Question:
Chanel No.19 edt for me for daytime. It brings no surprise as I have loved it for a good few years now, although No.19 has been neglected recently in favour of my new loves. Sniff'n Speak encourages me to wear it again.
Notes listed on Basenotes are:
Top: Galbanum, bergamot, neroli, hyacinth.
Middle: Rose, Orris, jasmine, narcissus, muguet, ylang ylang.
Base: Musk, sandal, oakmoss, leather and cedarwood.
The topnotes are always very green and 'dry' to me but once the fragrance settles it's wonderful. I don't get any rose from no.19, perhaps it is stronger in the edp? Narcissus, muguet and ylang ylang come to the fore and they don't fade on my skin, instead blending with a base of musk, oakmoss and leather. I can't pick out sandal (wood?) or cedarwood either. Fresh and bright, like the new spring, I hope it always smells as good on me as it does today.
Zibeline, I was going to wear Narciso Rodriguez For Her tonight as my third chypre but I will wear Montana Parfum d'Elle instead to be twinned with you. Haven't worn this one for ages.

Answer:
I admit, I'm not a huge fan of the Chypre genre. I have very few in my wardrobe. I'm wearing Agent Provocateur today, probably not the truest form of Chypre since there is not oakmoss in the notes. AP is my dear friend, Lisa's almost holy grail ... sadly, on my skin today, it is not wearing well. It has the distinct odor of perm solution.
Top Notes: Saffron, Coriander
Middle Notes: Moroccan Rose, Jasmin, Magnolia, Ylang Ylang, White Gardenia
Base Notes: Vetiver, Amber, Musk
I think I will change into Dioressence a little later, stay tuned ...

Answer:
As I said on the SoTD thread, I couldn't decide between two scents for today's Sniff & Speak, a new love and an old favorite, so I've decided to cheat and wear both, the first as my SoTD, the second as my SoTE. Will post my thoughts on the first, Guerlain's Bois d'Armenie now, and will speak more to Givenchy's Ystatis later, after it's had its way with me!!
Although listed as a "sophisticated, woody oriental" on OzMoz, I believe the combination of wood and patchouli bump it into the "chypre" category. Also, I remember reading something about parfumer Annick Menard using other ingredients in Bois d'Armenie to substitute for the now-outlawed oakmoss.
Top note : Frankincense, Iris, Pink Pepper

Middle note : Gaiac Wood, (Saintwood), Benzoin, Coriander

Base note : Patchouli, Copahu Balm, Musk

My goodness, I love this fragrance. I've historically had a tempestuous relationship with the house of Guerlain... And think I tempted fate by buying this one blind as one of my last hurrahs before buying a new van, which put me in an unwilling state of fragrance fiscal austerity... Bought BdA after reading the description and finally finding ONE other Guerlain that I sprayed in Boston's Filene's Basement (Champs Elysees) that didn't morph into overwhelming jasmine/tuberose on me. JaimeB on the men's side was a huge help in finding Bois d'Armenie in the states. To my knowledge, available only one place on each coast in the US: at Neiman's in San Francisco and at Bergdorf's in New York. Suffice it to say that I hope to own some Champs Elysees at some point, but in Bois d'Armenie, I believe I have found MY Guerlain (note to Guerlain fans: I have samples of others and my "Guerlainade-phobia" notwithstanding, plan to jump into the Guerlain Week with both feet, so STAY TUNED! )
Anyhow, on my skin, Bois d'Armenie opens with dark woods on a sweet patchouli/musk base, with light whiffs of incense and spice. Elegant, gorgeous. Not for really hot weather, I think, but for autumn through the first spring flowerings, I think this fragrance is WONDERFUL. It is marketed as a men's scent, which I think is a mistake. To my nose, this is a unisex scent, and I highly recommend it to my fellow wood-note-loving women!
As it dries down, I actually end up pulling some vanilla/tonka notes from this one, although neither's listed. The woods fade, and the base mellows into the most comforting deepness. Still, while intense, it's not heavy. And for those of you who have smelled the room-freshening incense paper on which the scent is based, I think it's a successful version of this for the skin.

Answer:
like lievje, today i'm in 31 rue cambon, a "new chypre."

my best guess at the notes:

top: bergamot, pepper?
mid: iris, carnation?, incense?
bottom: patchouli?, amber?

it's a little powdery, something i don't typically enjoy, but this smells so refined, so elegant, so RICH. it's rather complex, and it's well blended. i'm finding it very difficult to describe actually. it very much evokes PERFUME; it doesn't smell like food, or flowers, or animals...it smells like perfume. it reminds me, a little, of parfum sacre - i get the same kind of vibe from it. edit: also, like femme, it has a "womanly" smell. maybe there is some cumin?

this is beautiful, and i suspect that those who don't like chypres would like this. time to go put on my corset.

Answer:
ComDiva--thanks for posting your impressions of Bois d'Armenie. I've got a sample idling for Guerlain week, but I'm already loving what I've sniffed of it.
Chypre sidenote: In trying to discourage my daughter's cat from wanting to pee in inappropriate places, I resorted to spraying Cabochard in a corner today. This has worked with him and Miss Balmain in the past. Cats don't like chypres? Fortunately, he doesn't seem to feel the need to "trump" my sprays with his, so I just have to keep perfuming the corners.

Answer:
I've been a Mitsouko user for over 20 years, but my love affair with this perfume is waning.
Instead, I've chosen to experiement with Chypre Rouge.
Top note: Thyme, Pine Needles

Middle note: Honey, Beeswax, Jasmine, Fruit Gums

Base note: Patchouli, Moss, Amber, Musks, Vanilla
Some people talk about this scent as having a strong note of candied fruits or pecans, but for me, it is entirely different.
The opening notes of thyme and pine are disconcertingly savoury. Below that is only the faintest hint of anything floral before you hit dirt - the damp, mulchy smell of soil.
It is not a feminine scent, nor an easy scent to wear, but when I applied it I could not stop sniffing my wrist. Even though I ended up buying Ambre Sultan after my first visit to the Lutens counter, this scent haunted me so much I had to return the following weekend and add this, too, to my collection. I wouldn't wear this to seduce, or to party, but for myself.
I do think this would be a good antidote to cat spraying, however!

Answer:
Montana Parfum d'Elle for evening scent to twin with Zibeline. This has been in my wardrobe for almost a year but has rarely been worn. Notes are:
Top: melon, lemon, mandarin, lime.
Middle: ginger, rosewood, hyacinth, tuberose.
Base: Oakmoss, tonka, vanilla, tobacco.
Very difficult to describe Parfum d'Elle because it is not like anything else in my wardrobe. Development on my skin goes from citrus - floral then ginger kicks in. Drydown is quite complex as melon, lemon, hyacinth and tuberose (subdued here) are warmed by ginger above a mossy vanilla base. It smells quite 'continental' to me and I think a hot climate would perhaps bring out the best in Parfum d'Elle. There is something about this scent which reminds me of showergels and soaps I have bought and used when on holiday in Spain. I don't love Parfum d'Elle but I might take it on holiday with me!

Answer:
Originally Posted by moondeva ...This has also confirmed for me that the current generation / interpretation of the genre of Chypre are far, far off track...
This is a wonderfully, soft, close to skin scent... all the notes melding together seamlessly creating a haunting, mysterious golden melange that haunts well after the scent disappears discreetly from the skin... soft like sunshine on the morning of a warm summer's day with the warm classic heart florals adding to the effect of a gentle sun-warmed landscape. The long lasting base is so smooth, creamy and luscious recreating the scent of sunwarmed skin touched with elegance... Beautiful.
That is a perfect description of old-school Chypres.
Then you understand the point I was making about Mitsouko. Thank you.
I could not have explained it better. This is how the "old" chypes were different from the current ones.
Creamy, smooth base--yes, yes, a thousand times yes.
Soft, with notes melded together, a golden melange, gentle and sun-warmed. Righto!
The current emphasis seems to be on "stand-out" notes--sour, salty, woody, bitter--that are juxtaposed with the sweetness rather than blended into it.
For example, Narciso Rodrigues for Her EDP has a vetiver peach.
Une Folie de Rose has a patchouli rose.
Agent Provocateur has a vetiver rose.
The old ones were calmer somehow.
The fruits were at least golden, and at most creamy.
And the bases ended up sweet, I tell you.
I think this genre would have more fans if they went back to the roots and started emphasizing that characteristic again.
As for me, I like woodiness, so I will continue to wear the current Chypres. But I like creaminess and sweetness, too.
And I will say this: It takes alot more talent to come up with a chypre that ends up gentle and sun-warmed, rather than an attention-getting mix of clashing notes.
I might reveal my bourgeois roots here, but I'm going to say this anyway:
In the end, a perfume should be pretty.
And art should be beautiful.

Answer:
Well I started the day like Moondeva with Chypre de Coty. I am not at all sure how old my one is; probably 1950s or '60s or so, and who knows whether it in any way resembles its ancestor.
To me, the mark of a chypre is in it's texture; I sort of get a cross-wiring in the brain between scent and texture, and therefore to me chypres have a pile, like velvet or corduroy - I can sort of run the er, fingers of my nose through it! I get the same effect from pure oakmoss extracts. The pile of Chypre is quite crude; it is not smooth, but more ragged and chunky. Wearing it, I get the occasional utterly sublime whiff; next time I wear this I am going to do what is recommended on the box; just spray/splash it all over my body before dressing! It really begs to be treated like this rather than worn in localised spritzes. It is the scent spiraling off my warm body that is so enchanting, rather than the smell of Chypre, which is not so outstanding in itself. It isn't listed in the notes, but I swear I can smell lavender in this one; in fact if I had to sum Chypre up, I would say that it is the chypre'd version of a classic eau de Cologne. The charm is in the contrasts between its notes, not in their seamless blending.
Later I tried some Y, again a vintage, just to make clear to myself the difference. However, whichever, it seems that today is one of those days when Y vanishes on me; gorgeous for an hour or so and then, just when the fruits are settling in, -nothing. Since on other days it remains loud and clear (and with a deep velvet-smooth pile!) for hours, I hesitated to spray any more in case unawares I knocked out all and sundry at the supermarket.
Finally this evening I am wearing Perles de Lalique, because I couldn't find La Perla which I had meant to use. I really rate this, and although it quite clearly has less oakmoss than either Chypre or Y, it has all the hallmarks of a chypre; texture (it sort of makes me want to bite it!), and that changeability as different aspects come to the fore, although it does eventually settle rather quietly into a woody rose.

Answer:
The Agent Provocateur didn't work out so well today, so now I'm wearing Dioressence. (still not a "true" Chypre, is it? )
I bought my bottle on ebay, so I'm not sure how old it is, but it is the old style of bottle. It is EDT. I keep hearing how the newer version is just a shadow of the vintage, I'm pretty sure that mine is vintage ...
Here are the notes according to OsMoz (slightly different than BN directory):
Top note : Aldehydes, Green Note, Orange, Bergamot
Middle note : Carnation, Geranium, Rose, Cinnamom
Base note : Benzoin, Patchouli, Oakmoss, Vanilla
This is a Chypre that oriental-loving girls like me can like. Dioressence walks both sides of the street. A touch soapy at first, a bit powdery a little later. There is a distinct spiciness to Dioressence, but is it more the cinnamon or the carnation? It does not have a heavy floral feel to me. The drydown is softened by the vanilla and benzoin, but it doesn't become overly sweet, in fact there is something a little masculine to it. This has some BIG sillage, especially in the first few hours of wearing.