1826 Histoires de Parfums for women

Histoires de Parfums 1826 opens as a full-fledged floriental patchouli perfume. Unlike NOIR PATCHOULI, which strikes me as a bit stern, 1826 is a scrumptious composition with enough vanilla to make it slightly sweet but without going overboard. The wood notes, “bois blancs”, become more and more dominant here over time, making this more of a woody oriental in the drydown. In fact, I'd call this a unisex perfume since the sweetness subsides significantly as the wood takes over. I'd say that 1826 would be a good choice for guys or gals who like the general demeanor of D&G LA ROUE DE LA FORTUNE but find it too sweet.

What a beautiful, delicate, suave, relaxing aroma ...
Clear, sensual, tempting, unforgettable ...

I'd rather say it's a gourmand-aromatic rather than an oriental.
It's dedicated to Eugénie de Montijo, last French empress. She was born in Granada, Anadalucia, and she loved the aroma of patchouli.

1826 starts quite heavy and spicy, reminds me of Ambre Sultan at this stage. But it only lasts a few minutes.
Then it becomes more and more milky and vanillic, sweet, but stays transparent all the time. I think I smell something similar as in Clinique Simply - a bright accord of anise, which is not listed in any of them. It gives this fragrance a pale, lunar light.
It's so well blended ... Absolutely nothing stands out. One light accord of patchouli, white flowers, amber, vanilla ...
Recently I've been so bored with spices and flowers shouting at me from almost every composition out there...
And when 1826 touched my skin I felt like in a scented heaven. A Zen-like scent. Modest and modern at the same time.

Sounds perfect?
Yes, but it has 2 very serious drawbacks.
One: there's almost no sillage! A true skin scent. I literally have to put my nose onto my wrist to smell it. You really have to use a lot, and still only YOU will be able to smell it ... Pity, considering how beautiful it is and that I'd love to share its beauty with someone around ...
Two: No lasting power! After 2 hours there's no trail of it.

Almost made it to my wish-list, but I think I'll look for something with better sillage and staying power.

But I'll never forget 1826.

I might suggest trying this one on skin- it may manifest different than its description! Not a bad thing in my case but definitely not a heavy oriental..it's a beautiful wisp of a scent! The spices are very subdued, it's a warm floral with a clean skin musk peeking out from under, thoroughly wearable. Not sweet at all nor old fashioned- very well blended as someone else mentioned.

Kterhark gives a hilarious description of this scent which I agree with 100%. Now for a modern day version! Before reading the reviews my daughter and I tried this scent during the summer. OH BOY. "Cotton Candy!" my daughter exclaimed. Yes a really huge bag of pink cotton candy at the county fair, then eat a candy apple (just the coating and throw the fruit aside) and then slurp down a big vanilla milk-shake all on a hot-sticky day. Then you drive home in a car without working air-conditioning, get stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, wish for a slice of lemon that is nowhere to be found....

I dabbed this on before watching the first episide of season 4 of the Tudors, so pardon my references. This is the episode where Kathryn Howard comes to court as Queen, and we the viewers get to see lots of bedroom activity.

Now I paid attention to this era in history class, so i know that King Henry was a fat old diabetic with an ulcer that stunk up the entire castle. I also know these folks didn't bathe, so how on earth where they able to 'get romantic'?

With this in mind I approach 1826. Yes, it's a few centuries later, but the concept is still there. This is what I imagine those bodices smelled like, and I don't say that with a nod of praise. There is the strong, musky (aka perspiration) undergarment that is covered up by frequent visits to the powder room. Here a handful of white florals are rubbed all over the bosom to try and cover the smell. Picture yourself standing in one of those big rooms on a hot summers night; the windows are open and a stale breeze comes through, and everyone is fanning their body odor about with a fan scented with incense and patchouli.

Sound good? Then give this a try. Sound like it would rub your bodice the wrong way? Then move on.

the initial impression was kinda Old Spice Daddy, but it melted into something soft and luxurious- but this is not something I can see myself purchasing- because of the top notes

Too powdery with sharp citrus, an almost soapy verbena. I scrubbed this. It was just too sticky-powdery and that soapy note was kind of awful. This did not work for me.

Another spicey oriental from Histoires de Parfums. 1826 is not as interesting, to me, as 1804, but it is quite beautiful and I wouldn't mind owning a bottle. The top notes include orange, which complements the heart notes of cinammon and ginger beautifully. Rounding out the heart are creamy white flowers and a hint of sharp (not candied) violet. About an hour in, the base notes start to make an appearance, including a lovely, slightly sweet incense note. This is not an old medieval church type of incense, but a light, dry, modern incense, and it's not added with a heavy hand. Instead the base notes of vanilla, patchoulli, and amber share equal footing with the incense, which I like. The combination is just right. Beautifully complex and layered, 1826 is a full blooded and heavy boned oriental in the absolute BEST sense.