Paloma Picasso launched her first fragrance in 1984, a chypre composed by Francis Bocris for L’Oréal and now sold as Mon Parfum. The house describes it as a powerful floral: angelica, carnation, rose and bergamot on top, jasmine, hyacinth and patchouli in the heart, and a base of sandalwood, musk, oakmoss and amber.
The house now describes a floral opening where angelica, carnation and rose join bergamot and Amalfi lemon. The heart brings together jasmine, hyacinth and patchouli, between spice and sweetness, over a woody base of sandalwood, musk and oakmoss, laced with amber.
The 1984 formula
Elena Vosnaki of Perfume Shrine gives the list for Francis Bocris’s creation: bergamot, lemon, hyacinth, angelica, ylang-ylang and clove on top, and May rose, jasmine, lily of the valley and orris in the heart.
The base of that list was far denser: oakmoss, castoreum, vetiver, patchouli, amber, civet, musk, cedar, tobacco and sandalwood. An older text from the house also cited mimosa and coriander in the heart.
A reworked chypre
In 2007, Elena Vosnaki noted that recent versions had a lighter base, since the same animalic materials could no longer be used, and that they had moved to a plastic bottle. Aaron Potterman nonetheless judges the 2014 eau de parfum worthy of the original.
What is left out
Ylang-ylang, coriander and white musks, common in online lists, are absent from the current description, as are the civet and castoreum of the older formulas. No reliable ingredient list could be established for the version sold in France.
Similar perfumes
Similar notes and family, from other houses.
- Givenchy IIIGivenchy
- Gris DiorChristian Dior
- Chant d'ArômesGuerlain
- SilencesJacomo
- Dahlia NoirGivenchy
- Soir de LuneSisley
- First Eau de ToiletteVan Cleef & Arpels
- Eau de Givenchy RoséeGivenchy