The floral notes are vivid, opulent and recall spring gardens. Wow! It is complex and every few minutes, you get a new note. Nothing in the modern market can compare to this. In fact, it defies the decades and transcends the genres. If aldehydes scare you, don't worry - they dissipate before long to reveal a woody floral musk accord. There's a beautiful warmth in the dry down which I put down to honey and the very well-behaved civet note. The moss, sandalwood and vetiver add a pleasing depth, which helps to make First wear more masculine on my skin. It's mature, refined, embracing and seductive. Oh, and I must say that I'm very surprised that the nose behind First is Jean-Claude Ellena. It seems that he's been in the world of minimalism for such a long time, .....well, people change when time goes by, I guess. First, on my skin, presents a lovely, beautifully blended accord of non-sweet flowers, slightly oily, and richly subtle. the civet is there, but very very demure. This feels like the day when you decide to wear your favorite pencil skirt with heels instead of flats, a silk blouse, and to spend a little more time on your hair and make up. And maybe, you think, I'll add my diamond studs for a little sparkle.

But recently I begin to like VC&A First, for I start to think that when aldehydes and civet were combined together, it really sends out a sexy (though elegant and graceful at the same time) feminine message. LUXUS + (15 October 2021). "A brief history of luxury: the crazy Richemont adventure". Mag Luxus+ . Retrieved 17 June 2023.Van Cleef & Arpels is a French luxury jewelry company. [1] It was founded in 1896 by the Dutch diamond-cutter Alfred Van Cleef and his father-in-law Salomon Arpels in Paris. [2] Their pieces often feature flowers, animals, and fairies, and have been worn by style icons and royalty such as Grace Kelly, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Diana, Princess of Wales, Ava Gardner, [3] Farah Pahlavi, [4] Eva Perón, [5] Elizabeth Taylor, the Duchess of Windsor and Queen Nazli of Egypt. In season 4, episode 23 of Frasier, the character Niles Crane is speaking on his mobile phone with his wife Maris, from whom he is recently separated at the time. On the phone, Niles says to Maris 'I miss you more...than Van Cleef would miss Arpels'. Once the citruses settle down, the sweet floral notes emerge. Because of those ever present aldehydes that dominate the fragrance, they are more of the soapy floral kind. But it's nevertheless a heavenly aroma. The flowers that my trained nose never fails to notice: orchid, a little exotic orchid, pink or white in color, an orchid that has become sweeter with a matching raspberry. The carnation and lily of the valley mix and mingle in good company but they are not as green-floral as other fragrances with lily of the valley and carnation. This is a bigger rose perfume with a Turkish rose that smells lush and velvety, like rose colored velour. There's plenty of flowers that each contribute to this beautiful aroma including ylang and jasmine. Classic floral perfume. It does. It has a generic "perfume in an elevator and women are wearing shoulder pads" scent which is even beyond the aldehydes. This "generic 80s smell" is like the top of the top notes. Edited to add: I wore this to work today and a woman approached me and asked if I was wearing Coco mademoiselle by Chanel. I told her what I was wearing and she said to her it smelled like a slightly sweeter version of Coco Mademoiselle which is her favorite fragrance. She then wrote down the name. Weird, I didn't think this at all when I smelled it, but I guess I can see how some people could interpret it this way.

Mulier, Thomas; Campbell, Keith (13 September 2009). "Hyperinflation Worries? Buy My Jewelry, Richemont's Rupert Says". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014 . Retrieved 2014-08-25.Chevalier, Michel; Mazzalovo, Gerald (18 May 2012). Luxury Brand Management: A World of Privilege. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781118171790 . Retrieved 19 October 2016.

First is not stiff, or formal, but not girly, either. It feels like putting one's best foot forward in a polished, casually elegant way. That little bit of extra lift that will brighten your day and lend you confidence when the pressure is on. This has a well formulated alto chord which becomes more alluring as this blends with the chemistry of the skin and the final phase of wear turns into a delicious broth -- an intoxicatingly beautiful scent that very few other perfumes arrive at. Aldehydes - dont really like these, alot ive smelled are of their time and to me not sensual and lovely as others report them to be. I am being open minded and trying. I know two beautiful, fun, eastern Slavic women who love this scent, so I had to try it for myself. First EDT is an instant love for me as it reminds me of the sweeter sister of one of my favorite fragrances ever - Lancome Climat!The prominent oakmoss note of the drydown leads First into chypre territory, bolstered by earthy, woody notes. It is very animalic, salty and leathery, with some sweet amber-vanilla notes, perhaps enhanced by honey, complementing it beautifully. It somehow avoids becoming murky, as can happen in such complex, old-fashioned chypres. It fades to a slighty sweet musky-amber skin scent. Sillage is moderate and longevity pretty decent. This is a fragrance that requires more panache' to carry off. If you are drawn to the naive, girly, sugary sweet fragrances that line the walls of the Body Shop and Victoria's Secret-- you may find that this is NOT your thing.

Although this goes on rather strong like a full bodied 1980's perfume - I really enjoy this dry down - it is truly spectacular - a complete symphony and work of art! Silage and longevity are formidable, I don't remember my granny reapplying it throughout the day even once. This is more formal, elegant, refined, classic, majestic, powerful, reliable, trust worthy, solid, and there is a quality of leadership in this perfume that makes this appear like it would be a good stateswoman's perfume. Yes,I said old-fashioned,but I believe it's easily wearable in modern world in case you don't oversprayHayes, Jacquie (6 December 2016). "Australia the finishing jewel in Van Cleef & Arpels' global crown". Australian Financial Review . Retrieved 4 April 2017. Van Cleef & Arpels was charged with the task of making the crown of Queen Nazli of Egypt in the 1930s. [9] its taken me so long to be able to translate what people are meaning when they review these scents -- i suppose one must think of First, chanel number 5, ... others in that category as layered with dry talc citrus. people speak about how beautiful aldehydes are (i think its these scents that cause me issues) - i only really like one scent with that note. the rest i dont really care for. It's interesting: both my daughters told me it reminds them of Niki de Saint Phalle, which was another love of mine during the eighties and which I've also recently reacquired. It never occurred to me to put the two together.In my mind they are very different scents. If anything, First has somewhat of the same vibe as Chanel 19 (another favorite) because of the hyacinth and narcissus. So I compared notes and what do you know - First and Niki indeed have many in common.