXBAL – :
Bought is as a blind buy based on the good reviews. All I can smell is powder and I am so disappointed…
seyranbek – :
I found a 1.6oz EDP bottle at the Thrift store today, a totally blind for $2.99 that was all taped up. In the car, I sprayed it on a tissue for test and it was just awful, metallic and synthetic, like the E Lauder Silver I tried a few months back. But wait…
Fast forward a couple hours; I am home and try this on my wrist now, my actual body and Voila! it is totally different than what I smelled in the car! It is, after all, a lovely smooth soft floral that dries down ever so pleasantly with sandalwood and amber. It even smells a bit gourmand. Charming. While it may not make my top 10, I will certainly enjoy this sometimes, and the beautiful cobalt bottle will look great on my dresser.
Lesson of the day: don’t judge until you have tried it on your body!
NokiAlex – :
I don’t know why this is so familiar to me, I am referring to the current version. Perhaps someone I knew wore it frequently in the past, or maybe it reminds me of something else like Arpege…I am not sure.
It’s a 70’s style fragrance, and it improves with wear. I am getting a slightly sour note and not a lot of powder, but it’s a chic little number that I will wear from time to time.
ovl699elipseskism – :
this was my very first big girl perfume when i was younger lol……i remember that dark blue bottle – the scent was just beautiful………….loved it then……….still love it now…..probably cuz violet is one of the ingredients & thats my fav scent & it seems like on me thats what i smell the most :):) and i love how its very powdery too 🙂
ImaKaruM – :
I have the vintage with lotion. On me it’s a little sour (like baby vomit) but in the dry down it is all iris and violet, powdery with a little sharpness from the rose; musk supports it all making the florals deeper and there’s a little aldehyde sharpness to it.
sef959Diobtetty – :
I received the bottle soir de paris yesterday .it s the new formulation i vé never tried the vintage but i will someday with eBay.
So what i can is the first spray is very strong,very synthetic and metallic .the drydown is softer and more flowered it is very similar to spellbound estée Lauder
The scent is very rich you might love it if you love sophisticated flowered scent .
It is addictive i like it .it is modern and not old or vintage scent .for me the comparison with Chanel 5 is a mistake nothing similar
ura2010 – :
Nobody really knows how many times “evening in paris”, has been reformulated over the past 90 years, and I think storage conditions and opened vs. unopened bottles drastically change how well this scent “keeps”.The original 1920s version eu de cologne is much more vanilla-heavy, with nutty notes: like a less smoky version of Shalimar. The 1950s – 1960s version is almost exclusively a light floral. The modern re-issue is almost a hybrid of the two.
rufina_78.78 – :
I have smelled Soir de Paris (the original) and it is a divine perfume. But here I just want to say how much I love Lucia Lawson’s review! So beautiful! So moving and romantic!! Thank you Lucia for sharing such a beautiful story!!! It definitely brought a few tears to my eyes!!! And my husband’s too!!!! Beautiful!!!!
ApesqueFesk – :
The original Soir de Paris is the most divine heavenly thing! I remember it from my mother wearing it when I was young (in the 50’s and early 60’s), and I loved it on her!! It was so wonderful!!!! I loved breathing her in – she just smelled divine!!! She only ever had one bottle of it, which she treasured, and only wore on special occasions, and the biggest thrill of my life was to be given a tiny dab of it by her, once in a while!!! Oh I was thrilled, and in seventh heaven then!!!
MAVERIC – :
Can we please split up the Original and the new version? They are totally different scents. SdP was my mothers favorite when she was a young girl (the hairdresser used to sprinkle some drops in her hair, she only remembered heaven in a tiny, deep blue bottle). I did my research and discovered this was it. I bought the new version for her, but it was nothing like it. Later I found a vintage bottle and she was transported to the days when she was a young woman.
The old one is powdery and seductive, the new one sweet and rather harsh.
vyioueaclyd – :
Definitely different–radiates the feel of a time long past. The bottle I have is veeeery old, so maybe the complexity of it doesn’t quite come through at this point, but it gives one the sense of Everything a Perfume Can Be with no extra effluvia to take up space, throw off the senses or dull the mind. Versatile, as well; can’t think of an occasion or a season when this would be out of place.
romka2d – :
Let Me Take You Back In Time Via My Memories
April 14 1954
The night I met my 1st husband, the love of my life.
The ball was held in a dance hall that used to be an underground bomb shelter during the Blitz. Blue, purple and white balloons were floating in the air/ceiling. The music that floated onto the dance floor was a bit “outdated” by the 50’s: Glenn Miller’s Moonlight Serenade, Midnight The Stars And You Easy To Love and other romantic classics by Cole Porter and Irving Berlin. It was slow dance music. Couples were holding each other tightly and women put their arms on the shoulders of the men. I wore a midnight blue gown that I had saved my money for. I went to the ball with the hopes of dancing with as many partners as possible. When I met my Richard, he was in a tux with a rose corsage in hand that he gave me to let me know he picked me to dance all the dances with. Swirling around the dance floor, giddy with a joy I will never have again, my perfume caressed his nose. He actually closed his eyes to inhale it and he loved the fragrance. He told me so. It was a perfume that I will forever credit as the scent that drew him to me and made him mine.
Soir de Paris is a romantic cologne for a romantic woman. It’s elegance and classiness lacks the sex appeal and fruity sugary gourmand nonsense worn by today’s crowds. This is a floral of the highest caliber. It reminds me of the perfumes I’ve recently reviewed: L’Heure Bleu and Apres L’Ondee. There is also something of Oscar De La Renta’s Esprit D’Oscar. This is a powdery floral, silky, feminine and so beautiful. The composition is a masterful arrangement of fruit, flowers, sandalwood, amber and musk.
The opening is fruity almost in the same way as Femme by Rochas: apricot juice, peach flavors and citrus. It’s festive and yet not flirty. It smells like a fruit cocktail. I thought it was most appropriate for a ball or party. It has a feminine air and nothing like the openings to L’Heure and Esprit. This is a sweet fruit flavored fragrance when it opens but it begins to settle into florals, powdery florals.
Roses, irises, heliotrope, jasmine and lily of the valley, all my favorite flowers. The flowers are evenly balanced and can be detected individually. But they are not green or fresh flowers. They are puffy and powdery, soapy, sweet, and delectable because of their previous fruit introduction. The whole thing smells just like it belongs on the dance floor at a dance hall or a ballroom. The flowers are to die for! That heliotrope and iris! If you like your L’Heure heliotrope or the one in Esprit D’Oscar this should be an easy vintage to wear.
The dry down is sandalwood, woodsy notes and musk, along with warm amber. It’s strong and smells like a good pairing of woods and musk, not unisex however. At the time it was not too complex and quite easy to wear for a young woman. In fact Miss Dior Shalimar Vent Vert and Fracas were fragrances that were not as easy to pull of. This was. It was tailor made for a young woman in a ball gown to dance the night away. It is an evening in Paris – on your honeymoon. Champagne, waltzes, glittering chandeliers, ball gowns, roses, and dashing gentlemen in tuxedos. This fragrance will always take me back to many years ago when I met my first husband. I have been married 3 times but my Richard is the love of my life. I wait to see him again in a heavenly afterlife to dance with him again. I will be wearing Soir de Paris for him.
msmirocka – :
My grandmother always had a bottle of Evening in Paris on her dresser until the late 70s, when her last bottle ran dry. It was incredibly popular in her youth and she often told me how dancehalls would fill up with the smell of dozens of women all wearing this violet powderbomb. It was the only perfume she owned and she did not wear it often, only on special occasions — going out dancing in her 20’s or, later in her life, at weddings, baptisms, etc.
A few years ago, I was lucky to find a vintage unopened bottle from the late 1940s-early 1950s (=gold label on oval cobalt glass). I gave her this as a Christmas gift when she was 94 and she could not believe her eyes nor her nose : it was exactly as she remembered!
My grandmother died 6 weeks ago at the age of 98, and I inherited what was left of the vintage bottle. Although this is definitely feminine, and quite old-fashioned, I’m wearing it today at home to remind myself of her. I can’t help but to cry and smile simultaneously, because this perfume brings her back to me in a way that mere memories could not. It’s like she’s right here next to me again.
MARS1993 – :
I bought 2 bottles from 2 different sources.
– One was without the box and probably older. The perfume was faint but smelled like the one I remembered in the 1950s. Mostly violets and greens. A bit powdery.
– The fresh one boxed was a disappointment. As I hate the smell of musk, all I can smell with repugnance is MUSK. This must be a modern addition to the original formula. A trace of violet and other scents but I find the musk overwhelming. If one likes the animal, I suppose this must be fine but I paid such a price for the scents of flowers. It is not was I remember … but memories can be deceptive even much more that there was not much to compare it with and our tastes change also.
For a bit of violets you are better of with Paris by Yves Saint Laurent.
replicaw56781 – :
Review of the current modern version of Evening in Paris :
First of all, this version is NOTHING like the vintage versions. This modern scent should have had a completely different name.
This current version is sweet, fruity, very slightly powdery, pretty, and fresh. It reminds me of Elizabeth Arden Red Door Revealed, and a little bit less fruity, more gentle softer version of Elizabeth Taylor Diamonds and Rubies.
This current formula lasts about 6 hours on my skin, with moderate to soft projection, fading to a very close to skin scent after the first hour. I love it, even though it’s an entirely different perfume from the real Evening in Paris.
bushmakin – :
Similar to L’Heure Bleue by Guerlain. This is a beautiful floral fragrance big on heliotrope, iris and violet, all of which are purple or blue flowers. This gives it a night time vibe which is why they appropriately called it Evening in Paris. Incredible longevity. Lasts for days. A romantic night out perfume. I have the new formula which has additional note of vanilla. It’s not a gourmand vanilla, it’s detectable but it’s helping the fragrance last forever. What a beautiful fragrance. Highly recommended.
merabi8888 – :
EVENING IN PARIS
My friend Lucia in London has the vintage classic Bourjois fragrance from 1928 and it had changed over time from floral and very woodsy to intensely musky so I would describe the original as a floral musk.or a chypre. It really does evoke a romantic and sensual night in Paris. It’s definitely an evening cologne. I was enchanted by the fragrance but found it rather too strong for today’s tastes. I don’t mind when a fragrance is strong but the original combination of too sweet and too strong was a bit of a headache inducer. I have the reformulation from 1992 and it’s such an improvement. The evening begins with a fresh fruity scent of citric bergamot orange. A peachy scent follows it. It’s the kind of floral fruity fragrance that I like because the fruit is ripe, juicy, jammy and exotic. This is a heavily floral fragrance. It’s like walking in a floral garden in Paris under the moonlight. There’s roses, heliotrope, iris, violets, jasmines, ylang-ylang, lily of the valley. There could be some other flowers because to me it was a bit abstract. I could smell all the individual flowers but my nose kept picking up on a mysterious floral note. I might end up going to my grave without knowing what it really is. It could be an orchid and I’m sure they were using orchid fragrances by ’92. It could also have been a fantasy camellia scent. Camellia flowers do not actually have a fragrance. These are beautiful purple and blue flowers and for a moment there is a similarity to Guerlain’s L’Heure Bleue. The reformulation contains vanilla and amber. It provides the fragrance with a clean and sweet dry down. It’s warm and delectable. This is really lovely. Both the new and old formulas. Gorgeous. I recommend this fragrance for evening with evening wear and it has a decidedly romantic aspect like she’s asking you to wear her during a romantic dinner date or an intimate Valentine’s Day night at home. Lady like, elegant, sophisticated, sweet, and romantic. What happened to perfume? Why can’t they smell more like Soir de Paris? This is a masterpiece. If you liked L’Heure Bleue you’ll love this one.
Newstart – :
Definitely for the vintage lover….got a hold of a vintage sample of the edt and cologne and out of my old time perfumes it reminded me the most of Femme by Rochas or Bal de Versailles. It’s nice…thanks ta2kitty!
DOS – :
Nostalgia made me buy this. I’m in my fifties, and I remember seeing little bottles of this in the five and dime store. Yes kids, you could actually buy things with these coins without adding the shrinking, nearly microscopic fiat paper currency. We picked up minis of the parfum and EDC online. The scent is just lovely and brings back an enormous wash of memories. I’m surprised to find the drydown reminds me of a Lotus Oil I picked up in the early 70s. I have a vast collection of Lotus ranging from Egypt, India, etc., and that warm, mysterious floral note is hiding in the original formula. From what I’m reading, I wouldn’t dare buy any reformulated scents. Nothing is made right anymore. Vintage is just a code name for acceptable quailty.
dgu0005 – :
Epilogue! I had to add a little something more, after wearing this for some time.
The jasmine is very prominent, on me; it is that humid and warm, lush, chewy kind of powdery jasmine, that gets drier and almost tweed-like as the scent wears. There’s almost a hint of ginger ale pep in there and it reminds me a little of “Casma” by Caswell-Massey.
This is a very femme, lady-like scent and weirdly, I’ve noticed myself putting on red lipstick more, pinning up my hair and really making an effort with it, even for short runs out. I think EiP has influenced me! It’s subtle but gives the air of “polished, finished, powdered” and I feel like I have to live up to it.
My Grandmother gave me a hug, yesterday and she hesitated, as if she were surprised; I knew she was wracking her brain, trying to figure out why I smelled so familiar but I’ll leave it to her to ask me about it. It’s probably a smell she remembers being everywhere in her youth!
This is definitely a “perfume” — you won’t smell like a hint of laundry or vaguely of a walk on the beach, you’ll smell like you’re wearing a distinct, perfume composition — but it’s beautiful and whimsical, in that it feels like the fun side of elegance. I love it!
MaloY-83 – :
I kept getting this confused with Midnight in Paris from Van Cleef and Arpels and was very upset, but finally I’ve found my beloved! My mother used to have a really lovely body powder and luxury puff set of Evening in Paris bought very cheaply from TJ Maxx, and it was the most divine thing I’d ever smelled. It’s just so sultry. When I smell it I think of silk and gorgeous women in furs and slinky gowns. I think of the Roaring 20’s. I think of art deco and pin curls. One of my very favorite scents. I’m interested to try new vs. old bottles of EiP.
Igor-MKS – :
This review is for the vintage 1940’s to 1960’s formulation.
My love for Evening in Paris started when my mom was reading the VCS catalog. Upon finding the reissued 1990’s bottle she mentioned her mother use to wear it when she was young and expressed an interest in smelling it again. I looked at the price and told her I was sure I could find one for a more reasonable price and asked her to let me shop around first. So started a long journey during which I discovered fragrantica. I found out about the vintage and new version and how people felt about both. I also stumbled upon the reason I quit wearing perfume for so long. I didn’t know about reformulations and changing trends with Synthetics and stuff like that! I thought I had just become allergic or something. At any rate I started buying all the full and almost full bottles of Evening in Paris parfum, EDC and EDT I could find for a good price on ebay, hoping to come across the one my mom remembered. Some of the bottles had turned and were a bit off to my nose but they all still dried down nicely. Evening in Paris seems to age well. However I do notice differences even in the ones that haven’t gone off. For example the older 40’s cologne is muskier and gentler whereas the 60’s one is sweeter. Does anyone else notice this? The difference is subtle and may just be age.
I did find the one my mom remembered. It was the 1960’s eau de toilette with a pointed gold cap and it smelled heavenly! After that I was left with like 7 other bottles but by this time I was so taken with this fragrance it hardly seemed enough!
This is now my signature scent although my official favorite is Shaikhah. Evening in Paris is a completely different lady! She is soft, sweet and sexy. It’s is so nice and comforting that I wear it to bed. It’s also the scent responsible for my wearing perfume again!
As for the notes, one place listed them as follows: Top Notes Bergamot, Violet; Middle Notes Linden, Clover, Lilac, Rose, Jasmine; Base notes Vetiver, Styrax. (PS Styrax is almost never used anymore I can’t fathom why.) I don’t know if these notes are correct but they are closer than the ones listed above (IMO). I think it may also have some amber and vanilla because it’s just so Va Va VA VOOM!! I imagine so many mothers back in the day going to the Five-and-Dime with their daughters to get them their very first perfume! The young girl full of excitement at this milestone in her life would go up to the perfume counter or aisle and at once be drawn to the beautiful cobalt blue bottle. Taking a sniff she turns to her mom busy testing other bottles and sheepishly ask “may I have this one?” “Absolutely NOT!” This day she would have to settle for the more “appropriate” scent that her mom will ok.
I am so over-the-moon for the old Evening in Paris. I can’t get enough! I think it’s obvious why this was so popular!
hantel – :
I managed to find a set of three vintage bottles on Ebay, and judging by the label shape these are from the 1940s. As soon as I opened the packaging, a faint powdery and floral smell wafted around me. I hadn’t even opened the bottles and I was already enjoying the smell.
Two of the (very beautiful) bottles were the cologne, and one was the toilette. I opened the bottles one by one and smelled each for a few moments. I was worried, because my first thoughts were “bitter dish soap.” But of course, trying it on made me think otherwise.
It wasn’t bitter dish soap at all. It was elegant, and warm, and powdery, like I had originally thought. I couldn’t help but smile as I took in the softness of it. Nostalgia enveloped me, and something inside me told me that I had smelled the perfume before. It must have been long, long ago, but I can still remember it.
I can barely wrap my head around the thought that 70 years ago, someone was smelling this exact same scent from this exact same bottle. Not all perfumes age well, but Evening in Paris certainly retained every bit of glory and grace it was created to have. The smell is, as I said before, elegant. Some people may mistake “elegant” for “grandmotherly”, but the difference is that elegance is timeless. It saddens me to know that this fragrance was reformulated for its relaunch. This is a classic, well blended scent that represents a less cynical time.
If you can, get a vintage version instead of the newer version (Or get both.) All people should be given a chance to experience this. There’s a perfect amount of every soft, flowery note, and just the right hint of musk and amber that trails off.
Nosigosit – :
I haven’t smelled it yet, but I want to try it simply because I believe Dorothy mentioned that it was Sophia Petrillo’s scent on Golden Girls. And yes, I do relate every perfume, and everything else for that matter, back to the Golden Girls.
masterandryU – :
با سلام
یادش بخیر نوجوان که بودم منزل عمویم همیشه شیشه این عطر جلوی آینه بود و من هم از رایحه آن بسیار خوشم می آمد و آنرا گه گاه استفاده می کردم
البته با آنکه این عطر زنانه محسوب می شود اما رایحه ای مردانه هم داشت و من عمویم از رایحه آن لذت می بردیم تا آنکه کاملا در ایران ناپدید شد و به خاطره ها پیوست
یکی از عطرهای نوستالوژیک دوران نوجوانی من بود همانند عطرهای:
جووان ماسک
آگوا براوا
تاباک
اولد اسپایس افتر شیو
مارتینی
پورانهوم
با تقدیم احترام
مهرداد
گالری عطر مهرداد
serpantin – :
I wore vintage Evening In Paris last night and a male friend kept standing close to me and sniffing. “You smell like my great grandmother” he said, then quickly added “But you smell wonderful! I don’t know. I’ve never been so confused about being turned on.”
Mariah_fromAD – :
There’s a great difference between the current eau de cologne and current eau de parfum:
Eau de Cologne: opens citrusy and very powdery, floral, with a bitter background. It develops subtly and the citrus disappears leaving the flowery taking the lead. Then, when the flowers subside, the powdery bitter notes lingers on.
It’s very long lasting, it’s impressive for sillage and power, really lovely. Amazingly longer lasting than the eau de parfum.
Eau de Parfum: opens sparkly fruity and flowery; peach, tangerine, roses, iris, violet, vanilla. Very joyful scent, very young, much in line with today’s trend of fruits dominant notes. It doesn’t develop much, but maintains the sparkling tone throughout its lasting time, which is not impressive and certainly much shorter than the above mentioned eau de cologne.
There was a time when the EdC was the lightest version of a scent and the EdP was the strongest (except for the extrait or pure perfume) and the price and lasting power were directly proportional. But the base scent was the same.
In this case not only do we have a very different composition in each concentration but also reverse staying power.
As for the price I see that the EdC is less easy to find (at least here in Europe) than the EdP and it is offered in big bottles (230 ml) which represent a good investment given their being very affordable.
All this said, none of the two, the EdC and the EdP are remotely close to what Eau du Soir was in the past.
So?
So, try and find the one you think may better suit you.
I have the two (three with the vintage) and love them both but with a slight preference for the EdCologne and its bitter powderiness.
sow432Negeltzex – :
I bought the vintage version in a cobalt blue bullet bottle. It smells like vintage clothes to me. I can’t appreciate it unfortunately.
Minay777 – :
My mum used to wear this in the 40s/50s etc and also when I was a child in the 60s.
I cant remember exactly what it smelled like but I wanted to own this so that I could have a little bit of her memory in my life…When I read reviews on it some people were disappointed having smelled the original, saying this one wasnt as good……reading the notes I was pretty sure I would like and as I havent got a memory of the original I was open minded……When I received it I opened it in trepidation, hoping I would like it at least…..and happy to say yes I do I actually really love it. Its not a strong scent, which is fine by me because it will make a wonderful daytime work fragrance…..I am so happy I bought this..
neadekvaten – :
Someone from my youth used to wear this. So I thought I’d give it a try.
So sickly sweet, it was off putting. What a disappointment! No nuances or layers,
it is totally linear.
jjt205Diobtetty – :
My grandmother was a most beautiful lady. She possessed a class of her own which, added to her outstanding beauty and to her wonderful personality, created a lady not at all common.
She used to hug me when I was a kid and I loved her embrace not only becase it was from a person I loved with all my heart, but also because the scent emanating from her skin was a wonder.
It was Soir de Paris.
It was like my grandmother: classy, tender, loving, beautiful.
Her husband, my grandfather, used Pino Silvestre in the morning and, when he changed dress for the evening, he used Chanel Cuir de Russie. He could not have worn anything else.
I had an aunt who was not a beauty but her class, her impeccable manners, her education made her an uncommon lady too.
She was less warm than my grandmother, a bit icy, but I loved her a lot despite her not being famous for being too much tender.
She used to hug me when I was a kid and her embrace was colder than that of my grandmother.
My aunt’s scent perfectly complemented her class and I loved it a lot.
It was Chanel N°5.
My aunt was a queen for education, words and gestures always measured, emotions measured too.
Always in perfect attire, always properly dressed for every occasion, always aware of what to do and how to do that.
She never married but I am sure had she done, her husband would have worn Fougere Royale.
Both these ladies from my chilhood have remained in my memories and my heart.
Both these scents have remained in my heart too.
I love wearing both a lot.
I love the warm tenderness of Soir de Paris.
I love the timeless perfection of Chanel N°5.
I regret not having those hugs from my happiest days but I am happy when I give my fragrant hugs around.
One day maybe someone will write about the fragrant feelings they had from me.
With all my love, Henriette.
yeg313speagoessenda – :
(This is a review of the new formulation)
Thick, syrupy spice and cold cream, with loads of roses, carnations and vanilla. The clove, anise and cinnamon undertones remind me of the dense but delightful liquid spice blend of “Old Spice”.
An “Oil of Olay-esque” tart creaminess gives this blend a cozy, retro feel and it all reminds me of a newer version of the vanilla, spice rose-bomb, “Very Irresistible Sensual” by Givenchy.
I’ve heard mixed responses to this scent, from breathless adoration to complete confusion over how this became one of the most popular fragrances in The USA in the 50’s and 60’s. It’s a real perfume-y scent, one that is unique and noticeable enough to be a mainstream trend-maker, like “Poison”, “Obsession”, “Chanel No. 5”, “CKOne”, “Angel” or “Charlie”.
“Soir de Paris” is a glamorous but accessible, thickly-sweet, rosy spice blend that seemed to perfectly catch the mood and dreams of the moment. It’s optimistic yet sultry, in a saturated, “Technicolor” intense way. Whether that still feels relevant to women today is entirely subjective but I wouldn’t call it dated, just distinctive and it’s best appreciated by someone who wants her scent to be noticed and loves ultra-femme, flamboyant spicy florals.
zuc902speagoessenda – :
I really was born in the wrong era. I’m so enjoying reading reviews from the ladies who grew up wearing these lovely classics.
Vladimir07121978 – :
Blech, I was tricked by a catalogue which shall remain nameless that they had found Evening in Paris. My obsession came from a huge framed reprint of Soir de Paris I bought. It was 50s glamorous with a woman in front of a Rolls in a beautiful gown and handsome date. This was before I discovered eBay and Etsy. I will never go back to that new formulation. I have started a collection and found a full page ad in a 50s magazine so I am hellbent on getting the makeup too. The face powder is quite nice! The original smells sensual and spicy with jasmine and carnation. I don’t smell those awful aldehydes that the old version of L’Interdit…I so wanted to like that. This is like an Hermes scarf blowing in the wind only to be caught by that special Prince Charming. It’s a love potion and a single gal’s declaration to be sexy and free. Go vintage!
White magician – :
The new formulation of Evening in Paris (Soir de Paris) is, in my opinion, a harsh, irritating, and linear fragrance.
Soir de Paris starts out as a blast of artificial-smelling chemicals, which reminds me of the scent of pink bubblegum and clove oil….It actually made my tongue numb when I inhaled the fragrance from my wrist! (Clove oil is still used in dentistry for it’s analgesic properties.)
Last, I called this fragrance linear, because it failed to develop over time. The top notes were the same as the dry down. The fragrance stayed constant, irritating, even strong enough to be detected when layered under another scent.
Save your money unless you just want it for the sake of having a pretty bottle.
Buy a sample, if you can find one. Or save up for the vintage version….
Or instead, just go buy the classic, Chanel No 5 if you’d like a perfume that starts out rather harsh, but then dries down to a mellow and comforting, soothing yet complex, classy scent.
diucousignine – :
I must be one lucky babe because I have both a vintage bottle of Evening In Paris (from the 40