SAMPLE .. D'Orsay, Héliotrope d'Orsay, DECANTED SAMPLE from Flacon, Parfum Extrait, 1903, 1920, Paris, France ..

The perfume house of Parfums d'Orsay is a truly aristocratic perfume line from France. The philosophy of the house is based on quality, understatement, character, seduction, praise, creativity and originality. They are very proud of their long tradition and heritage.

Although the house never belonged to the Count d'Orsay himself, his perfumes and the romantic air of his name gave birth to the Compagnie Francaise des Parfums d'Orsay, founded in 1908 with the goal to preserve the Count's perfume heritage and develop an aristocratic luxury perfume house on its basis. Many of the perfumes developed in this great perfume house were designed for men.
Heliotropin was discovered in 1869 by Fittig and Mielk who synthesised it and thus made the ‘sweet cherry pie' note of the Héliotrope flower, for which it is named, available to perfumers for the first time .. it was already in use in fragrances by the early 1880s.

Heliotropine occurs naturally in a range of botanicals including dill, violet flowers, black pepper and others and is used for vanilla or almond accords to bring a balsamic character and also has powdery, floral aspects. Despite having acquired the name heliotropine for its similar scent to that of the Héliotrope flower this chemical does not itself appear in the flower scent and so cannot be extracted from those flowers. The perfume has a sparkling quality, amazing for its age, and has notes of Lemon, Bergamot, Lilac, and Almond.

Offered here is a sample from this wonderful old flacon of this absolutely charming and sweet perfume. When I opened it, I was bowled over by the lovely héliotrope fragrance. Still fresh after all these years, and so feminine and lovely! Super rare .. It is almond smelling and is vanilla like. Many people associate the fragrance with feelings of warmth and comfort, often noting its nutty, woody undertones.

"Smooth like vanilla and soft as a cloud, the delectably sweet note of heliotrope adds a floral, suave facet to both feminine and masculine fragrances. A versatile ingredient, heliotrope is known to balance both its characteristically vanilla-esque facets with the warmth of almonds, anise or cinnamon. Its smoothness creates creamy undertones in a variety of fragrances—most notably in lilac accords." Wikiparfum

"Of the dozens of heliotrope soliflores I have experienced only the Guerlain and recently the Melliers have come closest to replicating the true scent of the flower. The D’Orsay version is unlike both ofthe above. I experience vanillin with a light green underscoring. It is very delicate and wears close to the skin. It is secured in its base by a tiny touch of an animalic note, so slight as to almost undetectable, but doing its job in keeping the fragrance from evaporating too quickly. A touch of sandalwood and musk keeps the animalic base from getting out of hand. This is a unique and highly well constructed scent and a welcome addition to the small collection of great heliotropes of bygone eras." Jack Twist, Basenotes Review

There are no longer any notes for D'Orsay's héliotrope, but I am going to suggest something like this ..

Top notes are Neroli, Orange Blossom, Lemon, Bergamot, and Lily of the Valley
Heart notes are Jasmine, Ylang Ylang, Heliotrope, Rose, Lilac, and Honeysuckle
Base notes are Sandalwood, Vanilla, and Ambergris

Offered here is an opportunity to try a sample of this remarkable 100 year old héliotrope parfum extrait from this extraordinarily beautiful old flacon. It is remarkable in its tenacity and beauty ..