Vintages are a tricky subject for me as a ‘reviewer’. What goes for all perfumes: that one should always try a fragrance on their own skin before buying; counts x10 for vintages. Except, usually there’s simply no option to try before buying. That doesn’t mean I don’t think it’s worth a try however, as you can often pick up vintages, especially miniatures or entire collections, at very affordable prices compared to niche or even current designer perfumes. For example, I bought a set of 50+ vintage miniatures for about €50 in 2023 and I bought over 20 vintage Yves Rocher miniatures at about €1 each in 2024. At those prices, you happily chalk up the losses when some of them smell off or have mostly evaporated. And it’s generally fun to get an idea of what came before if you’re interested in perfumery.

This is all to say, take the descriptions (and you can click on the names for the full reviews) with an extra large grain of salt. Different formulations throughout the years, batch variations and especially aging differently (or going bad completely) are things you’re going to encounter when you dive into niche perfumes. My description of a 40 year old bottle of Mitsouko gives you little to no guarantees of what you’re going to get when you buy an old bottle of Mitsouko. That being said, a few have stood out or made me seek out full size bottles for my collection and those I want to highlight. To keep it diverse, I picked one per brand. You buy one blindly, it’s going to be a gamble and here are 10 gambles (+ a bonus) that paid off for me. Starting with my favorite…

Guerlain MITSOUKO PARFUM (1919)
After trying more recent batches of Mitsouko, I acquired some older ones. I had a PDT, which was produced in the 1980’s, which was nice, but more on the greener side. I had a vintage miniature that smelled sweeter and definitely aged more, but was more to my liking and I wanted a full bottle of one that resembled that. Vintage Mitsouko bottles in good condition don’t come cheap and I ended up paying €250 for an unopened bottle from between 1967-1976. It’s much sweeter, almost chocolate-like earthy scent with a ton of ylang-ylang for a stronger yellow floral twist than any of the more current batches that I’ve smelled. Not necessarily what Mitsouko may be intended to smell like, but it’s an absolute highlight of my collection and arguably my favorite fragrance. Guerlain as a whole is fun to explore. The presentation, even of miniatures, alone (like Chamade Parfum or the newer Mahora) are worth it; the downside is that vintage Guerlains are usually among the more expensive ones to find.

Jean Patou JOY PARFUM (1931)
Said to be the most expensive perfume created at its time, due to it’s high volume of jasmine and rose. Arguably my favorite jasmine in my collection and it’s a skanky one. I’m not sure how old my bottle is, but it seems to be pre-dating batch codes. This has grown thick and oily. As often with aging, it has gone quite sweet, but moreover, this is one of the most indolic, sexy florals that I’ve ever smelled. The longer it’s on my skin, the skankier it gets, with a warm, rubbery tinge. Not for the faint of heart; this batch of Joy doesn’t smell like joy; it doesn’t smell like romance. It smells like untamed exchanging of bodily fluids. And it’s a true gem.

Dior MISS DIOR EDT (1947)
Another top highlight in my collection is my vintage spray bottle of Miss Dior. Here too, I had two different miniatures, which were both quite similar. Mossy and floral, with jasmine being the main theme. Floral, a tad green and vibrant in the opening, but warmer and slightly spiced as it dries; almost daring, but in my opinion, also classy. I ended up buying a sealed bottle that is probably from 1980 (I think it could be 1970, but I’m not sure if they came with sprayers already then). It was in pristine condition and for such an old bottle, the brightness and sharpness that’s been retained is second to none. I wear this one quite a lot.

Yves Rocher VENISE / VENICE (1986)
I’m not sure why there are two different spellings for this one, but there you go. I’ll stick with Venice. And Venice is probably my favorite out of the vintage Yves Rocher miniatures that I have. I just bought a full size (an about 85% full 100ml bottle for €20! beat that niche perfumes), so hopefully that holds up. Venice is said to have been taking inspiration from Must de Cartier Parfum (and Calvin Klein Obsession), and from the ones I have, it was the one that smelled like it held up the best. Still floral in the opening, with a hint of sharp (some say animalic) soapiness, but mostly, this is a powdery vanilla-woody fragrance. A lot of iris, sandalwood and vanilla make this extremely cozy. Another Yves Rocher to look for in my opinion is 8e Jour.

Caron NOCTURNES DE CARON FRAICHE
A bit of an elusive one. I’ve seen many miniatures of this ‘Cologne Fraiche’, but not much info and I’ve never seen a full size bottle. I’m unsure if and how much it differs from the non-fraiche variant. What I can tell you is that I’ve had 2 miniatures of it and both were stellar. One of the best options for smooth, soft, sandalwood. I’d say this wears similar to the drydown of vintage Guerlain Samsara, which is often praised for its use of sandalwood. Where Samsara has distracting amounts of aldehydes in the opening for me, Nocturnes is more linear and dives straight into this clean, babypowdery, but silky smooth sandalwood.

Ralph Lauren SAFARI (FOR WOMEN) EDP (1990)
Not as old as the others on the list, with a release in 1990, by none other than Dominique Ropion. My bottle is likely a bit newer than that too and I’ve had a presumably older miniature before. Still, quite some time has passed for this fragrance and it’s an absolute gem. This opens with almost soapy green florals and fruitiness. Like unripe fruits, similar, but more ‘clean’ and nicer than in Lancome Poeme in my opinion and the fruits set it apart from the older fragrances on this list. Growing ever warmer, fully honeyed with sandalwood in the base, this becomes one of the most beautiful, yet fun and somewhat quirky fragrances in my collection.

D’Orsay EAU DE COLOGNE / ETIQUETTE BLEUE (1830)
This D’Orsay was sealed when I got it and despite it looking seriously old, it’s one of the best preserved fresher scents I’ve come across. This still has really vibrant citrus notes, although I can see people finding it to smell like a cleaning product. When the sweetness gets added, it becomes something along the lines of an orange creamsicle and it’s lovely. A quick mention to D’Orsay’s Fantastique, of which I have a PDT. The opening hours of this were amazing. Similar green mossy florals to my Miss Dior, but a bit more in a white floral direction. The drydown went suprisingly traditionally masculine and spicy, more like Chanel Antaeus, which was less to my taste.

Estee Lauder YOUTH-DEW EDP (1950’s)
This is an EDP that was released in the 1950’s (my bottle is much newer though), making it one of the first big name brand eau de parfum concentrations on the market. This seems to be a divisive fragrance, with camps of people saying it smells like a ‘grandma’ and others claiming it’s ‘too masculine’. Based on my bottle, the traditionally masculine side is much more prominent, with smoky touches, a spicy, peppery oakmoss. It even smells of hay or tobacco to my nose. There is the same ylang-ylang sweetness found in Mitsouko, but tamed. To me, at least in its current state, this is the clear opposite of ‘Youth’, it’s mature and a great pick-up at reasonable prices.

Nina Ricci L’AIR DU TEMPS EDT (1948)
A classic, almost cliché, but it’s fun to see an older scent that deviates a bit more from the usual floral or ‘cologne’ vibe. In the case of L’Air du Temps, I find you will get a ton of sweetness, but also a great ‘luxury soap’. Both older versions that I’ve tried go through that seemingly reverse transition from spicy and vanilla, to soapy tinges later in the wear. Carnation also stands out. I wore a vintage miniature and vintage 4ml sample, but I also own a more modern bottle (pictured above) of L’Air Du Temps and I think it’s definitely worth at least trying a vintage, which you can probably pick up for less money and, when in decent condition, seems to be the more fun fragrance. Another sweeter vintage that I enjoyed sampling is Caron Parfum Sacre.

Worth JE REVIENS EDT (1932)
Worth is a brand with an interesting back story, but not one that you hear much mention of these days. The version I have of Je Reviens was likely not in the best conditions, with some sediment built up in the liquid, but it made for a very enjoyable wearing experience. This has typical, clean, powdery and aldehydic florals. After a while orange blossom takes over and you get this soft, almost diluted orange scents and powdery texture. I have a feeling this was a much sharper floral scent initially, but time has shaved off all the edges, for the better.

Isabel Derroisne / ID Parfums LE TEMPS DES REINES EDT (1998)
As an extra bonus pick, here’s a relatively newer release that was gifted to my by a friend. Initially from 1998, this is quite similar in style to Serge Lutens Feminite Du Bois (first released in 1982 under Shisheido). Which is no surprise, given that Le Temps des Reines is also made by perfumer Christopher Sheldrake. Mind you, that I definitely prefer my Feminite Du Bois (even in the newest bottles), but this is still a very cool find and lesser known piece of perfume history to add to your collection if you come across it at the right price.