Sortilège by Le Galion

Review of the Vintage Formulation by Le Galion:

The opening is a dense mixture of bergamot with a basket of florals, namely orange blossom and hyacinth; initially a strong aldehydic is present, a bit like in Chanel No.5.  Hints of a warn neroli develop a bit later, accompanied by touches of fruitiness, including some ripe peaches, strawberries, and strawberry leaves too, before the focus is shifting to the floral side.   

The drydown develop a nice rose note, a bit veering towards a soft May rose but a bit darker than expected, with a strong and slightly creamy ylang-ylang gradually assuming olfactory dominance for a while.   A slightly powdery jasmine joins in as well, a jasmine blossom with little of a green character on me.   Muguet is another strong note arriving here and blending well with the ylang-ylang in particular.  Darker florals added in also include some quite sweet violet, as well as a distinctive lilac impression.

Towards the base the whole take on spicy undertones, starting with a orris and enhanced by some opoponax; these two components are quite mild and accompanied, at times, by an underlying touch of a balsamic aroma.   A very subtle chypre-like oakmoss together with some coumarin and some musk and an equally gentle civet are noted too; the latter two are much less animalic than one might expect - maybe the age of the sample led to some attenuation in this case?

Later on the base adds some woods, mainly cedar but also touches of sandalwood, with an ambery tonka some sweetness.  Further into the base, the floral tones re-appear again is the guise of the jasmine, which, accompanies by a softly glowing vetiver, gives the final stages some additional depth.  The vetiver is gentle and lacks any earthiness on me.

I get moderate sillage, excellent projection , and a splendid ten hours of longevity in my skin.

Originally released 1937, this beauty of a scent for special spring evenings is rich, a very good variety in its development and is superbly blended.  The quality of the ingredients is marvelous.  It exudes richness and confidence, without any mustiness, dowager-boudoir-style fustiness, or excessive powderiness.  Age might have affected it, but it is still an impressive creation. The performance is excellent.  Like the name says, it casts a spell.  I was re-issued by Long Lost Perfume in 2014, but here we review the original version.   4.25/5