Michelle Cristobal Balenciaga for women

Lush and buttery fruity heaven. The epitome exotic smell. Long lasting. Unique unique unique.

First I get a blast of aldhydes, tuberose and coconut, like an exotic cocktail, than it morphs to buttery ylang ylang, jasmine and some carnation (that little spicy hint), tuberose still present, like standing in a garden on an island in the South Seas, until the vetiver emerges and let's me think of fruitful earth. Mandarines, anyone? I sniff them, although they are not listed.

Why on earth they stopped creating perfumes like this? They take you on a journey, they tell a story, they make you dream.

I adore Balenciaga. By the way: Are the oldschool Balenciagas skyrocketing these days? They surely earn it, but it is fun to watch the prices rise and rise and rise...

Belongs to the FIDJI fragrance family! Very unique and daring!!

Very strong and in-your-face type of fragrance. Topnotes are a blast of aldehydes and slightly unpleasant gardenia, which quickly turns into carnation (I've got a weird skin chemistry that usually amplifies carnation - too bad for me 'cos it isn't one of my favourite notes). There is one (rather long) stage when Michelle reminds me of Norell (1:1 practically). It dries down to a mossy, dirty earthiness with strong vetiver and tuberose accents and tropical flowers/fruits (I guess it might be a rain forest smell - although I haven't been in one;)Like with many older creations, I appreciate it but don't think I'd wear it...

One of my favorites . Michelle is intoxicating, the way I like my perfumes. Very powerful and sweet .

What can I say about Michelle? First let me be clear that I own this in both the EDT and the extrait versions. And both are quite the same except the EDT has more sillage.

Michelle is quite a contradictory perfume and that is her main charm. She is tropical coconut gardenia and sunny peaches, bright freesia and sultry ylang, and just when you think you have a tropical floriental, you start noticing something green and lifting which I am supposing to be the vetiver.

Another nice thing is that the tropical oomph of Michelle makes it a fine summer oriental scent for those who think of orientals as winter thing. It absolutely blossoms and soars in the warm weather. The florals become more intense and the vanilla less so.

I was surprised to see it here as I thought it was a discontinued marvel.