I'm ashamed to admit that my first encounter with Je Reviens by Worth was about three or four years ago when one of the online discounters was giving free bottles of Je Reviens Couture with just about any purchase, and as I was frantically stocking up on Niki de Saint Phalle parfum I found myself with a couple of the blue bottles. I ended up using them to the last drop, a little on myself but mostly as a linen spray. I liked the old-fashioned powdery air it gave my bedroom. The husband never complained.
As I was doing research on the 1932 Je Reviens I read that the Couture edition I was quickly depleting was a close approximation of Worth's original Je Reviens, while the drugstore version (at least the one available in early 2008) was a miserable reformulation (what else is new?). It was time to hunt down the real thing.
It is true: Je Reviens Couture eau de parfum (no longer available in the US, by the way) is definitely very close to the old juice. Taking into account the aging factor, they might be as close as they come.
Je Reviens (vintage) is an ultra-adelhydic dry floral. The aldehyde note is very dominant and uncompromising. Those who find Le Labo Aldehyde 44 too synthetic and metallic will feel completely hair-sprayed here. But on a good skin chemistry day I find it very alluring. Underneath the big bubble there's a very crisp floral core. If you enjoy hyacinth and narcissus, Je Reviens offers a beautiful take on it. Under the very vintage facade, I find something quite modern in the very restraint flowers, the utter lack of sweetness and the dry-down that is chock full of vetiver.
Je Reviens has a very romantic name ("I will return") and comes from a more elegant era. The ads, especially the art deco ones, are lovely and convey some of the romance. The perfume moves between the decidedly vintage and curiously modern. In any case, it's worth hanging out in vintage stores, which is where you're most likely to find a decent bottle.
Visit Scent Of The Day blog to read Krista's review of Je Reviens.
Notes: aldehydes, narcissus, hyacinth, jasmine, violet, lilac, vetiver, tolu, oakmoss, sandalwood, musk.
I just found a miniature of this in the old cobalt Lalique bottle at a vintage shop. Yummy! I do love narcissus and it's quite prominent in this, with some beautiful spices to set it off, and vetiver running underneath the whole thing. A nice find and good way to start the New Year.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely and lucky find! I also had some good fortune visiting vintage and antique stores lately. Must be something in the air.
ReplyDeleteI found your blog while visting a B&B and getting intrigued by the guest bottle of Ambra Nera Ortigia shampoo. I read some of your other posts, and learned of reformulation. Ok, I just didn't know. I am freshly outraged, but sigh. Now, after a bold dive into ebay(after taking your warning under advisement), I have a modest stash of "vintage" Je Reviens and I love it like I did from the childhood memory of my mother wearing it. Oh, mother's other favorite was.....Shalimar. :) Thank you for your research.
ReplyDeleteCould you please describe the bottle of the '32? I assume the blue bottle is the later Couture EDP. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI wore this all persume through college and fell in love...found the clone version online a few years ago. It's pretty good but no cobalt bottle.
ReplyDeleteThe bottle I was used to in the '60s was blue suede. Exquisite scent.
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