Note Pyramid
Fidji
Fidji Eau de Parfum 50ml dates from 1966, when it was the first fragrance from the Paris house of Guy Laroche, and it remains one of the most complete examples of the classical French floral style.
Sixteen materials go into it, and the structure is textbook. Galbanum and hyacinth open it green and bitter, galbanum sappy and stalky, hyacinth cool and faintly watery, with lemon and bergamot sharpening the first minutes. The heart is a full bouquet rather than a single flower: rose and jasmine at the centre, violet powdery beside them, carnation adding a dry, peppery warmth, ylang ylang bringing something creamy and tropical, and orris running cold and grey underneath to stop it all turning sweet.
The base is where it earns its reputation for longevity. Oakmoss gives damp earth, patchouli a dark sweetness, vetiver a dry rootiness, sandalwood a creamy smoothness, and musk and amber a warm skin close finish. It dries down powdery and long, in the way perfumes of this generation were built to.
At eau de parfum strength the composition is dense, so one or two sprays is a dose and the 50ml bottle will last years. It suits cooler weather and evenings, though the green opening keeps it wearable in daylight, and it is aimed at women and worn largely by those who know the classical register and prefer it. Anyone meeting it for the first time now often finds it startling, because very little made in the last twenty years is built on green bitterness at the top and moss at the bottom, and that unfamiliarity is exactly what makes it worth trying.
Fidji is made under licence by L'Oreal, the Guy Laroche fragrance business having become an L'Oreal division towards the end of the 1960s, not long after this scent appeared.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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