Robert Piguet- Baghari (Vintage Perfume)

The modern version of Baghari by Robert Piguet is pretty but has failed to excite me. The citrusy floral with a heavy dose of jasmine over a somewhat anemic ambery vanilla doesn't impress my skin very much and I tend to not remember what it smells like until the next time I try it on, when I get that "oh, it's you" moment. Vintage Baghari is nothing like that. There was no chance that one would forget this perfume.

Other bloggers have noticed an commented on the furry animalic quality of Baghari (see this review on Yesterday's Perfume). I've worn this vintage Piguet fragrance from various samples and bottles, some even older than others. The floral notes and aldehydes were in various states of disintegration, but the lusciousness came through in each and every one. The blend is seamless, and perhaps it's age that makes the floral note seem like a unified mauve-colored abstraction.

It's the animalic core of Robert Piguet's original Baghari that gets me. It's not as dirty as the leather queen of Bandit and is far From Fracas, the loud diva. Instead, Baghari is meticulously dressed and looks almost intimidating in her perfection, until she draws you into a warm hug and whispers something in your ear that makes you both giggle. This fragrance is a burst of femininity, but interestingly enough, like many perfumes of that era, it's dryness is likely to appeal to many men of our time, who like animalic notes and a touch of smoky vetiver (the vintage EDT has it in abundance).

Notes: aldehydes, bergamot, orange blossom, lemon, rose, lilac, ylang-ylang, lily of the valley, jasmine, bourbon vetiver, benzoin, musk, amber, vanilla.

Images: a Robert Piguet fashion illustration by Rene Gruau and a Piguet Parfums ad from hprints.com.