Vintage

I promised a series on random mainstream fragrances. Next in the line is a very recent launch, Vintage by Kate Moss.

Dear readers, I even bought a trashy magazine to get a sample so there's around 1.50 euros I'll never get back (the time spent on the toilet is well-spent even when browsing a trashy magazine so I won't complain about that one), one stained tissue and a bit of olfactory boredom. Jacques Polge who created Vintage could indeed do better, see Coromandel or the 1990's reformulation of Soir de Paris.
Well, yeah. Passable and boring. After several rather unpleasing experiences, I carefully dropped a bit of the juice on a tissue. The notes are nicely separable, there indeed is bergamot that fights pink pepper (known from Kate Moss's previous fragrance, Kate; the gal seems to have a weak spot for it) and something freesia-ish. Freesia is known for being difficult to capture in perfumes, there's no freesia absolute or synthetic fresione to start with. A point for getting close enough, with that slightly acidic undertone. After a while, sweeter notes creep to the attention, along with a touch of powdery musks.
And that's all, folks. Weren't there for the pink pepper, it would be indefinable floral, while a touch of spices changes it into barely definable floriental. It's also totally linear, when the first whiff of alcohol and bergamot evaporates, there's that peppery floral forever. To be exact, until it all gives up, the fragrance doesn't have particular staying power and I guess that on my skin, it would disappear soon enough.

It's not bad as such, in fact, I wouldn't cringe if I got it for Christmas. I also suspect that since it is not the usual random indefinable floriental, it will get a decent following. Well, help yourself and I'll go back to my dark strange fragrances.


Vintage by Kate Moss should be available just about everywhere. Hide in a hardware store if you're fed up with it.
Fragrance notes for Vintage:
top notes: bergamot, pink pepper, freesia
middle notes: jasmine, heliotrope, almond blossom
base notes: musk, tonka bean, vanilla