Chypre scents?

[Valnum]

Hi everyone, I'm a new member! I've heard only good things about BPAL and would like to discover new scents.

 

I'm a huge chypre fan and would like to know if BPAL has scents in this category. Which ones do you recommend? Thanks

[PersephonesChild]

Well, I don't know much about chypre, but I'm astounded no one has responded to this yet! The chrypres I can think of off the top of my head are Frederic, an forum-only LE that you should be able to find through the swaps and sales page, and Pollution, which I believe is billed as "a toxic chypre". Here's hoping some more knowledgeable people can help you out!

[greenranger]

You can do a search for the word "chypre" but, I suspect that will only pull up a very few candidates.

 

I looked up the word on Wikipedia to find out more:

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"Chypre is a name used to describe a family (or concept) of perfumes, usually with a top note of citrus and woody base notes derived from oak moss and ambergris...

 

(snippity snip snip)

 

...

Style

Modern chypre perfumes have various citrus, herbaceous, floral and animalic notes, but all tend to have a "warm" and "woody" theme, which consists of a base accord of:

 

Oak moss

"Amber" (ambergris and related synthetics)

Civet or another animalic note is usually added to this accord as a fixative and to give it fullness. The most common modifiers to this basic accord include patchouli, bergamot, rose and rock rose (Cistus ladaniferus).[3]

 

 

Sub-families of chypre

Floral chypre, such as Knowing by Estée Lauder

Fruity chypre, such as Rochas Femme by Rochas, Mitsouko by Guerlain, Citrus Bigarrade by Creed, or Liberté by Cacharel

Green chypre, such as Chanel No. 19 by Chanel or YSL Y by Yves Saint Laurent

Aromatic chypre, such as Sous le Vent by Guerlain or Aromatics Elixir by Clinique

Leathery chypre, such as Cuir de Russie by Chanel "

 

From Wikipedia as the definition stands at this moment in time, and edited down somewhat. This might help a little in finding things that are chypres or chypre-like.

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Also, you might help a bit by defining what you mean by it as well. A woody scent with a topnote of citrus? That could be "Aelopile", in the Steamworks section. It might also mean something like "Our Winter of Discontent" which also has citrus and woods in it, but a completely and totally different feel.

 

If, by chypre, you mean something with oakmoss, amber, and musk, then you get a different list. "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" comes close, as it is only missing the oakmoss, but, it's limited edition. " The Emathides" comes up, but, I have never tried it, and you'd have to swap for it as it is not a current limited edition. "Penumbra," "Sapphics"and "Lune Noir" come up as well, but, they have the same problem. =)

"Faiza, the Black Mamba" also shows up on a search. It's in the Carnivale, so, unimpable, and you'd need to catch it before the carnivale leaves town. "Two Monsters" is a Salon scent. You might be able to find a decant of either of those on the swaps pages.

 

Not very many general catalog scents are coming up with a bare search if I search for all three. If I narrow it down to two I'm sure I'd get more, but, I think a clarification about what "Chypre" is to you might result in more helpful suggestions than a bare list.

 

 

[Apple]

My first thought was Omen, but it might be too sweet/rich (I find it very similar to Estee Lauder's Youth Dew, which is more of an Oriental than a chypre):

Omen

(Bewitching Brews) - Oakmoss, juniper berry, myrrh and patchouli.

Other general catalogue scents that are available as individual imps from the Lab that might be worth checking out:

The Caterpillar

(Mad Tea Party) - Heavy incense notes waft lazily through a mix of carnation, jasmine, bergamot, and neroli over a lush bed of dark mosses, iris blossom, deep patchouli and indolent vetiver.

 

Cathode

(Bewitching Brews) - Ambergris, Spanish Moss, oakmoss and three electric mints.

 

Fae

(Bewitching Brews) - White musk, bergamot, heliotrope, peach and oakmoss.

 

Greed

(Sin & Salvation) - Patchouli, heliotrope, copal and oakmoss.

 

Nephilim

(Diabolus) - Holy frankincense and hyssop in union with earthy fig, defiled by black patchouli and vetiver, with a chaotic infusion of lavender, cardamom, tamarind, rosemary, oakmoss and cypress.

 

Schrodinger's Cat

(Bewitching Brews) - Tangerine, sugared lime, pink grapefruit, oakmoss, lavender, zdravetz, and chocolate peppermint.

 

Vicomte de Valmonte

(Ars Amatoria) - Ambergris, white musk, white sandalwood, Spanish Moss, orange blossom, three mints, jasmine, rose geranium and a spike of rosemary.

 

Wilde

(Bewitching Brews) - A sophisticated traditional gentleman’s cologne, with just the slightest taint of patchouli’s passion, tonka bean’s decadence, the philanthropy of bergamot, moss’ cynicism, the sharp wit of lavender, and the hopeless romantic longing of jasmine and thyme.

As mentioned above, Pollution is described as a chypre. but it's not available in imp form (although you could probably find a sample-sized decant here on the forum):

Pollution

(Good Omens) - A toxic chypre: radioactive green musk, davana, and oozing white amber.

The following blends also are not available as individual imps from the Lab, but you might want to track down decants (I haven't tried all of these and wouldn't describe them all as chypres, but a lot will depend on how they interact with your skin chemistry):

Crowley

(Good Omens) - Infernal musk, red patchouli, lilac cologne, mahogany, lemon rind, oakmoss, leather, and vanilla husk.

 

Faiza, The Black Mamba

(Carnaval Diabolique) - black amber, caraway, oakmoss, green sandalwood, bergamot, jasmine sambac, gardenia, orange pulp, vanilla, blackberry, black musk, white honey, ti leaf, and ginger.

 

Parethenope

(Carnaval Diabolique) - Honeysuckle, orris, moss, musk, benzoin, oakmoss, and star jasmine.

 

Two-Headed Goat

(Carnaval Diabolique) - Dark musk, pimento berry, oakmoss, birch wood, and petitgrain.

 

Two Monsters

(The Salon) - Oakmoss, vetiver, black musk, champaca flower, leather, patchouli, ginger, Japanese pittosporum, ambergris and white pepper.

 

The Wild Men of Jezirat al Tennyn

(Carnaval Diabolique) - red amber, Spanish moss, Indonesian patchouli, ambergris, red pepper, two cloves, and vanilla flower.

[forspecial_plate]

I've never been completely clear on the concept, but I always think of Wilde and Vicomte De Valmont. More recently Herbert West made me think "chypre" when I wore it. And maybe Dracul? These are all more towards the "masculine" end of the spectrum, but that's a matter of opinion I guess. : )

[UploadedLobster]

Bastet is very chypre, though chypre isn't listed in the description as such. It was one of my first bottles and I loved it for the way it went from resin-citrus to resin-spicy, but my tastes drifted and I swapped it. I'm wishing I had it back now that I remember what I liked about it.

 

No. 93 Engine, in Steamworks, is another excellent option if you like the citrus chypre.

[Nia]

Reading this recomendations I find out that I have been a chypre fan without knowing!

 

Aelopile: a sexy, classy man's blend. Very woody and slightly spicy.

 

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn: it really smells like a forest. If this is chypre, other scents in a similar line are Robin Goodfellow, Oberon, Black Annis, maybe Hamadryad (I can't really say as my skin hates cedar), maybe Burial (strong on the patchouli), and maybe Caliban (like a forest.... near a beach).

 

Oakmoss & musk = Crowley. (it has very strong musk). Also, = Salome.

 

Faiza is wonderful. Do yourself a favour and buy a bottle. It is the most unclassifiable smell in the whole catalogue. Floral? Fruity? Herby? Spicy?

 

I would only recommend The Emathides if you like lavender very much.

 

No. 93 Engine is nice but the frankincense is probably the most dominant note.

 

If Vicomte de Valmont is chypre, I guess tat then Casanova is too. Valmont is cleaner, Casanova is sexier (it must be the leather).

 

St Germain = amber & moss. It's very much on the Valmont / Casanova line.

 

Fae might smell too fruity to feel chypre, and at least in my case it didn't last more than a few seconds.

 

Pollution smells very fresh. It is probably the freshest of all the scents in this post.

 

Have fun sampling!

[Valnum]

Thanks all for your recommendations!

 

 

The definition of a chypre is a base of oakmoss, patchouli, vetiver, cistus labdanum and top notes of bergamot. This is the base of the chypre. Then you have several sub-categories:

 

floral chypres where flowers notes are added (examples in the traditional perfumery: Aromatics Elixir by Clinique, Eau du Soir by Sisley, Paloma Picasso, ...);

fruity chypres with fruity top notes (ex.: Mitsouko by Guerlain, Yvresse by Yves Saint Laurent, Deci Delà by Nina Ricci, ...);

green chypres with lots of galbanum (ex.: Aliage by Estée Lauder, N°19 by Chanel, Silences by Jacomo, Scherrer by Jean-Louis Scherrer, ...);

oriental chypres with amber, woods notes in the base (ex.: Magie Noire by Lancôme, Mystère by Rochas, Red by Giorgio Beverly Hills, ...)

 

 

I love every chypre sub-category. For the moment, I'm searching for super sensual oriental chypres, the kind of big scent with a huge sillage that you remember for long

[Apple]

I love every chypre sub-category. For the moment, I'm searching for super sensual oriental chypres, the kind of big scent with a huge sillage that you remember for long

In that case, do try Omen. I think you would also like Pollution and possibly Crowley. I've not tried Faiza, but that would be my other recommendation.

 

If you're interested in sensual, big scents with huge throw, you might also want to check out some of the red musk scents, for example:

Scherezade

(Bewitching Brews) - Saffron and Middle Eastern spices swirled through sensual red musk.

 

Sin

(Sin & Salvation) - Amber, sandalwood, black patchouli and cinnamon.

 

Snake Oil

(Ars Amatoria) - A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla.

 

Vixen

(Ars Amatoria) - The innocence of orange blossom tainted by the beguiling scents of ginger and patchouli.

And a lot of The Salon blends are more traditionally "perfumey," and you might enjoy their complexity.

[Valnum]

Wow, I have lots of scents to try! The credit card is going to work!

 

Thanks again everyone, it's a great community here!