Byzance Rochas for women

Vintage, a present. This scent's a very special memory the giver and I share. Summer. Grandfather bought and brought us those nice little sweets we wanted to try so much, and we were eating them in the evenings on the bench by out country house. The air was a bit dewy, a little fresh, coldish, but we didn't feel cold at all, of course, and the air was filled with that wonderful smell of flowers coming to us from the garden, warm, dense, and so beautiful, and mixed with the dew, the touch of cold in the air and our talks on the bench. Oh, the memories...

I still remember how spicy it was,but not that uniquely spiced,its spices were used before in Ysatis .

Unique!!!!!!!

I love.

I'm looking for this one for some time now, once it is really hard to find here in Brazil. Today I had the happiness of buying it from a small shop for a good price.
Well, I had in my memories something smooth and sensual (my aunt used this and gave me, when I was a kid, the empty bottle for my collection). But it turns out that on my skin it is real soap (maybe due the rose). Also, the cedar note is kind of to strong in this one.
Actually it isn't special at all!
Maybe I give it another try some other day.

Byzance is a genre-bender...definite elements of the chypre, woven with a distinct oriental character. A very successful blend, to my mind. The opening has an aldehydic cascade, quickly succeeded by deep, rich, animalic musk. Then it warms up with spices and a whole bouquet of florals, followed by woods and amber. There is an almost Shalimar-like hint of lemon and vanilla. Finally, a bit of green appears, and the symphony is complete.

It wears well---although strong at first, it mellows pretty quickly, seeming to sink into the skin, but not losing character or becoming too faint. The chypre-oriental duality remains throughout wearing. Altogether a rich, even opulent perfume---such a shame that it was discontinued.

I don't know why Byzance has been discontinued. It's been my signature perfume for 20 years. I miss it. I miss the gentleness and strength...I miss the familiarity of an old friend. Few things in my life are constant....but Byzance has been.
As I look on as my last bottle dwindles...I come to the realisation I must move on.
Yet it's a great perfume. Arabian nights....or my horse jumping that higher fence. The feeling of victory when I approach a finish line.... and you finally wipe out the sweat from your forehead....the smell of an old friend invading your senses....as your wrist approaches your face.
That's what Byzance has meant. I do hope it comes back. If it doesn't....well that's life. That's what happens....Life changes and moves on. As I search for another friend...I say goodbye to my old one. And will always remember fondly this perfume. My husband's reaction? To try and look for another one that smelled similar by looking for its chemical composition online....my bloke liked it too!

I find this reformulation so annoying, whenever I've loved something from the past I can never be sure what I'm getting now!
Very frustrating because I loved this fragrance and would get it again only I'm not sure I'll like it now...

I would like to outlaw/ban reformulations

There is absolutely no need for it. Everyone hates it!

I feel very strongly when a fragrance is created for better or worse that is it's ultimate form/ the original formulation the creators decided upon is it. No need to change or improve on anything they already did it! If you want to make ANOTHER fragrance reminiscent of it then go ahead....

Stop the madness.

This was my Signature Scent for years (from age 21 to 25). I bought it in UK in 1995 and wore it endlessly. When bought it again in NY airport (not Duty free, just a weird counter with discontinued perfumes) few years ago was very disappointed as the scent was remotely the one I used to love.

Threw the bottle away as it was causing me more pain than pleasure and almost succumbed to temptation to buy it again online. Again, wondering either it's a poor imitation or I grew up and feel it differently.

I miss u so much! :(

Oh my Sister,oh my Bride,
thou art a garden barriered...
A mystic wave,a fountain sealed...
Thy bosom,there it lies,
a turkish rose heaven...
Fruited and heavy with the most
delightful scented wonders...
Aye,with heliotrope and musk...
With cardamom and basil...
With every sort of jasmine sighs...
With cedar and with tuberose...
And all the sweetest balsam trees...
Oh fountain of my gardens,
thou art a singing spring
flowing thy lilting path
from the Cappadocian mountains...
Colours of sea,colours of sky
with golden sun embellished...
Constantinople bows with awe
before thy divine beauty...

I was shopping for a gift for a much beloved cousin in 1988, and I came across this fragrance. I teetered momentarily on the edge of buying it for myself, but ultimately did the generous thing. I've always wondered if she liked it, used the whole bottle, or was secretly horrified by my selection for her. I might prefer not knowing.

This scent is bewitching. Loved it.

2/21/2013 - I recently bought a small sample bottle of the Byzance perfume from an internet provider and the fragrance is not even close to the amazing scent I remember. The perfume is overpowering, even a tiny drop and then it fades after a few hours with no lingering notes. I'm not sure if I really got the original perfume in this sample bottle, if it's been tampered with, if it's gone stale over time or if the perfume has a different chemistry than the eau de toilette. I remember a heavenly scent that lasted all day, so much that I've been seeking it out. Sadly, that's not what I received in this latest bottle.

Mmmm...WOW...this is surely heaven on earth!
The opening is slightly reminiscent of Sacrebleu, in tems of spicy floral fruity scent, but then it turns powdery and boy it IS powdery and spicy classy very airy powder, not at all chalky. Amazing longevity and projection from little amount, shame it is discontinued. The bottle itself is a masterpiece and the juice is amazing purple colour. I am so lucky to own it.

Boy...this is a tough one to wear. The beginning is...to much. If I can give any advice on this fragrance it is to use a VERY slight of hand. Also I would spray it on at least 30 mins before walking out the door. This is probably one of those fragrances that is best to spray in the air and walk through. I wore this today and for the first hour it clashed with EVERY strange smell that came along. I have never had another perfume do that.

After it starts to settle it mellows into a nice white floral/spicy/powdery/oriental floral. It is kind of like White Shoulders on acid. Believe me, this one wears you...It is very lovely when worn lightly.
1980's. Exotic. A time when perfumes made a real statement.

I have an unusual history of Byzance. I found it on closeout in 1992 and gave the bottle to my mother. She couldnt wear it and passed it to a friend. I never had the chance to sample it.

I found a mini today online. The bottle is like those "evil eye" charms so popular in modern Istanbul. Cobalt blue is used all over the Mediterranean basin. It was common to see it on Roman warships. The origin comes from ancient Egypt and the Eye of Horus. Its strange how time changes the meaning of things. Indeed, Byzance is now legendary as its bottle. Its exotic, yet oddly familiar and ever endearing.

I generally find classic tuberose my least favorite note in fragrance. Jardins des Bagatelle is the only way I enjoy it until now. Byzance bursts open with a very vocal aldehyde and tuberose that for the first few minutes, can overwhelm.

Then a voluptuous rose and jasmine note take hold and pulls you in and wont let go. After a few hours, it meanders into a warm, sacred place that your heart will hold dear.

Its really a floriental, yet the catagorization is irrelevant today. Its a little bit of everything, hence its Byzantine character. My description could wander on and on, yet everyone below takes care of it for me. Thank you all. I am in revered company!

Rochas was one of the most respected perfume only houses of the 20th century. Indeed Macassar, Mystere, Lumiere, Byzance, Alchemie and Tocade commanded major attention before it all disappeared in 1999. I miss this house the most...

It smells like my mom, I love it.

I had completely forgotten that I'd ever owned it, until today browsing a fragrance shop, I saw this familiar scent.
It was a gift from a male friend to myself and both my housemates...he brought it back from overseas... and I adored it (though not him...he was just a lovely friend...see my Drakkar Noir review)
I was in my youth and its fragrance made me feel older, mature, and sophisticated....(do you remember waaaay back when you actually wanted to appear older...long gone days...lol!!!) I remember its warmth and mystery, but sadly not its exact scent... I wish I could find my old bottle, just to sniff it again...sigh, memories of my youth
A must try on scent...not for everyone, but a gem for sure

Byzance is one of the most soapy fragrances I ever smelt. That's just a neutral statement, it only takes the mood to wear it.

I understand, some people can't see the connotation between it's name (Byzance) and smell. However it takes me only to imagine the mosque (or the old basilica of) Hagia Sophia in Istanbul -which was a central building during the Byzantian Era- so as to appreciate -in line with my perception- why the perfume is named as such.

Here you musn't expect to smell an oriental, spicy, Middle Eastern type of fragrance. Instead, just the right amount of cleanliness and powderiness mix with spices and incense in Byzance. I can't quite verbalize it, but yes, that's the very smell which you can easily imagine filling the interiors of the gorgeous Hagia Sophia. It's also not hard to visualize a royal lady -back then- smelling like it.

Due to the tuberose note, Byzance has also an aspect which resembles Dior's Poison; but the two are certainly different fragrances.

I recommend any serious collectors or perfume lovers to include Byzance in their collection. It does worth.

a strange mysterious story ..it has a tale of its own unlike any other ..you can always recognise it from so many other perfumes and its scents linger in your memory for years and years,its unforgettable,,and has a history and a story to tell.its deep just like its deep dark blue glass that hides its opaque mysterious nature within ..its one of those perfumes that i will never forget although i did not fall head over heels for nor hated it was unique in its own place not too shabby nor chique ye it had a st=rong character .and a solid background.

rating 4.3 out of 5

I remember I used to own a mini of this many, many vears ago. That´s why I cannot say whether I liked it or not. I just cannot remember how it smelled. I just know it was intense and I probably wasn´t ready for it yet. I´d really like to try it again now as a grown-up, but I heard that it had been discontinued. I remember the bottle so well.

I tried Byzance for the first time 7-8 years ago after coveting it for so long. Find it to be well balanced and it melds with my chemistry exquisitely. My initial impression is one of soft fruits, tuberose and fresh aldehydes. The drydown notes are subtly rendered as refined sandlewood is blended with vanilla and musk. This composition has a magnificent trail. Opulent, sensual, and it is definitely a fragrance that makes people turn and wonder "what is she wearing?"

Does anyone know what year was Byzance EDP reformulated?
Also, is there anyone who kept original EDP (formula) bottle and its box? How does the outer box look exactly (compare to the newest reformulated version)? I do not remember those details...so, if anyone could help me clarify and separate reformulated from original--I would truly appreciate it.
I had original EDP bottle and the I remember for sure that "the plate" with Byzance on it was kind of GOLD, definitely not silver tone, also the pink satin ribbon was just that--all satin (not stretch as I see on some of the bottles) and? it did have mini "Byzance" seal covering the tie area...
Is there anyone who still has the expertise/knowledge of this bottle and subject? : )

To me there are no words to say how astonishingly beautiful this perfume is. For many years it was my absolute favourite. The only thing is that, although I think the later formulation still deserves that comment, the quality of the perfume was downgraded. It was much more sophisticated before, absolutely divine. The only negative point was that for me as the wearer it was too feeble. Nevertheless, the other people kept smelling it even at a distance. The reformulation is stronger, but the scent is not so special. It is sweeter and more common. It was more metalic before, more out of the world of common experiences, something people would identify straightaway as a very good perfume. The first thing I like about it is the aldehyds soapiness, really well tempered by the other notes, because it is not overwhelming as in other aldehydic perfumes, it is sharper but in a very subtle metalic way. Although I do like strong perfumes, the subtlety of this one, because the projection was great nevertheless, is another quality I do appreciate about Byzance. And I like everything else about this perfume, including the bottle and the colour of the perfume. The original bottle produced colour effects due to the colour of the perfume, changing colour depending on the angle you looked through. It is a big loss this one to have been discontinued. Thank God I stockpiled several bottles before that happened and still have several bottles. Because though I think the original was superior, I admire very much the reformulation as well. To me Rochas had the most beautiful perfume collection in the world: Byzance, the original Lumiére, Mystére, the original Femme and Madame Rochas.

What could I say? There is plentiful of everything, spices, flowers, wood - even some fruits in the opening. Byzance is like a marketplace from "Thousand and one night". I recognize A LOT OF vanilla. But surprise - in spite of it and other spices the scent is somehow dry, not too sweet (but rich and plump certainly). And what surprises even more, everything found there is in good order like pyramids and neat piles on table - nothing stands out, nothing disturbs your eye because of the presentation. It is very difficult for me to analyze Byzance, the horn of plenty.

But this powerful blend from 1980's can be too much for many people. Sillage in BIG and longevity LONG. Be sure to test it before buying; nowadays this elixir is expensive, telling that it still has a lot of friends...

I'm in aussie so it's early morning here. I just had a dream that i saw a vintage bottle of byzance on a wooden chest of drawers similar to the one I have, but it wasn't in my room. In fact I do not know which room it was. How strange? I haven't thought about byzance in months. I wonder what this means?

So I got up, went straight to my perfume shelf to sniff my perfumes. When i sniffed organza indecence I was quite upset that it had been discontinued. What Now? Does this mean when I'm done with what's left of the 30ml bottle, I will start having dreams about organza indecence. Somedays I suspect that some wealthy duchess fell in love with these perfumes, bought the right to them and told the designers or perfumers to discontinue them.

Tuberose and incense lead you through old alleys of Constantinople. Like in a private reverie, submersion into your own unconscious Arabian nights. Beautiful and unforgettable.

Lovely stuff. Still have a bottle - keep it in the box in a dark cupboard when not in use. You only need a spray and the scent really lasts - it is the type of perfume that you can smell on clothes months later. Heady and more fruity than I usually go for, but '80s'. I loved the bottle and colour scheme when it was first around which is why I bought it - bright pink and electric blue shades with gold - fab!

I miss this scent so bad!!! Bring it back, rochas people, not reformulated!

I managed to sneak a good dab of this at an antiques market today, for review (it was just too much money for a 5ml bottle!!)
I must agree that this baby would fly off the shelves - it's a big loss to us who remember it so fondly. It's a big musk/amber/incense which is dry and almost salty like sweaty skin. I find it quite a thoughtful and mysterious fragrance, which makes it an absolute winner in my book. What a shame that Rochas discontinued its fabulous fragrances like Byzance, Mystere and Lumiere - what were they thinking?!

Seriously, this perfume. If Rochas brings this back it will fly of the shelves. It takes a scent for me to fall for it. If there is any scent close to this i will glady try it out for consolation and not a replacement....but oh how i miss thee my Byzance.All i have now is you at the bottom of the bottle, for me to snif every now and then when i feel nostalgic.
So i have broken the rule this 2012 april...sprayed a little and feel guilty, if I get tempted next time might be the last spritz, please Rochas bring back this perfume even as a LIMITED EDITION can do for now.

Got my hands on a vintage 15ml purse spray - and I'm assuming this is the vintage formula since the box only lists alcohol, water, fragrance, capric triglyceride and some colors - not your typical long list of today's versions of older frags.

Upon the first spritz on the back of my hand, I knew it was a winner. A gorgeous swirl of languid florals spread out before me on a bed of strong musk, incense and amber. It somehow manages to accomplish a feat of smelling like a chypre and oriental simultaneously - the incense really takes a large role too. Within the first hour, I noticed something almost like nag champa in the mix too - but the musk. OMG - it's strong - really strong. And I like it :)

Byzance is also quite similar to Salvador Dali parfum and parfum de toilette. Smelled side by side, they seem to be very related and follow a very similar development on the skin - but Byzance has a much more friendly and less formal feel with a lovely sillage. Good gosh, the musk stays on fabric for DAYS - and it's very diffusive. For an experiment in diffusiveness, I left my office for an hour and came back smelling Byzance as if another person was wearing it my absence. This was from ONE spray to the chest about five hours prior!

I now understand why Byzance is being sought out in its original formulation - it belongs in any serious perfume enthusiasts wardrobe most definitely.

I received a 4ml today. Put it on and MEMORIES!!
This was the household girls perfume for a while as we were growing up. the house was awash with this glorious scent. YUMMY

If this, like others ..were ever ''brought back'' it would most certainly have to be reformulated. Notes , individually change over time... so you might actually get a truer scent to the original by reformulating than by keeping it exactly the same. As sad as it is, nothing stays the same everything constantly changes.. weather that be the way a flower smells or an extract or even the vintage perfume itself... it's never quite the same as the new/unopened original. Even the vitnage bottles themselves change over time from light, heat, cold, air that gets into the bottle each time it's sprayed. Even how full / empty a bottle is can change the original scent. So I say have an openmind, and appreciate reformulations for what they are, and usually what they are is the closest most can hope to get to the original scent. That or nothing? I prefer the latter!

I feel I'm not quite old enough to wear it.
It's an "old lady's perfume" in a good way, if that makes sense. I love to smell it on other people, but since the only 3 women who wore this regularly around me were my grandmother, doctor and a friend of my grandmother's (all well past their 60s, or sadly deceased)... I can't imagine the sweet powder drydown on myself before I turn 60. Which will be exactly 30 years from now. I don't even know whether this kind of old-fashioned fragrance will be socially acceptable by then. :-P

Byzance smelled like nothing else. I cannot even point out similarities. A deep intense sultry mix of so many notes, floral for sure but also very oriental and very longlasting. Not a daytime scent IMO.
Then it disappeared from perfume stores, at least where I live. No Rochas anymore.
I still noticed it in a few international duty-free some years ago, then nothing at all.
Many people liked it. I have a feeling (or fear?) that one day or another they will come out again with a "Byzance" clearly re-formulated and no Byzance anymore.

Veramente una fragranza particolare,unica e speciale.
Avevo la miniatura tanti anni fa...se lo trovassi ora lo comprerei subito! Ma perché non si trovano piu'da nessuna parte i profumi di Rochas! Eppure li fanno ancora tutti! Ho indossato anche Tocade, caldo e talcato e il freschissimo e intimo Fleurs D'Eau.
Ma Byzance era sublime. Gesu'Bambino me lo porti per Natale?

SURPRISE, SURPRISE!!!
I just found two NEW bottles for sale at a price I couldn't pass up. I've sprayed liberally twice today-once for church, the other just for me. I might just spray again before dinner and Mystery Theater on PBS tonight. Then again tomorrow, and tomorrow...

I'm olfactory challenged-I can't distinguish many individual notes-all I know is the Coty's Le Chypre and Rocha's Byzance have in their time turned my world upside down with their bouquets and offerings.

HEAVEN ON EARTH :)

BRING BYZANCE BACK. AND PLS NOT REFORMULATED.

An elegant, opulent, complex fragrance. I agree, masterpieces should be enjoyed by everyone, not discontinued as with some fragrance houses.

Another chypre that I adored...now gone forever.

Our customers would kill for a bottle & yes due to stupidity on P&G's part it's now gone...

The stupidty is that fact that established scents like Byzance or Madame Rochas (EDP) sell themselves & need NO advertising due to a large & loyal customer base.

New is not better, on that note by introducing new fragrances more often all they do is damage the RRP real value on the marketplace.

Guerlain & Chanel are able to charge & hold top dollar values to their almost never changing fragrances, it's a lesson to be learnt by lesser brands...

I simply adore this fragrance. It's as full of mystique as it is of rich sensuality. It's creamy, romantic, decadent, incensey, deep, and fascinatingly mysterious. Like the glorious Byzantium from antiquity, Byzance has the characteristics of a melting pot, it embodies the fusion of different cultures, the fusion of Europe and Asia, of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, too, and in the same ambiguous way it features and blends notes that are distinctive of different olfactory groups (is Byzance really a Chypre floral, or rather a spicy oriental, or even an aromatic scent, as some reviewers have stated below?).
Byzance and its sister fragrance Byzantine share the same solemnly beautiful bottle. If Byzance's intensely cobalt-blue bottle reminds us of the mysteries of night, Byzantine's golden bottle could evoke the luminosity of the sunny Bosphorus and the golden mosaics on the walls of Byzantine churches. Indeed, both border on mystic bliss for me, and above all Byzance. All the enigmas from the Orient and its ancient civilizations seem to emanate from its blue bottle. The inscrutable secrets of time let themselves be glimpsed for a second the moment we apply this superb fragrance to our pulse points. Ancient, yes. Enjoying Byzance is now a matter of archaeology and many of us will mourn its absence forever. Being a lover of archaeology myself, I'm treasuring my only remaining bottle as if it was a Byzantine balsamarium! Why did Rochas have to discontinue this enthralling creation, and keep launching offensively shallow fruity scents like the new Muse? It's a shame that Procter & Gamble show such little sensitivity to the art of perfumery!

With all the fuss around this perfume I just had to have it no matter what. I really lucked out by having won an almost full 3.4 oz bottle for $ 34.00
Very elegant floral aldehyde, but my first thought was I already have something like that. Although not exactly the same, but it reminds me a lot of red D&G, which I really love. So if you can't find it at reasonable price, no need to go broke ....try D&G instead.

Fruity floral lovers will not be interested in this one. This fragrance is one of my absolute favorites. A contradiction...warm and cool at the same time, creamy, almost waxy feeling to it, with intermittent bites of something sharp (in a good way), spicy, smooth, subtle but not a wall flower by any means. It says Ta Da! I am here! but not in an overwhemlming 80's way. Excellent year round, but probably best in summer. Lovely, unique, sophisticated, and very sexy. Different than any perfume I have ever tried. Smells different each time I wear it. I love it. Hard to find, but I just found out fragrance x is selling it for 39.99, so you don't have to pay outrageous prices on the online auction sites. I am stocking up!

So beautiful! Warm, graceful, elegant, smooth, unique, a bit of an incense feel but not even a hint of the nag champa or smokey scratchy kind of incense. Nothing screeches or offends- not even at the opening. Enough spice and herbal notes to waiver into more than one fragrance "category"- a touch more oriental than typical chypre floral, not herbal enough to be an aromatic, but enough to temper the florals and spices for a while. The spices are of exquisite quality and develop as the opening fades. Byzance is a treasure- an example of great perfumery. I am grateful to be able to still have some.

an if you like a scent of incense store, it is the right thing!

This is an amazing perfume! It's my right kind of scent, very pleasant, an intense floral, a set of notes happy and harmonious.It is indispensable, necessary, fabulous!

This is my second review for Byzance.
Today i tried it after the shower on a sunny spring day and was positivly surprised by how good actually it smells. Still i am scared off by the beginning, but then after it´s gone a lot of spices and carnation in the middle are very beautiful. Guess it is more spring-autumn fragrance, since last time i have tried it during winter. And now i smell the roses on the drydown also. N
Now it´s like from zero to hero for me. Back then i didn´t like it but now i like it a lot. A very beautiful evening fragrance. I wouldn´t wear it at a daytime, but definitly at evening time. So glad i didn´t part with my bottle of vintage EDP. :)

This did not smell good at all upon first spritzing, I thought my bottle had turned-a vintage EDT. Scrubbing was not an option, I was on my way out the door & didn't have time.

Byzance settled down and smells lovely, a creamy and rich combination of subtle spices, white florals and roses, which dry down into a resinous delight of amber, vanilla and sandalwood. It's kind of light and dark, with the spice, citrus & floral at the beginning, and the deep and richness of the dry down.


Could have been the basil that was turning me off in the top notes, I usually do not like that smell, unless it's in the kitchen. I don't know, something smelled unpleasant in the beginning. I'm so glad I gave this a chance and didn't scrub. A keeper.

I have tried an EDP so far and i must admit that i get some similarities with original formula of "Ysatis" by Givenchy, only this one is more spicy. I remember when many years ago i tried this one it was also quite harsh for me and it still is. The opening is very much like soap (i guess mixing carnation with a lot of citruses is not a good idea). And it stays like that for a while and then simply dissapeares. I cannot detect any rose notes.

I was fortunate enough to receive a generous sample of Byzance today from Sophiii.

How have I managed to pass over this treasure before now? I am a sucker for the 1980's big statement perfumes, so you can imagine my delight upon inhaling this luscious sultry number. As I so often do when sitting with my husband, I presented my arm for his assessment and expected the usual 'that's nice/awful/like speaking to yourself...' response.

"That's Byzance", he says

I glare at him. "How do YOU know that?....and WHO wore it?"

"Never mind...but, once smelled, never forgotten"

Well, that has to be the shortest relationship I've ever had with a perfume. Too bad, someone got there first!

DISCONTINUED!!!!
WHY???????
Forever a favorite.

I'm quite disapointed with this one.
It reminds me of tiolet cleaner, its really fresh, really summery and somewhat salty. After a while the flowers appear and Byzance gets better but still not my thing.

Sillage: Good
Lasting Power: Very Good

4/10

I am an Istanbulite born and raised. This indeed is "Istanbul in a bottle" as one gentle member put so well.

How else can I describe the hue of the sky as it gets ready for the morning prayer over the Bosphorus than pointing at Byzance’s beautiful bottle… The warm sensation that wraps you up when you breathe in the unmistakable scent of Istanbul, is captured in this concoction with all its spices and florals.

I’m in my early 30’s now and I used to wear this as a 16 year old. Although I loved it, I moved on to other fragrances in time, I’ve almost thought of Byzance as something I’ve outgrown. And they decided to discontinue it. Now that I can find the EDP or the perfume with incredible difficulty, I am ready to mourn the loss of yet another favorite. Maybe Long Lost Perfumes will come out with an original recipe Byzance one day, but what about that beautiful bottle? Why haven’t I saved at least an empty bottle of this lovely fragrance which actually was my carefree youth...

It is the only Rochas creation I literally cannot stand.
It smells like a grandma's coffret in the loft full of clutter and rotten flowers.
Absolute NO NO - heavy and sickening.
When I sprayed it for the first time, my mouth started to water but in a way as to give you a morning sickness.
I wil never purchase it again.
The aldehyde does not seem to be in the top notes - it is all over the place, the only note I can smell.
While I am deeply in love with Rochas fragrances, Absolu, Byzantine, Aquawoman, Alchimie, I would never ever wear Byzance even if it was the very one, only and last fragrance in the universe.
Big time Stinker!

The original Byzance is no longer with us. The original EDP, as shown in the second picture above with the gold round label, has been discontinued for many years now. The current EDT is a pale version of what this rich and voluptuous scent once was. Powdery, sweet, feminine, was back then and is still a huge HG for me.

The one!
Unique and unforgettable.
Why Byzance is no longer available?

a beautiful evening fragrance in colder climes. i haven't worn it for a couple of years.but i got lots of compliments when i did.

Had to have it in my collection as it's an excellent winter fragrance. Makes me feel all warm & fuzzy inside. The jasmine & cardamom is what catches my nose all the time. It has indeed become like an old endearing friend.

Byzance is almost the perfect olfactory equivalent to Byzantium, a poem by William Butler Yeats.

It captures the essence of a long lost city, ancient and artistic. Byzance opens with heady florals, exotic spices, zesty lemon and powdery aldehydes. This opening is very strong, very 80's and very me.

Towards the heart, particularly with the entrance of the white florals, Byzance reminds me somewhat of Passion by Annick Goutal. Byzance is however, more powdery and more lemony.

As the heart settles, the florals, most notably the jasmine, become cleaner and slightly soapy. Due to this fragrance's ever-changing nature, I'd say that Byzance is quite complex.

This fragrance is very feminine, without a doubt. However, with that being said, this fragrance is womanly in an old-fashioned, bouquet of flowers, cooking spice and church incense sort of way. Byzance is essentially the scent of a woman from the ancient times - perhaps even the fragrance of Cleopatra herself, if I let myself dream so.

It is a pity that this fragrance is becoming increasingly harder to find these days. I will be truly disappointed if Rochas decide to pull this fragrance from the market.

Nice scent, but really to heavy for me. I like the spicyness though

ohhh, this one is and always will stay in my top 10! I have the vintage and the new one. I just adore them BOTH!!!
An oriental MUST have!!
Good luck!
Action

I bought this & wore it last night for bed...my boyfriend loved it!!

I only bought it due to the reviews below & i have to say im well impressed. Im a fan of Rochas anyway but this is my new favourite.

Its sexy, warm & sensual. It made me feel the urge to slip in to something 'less comfortable'.

Its a strong fragrance to begin with but soon settles into a warm powdery, musky vanilla with great lasting power on me too.

Fantastic.

I'm just a sucker for a beautiful blue bottle. Bought this without a proper smell and have worn it a couple of times.
I would say it's highly floral, can't detect any chypre and I love chypre type perfumes.
There is a very slight hint of spice - perhaps a hint of cinnamon and some kind of spicy floral note.
It somehow puts me in mind of Victoria Beckham's Intimately Night (not good) and for me, a strong and strange plastic/playdoh type element predominates througout the wearing.
Overall, I'd say this perfume smells a bit cheap. It's not really awful but it's just not really 'me'.
I'm going to give it away.

Just adorable!!! Rochas fragrances: can you think of a better deal than this? Top quality perfumes, sophisticated all the way and a very very good price! You just have to have them all, without exception.

I love making mosaics, a very Byzantine
era ara, I love the perfume for this
reason, it kind of takes me back
in time!

Sarah

I remember this fragrance... my mother used to wear it in the early 90s, when i was a few years away from my beginning of puberty.

As a young girl, i naturally snuck into my parents' bedroom just to get a whiff of their perfumes/colognes.

When i first laid my eyes on this dark blue bottle, i expected a thick, heavy scent, but was surprised otherwise, to find a pleasant mystical, creamy aroma that tickled my senses and sent my imagination back in time.

Despite the fact that i was a young girl at the time, this frag seemed to exude intelligence and embodied an excerpt of civilization's history in a bottle. Kind of like Hathor mentioned: Istanbul in a bottle.

Despite the fact that i've never been to Turkey, i could still manage to understand the essence of this aroma; probably because, at the time, we were living in a Mediterranean country, and by that age i was quite aware of the general history of the surrounding Mediterranean cultures.

Just one whiff of this intricate redolence would spawn images in my mind of the clinking noises made by exquisite copper and gold jewelry worn by elegant ladies, while dancing in joyous nightly festivities...

I could also detect Church-like incense qualities, as Tessture mentioned. In my mind, i'd imagine the incense that was burned during the ancient and sacred nightly rituals/festivities.

This perfume is truly magical. I think i might just purchase it for myself.

EDIT: As others have already mentioned, this should not be classified as Chypre Floral. I'd say it's more of an Oriental Spicy or Oriental Floral.

This fragrant took some time to grow on me .Its one of those fragrances where it depends the mood your in.For me it is like that.There are days when I'd wear it and feel totally sexy and romantic and there are days where I wish I hadn't put the perfume on.Don't know why it is like that. But the fragrant it self is wonderful.

I bought this one for my wife today to celebrate the birth of our daughter (yesterday). I wanted something elegant and a little different to what she has already got. Her favourites are Chanel no 5 and Shalimar. I think this really complements the other two in being different, but not so different. Somehow it seems appropriate as a scent to give to celebrate the birth of a baby.

Has Byzance suffered reformulation? I've been wearing it since it was "born" and it has never smelled strongly fruity or lemony to me from the bottle or on my skin. It seems almost a bit... salty... when i first apply it.

I don't wear it often because it is also rather... powdery... and powdery perfumes are not my favorite. Additionally, the vanilla stands out a bit strongly, and while i don't mind vanilla in a blend (I adore Shalimar), i don't like fragrances that are dominantly vanilla.

But Byzance has always transcended the powdery and the vanilla because of the complexity of its formula, the mix of sweet and spicy, floral and woody. And when i'm in the right mood to wear a lighter perfume than usual, i love its gentle fresh scent.

Hmmmm...
It's an oppulent, charming lemony-powdery-vanilla smell.

I can easily put it into my list of favourite "classy" scents (in which I include "Wings" from Giorgio Beverly Hills and "Lou Lou" from Cacharel).


DOUBT: is it REALLY a chypre floral?

Chypre? Really? Well, I do love Chypres
but in no way had that word crossed my mind while testing it today. Other words such as...unique, fantastic, interesting, and "whoah, great stuff". At first I thought of candy, soap, sweetened fruits, and bath soap..then I thought of incense, hippie shops, and my favorite groovey notes, and a touch of sheer or light powder-never overbearing here. I tested the EDT. I wish it was a bit stronger and longer lasting..however my skin seems to make almost all perfumes disappear rapidly.

This is almost the only oriental fragrances I like, it is sophisticated and elegant, its something I picture wearing to the opera, very classy. Love the bottle too.

You know, I wasn't crazy about this at first, but after having it for a while, I've really grown to like it. I've found the drydown to be fantastic...wish that I had a pure parfum version, because I have to spray a LOT of it on to appreciate it. But after that, the basenotes last all day, and I can smell the incense/resinous characteristics. It just goes to show how hard shopping for perfume can be.

Incense and aldehydes with slightly soapy carnation, drying down to lovely, almost church-like incense. I really like this one. There's a stage that I can only think of as 80s purple, since it reminds me of many mid-80s fragrances, but overall the incense feeling carries it through. Very nice, very purple somehow.

this to me is istanbul in a bottle!! it has something of east meeting west over the bosphorus. odd, but i get a hint of (clean) body sweat out of it. a lot of roses and a general feeling of something blue, which probably is emphasized by it coming out of such a wonderful blue bottle. i am amazed how many notes it contains. this is for me the last of the great rochas perfumes. very 80's i suppose, quite powerful, wouldnt be out of place on alexis carrington in her shoulder pads. i always think the 80's a much maligned decade but for me it was youth and freedom and i'll always smile when i remember this time. i'm interested to see that one of the base notes is heliotrope. i have discovered that several of my favourite perfumes contain heliotrope. this is ideal to wear in exotic surroundings of in warm summer weather in the evening.

Very interesting scent, the verdict is still out on it for me. Some of the notes are quite strong on me like tuberose I also am not a fan of anise and of course, I smell it througout the entire scent(maybe because once I get it in my nose I can't get it out), some lemon is present. I think it is an acquired taste, and a little indulgent. But that may suit some people fine, just not me!

If you are interested in buying the perfume or looking to restock go to fragranceshop.com 1.7 $16.95 or 3.4 for $20.95.

This is one of those well-balanced that turns into something completely unidentifiable and indistinguishable regarding its notes...at least for me, that is! The only note I can distinguish at all is the tuberose.

For me, wearing Byzance is the equivalent of putting on a velvet scarf. It's very classy and distinctive and wraps itself around you like a soft glove. I love the fact that the powdery dry-down is subtle and not too sweet.

I have a half-used bottle standing in my cabinet. I neither love it nor hate it. It's one of those... I take out the bottle to wear it, but then change my mind in preference for something else.

I think I largely bought it for the bottle (which I do still find beautiful) but the fragrance is a little overly powdery sweet, imo.

It's okay for deep winter to warm you up!

Lovely tuberose. Try this if Fracas (butter tuberose) is too buttery popcorn for you and if Knowing (mossy rose) is too strident in its high note. I wear it for daywear when I want a soft Knowing.The only drawback may be that Byzance is a little too powdery on the drydn. I am trying to get my husband to try this. The "guide" recommends this as a masculine, and I think that is a great idea.

Take it easy with Byzance.. this is a strong scent and would be easy to overdo. I virtually spritz and run do avoid a nose itching pungency in the opening.. and for a while I regretted buying it. But like many perfumes, after a holiday at the back of the dresser, it returns to favour, refreshed.

I had this one. For me it's a warm fragrance. It's, like description says, the essence of night. I just think in dance and seduction.

Byzance feels like an Odalisque, dressed in fine silks of vibrant colours, draped over a lounge. Just like those ones in a Henri Matisse painting. Opulent. Ravishing. Exquisite.

I am so glad I tried this again! Many years ago, I used to spray Byzance on in department stores and sniff dreamily, but I never got around to owing it. Recently though, that striking blue flacon pulled me in (I could get lost in that gorgeous bottle, but that's another matter), so I spritzed some EDT on. A harsh soapiness at first. Spicy. A blend of bergamot, orange flower, jasmine and rose to my nose, but it's not obvious as any of those things. Also reminds me a little of Boucheron’s beginnings too, in its initial stage. But then, like Boucheron, Byzance blossoms into something beautiful…as sandalwood, amber, vanilla and musk come to the fore and it blooms into a sultry haze of softly spiced, deep golden warmth and musky joy. And surprisingly, not heavy at all. I feel so good wearing this. Simply stunning.

I was kind of disappointed in this...Turin describes it as an incense tuberose, but I just don't get that...it's got a creamy, lemony, smell, simultaneously soapy and edible, and definitely a powdery dry down. I don't smell any oakmoss in there...wonder why it's classified as a chypre in the Fragrantica description? I plan to keep wearing this as some fragrances just have to grow on you...it took me a while to like Bandit and now it's definitely one of my favorites. Tania Sanchez says it would make a great masculine, but I can't see most men wearing this.

I remember this as ok. Nothing great I remember I was wanting boucheron and got this by mistake but it was alright. I think I might even still have it somewhere...

It is very much like Salvador Dali, but softer, with lemony undertones. I was very pleased to smell a very earthy and natural cardamom, and also ylang ylang.It is too rich and heavy for an everyday use, so wait for a special occasion, put on your best black dress and your favorite pumps, some Byzance - and the world is yours.

Has a very unmistakable feel to it. Sharp at first but then softens into a powdery soft scent, very floral and baby like. I find it lovely.