Royal Secret Germaine Monteil for women

I tried it over and over and as much as I appreciate the idea of a woody, smoky composition, the low quality of ingredients just ruin everything. Too sharp and pungent, almost unbearable to tolerate on the skin for more than a few minutes. Maybe the old formula was more graceful and smooth but this Five Star Fragrance company concoction is going down the trash can. I finally found a wearable and beautiful alternative: Cuir de Lancome.

I highly recommend the RS bath oil...this is so richly classic to me...I feel like a step back in time to the 60's suburbian housewife, who has dinner parties to host and an indulgent successful husband who adores his wife. This fragrance should be applied lightly, especially in the bath oil form. Only had to use a few drops in bath and as perfume. I find this to be a wonderful oriental along the lines of Tabu/ELYDew but with an enveloping incense essence that is very nice and cozy. I also love the vintage looking packaging...clean and elegantly boxed in presentation box. And I may be in the minority, but I like the reformulation by Five Star. I have not tried the original vintage.

In the late 80's I was still an Amateur Ballroom dancer (I turned Professional in '95) competing at Championship level ( the top level for Amateurs in those days) and my partner wore this delicious fragrance as her "everyday" signature. She also wore Opium, but that's another story! I remember vividly holding her in my arms and being awash with this amazing fragrance! We must have smelled quite the pair, because I was very fond of Lagerfeld back then :o). Her wonderful grandma used to keep us stocked up ... she loved us smelling good. This fragrance is a Tango before it becomes a Waltz and then gently subsides into a Matt Monroe Slow Foxtrot.

Update:
In a moment of weakness and for old time's sake I just looked this up online. WHO THE HELL IS THE FIVE STAR FRAGRANCE COMPANY???? Some Chinese knock off outfit no doubt!!! I guess Germaine Monteil has been sold ... this reformulation crap makes me SOOOO mad!!! The juice isn't even the same color! It's like these people are stealing an identity.

Another update:
Here I go, having to eat my words again LOL. I tracked some of this down today (by accident really browsing a drugstore fragrance aisle) but anyhow, there it was! I was quite surprised that the same RS logo still appears all over it so I turned the bottle over and lo and behold ... this stuff is made and bottled here in South Africa under licence from Five Star. Intrigued I took off the tester's cap and gave it a good old spray. It's actually as good as it ever was *munching loudly on humble pie*. This could definitely work on the right guy too! Awesome fragrance if you are into heavy orientals ... I have never, remotely seen this as a chypre floral. No need for a vintage ... this is still great!!!

My darling, precious Nana wore this, so it's hard for me to analyze it for what it is. I can't remember a time she didn't smell like it, and everything she owned absorbed this fragrance. The truth is, it's a very sexy perfume. My Nana was a sexy, classy lady, but there's no way I'd be able to feel seductive wearing Nana's scent. After all, this is the woman who made pastries, and crocheted pillows, while listening to operas, as African Violets bloomed on the window sill. Memories aside, this is a daring, slightly animalic amber vanilla that's really beautiful.

Winter, I'm thinking 1930s depression era. Cold and lonely, everyone in despair, yet you seem a lot better off. In a vintage shop, you found a vintage tin lamp, at least you thought it was tin. Must have been brought up by the many Arabs coming to America recently. Upon rubbing a patch of dark dust, a hologram comes up. A beautiful, kind looking man with a physique made for sin. Everyone in the store seems preoccupied in their own little world. A child asks for a coin, you give it. There goes dinner. The specter greets you. You think you are insane. You leave with a golden tin lamp, unsure of what the future holds. I know my story happens swiftly. No time to think. You first whiff is just like this. Don't think.After a while, you make your final wish to be with the genie. The world is too cold. You figure it might be nice to live forever in a nice warm lamp.


You think to yourself, all the food and money you can acquire will not bring the warmth this person has brought. The safety, the boldness. Your wish is granted, and you enter a palace of exotic silks and sheets. You cough at the smoke, so much smoke...All the jewels, the chains, the opium, candied fruit on golden plates. Dried herbs, ambrosia. Sweat, sex, lust, wonder. Dark, candle lit lighting. A plush bed, tall thin candles dripping wax...my genie beside vase of flowers. I am overwhelmed...I will never leave.

This fragrance makes so kinky its sad. I'm not ashamed to admit that. I'm a lady 95% of the time and this just made really want a man when I first sniffed it. Badly. To me it is an overwhelming smoky, juicy bomb, that settles down to rich amber scent. Perfect for cold nights. I know this is aimed at women but this wouldn't make a bad men's perfume. It would smell old fashioned and overwhelming on your average woman, but on a man...if it was possible to literally crawl under one's skin I would. I keep a small sample of it to sprinkle on my sheets to guarantee sweet dreams. Don't think me a freak.

I compared Roma with Royal Secret and to my nose they are like day and night in their compositions. I didn't have to struggle with Roma for one second...wonderful from top to bottom, while the opening of Royal Secret seems to be designed to test peoples'e patience and tolerance.

As so many people mentioned it is SMOKEY. Actually, it is to the point that freshly sprayed it does smell like something is burning and smoking like hell...a kind of smoke that comes from burning rubber(galbanum?). I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about this fragrance, because it is kind of pushing my limits of open-mindness about fragrances. For now, the only thing I can say for sure is its low lasting power is actually its advantage.

Edit: I think the lack of lasting power that so many reviewers are talking about has more to do with substantial dying of its sillage. Because it doesn't disappear completely and about half an hour later it finally transforms ito this sexy,dark and mysterious fragrance that is praised so highly. A little bit too long wait for the end result though.
On me it actually lasts for at least 4 hours.

I've worn Royal Secret since the 70s and still love this rich dark classic. It brings to my mind being in a beautiful private club with thick Persian rugs, hardwood floors, heavy wood paneled library, crystal chandeliers, leather winged back chairs, classical music and cigar smoke ever so faintly noticable... I agree...it just doesn't have the staying power... But oh is it worth it... it will transcend you in time to a place perhaps you never were...

i love how soft this is but doesn't last long.

so..ladies , do you think this one can work as a masculine too?


uds creen que este perfume pueda ser usado por un hombre?



care to reply?


espero comentarios

Este perfume era hermoso,pero ahora no queda nada de el, es totalmente diferente a mi Royal Secret de Germaine Monteil. No me gusta nadita :(

Bueno....al final se empesaba a parecer a mi Royal Secret pero puf..puf...se fue:(

¿Estará reformulado?

this perfume is so good that i said
"that's pretty" aloud and that's something i don't do, talking to myself.

it is extremely beautiful and cheap enough to just give it a try.

it does NOT last long enough.

I put it on today and after 5 minutes I knew it had à twin perfume!
But i didn't guess it right away, but after half an hour it came to me! Biagiotti Roma! Who would have thought, those 2 being so different in their branding!

Glad I went for the trial size of this fragrance before opting for the set I was eye balling. Upon first dabbing this one on my wrist, I found it very lovely, but the fragrance quickly went completely away! Perhaps this little vial is too old and I will be taking it back to complain. I think I would like it if it lasted long enough to get a good idea what it is really like. I will update this review if I find a good test vial.
It reminds me a lot of Youth Dew but not as heavy of a scent.

When I first sniffed Royal Secret from the bottle, it reminded me exactly of the good old-fashioned potpourris - where the scent came from actual flowers rather than chemicals - that relatives always gave me as gifts in the '80's. No doubt it would be called "o-d ladyish" by many members, but if you give it a chance and wear it on your skin, it turns into something that I never smelled in the potpourri-laden drawers of my childhood...the vanilla gives it a modern creaminess, and there's a subtle spicy, ambery warmth mingling with the dried roses. After a few hours I detect something like coffee and incense...

A real comfort scent!

I love this perfume and have worn it since my early 20's ... no, it's not for everyone, but it is a classic and I always get compliments when I wear it. I can't compare it to anything, not even Youth Dew; it's in a class all its own. One of my favourites. What I DON'T get is why that hideous White Diamonds is so popular :|

I wore this in my very early 20's- it was dark and mysterious and perhaps to old of a fragrance-according to my mum. Expensive at the time, I haven't seen it in years, but I'm quite nostalgic as I write this.

Me siento feliz haber encontrado esta pagina que durante años pensé que este perfume ya no existía yo lo usaba en crema o sachet era un frasco cuadrado con letras doradas y decía Royal Secret les diré que de esto ya son como 45 años aquí en México ya no se consigue en ningún lugar pero no se si todavía tengan la crema alguien me puede responder mi correo crislizaldi@msn.com gracias les dejo un saludo

Ok, at first application I get some anise. Not any bright citrus in the opening. Smokey, strong, and definately old fashioned. But give it 15 minutes or so and it dries down much softer. Do get the patchouli and woods. I don't find it really powdery. It's one of those you're just not really sure about but it grows on you with more wearings.

This brings back memories - the boyfriend gave me this for Christmas in 1966 and I loved it - for winter only tho. Too heady for spring and summer, but evoked for me fireplace scenes and deep green velvet.
I am glad to know it is still available. Another year he gave Youth Dew - agh. Not nearly as nice. Even that name "Youth Dew" implies to me a body lotion like the old Avon Skin Dew or whatever it was.

I love this perfume and have worn for many years. I started wearing when I was a teenager, it is my scent calling card. When I put the perfume on within minutes I don't notice the smell. Almost every day someone asks what perfume do I have on and how wonderful it smells. I've tried other fragrances over the years but due to allergies and body chemistry they just don't work. Some said it smelled like their grandmother's perfume, I strongly disagree. I think the scent depends on your body chemistry. I had someone from Estee Lauder's corporate offices tell me that if you can smell a perfume 5 minutes after you put it on, it is not the fragrance for you. They said if you smell it, then it is too overpowering and everyone else is being bombarded by your smell - and not all smells are plesant even perfumes.

this should be worn with the application of the body lotion to keep it smelling lovely.i do like it but not much sillage here.ok for days in or when you feel undressed without some kind of perfume on your skin.would not buy this again.

I bought this at a bargain price in a gift set on a whim. I adore the elegant bottle, simple & classy with clean lines.

It is a very strong & heavy at first but within 15 minutes it has settled into something that smells like musk, yet it appears to have no musk notes. I cant smell vanilla but certainly can detect the patchouli & vetiver.

It is spicy & creamy & im enjoying smelling it on me. Makes a pleasant change from my favourite vanilla orientals but its one i wont use on special occasions but will use just as an every day fragrance when the weather is cold.

I have a feeling i will end up loving this though, it appears to be one of those perfumes that really grows on you as the day progresses.

Day 2 of wearing.

Yes i was correct about this, it is gorgeous once settled for a few hours. It leaves a warm sensual aroma to your skin & on your clothes. My fella loved it last night on me!!

If you can take your time allowing this one to flow through its well worth it in my opinion.

Its one that im going to buy again as the gift set was only £19 at direct cosmetics (UK).

I find this to be a very heavy, old fashioned chypre fragrance that, sorry to be cliched, but smells like grandmothers in nursing homes. I can't be bothered even talking about the notes, its just heavy powdery whatever. The drydown is like soft powdered vanilla, but still crap to me.

I was ready for avgreat sensory exper9ence.One sniff and hubby said I smelled like his grandmother but,I loved it.Rich,dark and sexy.All the notes I love.

This stuff smells like spice and cream. Its a very nice scent. I love it! One of my very favorites. The Royal Secret II smells like coco and cream-slightly altered but nice also. This could be compared to Obesession Classic but not as spicy.

I love it and can't keep my nose away from my wrist. The base notes are what I smell and I find them very creamy and well balanced. I can see where it wouldn't appeal to everyone because it it a "heavy" scent but on me it works very well.

Wow, I feel like I am not even sampling the same perfume as the previous reviewer.

I ordered a sample of this perfume since it has a beautiful combination of notes, unfortunately on me it is heavy, stuffy and overbearing.

If this fragrance is the "royal secret" it would make sense considering the Queen is 83 years old and I couldn't imagine anyone one younger than that wearing this scent.

Glad to see this one on Fragrantica now!

Royal Secret is a traditional oriental fragrance. It's slightly sweet in the dry down, but not a buttercream vanilla like many modern oriental fragrances. The top and heart notes don't last long on me, cutting right to the chase with the base notes. This one has so-so staying power on me. I have the Eau de Cologne Concentree. Might last longer in a different concentration.

I haven't seen it in stores, but it is easily found online and very inexpensive to purchase. Fans of classic scents or amber-vanilla orientals will want to try this one. If you need a quiet oriental that is safe for the office, this one is a good choice.