Bal a Versailles Jean Desprez for women

I got the EDC yesterday and waited 3 weeks as it came from the US. It was well worth the wait! I got this after reading reviews on here and love it! Im just into my 40s and love strong powerfull scents and this is perfect.Not for light perfume lovers. I found myself sniffing my wrists most of yesterday and the smell lasts so long.A very sexy yet powdery smell, a real notice me perfume. I will be buying this again as I love unusual rare perfumes, I like to be different and dont go for best seller perfumes , more stand out from the rest perfumes :) This has to be the best ive found.Next time il go for the pure perfume, more expensive but trust me worth it !

I received a vintage bottle in the mail today that I ordered off of Ebay. It was a blind buy, I ordered it on the strength of reviews here and elsewhere.

What a gorgeous perfume! On my skin it's a combination of innocence (baby powder) and raunch. It's got this good girl/bad girl thing going on.

I LOVE this perfume!!

eta: getting the drydown now, ahhh can't keep my hand away from my face.

Bal a Versailles is definitely a treat. Its complexity is amazing and it reminds me of those times when making a bold statement and creating rich perfumes was a trend. If you like strong, bold perfumes with oriental spicy notes, woods, patchouli and animalistic notes then you definitely should give this a try. This perfume is not vulgar to me and it definitely does not smell cheap though I have to say that it has a bit of a risqué character.

When I tried this perfume on, I was immediately faced with something different and interesting. The opening is strong, heavy and a bit bitter. Neroli, cassia, orange blossom and jasmine create this opulent strong oriental scent mixed with a touch of rose and herbs. I love the scent of cassia and I really can smell it here. The civet note lingers in the background right after the opening and it never disappears. It certainly adds an animalistic undertone to this fragrance from the beginning till the end. The heart notes to me are strong patchouli softened by ylang-ylang, lilac and lily of the valley. Vetiver, resins and woods add another dimension to the heart notes making this composition extremely interesting. There is a powdery accent in the heart notes towards the dry down but it has this spicy nice twist. The dry down is a complicated blend of vanilla and musk with woods and civet overload.
I bought this perfume based on diverse and entertaining reviews on this website. There are many interesting images that this perfume seems to evoke in the reviewers. I thought that it would remind me of a luscious era of Louis the XIV or French Cabaret. But there is something wild and animalistic about this scent that I absolutely love. It feels to me like taking a dangerous and exciting trip somewhere deep in the steamy jungle forest and walking at night amongst the tall overgrown trees, exotic flowers and aromatic plants. The strange sounds of exotic birds are coming from above and somewhere in the dark, lurking in the shadows there are hungry and dangerous eyes of a tiger. This perfume was definitely an exciting experience for me.

Overall score is 8/10. The sillage and longevity are excellent, so a small amount is enough to enjoy the scent. No regrets with buying it blind.

This was my signature scent from the time it was first released in the 60's until it was reformulated in 2002.
I was heartbroken that 'my scent' no longer smelled the way it had always smelled. I used to splash on the cologne with abandon for daytime and use the EDT for evening. There simply wasn't any other fragrance that enchanted me the way Bal did. This fragrance is not for sissies. It is sensuous, voluptuous, warm and enticing but with a very soft, creamy, yummy undertone. I am a child of the 60's and this fragrance fit right in with that era. I wore it through the 70's, 80's and 90's.
What can I say, I'm consistent. I am thrilled to have found the vintage fragrance on a couple of websites, so I can continue the tradition! I have read several reviews and I find them all very enlightening. You either love it or hate it. I can say that I do not like the new version. It's just too heavy. A little goes a long way. But it's still a unique blend of floral, oriental, and animalic notes. Jean Desprez managed to take 350 ingredients and create a symphony of fragrance that captivates and excites those of us who like their perfume a little on the wild side but still very classy. I love that new noses are discovering this remarkable scent; one that I have loved for a very long time. Bravo!

this review is based on the "new" EDT version.

my bottle arrived this morning and of course i couldn't wait to try it... wow! i don't think i have smelled anything like this before! at the moment i really have no idea what to say about it! in the meantime i could sort my thoughts and tame my surprise a bit. here we go:

notes of jasmine, rose, sandalwood, patchouli, musk, amber, and civet suggest a dark, rich, and powerful scent. and it is. what i did not expect based on that list of ingredients is how soft and strangely comforting this fragrance really is. Bal à Versailles starts with jasmine whose indolic darkness is almost impenetrable and very agreeable.
the middle stage of the fragrance is sweetly woody and ambery and not especially remarkable, but it is over very soon, giving way to the most scrumptiously animalic drydown. it is resinous and pitch black and it makes my knees week and my mouth dry. what with the indolic top note of jasmine and the civet in the base, Bal à Versailles is positively dirty. it is dirty, ravishing, sexy…and very soft…it is shocking really how unexpectedly velvety this scent is.

this a definitely a must try, wow!

Seems like every newly written review on this perfume rekindles my interest in it. It happened to me again today. I read a passionale review and ran to put it on. I think I finally figured it out, that it is a matter of the RIGHT AMOUNT that will determine whether it will stink to high heaven or smell heavenly. Most of the perfumes these days have to be applied pretty heavily in order to be distingwishible ( about 6 sprays). But it appears that for Bal A Versailles even 2 full sprays is way too much. This time I used only one spray and distributed in on the neck and wrist pulse points. And for the first time after countless attempts to reconcile with this perfume, I finally reached the desired effect. I didn't get any vile animalistic notes overshadowing everything else. Instead it was an extremely gorgeous oriental with just the right amount of civet, very similar to civet in Sublime EDP by Patou. Ok, live and learn.
For my next dinner out, I will be stinking up the restaurant with Bal A Versailles....and I mean it in a positive way.
This is for the new EDT version.
The only thing I don't understand is how they are going to make any money with such concentration...my 1.7 oz EDT will last me for the rest of my life if not longer.

The first few times I sniffed this, I was like,"whoa!....what the...oh wow!....wait....oh,my poor sinuses...but,...WOW!...." It is tremendously likeable, but the initial civet blast (I own the edc) made me think my bottle was 'off'. The scent was still beautiful, so i did a little research and couldn't figure out why it seared my sinuses. I have a vtg bottle with the original civet. I guess putting your nose into a big squirt of this can have the same effect of putting your nose into dirty kitty litter: the civet in this by NO means smells like cat urine, but the astringent effect is the same. I now LOVE this fragrance and just have to waft the smell to my nose until the top notes fade....then my nose stays pressed to my hand.**I read on another site that this is known as the Basenotes salute.:)**

My neck is on the line here. 'Bal à Versailles' by Jean Desprez is the 'animalistic' bomb that makes 'civet' laden fragrances like 'Shalimar', 'Obsession', 'Joy', 'Chanel 5' smell like a cultured flower garden. The animalistic aspect here is pushed to the limit and in that sense it is as radical a fragrance like 'Alien' or 'Poison'. Only this was created in 1962! And still selling like a civet in heat. So this has entered the pantheon of timesless classics of said 'Shalimar', 'Chanel 5', 'Coco'. Not bad for 'a one hit wonder'. Because after this tour de force, maker Jean Desprez' inspiration was gone. Or maybe he was too busy with female attention because of wearing his own frag. Anyway, he never did make another frag on this level. Some facts about the frag. Firstly: the 'natural civet' has been replaced since beginning of 2000 by 'synthetic civet' which is as strong as 'the real thing', I suppose. Where synthetic civet mostly tends to smell quite pungent and harsh IMHO, here it smells very much like the more rounded, intriguing, mysterious, 'stirring', 'exciting', not too instrusive real thing. The makers have of course sweated and worked hard and long to replicate that famed 'civet note' as naturally as possible because it is one of the most important notes and 'the trademark' of this fragrance masterpiece. And they succeeded. Because 'Bal à Versailles' version 2012 is still a 'radical animalistic juggernaut of a perfume' that smells beastly in a good way but it is not tsunami strong or overwhelming like maybe the vanilla in 'Fantasy' or the synthetic fruit in a lot of 'celeb one year on the market and then gone for ever'-frags. No need in BAV for added pheronomes too! Oh yeah, for the soapies amongst the readers: 'Bal à Versailles' animalistic appeal doesn't smell like p**p, p*ss and dirty *nderwear'. The animalistic note is like in 'Boudoir', but turned up a few degrees in heat. But like everyone looks no further with Westwoods 'Boudoir' than the 'sex perfume' label, most don't look beyond the 'animalistic' label with 'Versailles'. And yet, 'Boudoir' and also 'Versailles' are very complex, intricate fragrances that are at the same time wearable. BAV I wouldn't use for daily office wear, unless you want to seduce the manager or the window cleaner, but for 'special occasions' and evening activities. Of course you don't have to douse yourself in 'Versailles'. A little goes a long way. That combined with very reasonble prices online makes 'Versailles' one of the most 'bang for you buck' high quality fragrances. And it is different, alright! You won't pass many people in the street wearing 'Versailles'. Most are even scared of this great frag that is IMHO totally unisex. Most people don't look further than then 'beastly' label. Therefore let's take a closer look at this 'animal-in-heat'-fragrance. To be clear: this is not a sweet frag, but a dry, serious frag in the vein of Guerlain's 'L'Heure Blue' and 'Samsara', Molinard's 'Habanita' and Lutens' 'Cuir Mauresque' and 'Fumerie Turque'. The lovers of breezy, sweet, vanillin 'cutie fruitie flowery pies' won't like this. Lovers of 'Habanita', 'Joy', 'Chanel 5' should try this affordable gem again.
Amazingly there are a lot of notes in this 'beastly frag' that are by the way mixed to perfection.
Top: Rosemary, orange blossom, cassia, mandarin, jasmine, rose, neroli, bergamot, lemon, Bulgarian rose.
Middle: Sandalwood, patchouli, lilac, orris root, vetiver, ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley
Top: Tolu balsam, amber, benzoin, musk, (artificial) civet, vanilla, cedar and resins.
A few big surprises. This is a very intricate work of perfumery, not a simple musk or civet bomb. It is in the vein of 'Coco'. Second surprise: a lot of flowers! Third surprise: in the base we have vanilla! Fourth surprise: in the top and the middle there are a lot of fresh notes to counter the benzoin-civet-musk trio. And they do that very effectively.
Despite all the notes, this is not a mess, but a very well balanced, harmonious perfume with definetely an own face and personality.
Like with all intricate frags we have several layers of contrasting notes that work into and against each other and create tension, deepness and fleeting new note-combinations between the 3 levels and then again within each level, that makes this a very vibrant, lively frag that constantly develops and changes on the skin. We have the 'muscle car' base. I have already analysed several 'heavy' frags here on Fragrantica, but this base is without a doubt the most strongly. Tolu: bam!, amber: bam!, benzoin: bam!, musk: bam!, civet: bam!, cedar: bam!, resins: bam!. Only the vanilla tones things down. But this 'base-on-steroids' is countered by also not so shy floral-fresh top: orange blossom, jasmine, rose, mandarin orange, neroli, Bulgarian rose, bergamot, lemon. Some spice is added with the rosemary. This strong top 'flower army' takes on the wild animals of the base. The result is a wonderful, unique mix. The flowery Beauty and the animalistic Beast. And then comes the middle to make a bridge and play wedding counselor between our Beauty and our Beast. The middle makes the compromise with some floral notes: ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley, lilac and some woody, spicy notes: sandalwood, vetiver and patchouli. Within each of the three levels you have 'in level' workings. For instance in the top the lush roses against the fresh bergamot/mandarin, the rosemary that spices every note up and fortifies them. In the middle: the natrual sweet ylang-ylang, lilac and lily against the spicy woody sandalwood, patchouli, orris root and all this brightened up by the vetiver. In the base: the 'animalistic' civet and musk against the 'flowery' heavy hitters of Tolu balsam and resins with the vanilla as lubricant.
The result is a far more complex fragrance than the cliché 'animalistic civet bomb'. Look at those flowers! Patchouli! Tolu! Vanilla! Cedar! Vetiver! Bergamot! Neroli! They tame the civet and musk down. Of course BAV is not a sweet fruity floral. It is a dry, resinous, mighty 'beast' (like in 'giant') of a fragrance. You will sure get noticed wearing this! And men as well as women will get a lot of attention from the opposite or same sex. This is more a 'sexual' frag than 'sensual' like 'Boudoir' is. This is an all out, unapologetic, take-no-prisoners, shameless perfume that does what perfumes used to do and are supposed to do: please your own nose, make you more self assured in your attraction towards the opposite or same sex and most definitely attract them! I think more members of the opposite/same sex will approach you with BAV put on in moderation, than you doused in a vanilla, fruit or cotton candy frag. Making hot steamy love with a person reeking of an über sweet popsicle or milkshake doesn't quite stand a chance against this hot, animalistic, pheronome-laden, barely tamed beast. But don't put on too much, then the frag becomes too pronounced. The quality and strongness of this perfume beast is indeed impressive: great sillage and loooongevity! If you are looking for a 'sillage monster', look no further! You won't find many frags with this sillage and longevity.
The smell -moderately applied- is one of deep flowers with a 'civet note' that I can only describe as like a peppery jasmine-cashmere-labdanum-sweet frankincense. Some people have posted here about frags that smell like p**p and p*ss. I'm no p**p and p*ss specialist or expert of the smell of 'bodily fluids' because everyone's fluids smell different. I won't go into further details, but this doesn't smell like p**p at all! As far as I can judge. The 'civet note' smells like a freshly washed and dried pet combined with an earthy note. That's the closest I can get in describing it. But this 'civet note' is mixed with all those other strong notes. The result is a heady, unmistable bold frag that you love or hate. Like 'Alien', 'Habanita', 'Shalimar'. But it is without a doubt the 'naughtiest' of that class of top frags.
The next phrase has been used a lot. Mostly in a vain and meaningless way. But here it is true: this is 'Sex In a Bottle'. BAV is the fragrance that means business, that means: 'sex on the menu'. When you wear this, you can skip the foreplay and must be ready to be torn out of your clothes! I'm just saying: this isn't for wallflowers and pre-pubescent girls. But for women not afraid of the power of their sexuality and people not afraid of how a excited natural body smells. The scent of our animalistic self is firmly rooted in this frag. 'Bal à Versailles' is a beautiful beast. Wear it at your own risk.

If Johnny Depp in Caribean pirate movies were a woman, this would be the scent for her! I can not imagine this scent for a ball, it is too dirty. This is something for bad or nervous, furious girl or woman wearing street style clothes only and loving sex. No french character in it.
Extraordinary sweet, balmy and calming rosemary amber scent, forbidden for the elegant lady.

SOMETHING SPECIAL ! I decided to buy Bal a Versailles on the base of all reviews here and I'm not dissapointed. For me this is a wonderful special sweet and powdery roses scent with civet, which may be a little heavy (even disgusting) for someone, but depends of skin chemistry as we know. I'm lucky, on me it's very nice, goregeus actually. But, as I said, it is very special, so you must know "how and when" to wear it.
All in all this is the rule for wearing any perfume.

Powdery, yester-year-ness, with a definite mystique about it that will keep you sniffing yourself even though you dont love it, you actually really do, and vice versa..Its puzzling. Wow. This is captivating...the blend of luxurious elegance and vintage skank all at once. Im fascinated by this and I really enjoy it. My husband said it stinks. It really does in a way, but in a strangely enjoyable way. Whether you like it or not, IT IS a must smell fragrance and really intriguing!

Ok, I read about this classic perfume, and I thought, "what's all the fuss?" so, I had to buy it. Concerned as I always am with "reinvented fragrances" I bought two small original perfumes. I read it was "elegant" and also "skank", I thought "what??" but God Bless, it's true! How it's possible for a perfume to be elegant and skanky at the same time, I don't know, but this perfume actually does it. For me, there's a lot of orange in it, very sticky sweet but still pretty, but the musk, it just brings it right back around to being earthy. I can see where people describe it as "dank", there is, there actually is a dankness to it. Weird, but still, enchanting! It's just oh, a sweet little filthy number, and I now see why people describe it like a 1960's orgy, or waking up to crumpled up sheets after having sex the evening before. It's elegant, yes, but it's also naughty. It's very floral and like I say, I smell a lot of orange and musk in it, and also vanilla and civet, and it's gorgeous! Sexy and maybe even a little vulgar at the same time. Sort of like a 1940s Paul Becat painting. I don't know! Maybe more like a sweet and very pretty sweaty dance hall girl. Or a dirty Princess. I will say this, for sure this perfume has the "it" factor. It's got it, and a lot of it. I guess it can be unisex, like Must de Cartier is, but I think it's far more on fruity sweet side for a man, unless he were a very effeminate man. I'm definitely buying more and going for the vintage version because I know it's right. Definitely not too expensive for what I got!

This review is of the current Eau de Toilette of Bal a Versailles.

I get, primarily, an indolic jasmine with traces of Jicky in it. A tiny, tiny bit of patchouli and some warm, fleshy civet. I also smell vanilla. Very Guerlain-esque. While it's not bad, I'd love to try the vintage stuff - particularly the Eau de Cologne. I heard it has a skankiness to it that cannot be ignored. Still, the current juice (which I got for $9.99) smells like a quality fragrance and lasts a good while.

I'm not the biggest fan of jasmine, to be honest.

This review is for the EDC diluition.

I usually approach reviews for this kind of classic compositions trying to avoid the usual note explanation. I generally prefer to give an overall idea of what the fragrance smells like and always suggest to any "real" perfume lover to not miss the chance to experience such classic beauties.

Here we go...

Take vintage Shalimar and deprive it of a little sweetness being careful, at the same time, to manitain a solid dose of spicy and powdery vanilla. Add the skanky aspect of Kouros (the urinous honey note plus the civet plus the greased hair musky vibe) and refine it with a consistent Orange Blossoms note on top. Et voilà. AMAZING stuff!

As a friend use to say, Bal A Versailles EDC is like a skanky naughty girl.

Classic but not aged. Terrific lasting power and great projection. If moderately applied does great also on a man. If you'll ever experience a skankier EDC, please, drop me a line..

Rating: 8.5/10

Civet, civet and more civet on my skin. I have tried to wear it on more than on occasion but just cannot get past the civet and musk, it overwhelms me.

Wow, this fragrance brings to mind a trip to the mountains, when we fell down, tired of walking, onto a one meter thick bed of dry leaves. The autumnal wind brought forth essences of the wood, while from underneath the most beautiful dark and ambery fragrant leaves exuded a perennial naturally blended woody and vegetal scent, thick and impenetrable. Its amberiness comes from natural decomposition, the mixture is cool, no flowers, the moist juice underneath touching the soil is a dirty, superconcentrated, almost oily (maybe liquefied?) green amber. It takes a unique environment, a unique lapse of time and a unique fusion for such concoction to be created, that it is surprising it was also produced by the hand of the man.
When I wear Bal I greet its oily darkness with pleasure and look forward for its dirty herbal and ambery muskiness. I have never met such a natural amber on my skin. My version is the newest one, but if anyone anywhere in Europe had just a dab of the real thing to share, PM me.

This review is based on the reformulated EDT I purchased from an online auction site we all love to hate. This perfume is the worst I have in my collection. It's way too strong in an unpleasant, headache-inducing way. It transports you to a dirty, greasy workshop where people wear strong perfumes to camouflage the stench.

After a long while, it starts to smell a little better but it still doesn't do justice to its name. I've been to Versailles and this perfume fails to evoke the glamor, opulence, and beauty of its namesake. If you want to experience old world opulence and charm, you're better off with Shalimar.

Makes you smeal as a animal....in reprodaction season...

I have a sample of the edc but don't know from what year. Anyway, when I first tried it, it was very powdery, almost exactly just Johnson& Johnson baby powder. I wasn't particularly bothered by this, although it wasn't what I had hoped for or would purchase.

But it quickly hit a note that reminded me of perfumes from the 70's, like Clinique Aromatics, which I don't care for at all. I wish I could nail down what it is so I can avoid it in the future!

Then it took a bad mix with my chemistry and began to smell of urine. I almost scrubbed it, but let it diffuse a bit while I blew my hair dry. Now it just smells like baby powder again.

Not for me.

I bought this one through ebay and now i am obsessed to see if i have been cheated or not....i don't detect the flowery notes..i like it a lot still and it doesn't look like a copy or anything..but don't know...GAAAH! I HATE shopping through the net...unfortunately we don't have this brand in spain...if anyone is interested i'd pay for a sample of the pure parfum (which is the one i have) to compare it...

if anyone interested pelase send private

The first sniff hits hard! Very much an in-your-face
presentation! Rich and opulent, a little raw. By the second sniff it has begun to bloom and reinvent itself. The third sniff, it transforms into a dark/warm/velvety/vanilla/amber/patchouli lovliness.

The morning after, it still lingers faintly on the skin like the memories of a particularly good night.

Damn this is good stuff! It is best of all in the pure perfume. Definitely worth the extra money.

When to wear it? Whenever you can pull it off.

Whoooo! This is one hella of a punch. Sexy. Hell Yeah. Youthful. Nah. Powerful. You betcha. Feminine. Most definitely. For me though? No. This is definitely for someone mature though. I typically don't like saying that, and this is the only perfume I've encountered that I'd give such a label. It is just too strong. The dry down of the vanilla and patchouli is beautiful and comforting, but the patchouli is too prevalent here. It smells almost dirty. The amber is wonderful here. Just so warm and delicious. But all of them together comes up as chemical somehow. I agree with a lot of reviewers here that if you love amber this is certainly worth the try. Nothing comes close to the amber here. In general though, this is just too much in my opinion. I can't describe it in one sentence but I can try... a woman in heat. Or a man reacting to one. Your senses just boil.

I have never been to Versailles, but just looking at the movies that represent time then and the way this smells, they go together. So therefore, aptly named. And considering hygiene back then a fragrance this strong would have been perfect, as people couldn't afford to shower as much as we do today. I tried wearing this and found it too overwhelming. I give points to this in terms of creativity. If this was truly inspired by Versailles, then this is as impressive as it gets.

I bought a used EDT off eBay after reading a review that sparked my interest by invoking Prince Poppycock. The reviewer was right. This is the sillage you would expect as Prince Poppycock sashayed by. It is unabashedly sweet and decadent. It's a lovely and compelling concoction which will always be a part of my perfume repertoire. I'm hooked.

Just got some of the EDC off Evilbay. Not sure of the vintage, but the blue box lacks the Der Grüne Punkt and the ingredients are listed as alcohol, water, and fragrance and D&C Brown n.l. So, at least before 1991, I figure.
Whatever the date, I like this stuff. Powdery honey spice with a slightly root-beer tinted musk. Reminds me of vintage Tabu, but more refined. More call girl than reasonably priced and conveniently located sex worker.
Actually this would be a great scent for a roller derby girl. It's strong, feminine, charmingly retro and would go well with sweat.

I was at a Perfumania store at my local mall buying some pre-reformulation Opium EDT and Kouros when I spotted this in EDT and EDC in the women's section. Being very cheap, I decided to try the EDT - I mean, why not? Being a fan of voluptuous orientals like Opium, Shalimar, Youth Dew, Samsara, Tabu, etc., I figured it would be an instant love affair.

Well, it was and it wasn't. I certainly get the animalic aspect of the fragrance - it almost has an unwashed hair effect - very similar to waking up in the morning with your lover and smelling their head while snuggling behind them. However, I get the distinct feeling that the formula has been cheapened over the years - like the way Tabu has evolved. The florals are somewhat too sweet/artificial and the amber isn't really that convincing - the civet it the base is definitely Firmenich's Civet CNC - good, but not amazing. The musks are also modern ones, not the glorious nitro-musks of the pre IFRA clamp-down.

I put on a few times, then back on the shelf with my other bottles - I was really hoping for a more musky, animalic affair - and then, a few month via Etsy - I found it. The vintage parfum! Now - this is what I read about and have been longing for! Indolic, fatty, musky, vanillic and ambery - with the unmistakable unwashed hair/body effect still apparent in the modern formulation.

I really suggest those that haven't found this to be everything it's cracked up to be via web reviews to seek out one of the cute little bottles of the pure parfum - this is the libertine's moist underthings that I'd read about. It's also surprisingly tenacious - folks were detecting this long after it no longer registered to my nose - and it really gets compliments.

I've yet to try the new formulation of the parfum - the website states that it hasn't changed (oh, really?), but considering how long it's been around, it won't be hard to find vintage examples for many years - I suggest you do. I know that I'll now seek out vintage formulae of the EDT and EDC for some variety in the BAV prism of colors. An added bonus is that it tends to be very inexpensive, even in the older versions. Hooray! I'm off to an orgy in the 60's - bye!

Its 1962. This new sexy, flirty, powdery now modern classic debuts. Hair is ratted up and soon to be ironed down. Mini skirts debut, perhaps inspired by BAV. I feel that it captures the powdered wig set of another time. Perhaps the 1760s as well as the 1960s fully pay tribute to this grand dame of perfumery!

I chanced upon it last year and found it surprisingly androgynous by todays standards! Amber and vanilla seem to dominate it and the civet is pretty tame. The iris gives is powder. I adore everthing about it from the bottle to the contents. Its still going strong after 50 years!

I ordered BàV (the EDT) blind as no stores in my area carry this scent, and I had such high expectations that I actually felt nervous when it arrived lest I be disappointed.

In one word: GORGEOUS.

It is soft and warm, and with the first spray, it envelopes you in a beautiful mélange of jasmine and orange blossom with rose hovering delicately in the background. It develops into a lovely powdery amber and has an intoxicating, dark musky dry-down where the civet positively shines! It's just ravishing.

The name Bal à Versailles is evocative of libertinism and is often called "skanky". That animalic base is certainly present and noticeable, but Bal à Versailles doesn't come across to me as "dirty sexy". It's sexy because it is smooth and warm and it melts into your skin. It has a certain velvety darkness, but it remains warm and comforting. Whoever said this scent lingers and smolders...I have to concur.

I'm writing this review while wearing this wonderful scent and I can't stop smelling my wrist! It's good to note, as a bonus, that this perfume is very affordable. Bal à Versailles instantly became one of my favorites. I look forward to trying the other concentrations as I've heard lovely things about the parfum.

Don't pass up the chance to try this beauty! Bal à Versailles will captivate you.

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After wearing this for a while...I have to say that I am IN LOVE with the vanilla note in BàV! It's just lovely and I am not normally a fan of vanilla.

Jean Desprez also created a fragrance "Revolution à Versailles" (1989), dedicated to 200 years of French Revolution.

WOW! The first reaction smelling Bal à Versailles is WOW! You might like it or not but WOW is the reaction. It is indeed strong, very strong, maybe too strong but even if you do not like it, you can't say it's not made with art. I think the best thing to do is using it with great parsimony, with great economy and in winter only. In summer I would fear I would choke. After the fisrt impact the notes dry down and what I have on my skin is something very reminiscent of Emperatrice Eugenie by Creed. Very complicate perfume, very well structured, certainly not for those who love light scents. It stays a lot on your skin so maybe you must have two-three showers before wearing a different perfume.

I bought a small sample and i still have it thats how strong this one is. It smells like a pure oil you might buy from an incense shop or the like. It truly smells vintage. My dad actually likes wearing it, he likes oils. It smells extremely vintage, not bad at all, but very very very very strong I cant emphasize on it enough. Not bad...not very unique compared to oils, but unique if your used to fragrances.

Lots of Orange, Sandalwood & Patchouli in this one. The initial blast is very strong but after it dries down it starts to smell quite nice. Powdery Amber is the end result on me with nice lasting power.

the MOST ANIMALISTIC EVER.............
WHO DARES WEAR THIS OTHER THAN A POWERFUL PERSONA ...
WOOOOOOW

All the salvage ingredients are included : leather, civet, amber, musk,cedar and sandal and resins woods, incense,........... WOW WOW and WOW nothing compares to it anymore : probably JOOP !femme, Scherrer N

i was hoping for a drama queen in this case but apart from the little weird opening i got powder and amber.
The drydown reminds me Etro's Ambra.
Nothing big or scary on me with this one.

I've worn this off and on for several weeks now, because I it took me that long to figure out whether I like it or not. The first dabs are almost like aftershave, very "orangey" and sort of unpleasant. However, there is something hanging around just underneath that initial blast that keeps me interested. Thirty minutes or so later, the unpleasantness goes away, leaving sweetness and powder, but with something powerful and resinous lurking just underneath. I don't smell "sweat" or "skank," just traces of something very rich and primeval. I'm in love with this now.

Dear desertrat, thanks a lot for your information about GOLD. I have it now and i love it! Absolutely! It's truely a special scent. Very rich. I guess it's a smell of gold ;-) I am always noticed and complimented wearing it. Thank you again. Waiting till it will be added to the database.

I orderd this on ebay yesterday and it arrived today,i
didn't know really what to exspect i don't really like
orange notes to much and thought it might have domanated the perfume,its nothing like i thought it would be and i love it!! i can't really smell the orange notes and the base notes come out more on my skin. Thats what i was hopeing for i think ill be wearing this mostly everyday.
Just an update about this fragrance ive been wearing this on and off for weeks now,and ive started to wear shalimar again i think i prefer shalimar but i still love this.The 100ml edt is in my bathroom and someone else has started to love it aswell my husband!! he only wears this now at the moment and it smells good on him,some men at work have asked him what aftershave hes wearing but i don't think hes told them because its a womens perfume they might get the wrong idea.

Bal a Versailles starts with the vibe of the 80s after shave but on the whole, it screams the scent of 60s for sure. As in the 80s the trend in fragrances had changed a little and only the after shave colognes used to smell like this. After about 15 minutes, it starts to settle on the skin and that feel of after shave manages to calm down. As it settles more,it becomes a little powdery and at this stage vetiver is the note that my nose picks the first among the floral notes, patchouli is also very prominent here. After it has completely settled down, it reminds me of Indian shops where dried coconuts, bars of sandal soaps and powder, spices and nuts are seen and can be smelled. I like it but not very much.

Thank you systeme_d for sharing that cute mini and you saved me from buying it. As I see civet note here and have learned how this substance is obtained so wouldn't like buying a perfume having an animal note. This is my promise to those little creatures. Although, it is said that animalistic notes are not used anymore, especially from these animals, but I still don't believe that.

I can certainly see why so many of you are fans of this fragrance. It has wonderful sillage, great lasting power, and a very friendly price point. Unfortunately, it chokes me. I think it has excessive Patchouli. This Patchouli comes on so strong on me that I cannot wear this fragrance without my allergies going nuts. On me, the Patchouli is intense!!!! This is even more intense than Moschino Moschino and that is saying something.

Congrats to all that can wear this because dollar for dollar it is a great deal!!!!

I'd like to add a PS to my review...
My husband came home yesterday and gave me a kiss... then said "Wow! I LOVE your perfume! What IS that?" He has NEVER reacted to any other fragrance on me like that! I'd say I just found my signature...
Bal a Versailles GOLD!!!

I am currently evaluating the New Jean Desprez fragrance "Gold"... Very different from BAV...which I have loved since the 70s... The new one is absolutely...delicious... I love love love it!

Ok, I have one more thing to add....as rich and gorgeous as it is during the major stage of wear....it is also the stinkiest stuff in my collecting on the morning after, like a bad hangover.
I woke up this morning and was like....what's that smell??? (it was my wrist). LOL
But I doubt anyone will be around people after wearing it for 12-14 hours, so no worries.

everything you read here is true. on some people it smells like a freezie stuck in one's sweaty hair. on others it's all one can do to refrain from looking for the golden coach. to some there's a hint of perspiration, body odour, sweaty dancers and damp, crumpled sheets, even a bit of champagne spilled onto the silks, even a splosh of perfume spilled from its ornate sevres bottle.

that's what it is about, tho. are we going to a tailgate party? nope. are we dancing at a sock hop? or a hootenanny? noooo. we are doing ourselves up in luxury (highly underrated these days) and - with heart pounding in our throats - are setting our too-beautifully-shod feet onto the parquet that emits as much comforting beeswax aroma as do the candles in the chandeliers that glow over the vases of ephemeral rare flowers. we are caught up in the heat of the moment, made hungry by the scents on the air and given a bit of a dizzying tap by the music.

that's what it is all about.

besides, how would you know how sweet something is if you didn't taste at least a teeny bit of rind?

This precious little gem just beat all of the perfumes in my collection in sillage!
Absolutely gorgeous! There is something about it that reminds me of Shalimar without its powderiness and citrus notes....probably its smokiness.
This is the only perfume I would never dare to put on more than one spray....and it is only EDT
Regardless of your taste, it is worth experiencing this perfume at least once.

No matter what anyone says, this scent is UNISEX! One my skin there's no trace of powdery notes developing. What i get mainly is amber, civet and musk and it's GORGEOUS!!!

Men can rock this frag, if not even better than women! Ladies, take a whiff of this scent on a man's neck and you'll lose your mind!

Decadent!

Not Moulin Rouge, but the small authentic burlesque venue in a dark, dirty alley! Where the faces heavy on cheap make up, tightrope between being artistic or carnivals; and maybe, it's where all those top Moulin Rouge stars begin, or end up...

Bal a Versailles represents this feeling to me. It's not really floral, but out of this dusty patchouli and woodsy accords, there is a clear citrus coming out, over a shy bed of flowers, whose individual notes I cannot decipher.

As I opened it, I noticed the cheap plastic top that crowned a delightful renaissance bottle, but the perfume does not feel cheap (at least, in the end). I think what saves it from being so, is the original sexiness that it oozes, as it doesn't want to be pretty and sweet. It's not a true love thing, but rather a polyamorous kinky practice.

We all have this little "tramp" somewhere hidden inside us- some of us, more pronounced. And that's why we like it...

;-) Dear Angel10, good luck! Hope we have the same taste!!

UPDATE: Well, dear Angel10, i am so sorry to hear.. It is indeed very personal. But please, no nose transplant!! Love, Malia

Okay Malia! Ima gonna git me sum!

Update: Rec'd my giant bottle, and it is just not my style. Many strange feelings came up, and somebody wore this while I was growing up.

It has a bit of a tinge of school air fresheners to me. I am sorry....maybe I need a nose transplant! It seems like there is something medicinal & tangy at the end that 'lifts up' and hits my nose the wrong way. Can anyone relate?

To Malia: I still love you, and you still have great taste! Something tells me if I smelled it on you I would like it. I have the kind of body chemistry that amplifies 'dirty' notes, and I hate smelling anything but super clean....even if I am myself verrry dirty!! Hee hee!

OH MY GOODNESS!! This is the most delicious and amazing scent ever! I am so happy i finally have it in my collection! People, people, people... i can't even describe HOW much i love this perfume!! Absolutely unique stunning fragrance with gorgeous bottle and box! Ooooh it makes you travel in time and space to a fabulous bal a Versailles where you enjoy life, love and a good perfume!!! LOVING IT!!!!!

My all time favorite perfume, a melodious symphony of scent. I do not like the more modern "fractured" scents, the progressive jazz of the fragrance world. I still prefer a sweet melody, with a slightly
naughty descant -- a perfect description of Bal a Versailles.

Greetings to all our Bal a Versailles fans! We are grateful for your continued support while we bring Jean Desprez® into the 21st Century. Our Bal a Versailles® fragrance is a classic scent, but it is time for us to provide an updated alternative. With this in mind we are asking Fragrantica noses to help evaluate the brand new Jean Desprez® fragrance creation. We have created a special link for Fragrantica subscribers to participate, and have provided it to Fragrantica for posting to their site. If you have any questions, please feel free to email us. Once again, thank yo for this wonderful site, and thank you for all the loyal years of support for our Bal a Versailles fragrance and the other Jean Desprez® brands.

I found this one initially a very sharp, woody, odd perfume. It took a few tries but then I suddenly 'got' it and now I quite like it.

After a few hours I kept getting wiffs and thinking I was wearing Tabu. I'd never wear Tabu to work but i would definatley wear this one.

If you like to try out classics and don't baulk at the idea of 'old lady smell', give this one a go. It's a very unsubtle oriental that gets more subtle over a few hours. It lasted all day on me. I like it but do not love it.

Bought it after reading so many fascinating reviews and was extremly dissapointed! It is a very old fashioned scent that will make an old lady look even more older, not to mention a younger lady!!! The scent of dirty and sweaty clothes, that´s how i smell it. Can´t say nothing good about it. Too much of old rose scent, that´s what i get! And it doesn´t get´s better after a while as i was hoping.
Musk, Vanilla, old Rose petals, a bit of citrus in a very harsh combination with a lot-lot-lot of powder!!!!. This combination is enough to scare off any admireres, honestly i do not like it. Neither my friends nor the older lady neighbour liked it! I have tried an eau de toilette version and if you also want to try it, then you definitly should go for lighter version of eau de cologne as someone suggested before! It might be indeed not that harsh as an edt version.
Sniff it first before you buy it definitly!!!

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

Oh wow... What a desirable name of perfume is that! And the design of the bottle is very very appealing. I've never heard about it before. After reading all those great and poetic reviews i've decided that i want to have this perfume so very much!!!

No france has cautivated me so deeply! beautiful notes of lemon, bergamote, sandalwood at the end, it everlasts! Bal a Versailles can take you to a camp nowhere in france and let you enjoy multiple fragance orgasms!

I recently was introduced to Bal A Versailles and from the first intoxicating whiff, I have been absolutely in love ever since! I get many compliments on this fragrance yet no one knows what it is. But everyone who has smelled it, loves it. When I wear it, I feel golden and warm in my own private chamber of luxury known as Bal A Versailles.

I love this fragrance, and first admired it before I was married in the 1980s. It's a mature fragrance, and it is rich and ambery, even along the same lines as Shalimar.
I recall hearing a Radio interview with Britt Ekland, and she described it as her all-time favourite perfume.
A rare fragrance, can be difficult to find...When you do, you'll keep it a secret!

I have owned a bottle of this for many years, and do not wear it often but when I do, to me, it is the epitome of a true oriental fragrance, and a cut above most of them. Beautiful spices, a warm amber heart, lasts forever, and I think has to be listed as a classic but little known perfume. I don't know anyone who has ever heard of it, so that makes it special for me to wear, knowing I'm not likely to run into it all the time in the street. I don't get the skanky notes, unless you class a seductive, come-hither magnetism as skanky. It brings to mind the end of the ball, when the dancers have a discreet sheen of perspiration, their masks are off and they are eyeing each other in a not too subtle manner.

I think you have to be mature to get away with wearing this; it is not a young girl's perfume or remotely "modern". Do, at least, try it.

I first wore this in the 70's it was a gift from Dad. have allways loved the bottle...back then I think the picture on the front was hand painted??? I love the sultriness of the vanilla and amber. It does have a powdery feel but that reminds me of comforting hugs and moonlit nights. A classic perfume which is one of a kind and not for everyone.

i can t imagine michael jackson wearing this ??? it s not at all unisex though.

Bal a Versailles is indeed a brilliant and luminous, creamy powdery masterpeace. it smells dated of course - almost the first 15 minutes, but in the best way ever possible, the drydown is just awesome creamy powdery, little sweet and spicy - a gem! i ve a bottle 100ml of this edt (strength 5x edp from nowdays) you need only a few drops to smell good the whole day or night long. i would need ages the go through this bottle.
the bottle itself is a truly masterpiece also ! if someone going nuts for this, and wanna swap for a smaller bottle or another frag, let me know. i glady would have a smaller bottle of this because i have not really so mutch ocassions to wear it but love to have it.
like it best for very special nights out, because it s very opulent, i think about a mask ball or something like that :0) and at home when i feel to because it lingers so creamy soft on my skin, it's also good for sleep. :)

LOVE it and it brings back great 70s memories. A friend used to bring it to me from Mexico. I want to buy some and wear it again.

Thank you for the fantastic comments. We are grateful for clients such as you. We are pleased to announce that Jean Desprez (creator of Bal a Versailles) will be launching their first new fragrance in over 50 years. You can register for advance notice and discounts prior to retail release at the official Jeandesprez.com website.

I love deep animalic perfumes, and Bal a Versailles fits that category. However, I think it lacks the sense of extravagant luxury of the greatest orientals. That's not to say it's a bad perfume -in fact I think it is very good, but it could have been one of the greats -maybe it once was.

This review is for the parfum.

Thank your for the inciteful reviews. We are pleased to announce that after 50 years, Jean Desprez will be launching a new fragrance. You can register for advance notification and a 50% discount off whatever the retail price will be at www.jeandesprez.com We expect the new Jean Desprez fragrance to be released the first quarter of 2011.

Gorgeous, cheap unisex classic. I wore it to jail when I got a DUI and didn't regret it. The EDT has enough well-blended poopy skank that it gives off an aura of sophistication and wordliness without descending into vulgarity. Not that I have any problems with descending into vulgarity- I wear Giorgio! But Bal is a classic that is truly representative of its time- it beautifully anticipates the coming fashion, tied in with the sexual liberation movement, for single-note animalics, and wouldn't be out of place on Brian Jones or Mick Jagger.

The bottle, with its Marie Antoinette-through-a-sixties-filter maidens and whiskey flask shape, is PURE, HILARIOUS GOLD. It's a great summer fragrance, you can really bathe in it without offending anyone, but is probably too thin for winter. I look forward to trying the extrait.

I usually like older type perfumes theres something classy about them,however this perfume has none of that class.It is overwhelming in a cloying way i can smell the skanky note,an i would not be wearing this again.

A week ago I visited a friend in Chicago, and she took me to a performance of the top 10 winners of a summer reality show.

Now I don't have a TV, and had vaguely heard of the show. When it started each of the ten acts was flashed across the big sreen, but one performer in particular caused the crowd to go nuts.

Let's just say that when you have no preparation for Prince Poppycock, your mouth hits the floor and you jump out of your seat for a standing ovation along with everyone else.

Likewise, Bal a Versailles is best approached wiht no preconceived notions. I think it's image gets in it's way, and if you didn't know any better you'd say to yourself, "My, what a lovely, soft powdery floral."

This scent is oddly addictive. When i stick my nose in it I get this strange spice note that is coarse and off putting, but when I smell the sillage It's so unusual I can't 'sniff away.'

I found myself chasing after my own scent trail, for no other than reason than morbid curiosity. There's just nothing like this out there. My version is from the 70's era, and I appreciate it more than the EDC I tried last year. It's smoother and more refined.

A standing ovation for Bal A Versailles!

As a kid I used to shy away from its smell, being that my nose didn't really appreciate musky scents. Now, in the present day, I can appreciate its warm sensuality, the civet is now alluring, and its ambered base is intoxicating. The orange blossom opening is a bit overt for my taste, but it does settle into something exquisite.

I no longer find it anywhere except on online websites. I'm not quite sure if it is now only available on drugstore shelves, like Je Reviens, and L'Air du Temps. Sad story indeed.

How very very interesting. I truly did not know what to expect even with all the reviews, especially the “skanky” element that people mentioned.

When I first put this on it smells musty. As in an old building that may have been a jewel in it’s heyday but now is neglected and aging. The original clientele may not frequent anymore (or not in the proper or accepted way as when it was in its heyday) but some of the scents linger in the walls/furniture/draperies.

I picture a dark smoky basement club with burlesque dancers and cigarette girls who use their feminine wiles, while some desperately cling to their fading looks and hopes. The men come to find an “adult” show and seek out pleasures from “worldly” women. It smells musty with lipstick, smoke, dusty floral, BO and undoubtedly, lust.

It’s debauchery in a bottle. At first I was like there is no way I would ever wear this but I realized it would be perfect for costume parties, as it is very retro. It would also be good for um, dress up (wink wink). I will admit to feeling a bit wicked when it’s on and I think I might put it on once in a while and go out just to see what kind of reaction it gets because it’s a very specific scent that gives you quite the visual. Pretty powerful imo and one of those scents that can transport you, so I recommend trying it for just that reason.

I just bought this fragrance off a friend and I love it.I'm going to road test it for awhile and let you know!!!

WOW. A very warm musky and a little vanillic scent.I am in love with this. I've received this perfume today and immediately put it on . The beginning a little unusual dusty smell but the real treasures of this perfume are the next phases.Sexy sultry sensual a real feminine smell need I say more. Class all the way.Elegant and sophisticated.

I only bought the EDC concentration for a very reasonable price and I must say that I am very pleasantly surprised by the immense sillage of it. When I put it on, it immediately felt familiar and then I realised it reminds me very much of my Shalimar EDP but with a layer of langour rather than elegance in the drydown maybe due to the civet. It smells a little of indian spices and incense and I think, has a definate 'hippie' vibe, which for me is always a good thing. I shall be wearing this beauty in rotation with Femme and Theo Fennell as a sexy Autumn/Winter scent, as comfy as a cashmere blanket. As an aside, I find BaV less skanky than the other two and is more wearable for day time in my view.
A warning, the longevity is really only any good on fabric- it almost disappears from my skin within half an hour!

I have an aversion to most scents described as 'skanky' or animalic, but I really like this one, it doesn't smell too dirty and I don't find it skanky at all, not 'slut' fragrance,, NO WAY, not 'old lady' either...probably an opulent and clean sort of dirty? lol...Even still, if Audrey Hepburn had ever worn this, eyebrows would have raised, she's classy, sophisticated, a style icon, but she's also too 'clean', cool, and put together that even a drop of this would smell out of place...heady and pure white florals or trendy (at her time) aldehydes may have been more her thing. On the other hand, this would have been silent actress Theda Bara's magic potion...imagine a classy but mysterious sort of vamp-ish woman using this one as her signature scent. While I love this perfume to bits, this is a bedroom scent for me. I may be dark haired and mysterious to some extent, but I'm too much of a fresh faced minimalist to be able pull this off in public, it will definitely smell out of place on me (like very, very potently glowing, fragrant sweat, but still sweat). Yep, definitely a bedroom scent :) very cozy, comforting and deeply sensual (not sexy, not trashy, no!! okay maybe a very tasteful sort of sexy/erotic)...I'd love my whole room to smell of this...so now, how else can I describe it? for the notes, I get sweet, powdery dried flowers and fruits, oily resins, bitter-sweet woods, silky musk and most of all, one of my favorites, warm, glowing AMBER, on my skin. Old world scent but definitely in a good way. I don't find it to be too strong after it dries down, and it's not loud, or too attention grabbing either...that is, if worn the right way, on the right skin chemistry. Finally, let me just say that Bal a Versailles liquid is like the rich golden, warm sweat that drips from the pores of heavenly beings, heavenly beings unknown to any mortal...then it gets collected and bottled for us to enjoy. That's the clean sort of dirty I'm talking about. That's the clean sort of dirty I wish to come across more often in fragrances.

It has been a while since I wore this wonderful scent. Back in the day, it was a signature scent for me, and never failed me. So when I bought a bottle recently, I was a bit nervous that my memories of this rich, complex, completely feminine scent would no longer live up to my nostalgic love for it.
Surprise! As I dabbed the first drops on my wrist, I was immediately transported and even felt a lump in my throat - so many memories arose. The initial notes of rich, velvety amber rose like smoke. The amber of Bal a Versailles is NOT a shy, end-note amber "tone"; it is a full-on, heady symphony of smoothness and pure sex appeal - IF you like amber. If not, look elsewhere, because this is THE perfume for amber lovers. As the opening notes move toward the next "movement" of the symphony, there is a floral bouquet dominated by orange flower, roses of all depths, an homage to jasmine is there, and even an herbal, deep, moist green note that binds the florals into a truly sophisticated blend. Moving again, the notes of Bal a Versailles take one into the boudoir, where musky notes yield to the play of a hint of animalic sweetness flavored with the darkest, most intense Barbados vanilla.
What is most amazing about Bal a Versailles is the staying power. It lingers, dries down, softens, but will not disappear until you - regretfully - wash it away. And unlike many other clingy perfumes that eventually decay on the skin, this one keeps the allure right to the end.
Several commenter/reviewers have said this is an "emotional" perfume, and indeed it is. It is a classic, but not one that will seem dated or dowdy. It has life and a really womanly sexuality - a come-hither-but-on-MY-terms quality that is extremely powerful and captivating.
The eau de parfum is the best way to go if you find you truly love this Desprez masterwork, but in any form it is a marvelous experience, and an example of great artistry.

When reviewers describe a perfume as "vintage", I'm never quite sure what they are trying to say. There seem to be at least three distinct meanings.

For some, "vintage" is a polite euphemism for "old lady," a nice way of saying that while it may have suited one's grandmother, those days are now long gone. For others, "vintage" means something like "quirky", along the lines of MA GRIFFE or IVOIRE or some other creation that persists out of sheer stubbornness: there is nothing else like it, and no one would create such a fragrance today, but it still commands respect. Another group appears to use "vintage" to mean "big-time real perfume masterpiece"--along the lines of MITSOUKO or ARPEGE--created by a parfumeur, not an industrial organic chemist under pressure from corporate marketers to produce something that will sell a zillion bottles only to lie idle on the vanity of most, eventually going stale.

Jean Desprez BAL A VERSAILLES is vintage in the third sense, I think. This edt is so rich and complex, with so many distinct layers to discover, that it evokes memories of a time when perfumers were primarily artists rather than savvy businessmen.

I could not resist acquiring a bottle of BAL A VERSAILLES after seeing so many references to it by so many people, including perfumers, and I must say that I am not disappointed. This deeply oriental perfume is an A1, bona fide, indisputable classic! I'll be wearing BAL A VERSAILLES this winter, when its big sillage and warm, deep resinousness will blanket me in beauty!

The reviews are very polarized, but I side with those who don't find this composition dirty at all. But my reference here is JOY, the Platonic Form of civet perfumes. (-:

This is one of my 3 favorite scents, the others being Tresor and a knockoff of Un Bois Vanille. My father bought this for my mother back in the 1960's and she'd wear it whenever she got dressed up. It reminds me of "my mother dressed up in her finest and happy." It's very powerful, though. I love the powdery dry down. I have so many bottles of it that I mixed Poeme and kitchen vanilla into one bottle just for fun. Bal A Versailles reminds me of refined but soft feminine elegance. I don't smell the skankiness others smell! ROFL!! I loved reading the love it or hate it reviews!

TOP OF THE BILL!!! AMAZING price online!! When I go to the Skins store in town I pay about 100 euro's for this one!!! Better online, for sure!
Action

TOP OF THE BILL!!! AMAZING price online!! When I go to the Skins store in town I pay about 100 euro's for this one!!! Better online, for sure!
Action

Surprisingly this scent dries down to a very feminine, powdery, dare I say fresh scent. I do get the animalic notes in the beginning however the dry down is where its at for me. Its not strong or overwhelming in anyway on me. Im pleasantly surprised. Just a womans scent. But always test first. Chemistry is key as we all know.

Ohhhhhh.....how disappointed and marginally nauseated I am right now.
I was so very excited to try Bal a Versailles. I had visions of discovering an unusual and remarkable new signature scent. I had read so many detailed and elaborate reviews that I just KNEW I would love this perfume.
Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, Wrong, Wrong!
I ordered at 1.7oz bottle online and waited with baited breath for it to arrive. I recieved a call from my doorman letting me know I had a package, rushed downstairs to retrieve it, tore open the package prepared to let the festivities begin.
However, what I smelled was NOTHING like I had anticipated.
The scent was not just strong, but overwhelming and suffocating (and I like strong scents). I was determined to adore this scent so I soldiered on and attempted to let it dry down and then appreciate it. It was not to be. The longer I wore the scent the more nauseous I became. It smelled truly disgusting to me. Old, cloistering...like something that had been sitting in a dark, damp, hot corner in an attic for ages.
Truly disgusting. I had to scrub it off, then sniff coffee beans to clear the scent from my nose.
So terribly disappointing.

This is an excellent high quality perfume with unbelievable sillage! GREAT value for your money!!

I haven't worn it for a long time, but I remember it was very strong, a powdery orange stale floral mixed with patchouli. Very heavy, dowdy, overwhelming and suffocating, like dark red brocade curtains in a low class french brothel.
I love a good floriental and can appreciate loud scents with the best of them, but there is a vulgar tone to this frag I just can't get past.

What can I say, this perfume is CLASSY! I bought it after a friend told me about it, Oh, by the way the friend that told me to buy this is Louise Robey the Countess of Burford, if it's good enough for a countess it's good enough for me. I love it!

ha-ha! this one is a clear love/hate perfume))i received this one as a gift: was initially very unsure about wearing it. but yes! it IS a masterpiece: very rich flowery fragrance, warm, woody and musky,i can smell amber notes, and it doesn't smell cheap at any rate . It's not your average "next door girl" type of frag. It also transforms interestingly throughout the day. It has extraordinary lasting power: when i take shower after a long day i can still smell it on my skin. This is perfect for a signature scent, but one must test it before buying))

At first when I received it, I sprayed in the air and sniffed thought uh it's ok - it reminded me a lot of Royal Secret, and it still does in some ways? But I should know better than to do that and judge a fragrance.

So a few days later I decide to be more daring and give it a go and spray it on myself.

At first it was a blast.. then it became pretty... and then after a few more minutes the most beautiful scent developed...

I was very very pleasantly surprised.

It does share something with Royal Secret, especially at the beginning - cousins maybe? But they are quite different as they develop.

Overall I must say I am very happily surprised. I have the EDT currently.

I second kittykati's review of this one-As for allexa27's review, the 70 year old+ women I know would not let me spray this on them if I tried, hahaha! It takes a certain boldness to wear this out-not just boldness, but stubborness, I think! For me the patchouli makes it an absolute scrubber, go figure. It's dirty as a scent can possibly be-I can see civet cats wandering before my eyes as I smell this-so the patchouli doesn't dominate, as strong as it is-the civet amber and musk make this a zoo of a fragrance!

There are a few sweet flowers, but they are soaked in feral sweat. Unless you're into this kind of thing, just try it once to see for yourself, and pass your sample along!

Hallo,

I just purchased my first buttle of Bal a Versailles and this is just fabulous!!! Really the scent is getting better in every minute! The first odor is pretty strong but it will get better pretty soon. I know that this is a women's perfume but i just could not resist it!!! So i recommend it for everybody!!!!

This is one of my absolute favourites! I think of the movie "Dangerous Liaisons". Exquisitely powdered, dressed and jewelled, doing nothing but playing elaborate, sensual games. This is what I imagine Marie Antoinette might have worn.

this one is the worst I ever smelled... I would quit if in my office some of my college would love this and use as everyday perfume

I am french and i hate this perfume !
It smells like an old old lady with its animalistic notes...so dark...
i love sexy perfumes ant not a repulsive for men ! sorry for people who love it, but for me it is so old ...and i don't love very much vintage perfumes.

I really love Bal - yes it's strong, and more than a little retro, but it was made for REAL women to wear, not teenagers, and it is as sexy as it is possible for a perfume to be and still be street-legal. I like that it is clearly an Oriental style perfume but it's not really sweet at all, but rather musky and resinous and not in the least gourmand. An enduring classic for a reason!

(yes this is my real name!)

Hello...
I have come to this website looking for some help... if any body here could please tell me where i can find bal a versailles in Colombia (cali colombia!) i would be so thankful!, now that my sweet michael has died i would like to purchase this perfume to have his scent with me...you may write to me to this email address telling me where i can purchase it: mjgarcardona@hotmail.com
thank you all ever so much...
Maria Joseph Jackson...

...Bav opens in a strong - flowery way ! But after that, it calms down and all I can feel on my skin is the smell of flowers, face- powder and red lipstick. I also feel the incense . It is dusty,animalic, dry... powdery, classic. Very XVIII Century. Unique. A vintage perfume...love it !!!

Up date.....
I can't wear it easy though, i think it doesn't suites me , a bit too "retro" for may taste...:(

I was looking for an ultimate skanky perfume...got a lot`s of advice on the subject from fellow Fragranticans - and voila, here it is, my very own Bal and I have my hands on it.It`s EDT, and I got a great deal on it, too!!!!!!!!

As for it`s skankiness - I am rather disappointed. It is flowery, animalistic...but I don`t see any really skanky sides to it. It`s incredibly floral, very oriental indeed and oh so dry, dry, dry. Old fashioned powder puff dying to touch a face.I love my perfumes a little bit more moist...however, Bal had ultimately earned my respect.The first time I was able to enjoy an obvious vetiver in a perfume and I can easily see it as a day time scent.
Really, guys. Don`t overlook it and give it a chance.

Fool yourself if you will with the haloed pictures on the bottles or with the roses and orange blossom in the opening, but Bal a Versaille is no angel, it is an animalic predator! The lioness may be hiding in a flower garden, but make no mistake she is there. The civet and musk are very present and very sophisticated. The florals are lovely, the woods are grand, but they are merely camouflage for sexy animalics. Nothing wrong with that is there?

Glorious!

I bought it to a friend of mine for the New Year. She opened the package and screemed: "Oh, my God! A perfume and a painting... Splendid! It fills my spirit with freshness and my eyes with beauty! What a marvellous way to start my New Year and such happiness for the next 365 days!"

Eau de Excited Crotch. Extrait de Pussy. Parfum de Pudenda. Grrrrrr, snarl, grrrrrrr. Come up and see me sometime. Hubba hubba zing zing zing!

If you want to like Bal a Versailles but just don't after trying the perfume or edt, TRY AGAIN with the eau de cologne. I've done a left-wrist edt, right-wrist edc comparison and the fragrance is identical with the edc just less powerful/overpowering. The edc, amazingly, lasts just as long, too! About 8-10 hours on me.

A beautiful old-school oriental with a really poetic name and appeal. On me the dominant notes are the rose and the jasmin. It is pleasant and not overly sweet but still a bit too old-fashioned to repurchase. It stays long hours especially when layered with the body lotion. Now my mother is enjoying it to the max.

Its an "old school" fragance, reminds me of the XVIII th century...exhuberant, powdery, complex, dramatic, and very french. Its definetly not for every day but i love it.
So I will probalby use it for especial ocasions, mascarades or whenever i need to feel like a XVIII century dutchess.

It was not easy for me to accept the invitation to the fragrant dance that is Bal a Versailles.
I bought it in early spring, when temperatures where I live are already turning toward the torrid. It seemed heavy and somehow "cheap",in the old fashioned sense of cheap=skanky.
For months, I kept it in the "skanky" section of my perfume collection, together with Vivienne Westwood's Boudoir, Habanita and a few others. I didn't touch it during the long, dry, blazing hot summer months. And, once in a while, I would think about who I could give it to...
And then suddenly, for the first time in forever, it rained. It got a little cooler, almost like a preview of late autumn and winter in these parts.The achingly bright days of summer were replaced with dark skies and torrential rains, and I thought, why not?, and tried on Bal a Versailles again.
And now, amazingly, its a delicious amber/benzoin/vanilla/resin-y loveliness, warm and elegant in the same way "Femme" by Rochas is elegant,without a trace of skank, au contraire, there's even a hint of the regal in there, with those deep golden resins.
I was fearing the powdery/flowery notes, however, my skin, as always, gallops through all the flowers and heads straight for the resins. The powdery note, of which I am not overly fond, is very faint.
I was also fearing my two least favorite perfume notes: civet and musk. Thankfully, these were undetectable to my nose.
Note that these comments where evoked by the eau de toilette, which, as an aside, is fiercely tenacious with decent sillage.
Ultimately, the drydown is amber-y wonderfulness, and I will definitely be buying a bottle of the parfum!
Lesson learned: if you hate a fragrance at first, try it again in different weather or a different season.

classic and v beautiful

Long dresses, laces, ribbons, white face powder, corsets, silk, umbrellas against sun, walks in the beautiful garden of flowers and fountains, the beauty of Rococo era - such associations bal a Versailles creates for me. It has something "outta-this-age". The label fits the bottle perfectly!
This fragrance is very flowery, very complex, rich, a bit soapy and powdery in the base. Beautiful piece of art!

After hearing raves about this one from fellow perfumistas, I snagged a mini parfum de toilette for a very reasonable price and tested it. At first, I found it very "French perfume," with heavy florals so dense that I felt them clustering about my head. But shortly thereafter, the fragrance began to settle and calm itself on my skin, with those rich blended florals becoming less heady. I can pick out orange blossom, jasmine, and narcissus, with a wisp of rose, if I concentrate very hard. Later, BaV turns sweet and warm with amber and musk and balsam, becoming almost embarrassingly sensual, and definitely a boudoir scent. I'd never wear this one to the office!

If you're struggling with the old-fashioned, heavy floral opening, just give Bal a few minutes. Very often, older perfumes take some time to blossom on the skin, and this is one of them. The incredibly sensual, beautiful heart and drydown are well worth waiting for.

I just received this scent in parfum extrait and will report back with any updates when I first wear it.

I re-discovered a tiny bottle that belonged to my grandma 20 years ago and I remember I disliked it very much as a child. Now twenty years older I finally appreciate and treasure this beautiful amber and I wish I had more perfumes like this in my possesion.

i was nervously excited to try this one. i can't imagine anyone not HAVING to try it after reading the notes and reviews. i was warned to wait at least an hour before judging it because this one goes on strong! after the grace period, i was so happy with it! i feel the warm sun and a little touch of hay in it, but everything is warm and sweet. strangely, it smells very natural and very noticeable at the same time. i think it is sexy in the same way that it is sexy to see your love in the morning disheveled before getting ready for the day.

I have only one word for this: CLOYING.

We are all different and that's a good thing, but for me this represents a feeling of claustrophobia. It smells dusty and I have to turn away and gulp in big breaths of fresh air to refresh my senses.

Sorry if this upsets anybody, but that is my honest reaction to this particular scent :-(

I first fell in love with this perfume over thirty years ago and to this day it remains my favourite. Wearing this is to feel totally female - erotic, sensual, sexual, and above all a woman. A timeless beauty, a classic.

I've been trying to wait off on doing this review bcause there is a lot to consider with this fragrance. Lets start with it's history, this frangrance, much like miss dior, is one that many women has passed along to their daughters, and their daughters after that. It has a lot of classic appeal, heavy civet, musk and cedars... however it's almost a bit too dusty I think for a modern girl. It's definately not a modern fragrance, however, if you are into the pure classics, than this is your best bet. It has a demur beauty that is perfect or those into the romance, and traditions of the past, and that's not a bad thing. It's just important to know your style, and this fragrance is a perfect example of that. While it really warms some people up, it can have strong reactions otherwise as well.

Wow! What a complex scent. I was at the local overstock store,and saw Bal A Versailles. I tried a spray, and well, I wasn't impressed. At all. As it settled down, it grew on me. So, I went back and paid my $8, and got a bottle. It smells like a mix of soap and powder, slightly wilted floral arrangements, and musk. It isn't the smell of the ball in full swing, but hours into it, when everyone has stripped off their wraps and gloves, and kicked off their shoes. There is an old-timey decadence to this scent. The more I smell of this, the more I love it.

At first whiff I thought, oh boy, I've smelled this before on pratically everyone. The transformation that takes place just minutes after applying it is stunning. It is VERY powdery in an elegant sense. The amber note is unmistakable. Nothing simple or plain about it; the words classy and refined come to mind. A real head turner.

This, I now realise, isn't so much a fragrance of candlelight coquettishness & smiling behind lace fans... this is a powdered courtesan being pleasured on a dining room table that has been freshly polished with beeswax.

I first wore this beautiful Oriental fragrance as a fresh-faced youth, I loved it because I was in love with all things romantically antique. To me it was History in a bottle - the scent of an aristocratic candlelit ball, the Language of Fans, of a past I read about constantly in Georgette Heyer novels and yearned to be a part of.

Of course I was far too young to appreciate it truly; but doesn't that just sum up the folly of youth?!

Many years later from my first breathless encounter with Bal a Versailles, I repurchased a bottle because I was interested to see what I thought of it now. I am very glad to say that - apart from bringing back happy memories of my first experimentations with perfume - I STILL love this, and now I understand it.

Firstly I get a huge rush of amber - if you don't like amber, Bal a Versailles is most certainly not the fragrance for you. Amber is present, in differing strengths, all through the many layers of this perfume. This is excellent news for me as I am an amber freak. For me, this is like flicking through the boring bits of a mundane novel to get straight to the racy parts that make your heart beat faster.

Next I have an almost overwhelmingly sensual blast of orange blossom (this is also a particularly long lasting note on my skin) with a creamy background of woods and slight hints of patchouli & vetiver. This is probably my only complaint with the perfume - I would prefer the vetiver to be punchier by far, but I'm a sucker for deep, dark, mysterious perfumes that waft behind me and scare the innocent.

The drydown is delicious, a warmly powdered ylangylang with the whole lot mellowed with orris root - it lasts all day (or night) long, absolutely brilliant staying power. You have to go a long, long way to beat this powerful, playful, completely entrancing Oriental!

I’m surprised when BàV is described as “soft,” “sweet," “romantic. It’s not that innocent. In my own mood categories, I’ve always placed BàV beside L’Air de Rien. I think of LdR as a kinder, gentler BàV. I am pleasantly shocked by BàV’s unabashed, sex-in-a bottle appeal. On second thought, it is more like afterglow in a bottle: lush and languid, warm and spent, a bit rumpled and hastily dressed. Rather than invite seduction, Bal à Versailles suggests the secret of having been seduced. The delicious, animalic basenotes are evident from the beginning, and dominate over time. I don’t get any powder or soap. Just a mix of leathery, slightly smoky, floral, musky, civety, velvet. Like a fragrant tattoo, the EDT penetrates my skin so thoroughly and for so long that I wonder if it will be permanent. It smolders to such an extent that I find myself touching my arm to see if my skin indeed radiates heat. I don’t find it dated (bottle design aside), because this sort of scent was never really trendy. The container is a masterpiece of kitsch, a parody of perfume bottles, an ironic interpretation of the scent itself. Or perhaps that’s the idea: the overdressed look of the bottle attempts to cover the nakedness of the scent within. A strange, daring, disturbing, beautiful, haunting, love-it or hate-it scent. Love it. Get the EDC for the dirtiest, and the best formulation.

What a lovely, soft oriental gem. Stars little bitter and powdery, on a dry side, but so sophisticated and elegant. Stays close to skin, softly cares and rose up beautiful musky base. Good staying power, over 8 hours and more.

The scent isn't at all aged, it's classy, never loud and I coud wear this even at work in cold season.

Bal a Versailles holds a very dear memory for me. I was about 12 when I have tried it the first time, a marvelous bottle that me and my best friend found on her mom's cabinet. We were both home alone and we were trying her mom clothes and makeup. Finding this to us was discovering the ultimate lady perfume. I have tried it again in my adult years and my opinion has not changed. Such a sophisticated oriental, elegant and seductive, beautiful floral top notes, it dries down in a very sensual scent.
The name is perfect - the belle du bal, courtesan of the court - arriving at a sumptuous party in the eccentric Versailles.

I really like the musky, animalic dry-down on Bal a Versailles. It's very sexy and not too sweet, with warm hints of amber and vanilla. Unfortunately, the opening floral notes smell a little too old-fashioned for me, and linger a little longer than I would like.

That being said, perfumes don't really smell like this one anymore, and I can appreciate the fine quality of this fragrance, even though it's not one I will purchase again. I bought it unsniffed after looking at the notes online, and it was definitely worth trying.

12/10/08 I am editing my review to add that the more I wear this one, the more it grows on me. I may very well be purchasing it again. I hear it's lovely in the Parfum concentration!

:-)

@Mitsouko,your reviews are both very poetic and useful.
Keep up the good work.

These perfume is obliged to be devoted it poem, because it is same poetry. They belonged golden medal, because this artistry of world. But, ad rem: I write about them after month of usage. They are very rich, but they do not crush. They are warm, but not stifling. It is exquisite mixture of flower of orange, jasmin, dried fruits, roses, ambergris, musk, civet. They are elegant, but it is possible to use their within day, because they are very optimistic, joyful. They are classic, but it is possible to regard them as modern. For me this fragrance has color of deep bronze, gold and orange. They are unusually sensual, soft, very feminine. They are exceptional. My english is not good, but even, if it was perfect, I did not did not be able to express unusualness of this smell in words. It one of fine smell. I would carry away it on uninhabited island.