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fardead – :
Vacances is a perfect example of the reasoning behind my ever-growing trepidation in approaching vintage perfumery: an awe-struck crush that grows oppressively into a fixation only fueled by the inevitable doomed nature of its ending, the compulsion of the hunter and the unavailability of the hunted that recreate a never-ending cycle of yearning that longs the way Romeo and Juliet longed, all wrapped into one, with the catalyst of the final stroke of destiny being a small vial of perfumed liquid I obtained from a merciful fragfriend like cyanide from the apothecary.
And so it comes, lilacs galore. This is the fragrance that makes me wish I had smelled lilacs growing up. Unfortunately they’re not an easy find in my native, tropical surroundings, and I missed the chance of its fragrance taking roots within my memory and leaving a footprint in my subconscious that would follow me through life. The first time I had myself acquainted with lilacs was outside the very unromantic setting of a dismal brutalist building where they were presented as small shrubs of humble little flowers that gifted the air with this hazy, almondy scent veiling the roses inside of a greenhouse painted in small brushes and seen through soft-focus. I was in love.
Vacances is lilacs alright, but utopic lilacs, the sort of perfect, idealized thing you don’t want to profane by familiarizing it with your very humane presence. Hyacinth and mimosa are there as a chorus that bridges the right gaps and underscores at the right moments, like very loyal, professional backup singers in a 50’s singing threesome.
To me this is Zelda Fitzgerald in the south of France at the period right in between the glided cup of the jazz age overflowing itself into emptiness and the antebellum drums of a tumbled down Europe beating their war tune. I can smell Vacances as the flora of the particular time and place as seen through her eyes, a romanticized view of the past but more than anything a romanticized vision of the future, of a big brave new world unknown and ultimately, a cry for hope. Heart-wretchedly pretty.
feu258speagoessenda – :
Ma Collection review:
This reminds me of vintage Worth Je Reviens. Opens with powdery lilac and mimosa. Then a touch green galbanum emerges which grounds the honeyed florals a bit. A very pretty and romantic perfume to celebrate spring.
pletcheruis – :
I never dreamed I’d love Vacances, a frag to celebrate the introduction of paid holidays in France! (I’m too romantic.) But I ADORE it. Perhaps timing is a factor: I received my bottle in the midst of a new appreciation for bluebells; in February in NYC they are the only deeply aromatic flowers for sale in bodegas, and I’ve been buying them for weeks to fragrance my small apartment.
Vacances begins for me with a rush of hyacinth, quickly becomes green, then settles into a lovely soapy lilac. Very floral, it strongly evokes an innocent version of the early ’70s for me. My bottle is a mini, one of the complete Ma collection, and I have to control myself not to use it all up! May Thomas Fontaine reintroduce this one, because full flacons are very hard to come by.
inflip – :
I had some in the 80s. It is a fresh green scent. Now I am remembering it, I wish it was still available.
beh358speagoessenda – :
At first this EdT is soapy and generically floral, with a slight rubber band note. Then it blossoms into a honeyed bouquet of roses, lilacs, and mimosa, but quickly segues back into soapiness, smelling exactly like a fancy upscale floral-scented soap. Then it sashays back into honeyed rose and mimosa, and oscillates back and forth between soap and pollen-laden honey for a while, eventually stabilizing somewhere between the two as a full-bodied lilac-hyacinth scent.
Vacances is too overtly floral for my taste, but it’s nicely made. It has moderate sillage and lasts for over 12 hours, but is never overpowering. If you’re a floral lover and can get your hands on some (it’s discontinued), you just might love it.