Silences Jacomo for women

Silences has been one of my all-time, absolute favorites, one of my "BIG LOVE, can't live without" perfumes since I first acquired it in 1981. I love it as much or more today as I did when I first sniffed it, and through the intervening years have always somehow managed to hold on to at least a sampler vial of it. It is one I've had to miserly ration or even only sniff the cap because there was no way to obtain more. In a much leaner time I was once *thrilled beyond measure to score a small handful of tester vials at an estate sale.

But, I do not wear it as often as one might think, what with being so madly in love with it. And that has caused me a great deal of self-reflection over the years. I don't wear it as often as others even though I love it more than some in my regular rotation. At times I've even second-guessed my commitment to it. There are other perfumes that are similar, and I have them and love them and wear them, but they are not Silences. It is special to me for reasons I can not fully articulate.

The initial blast of crisp and cold - no, icy - galbanum is like no other and must be what it is that hooks my heart. The hyacinth and hint of rose that follow and unfold is what sets that hook and the oakmoss reels me in.

Silences is deliberate, straight-forward and no-nonsense. It is sleek. It is high-speed and low drag. It is retro-contemporary architecture in the genre of Frank Lloyd Wright, with Milo Baughman and Russel Wright furnishings, a Modigliani hanging on the wall and a Henry Moore out in the shade garden. It is Dave Brubeck. It is Ansel Adam's black and white photography. It is a chilly, grey, early spring day.

It so perfectly conveys a part of me, and I wish to never be without it.

This is my mother's signature scent so for that alone it will always make me smile. It smells like the rose and lily of the valley have been freshly cut, stems and all and shaken in champagne. It's bubbly, bright and fun, a refreshing daytime scent. Unfortunately the scent disappears as quick as bubbles on my skin.

Original formula: Silences starts out with a beautifully frigid bergamot and galbanum accord not unlike the opening of Halston 1-12, and rapidly opens a portal to bitter greens, the smell of cut stems, mosses, blooming hyacinth and muguet, and darker shades of still-pink and partially-opened roses. It's a heavy experience, and Silences weighs itself down as its lilting citruses and white flowers slip behind curtains of oakmoss and cedar. The moss is a bit powdery and does little to lighten things up. Silences is very green, but its gauzy texture and load-bearing bitterness give it a dated feel, and I'm not entirely certain it has weathered the years as well as 1-12, or even Chanel N°19. Still, it's an excellent composition, a landmark chypre, and I do believe that men should wear and breathe new life into it - did I mention it's unisex?

Current formula: It is common to read posts bemoaning reformulations of classics. Some relatively recent reformulations, like Azzaro Pour Homme, do the scent very little justice, but ultimately make things easier to handle in everyday wearings. Grey Flannel is another such success, and in this case the scent was improved. Silences is definitely a successfully updated fragrance. The entire structure feels much smoother, lighter, airier. Yet its bitter greenness and soft florals are still as beautiful as ever. The blast of frigid galbanum from the top is the only note that suffered - the original perfume boasted this note with crystal clarity, while the new version's is toned done considerably. I appreciate galbanum, but I don't really miss it that much, and if I find myself craving a dense hit of the green stuff I can always turn to Halston 1-12. Silence's mosses, powdery florals, and crisp greens move in much the same fashion as its original formula did, but the composition is definitely more demure, which makes it smell a bit more feminine. Still a terrific fragrance, with excellent unisex potential. I'll be wearing it a lot in the spring.

This is almost an exact smell-alike of Chanel No. 19 -- at a much more affordable price. Great for layering. You could easily spray on tons of this affordable masterpiece and then add a little No.19 on the top. Come to think of it, I almost prefer this to No. 19 as it has much more lasting power. Sshshhshh.....keep it secret or the prices will soar!

it starts very bitter dry and after 10 minutes it reminds me of a rose camay bar....i like soapy fragrances but not this one

Parfum de Toilette

I was hoping for something greener and meaner after reading the reviews here. I get green, but it's layered on top of a rose powder that I can't decide if I like or not.
This smells like Bandit's Auntie. The one that never married, has a funny little dog, a lovely rose garden, pours a mean drink and whips everyone's ass in backgammon.
I don't think I'll wear it that much, but it's a keeper.

So many components point in the same direction: green. Galbanum, narcissus, hyacinth, hedione, lily of the valley, oak moss, vetiver. At various points in its evolution, Silences is cool, dewy, radiant, fresh, grassy, powdery, dark. Although Silences follows the traditions of both green florals (Vent Vert, No 19) and green chypres (Bandit, Ma Griffe, Miss Dior, Y) it doesn’t go the leather route. The moss balances out the florals and galbanum, but it never gets truly bitter in the leather fashion. It shares so many notes with other florals and chypres, but in the end veers smartly away from them. The drydown gets both woody and cozy with a strong cedar note wrapped in musks. Still it remains green with both a slightly peppery vetiver (that perfectly transitions from the floral/galbanum opening to the cedar) and a resinous moss.

There’s nothing slack about Silences. It is precise and to the point at all times, yet skirts the ice-queeniness of so many green florals and chypres. Silences demonstrates the difference between cool and cold.

I love Silences, but there seems to be zero sillage and is very short-lived. How I wish it lasted longer. To my nose, it's like vintage Norell, vintage #19, and vintage Rive Gauche...but mainly #19. It's beautiful!!!

Silence... yes, except for the crickets chirping. Waves of heat rising from the dry terrain; sharp, green grassy accords that mellow as the humidity rises.

Shabby chic in the most charismatic way--crisp white cotton dress with well worn cowgirl boots, and a sprinkling of sun-kissed freckles on her nose.

after reading the reviews on here, i had a very clear idea of what this juice would smell like. fragranticans, you have not disappointed me.
i say this with not a pinch of modesty:
this perfume smells EXACTLY what i thought it would
green, sharp and leather.
chanel 19 can come off my want list, and my wallet is sighing relief.

Tried it again today after latest attempt to like it and i must say that it is not my kind of fragrance. Very very green with a strong leather note. I like the leather note (which is probably not present here, but it smells like there it is) but then the green is killing it. I must agree that it does smell like a "Chanel nr.19" and "Safari" by Ralph Lauren, but much more drier and greener. The opening almost scared me away because of the very dominant orange blossom note since i am not a fan of oranges in fragrances. A slightest hint of hyacint note is making it softer but i would prefer it with more flowers in it. Lasting power is good.

Please do not remove this comment, since others might find it useful. Not every review should be positive, so people like me wanted to make a blind buy might find it very informative. Thanks.

today finally after almost 2 month my silences gift set arrived...finally after more then 15 years i can enjoy again this beautyful gorgeous fragrance of my past...with a big body lotion...now i'm turning back on time...iummmm...

Galbanum in the top and oakmoss in the base defines a chypre, not floral green. I had a 30 ml of pure extrait until recently but as I didn't reach for it as often as I should, I sold it away.

I really like Silences. It is close to Chanel No 19 edp but a bit easier on the notes, less complex. Still Lily of the Valley, sandalwood and oakmoss creates an extraordinary beautiful fragrace that should be used daily. But as I seem to be more into white florals, florientals and fruity chypres I had to let it go. If you love green chypres, find, use and cherish Jacomo Silences.

i love it so much i refound it after so many years i ordered 2 weeks ago on fragranceX the last gift set edp with body lotion...i'm waiting so impatient i hope will arrive from us to italy :(...for me it's simply wonderful...it's very particular i love it

I can't believe Silences has so many negative reviews here. I thought it's very well known with a firm fan-base.
I personally like it very much. I passed through all kinds of fragrance periods, passing briefly through oriental, pepper, citrus stages, falling in love with classic chypres, only to lead me to leathers, male orientals (M7 YSL, Habit Rouge, L'eau Bleue d'Issey), unconventional chypres with either strange combinations of notes or overexposed single themes, like the supergreen Balmain de Balmain, Vent Vert, Y YSL, leather+green+animalistic chypre Bandit, superleather Cabochard, male chypres like Aramis Aramis... but with every step I drew further and further away from FLOWERS.

So, all that said, I am surprised and fascinated by how well the hyacinth+overdose of green+powder+chypre base combo works in Silences. I get so much hyacinth simultaneously with that green blast from the very beginning that I was put off initially. As I said, flowers - no, thanks. But then a highly woody dry note and some powder come up to balance things and make everything work together.
For me, to this day fragrances were either dry or "mouthwatering". For the first time I see one that is both at the same time. It is very interesting, original and worth trying just to see how this combination of opposites turned out. I think that any high and pretentious niche line would die to come up with something THAT new.
I got it online for 18$. The best money-love deal I ever got. The bottle is gorgeous. Like the fragrance, it's both innovative and beautiful, and even though it looks like a circle, it's not! And it has a twist looked upon from the side. It stands very stable and the spray WORKS without any problem (NU YSL, you should be taking notes).

@bamboowu you can actually see the quantity left in the bottle very easily by lighting it from behind with a strong pointed light (like a reading lamp, not a torch). It works perfectly for Silences, Kyoto, Bandit and even Black Cashmere - all of which are black and deemed very opaque but at the lamp they look deep purple. Same works for Agent Provocateur which is also very opaque.

Received my sample today. I wanted to try as it was recommended for people who like Chanel 19. At first application (from a sweet little black circular stoppered bottle) I smelt a blast of sharp bitter green herbs. It was as if I were standing in the kitchen snipping wild herbs for a salad: bitter dandelion, rocket, cress, wood sorrel,sharp peppery yarrow. As it receded a bit, I could detect wisps of bergamot.

The green faded after about 1/2 hour and rose hovered in the air above my wrist.

After that, not very long after, I smelt tobacco and wood, which I assume were the woody basenotes.

On me, 3 hours later, I really can detect nothing but a faint sweetness.

I don't think it is anywhere as complex, elegant, or balanced as Chanel 19. It seems a much simpler perfume: a song, not a symphony.

I like it, but am not in love. Of course, I will try again, as all these things are so subjective: dependent on mood, physical condition, environment etc.

Incidentally, sweet and quaint as a stoppered bottle is, it is not a very good method of being economic with perfume!

Wow, very sharp and snappy green at the beginning, much more green than I'm used to. But wearable. I don't really detect any of the floral notes listed here, just greens and a little herbal. Very strong, great sillage and longevity and the lovely warm chypre dry down is fabulous. I like this a lot, its different.

My mom got it, as a gift.
I hate it!
Hooker smell alarm! Well maybe not. Depends. It also smells old, like something that a lady who has turned the century (and with very bad taste) would like wearing.
It's old. Not vintage, OLD.
It's way too strong for my senses, it smells cheap, ordinary, it makes my nose ich and it's pretty headachy.
But if you like it, go ahead and I really mean it, because second a hole bunch of people, my favorite perfume smells fake and plastic, but I love it!

omg, my grand-grandma would die for it if she wasn t yet dead. sharp soapy woody - oldfashioned aftershave-like fume. it seems to be inspired from the last century. hell! oh i love so mutch the purple one from silences range by Jacomo but this is just h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e.

Oh, silences, I wish I could love thee... But I can't. At first whiff I got straight, sharp, green smelling alcohol. I thought, let's give this a while, let it warm up, settle in. But, alas, it never did. It smelled of grass, woods, and burnt plastic on my skin, and finally after a headache inducing hour, it warmed to a woodsy-cedar scent on my skin. Which was very pleasant, but I cannot get through the plasticky phase without a sinus headache, and by that time the lovely woodsy finish is just not worth the opening notes. Cold, green scents do not mix well with my chemistry. However, I would like to smell this on my man. I think the woodsy dry down would be gorgeous on him! Silences is a lovely green floral, just not for me.

I really like this one, very very impressive. Yeap, it is smth average between Chanel №19 and Chamade by Guerlain. I falled in love on these fragrances, all is green, a little bit aldehyde, and very feminine.
Jacomo SiLence it is smth startling.

This is a very different scent to me. Seasons change the scents alot so spring and summer may produce a different effect altogether as I have found in many perfumes. In the winter this scent is pretty woodsy and pretty subtle. Its not a jump out and scream at you kind of scent. I have not smelled channel #19 so I do not know if they are alike or not but this is a smooth quiet scent to my nose.

Because of the comparisons to Chanel No.19, one of my favorites, and because I'm a fan of another Jacomo scent, Jacomo for Her, I thought it would be a safe bet that I'd like Silences at least enough to wear occasionally. I've decided that perfume isn't worth wearing unless you really, really like it. Unfortunately Silences just isn't for me. On my skin, it is soapy and overly aggressive and just simply does not get along with my nose.

I bought Silences on a whim as a blind buy, based only on others' good opinions. It took me a while before I decided to spray it on my skin as I was so enchanted by the lovely bottle that I did not even want to use it ;)

I must say I feel pretty comfortable wearing it, it is a mixture of a classy, elegant scent and a casual, laidback ambience. It is a green chypre for me, somehow similar to Ivoire by Balmain, but less "chic". It contains tobacco for sure. Definitely my type of fragrance, old-fashioned in a positive, legendary way!

MMMMMMMMM? I wonder Silences by Jacomo
stole the notes from Chanel no 19 because
they smell like an dead ringer to me,
The same Greenish musky Cypre scent and
the note of Galbanum on the top notes.
It cost a fraction to the more Elegant
Chanel no 19. The scent is nothing to write home about i'm not a fan of green
notes they always make me nauseous if you
put too much on to me it's just a Common
run of the mill rip off of Chanel no 19.

But the only thing i like about this
is the flacon the unique and cute Half
circle of a bottle that's the only winner.

"It's a chypre!" were the first words that came out of my mouth upon applying Jacomo SILENCES. I had been wanting to try this for a while, having seen so much high praise for this fragrance in particular, and for the house of Jacomo, more generally.

SILENCES, to my nose, offers the drydown of a chypre: woods, oakmoss, galbanum. This is a linear, consistent presentation of the characteristic components that I expect by the drydown of any good chypre. What I don't find here is floral complexity and depth. On my skin, all of the layers have been compressed into one.

However, I do think that this chypre drydown smells very nice, and if I didn't already have bottles of more complex chypres which offer interesting development trajectories along with a quality drydown, I'd surely add SILENCES to my collection. But I do, so I won't.

'Silences' is very similar to Chanel 19, both are gorgeous green florals. The price is great, too!

Silences smells more like a traditional chrype than a floral green to me. I smell no florals in this one at all. I get mostly a green mossy fragrance that is a bit powdery.

I dont care for it, as Im not a big fan of chrypes, Ok so maybe this isnt a chype, but it smells like it on me. The oakmoss is very dominant on my skin.
Very affordable though, and I can see it has many fans. So if you like green, chrypish scents. This is a must try.

Oh, Jacomo, how I love thee! Please continue making affordable, high-quality fragrances forever!

Silences was actually my introduction to this house. I got a small sample of the EDP in a swap. I liked it well enough to purchase other Jacomo scents unsniffed, and well enough to seek out a small bottle of Silences parfum as a splurge. A drop or two of the parfum is all you need to get through an entire day. The EDP is also nice, if a bit fleeting, and is an affordable way to test drive this scent. Huge bottles can be found for $20 or less on the web. All of the Jacomo scents I have tried so far offer remarkable quality for an unbelievably low price.

If you love Ivoire de Balmain, Niki de Saint Phalle, Mitsouko, and other non-sweet classic dry chypres, you'll love Silences. It has a lot in common with those three scents, all of which I already own, but Silences was still unique enough to merit purchase. (I also see lots of comparisons to Chanel No. 19 and I haven't smelled that one in ages, need to give that one another test soon.)

Silences goes on dry, bitter and green, with no detectible florals or sweetness. It dries down over time to a pleasant woody aroma with pronounced cedar notes on my skin.

Old school? Retro? Oh, yes. This will either be your thing at first sniff, or it won't be your thing at all. But if you like it even a little, you'll grow to love it over time. It's so complex, mysterious, sophisticated and 100% unisex.

Having decanted quite a lot of this last week, I can now appreciate Silences. I wore this last winter and hated it--thought it smelled like plastic. I didn't realize that this has to be worn in the warmer weather to fully blossom. This is such a green fragrance, like fresh cut leaves. It almost demands attention when you wear it. I can't remember where I read this, but someone once said that Silences should be worn by anyone who has ever wanted to know what it's like to be heartless. I think it describes it well--there's no hint of vanilla or sweetness, nothing cuddly or soft, which could disturb some people.

It is very simirlar to the Pastale from the House of Matchabelli.

But the pastale is a darker juice, and lasts much longer.

Perfect for a hot humid day.

I'm happy to see so many people remembering and loving this fragrance. I remember when a friend of my mother's gave me my first bottle as a gift - it must have been in the early 80s. At first, I was taken back - I had never used perfume before, and this was a powerful womanly scent! But I grew into it, and I even think it helped me develop as a woman.

It was my signature perfume for many years, as a young woman, friends recognized my presence when they smelled Silences. It was ideal for a signature fragrance - fresh, warm, floral and very very feminine. It was ME.

So what happened? When I met my beloved husband, he thought everything about me is wonderful except for my perfume. It struck a wrong note with him. He didn't like it. He gave me Ivoire instead, and later Beautiful, and altogether softer fragrances. So I stopped buying Silences, but continued to regret it. It disappeared from shops, but I'm excited to see it around here.

I'm much tempted to order a little bottle and see how we have stood the test of time, my all time favorite perfume and me....

I love to see others loving what I have loved all those years!

I just received my bottle of Silences. It smells very similar to Chanel No. 19. Only much better!! Now this is a reasonable priced perfume. I bought it unsniffed because of the reviews written about it here and would never have known to try it.

this is one of the best smelling fumes ever.the opening takes my breath away. it only gets better with time as the beautiful wet greeness turns as if by magic into a beautiful dew kissed red rose.heady sexy,but wait,,,,the dry down is just as impressive as the opening.woody ,mossy wet and deepky sexy again.one whiff and,i was hooked.this just may be my favorite fume.the price is right too.

Thank you to Bamboowu for kindly letting me try this.
I've persevered with it but it's not really for me. I love the initial 'greenness' - like a herb garden after rain or a split green stalk.
However, there's also a floral element to Silences and it's that that I don't really get on with - it's a little bit too '80s retro' for me.
In fact, there's a perfume that I had once in the 80s, it was a 'drugstore' one, quite cheap to buy, and I wish I could remember the name of it because this smells exactly like it, I think it was called 'Fleur' or something like that - a pastelly box.
The funny thing about Silences for me is that it smelled kind of different every time I wore it and at one point I thought it was a grower but that floral side kept getting in the way - it's almost like 'Fleur de Fleurs' by Nina Ricci - almost but not quite.
Anyway, thank you Bamboowu, you saved me from regretting buying a full bottle!

It used to be my mom signature scent. I loved on her.. I was 5 years old.. and always took the chance when she's not around to spray a little bit :)

Love with the first inhale. Delicately. Patrician. Absolutely mine! Assosiations: - black and white photo, silent movie, moonbeem on the water, silence, slightly melancholy, Chopin's nocturnes. Fragrance, that you need to be back again and again to. A lot of compliments.
For me it like Safari (RL)- without its sandy rose and Chanel N19 - without its a little bit sweety florals...

I love this fragrance, and just ordered another bottle. This is one of my "I don't ever want to run out of" fragrances. I smell lily-of-the-valley and rose, and the cedar, my guess is that the citrus is what makes it a little sharp for me at the beginning, it's like tasting a lemon sharp, but that is only for a few moments.

It is a beautiful fragrance...I never tire of it. On me it is a lovely floral...the initial sharpness quickly softens and transforms into the most beautiful and very feminine floral.

I only wish the bottle wasn't so opaque so you could at least see how much is left.

I'll always love this classy timeless beauty.

I love it. it looks as Black-toned Jasmine IMO :)

I finally got this - so very green, I love it! It reminds me very much of Balmain's Vent Vert at first, then it gets softer and more floral. I don't know how a green lover like me ever got along without this! I can't wait to wear it in summer.

Very retro. Personally, I wouldn't dare to wear it. Extremely strong and aggressively green. I would enjoy this scent on somebody else though.

Update: The lasting power is amazing and drydown is just gorgeous! Very unique! I just wish it wouldn't be so strong in the beginning

my need for Silences came from a desire to have a 70s perfume fit me correctly, and i think i may have been successful. however, my success was completely coincidental as the notes to this don't really conjure anything i expected. i feel a little strange writing a review of this one because i'm sure that i haven't figured it out yet, and suspect that i never will. that is meant in a good way.

at first, Silences, to me smells very similar to Bandit. the review below by Shelpen comforted me a little that i was not broken in the nose. thank you for that Shelpen. in the beginning, it feels like very straight, strong, dry leather. i don't even notice anything green at that time.

later, of course, the scent completely changes. it takes a while, and feels like a journey. the scent goes from leather to a tender, powdery green. it feels like really pretty vines because it is strong but with no sharp edges. one of my favorite green drydowns so far for sure.

other positives about this frag: the heavy sturdy bottle (love picking it up) and the price!

I am in minority on this...
Silences is very leather-y for my nose, not green: I don't "hear" any flowers at all, not even galbanum. I guess combination of sandalwood-cedar-oakmoss tricks my brain in smelling a new leather bag. :)
Wore it to school - was kinda bothered by the smell all class long.
Reminded me Cacharel Anais Anais - all leather, no flowers either...

I adore this perfume. This is the only one which I got so many compliments wearing. I felt so confident and beautiful with this perfume. A man in my past gave this perfume to me and I mainly wore it for him. But this gentleman was very naughty and adventurous. So I got to go to a lot of places with him and wearing this perfume is just reminiscent of all the places I have experienced with him. I just pick up the lid and I am back in 1985. Brain sorts memories by tagging them with scents and colors. I find scents have an amazing power to transport you to good or bad times in your past. Sometimes you want to keep the lid on, and sometimes you want to pick it up and take a whiff and remember what it was like back then and relive it all with your eyes shut.....

Beautiful perfume. Elegantly sparkles like an emerald. I has become my second skin.

I love it!This perfume is very green, firm and visible,hard.I feel strong and untouchable when I am with him:)

Am a lover of green fragrances but this one is a tad too classic, brisk and 'fierce' for me given that it's a 70's chypre. Realised I'm a modern green kinda of person, more lush leaves and herbs pls.

I love it, perfumes like this are rare now. Old,history,museum, my Mum was using this when I was little, I used it later.

It's a real Retro fragrance.. Definetly not my type, or may be I find it not for my age, I dunno.. It's chic, but a bit too much for me to handle :)

Gorgeous fragrance.Fresh yet warm thanks to a strong rose note.The name is appropriate too - makes you stop talking and bask in.

this is one of my favourites. it is definetely floral-green, a bit retro, with strong and unusual opening. later it becomes softer and very feminine. i got it as a present and it took me a while to come to like it, but definetely, it is a fragrance with character.