Balenciaga, Le Dix, 'Ten', 30 ml. or 1 oz. Flacon, Parfum Extrait, 1947, Paris, France ..

Cristóbal Balenciaga was born in the Basque region of Spain, and had the choice of becoming a fisherman like his father, or a priest like his uncle. But Cristóbal wasn’t having any of that because he desired to work with clothing, in the footsteps of his dressmaker mother. Completely self-taught, he opened his salon, Balenciaga y Compañía, in 1918, and almost from the word go royalty and aristocrats were beating a path to his door.

Like so many, Balenciaga fled the Spanish Civil War, and moved his HQ to the world’s fashion capital of Paris, in 1937. A year later, he opened his beautiful neoclassical flagship store at 10 Avenue George V, which you can still visit today.

Le Dix is the first fragrance launched by Balenciaga and was introduced in 1947 as a gentle, classic floral scent for evening. Le Dix was named after the address of Balenciaga’s Parisian showroom, Le Dix (No. 10), and is a magnificent ambery floral. Delicate, powdery, dark violets can be felt through a sparkling veil of bergamot and lemon, giving the main motive to the whole composition. The opulent heart opens with rose and ylang-ylang and, after a while, their strong floral scent is toned down by aldehydes. Subtle vanilla dominates in the base bringing an interesting accord into this classic composition. The nose behind this fragrance is Francis Fabron.

Le Dix opens with a peachy, warm noted that is beautifully balanced with a gently hesperidic lemon and fresh bergamot .. a gorgeous opening indeed. Then there comes a hint of spice .. coriander and orris .. which leads over to a floral heart of rare beauty, where lily takes the centre stage, together with a rich, velvety Bulgarian rose .. which combines sensationally with a superb jasmine note. A pleasant elegant powderiness emerges next, allowing the perfume to settle into its superb feminine sensuality.

The base notes keeps up the same stupendous level of quality, with a natural sandalwood balancing beautifully with a fairly light and bright vetiver, a rich slightly musky vanilla, and a truly convincing great Amber note - In a word, this perfume is 'glorious'! A grand classic and a great masterpiece from the house of Balenciaga.

Top notes are Bergamot, Lemon, Peach, Coriander, Cilantro, and Neroli
Heart notes are Ylang Ylang, Violet, Lilac, Bulgarian Rose, Lily of the Valley, and Iris
Base notes are Vanilla, Sandalwood, Amber, Benzoin, Tonka Bean, Balsam, Ambergris, and Vetiver

Offered here is a beautiful pristine one ounce flacon of this gorgeous perfume in its original presentation box, still sealed and well preserved. This is a classic perfume, lovely for the evening, adored by many, and now more difficult to find in this original formula. This is a full bottle .. !