Of all the fragrances crowding shelves, relatively few smell truly like “perfume” to me. I don’t mean they’re necessarily what some people consider “perfumey” — emitting sneezy aldehydes and high-pitched florals — but that these perfumes don’t try to tell a story or mimic a bouquet or evoke a place. They are, simply, abstract olfactory compositions that build something distinct and whole from their pieces, something you recognize at once. Worth Je Reviens is one of those perfumes.
Perfumer Maurice Blanchet developed Je Reviens in 1932. Je Reviens, over the years, moved from prestige to mass market status; it was reissued in the prestige category in 2004 as Je Reviens Couture.1 Susan Irvine, in Perfume: The Creation and Allure of Classic Fragrances, attributes the original name to Napoleon’s instructions to Josephine, “Je reviens en trois jours, ne te lave pas.”2 (Hardly a recommendation for a spring-like aldehydic floral fragrance, if you ask me.) Its notes include jasmine, orange blossom, ylang ylang, aldehydes, narcissus, jonquil, violet, sandalwood, vetiver and musk.
Je Reviens is plainly Je Reviens, whether it’s the drugstore variety, the Je Reviens Couture, or vintage Eau de Cologne. It’s a fresh, stemmy green floral that hums with narcissus and rose. Its green isn’t the sharp galbanum of fragrances such as Carven Ma Griffe, but is a gentle lit-from-within green, like light through a jadeite lampshade. A pinch of carnation keeps the fragrance lively, and orange blossom infuses it with youthful innocence. Despite the notes I’ve listed, really Je Reviens comes together as its own particular flavor, as if the perfumer mixed blues and yellows we all know and invented a green that had never been seen. A bare, sweet smokiness, almost like incense, trails through it.
However, each version of Je Reviens has its own feel and is likely to have different fans. The drugstore variety is thin and sharp and a little more grassy than the vintage or Couture versions. The Parfums Worth website calls it a “subtle variation” of the classic version. The good news is that 100 ml bottles of the Eau de Toilette can be had online for as little as $12. The bad news is that for value you might rather spend the money on a tuna melt and People magazine. The Eau de Toilette would probably make a nice linen spray.
Je Reviens Couture is purported to smell closer to the original. I can’t say if this is true, since I don’t know what my vintage bottle smelled like new, but Je Reviens Couture is much more ladylike and demanding than my vintage Eau de Cologne. The Couture is packed with aldehydes, clean musk and fresh orange blossom. It has respectable sillage and wears five or six hours on me. Oh, and the juice is windshield-cleaner blue.
My favorite version of Je Reviens is vintage Eau de Cologne. Where Je Reviens Couture is stiff satin, the Eau de Cologne is watered silk. In vintage Eau de Cologne, the Couture’s diamond sparkle becomes a flattering opalescent glow, soft and delicate. It stays close to my skin and wears surprisingly long for an Eau de Cologne — from breakfast to mid-afternoon. As a bonus, the Eau de Cologne is in a glass-stoppered, globe-shaped bottle molded with stars (not shown).
Worth Je Reviens, including vintage, is widely available online. Contemporary Je Reviens also comes in Parfum and body products.
1. Ed. note: The company that currently produces "Worth Je Reviens" may or may not be the same company that produced "Worth Je Reviens Couture" in the mid-2000s; the latter company may or may not still be in business but their website is no longer active. Confused? So am I. You can buy "Worth Je Reviens" (sold in 10 or 50 ml Eau de Toilette, shown above left, or 15 or 30 ml Parfum, not shown) or "Worth Je Reviens Couture" (shown above right, in 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum) in the UK at Perfume Shopping.
2. “I return in three days, don’t wash yourself.”
“Don’t wash yourself”–either a very sexy thought (I want you to still smell me on your skin) or a very possessive one! Like, don’t make yourself too attractive while I’m gone! Kinda gross, either way. 🙂
It kind of gives you a different view of Napoleon, doesn’t it? I went to Malmaison once, and the tour guide said Josephine’s room was saturated with musk. They both must have like earthy smells.
*snort*
Actually, the idea behind that sentiment that I have always heard was that he liked the way she smelled when she had not bathed – he was returning from a campaign or battle or whatnot and wanted her to be ripe for his pleasure.
Eww! Still gross!
(But thanks for sharing! : -] )
I don’t think it’s gross. Liking the way someone smells without soap, powder, or parfum. I think it’s sexy. It reminds me of one of my major first loves. After he would do something and be so sweaty and stink to most, he smelled carnal and of sex and touching and kissing. Very sensual thought but I totally understand it. Have felt it many times with lovers.
Hey, maybe you were Empress Josephine in another life! (That would be pretty cool.)
One would think all those horses, unwashed soldiers, and open latrines would have been pretty stimulating, then.
😀
OMG, a review of my signature perfume that I wore for several decades!! My French Grandmother bought me Je Reviens when I was 15 years old. She believed in wearing perfume everyday and wearing a sig scent. No Jean Nate for her grand-daughter LOL. She also believed in a cocktail each night and wearing “good” clothes. But I digress. I adored Je Reviens and wore it all through the 70’s, 80’s and into the mid-90’s. In fact the only thing that really made me stop was the reformulation, I did NOT like the new scent. All my friends from college knew my scent and I am hoping a few old boyfriends have fond memories. I still have one bottle of vintage perfume left that I occasionally dab on. I used the talc, the body oil spray, the lotion and at one point had the think cream which I also remember I saved too long and it went bad in the jar. 🙁 I no longer have a single scent but boy those years were good. Thank you for the very pleasant walk down memory lane today.
Your grandmother sounds terrific! Everyone should have a French grandmother, it sounds like.
Great story! Thanks for sharing.
I also wore Je Reviens in the 70’s and early 80’s – a lovely scent and one of the first i fell in love with. I’d love to sniff the Couture version and see how it compared with my memories!
It would be an interesting experiment! I find the Couture version a little sharp, but I do love the old EdC.
I recently found a small circular bottle of this…used to belong to my Grandmother!
How nice! Do you think of her when you smell it?
A friend once gave me a small, wafer-shaped bottle of Je Reviens in its own little velvety pouch. She’d found it at an antiques mall. I wonder if it’s the same shape as your grandmother’s bottle?
Oh, lucky you! Some of those round bottles are collectible. Enjoy the perfume!
Such an enjoyable post, Angela. Je Reviens Eau de Cologne evokes a vintage postcard image to me–women in pastel dresses and tiny white hats, their lips painted a perfect cherry red. A lovely fragrance. But I don’t know how my 17-20 year old bottle compares to what is sold today.
I like my vintage EdC better than the new Je Reviens I’ve smelled–and your image captures it well. It’s springlike to me, but has a more modern, particular smell than a lot of spring flower-type fragrances.
In WW II, soldiers sent Je Reviens to wives, girlfriends, mothers — “I shall return”. My MIL still has her bottle from her soldier husband.
Thanks–I love a good romantic story!
And, I should have added, her soldier did return.
Oh good! I can’t imagine the agony of wondering how your husband fares war, especially in those days when you couldn’t skype regularly.
Angela, it sounds like it. I can take a picture and email it to you … it’s dark blue with a golden cap
It sounds like the same one! Don’t bother to take a photo. I can picture it perfectly from your description.
Gorgeous and intriguing review, as always. Is it hard to find bottles or samples of the vintage Eau de Cologne?
I see them around all the time. I think Je Reviens was popular enough that like Evening in Paris and a few others it’s still relatively easy to find.
Oh thanks Angela, dear! Searching it out now. You are such an enabler! 😉
I do my best!
This makes me think of Lucien Lelong, why? Because I bought the two scents offered on her page but not the one with the long yellow bottle, the one I really wanted was $90. And not having a clue as to if I should buy it or look for vintage bottles online I forgot about it. The names of the ones I got are:SIRROCO & TAILSPIN. I guess it was called Vintage. I long to have a frag that I can pass onto my daughters. I have over 160 full bottles and hundreds of samples. Most of them are niche or luxury ie Chanel and Diors, also a few are from the department store. But most of them are great and I have found that out of all of them my skin likes SSS the best. Sanoma Scent Studio’s perfumes, I own three:Champaign du Bois, Incense Pur, and Wood Violet though I dropped it and it’s all gone. A new bottle or two will be here soon as that is my favorite. But I have different bottles or scents that I like just as well as SSS is one of my favorites. I wish Laurie would make. 100 ml size. If I could afford it…the 34 ml is around $80. So that would mean it would be $240 to get close to a 100 ml portion of my Fav juice. It stays on my skin better than anything. Mazzolari has a scent called LEI that I love that stays close for a while. And Tauer’s scents do the same. I wish I Profumi de Firenze would last longer. For $100/50 ml it should. Parfumerie Générale has a few that last a bit longer than most. I actually sprayed on some Armani Mania today as I’m trying to use my favorites for special things, appts, meetings, visitors and visiting. My daughter just attacked me and said that I smelled great. She sprayed on some Armani and it didn’t smell like she smelled on me. She was disappointed because I usually give them ( I have four daughters ages 14-4) the entire bottle if it is from the department store. The 14 year old loves Escada’s sweet summery release I forgot the name of it but it’s in an orange bottle. It smelled good for a filler when I bought it. She also likes Womanity but hates Diptyque’s PHYLOSIKOS. Don’t get it. Not that I want her to start asking for the good stuff, the 10 yr old loves Guerlain. Anything Guerlain. I do no own the regular Shalimar. I own the initial. And I love that. I also love Champs Ellysées and Chamade. Chamade is listed as a five star perfume on one of the other blogs but so is Angel. Hahahahhahaha. I own Sunessence Angel, it’s in an orange bottle.
All this is to say I do NOT have a signature scent if I did it would be Acqua di Parma’s Iris Nobile. But I cannot keep enough in stock. So I’m going to have to settle for something else. Any ideas? I have tried Atelier and the Bois Blonds smells like nothing to me. I don’t know why I chose it. I should sample some of the Ateliers and let that be my signature scent because don’t they come in 200ml bottles? Please help. I need something GOOD but with a large quantity and a not so large price tag.
Oh my! You’re making your perfume hobby a family hobby! Your daughters must love it.
As far as finding a signature fragrance goes, maybe you–like me–are doomed to love too many perfumes to settle down with just one. But you could sign up for the Monday Mail feature and see what people suggest for you. If you go back to NST’s main page, you’ll see Monday Mail right under this post.
Angela,
I girl love, love you!!! I read your every thought and hoped you would help. I’m leaning towards Atelier’s orange Sanguine or Amber Nue, just because it is 200 ml in one bottle for just under $200. I want one for day’s when I don’t have to put thought into it. I’m using up my bottles by testing. Just to find something for the day. This would be a great purchase for me. Have you tried any of the Atelier’s that are offered on [ed note: text removed] page, though [ed note: text removed], he says he has shipped 8 pkgs and I have one bottle of costume national and one Bois Blonds. The rest was signed for by an evil woman who was in my house, an opiate addict, that was trying to tear my marriage apart. It’s like a movie. She would hear me call the company saying I didn’t get it, although she had signed for it and thrown the perfume and other things in the trash. But when the UPS inspector said something about getting the sheriff involved she rustled through some boxes and showed them to the inspector. I was …shocked asking where theHELL is my perfume and her saying I DON’T KNOW, MAYBE THE GIRLS GOT IT. So I filed claims against them, they were not signed for by me. When I get a total of merchandise lost I plan on filing a police report. It was my husband’s Mother, she was out to get me from the start. She stayed for 3-3.5 months. I asked her to leave one day, she didn’t so I called the police. They basically told me I had no rights and to not NOT RAISE MY VOICE AGAIN. The policeman brought my oldest into a room by herself, which was a no no, she is a minor, he did it against my wishes and from she says told her she could call if I got out of hand and I would go to jail. I promised not to raise my voice to the inlaws and we actually apologized to one another. Which they happen not to remember…anyway, I started crying and broke down over the situation my disturbed husband had put me in and she (14 yr old) walked through and told me to shut up and if I didn’t she would have me arrested. I quickly take her threw my room and into the bathroom locking both doors behind me because I had a few words for her. The Bitch calls my husband and says I’m abusing her in the bathroom, next thing I know I am being cuffed and taken to the slammer charged with 8 cts of Domestic Violence/Disturbing the peace.
No one even heard me but Sophia and That Woman at the door still charged 8 times. I was let go under the auspices that I would establish a new residence. Didn’t even have shoes on. No money no nothing. But I smelled good. All the druggies really liked Amouage Gold. That’s mostly behind me but I still haven’t gotten a chance to tell what my story is. So after the initial trial, my husband and I had a chance to go to Fl for three days. I wanted to, I needed sex, no kids, no stress, and sleep. We slept in seperate beds, not even a kiss, but I did sleep til 3:30 pm. Eastern time after the first night. Hubby got drunk at dinner wanted to walk on the beach and be romantic but I was carrying anger for him because he would not make her leave. She came to “help,” after I was in an accident. Broken ribs, busted knee, terrible bruising on my side, sprained ankle, and a slew of torn muscles in my back, left side, she helped by shrinking my cute town dresses to a blouse size. Bitch. Hope she detoxes and screams for mercy. I told him if he didn’t have her leave when we got back then I would. The day before we left I went an got an order of protection for me and the kids and on the drive home asked him when they were leaving. He said lets not get into that. Well, I pulled my order from my purse and began to read aloud. He pulled over and called the cops, stupid, I would have let them stay until they could afford the trip. But he didn’t listen thinking that the law wouldn’t be on my side because I had been arrested and he had something to do with that. He wasn’t even here that day and called the cops and I got a charge for him because he said that I had yelled at him that morning. Yes, you can go to jail in a domestic situation if one person is yelling or verbally abusing…so he pulls in and the cops are waiting for us. They serve her wish I could have seen the look on her face but she got her shiz and my husband put them up in a hotel. She was going to take it to trial and I said enough to my husband. ENOUGH, EITHER MOMMY GOES HOME OR I AND THE KIDS ARE LEAVING. He told them to go home. They signed for our car, which I drive. A nice tough JEEP COMMANDER. It seats seven and I have 5 little ones so it works and it’s sporty and I feel rugged. Plus it’s a JEEP! Highly recommend one…she took it because it’s in her name even though shehad never paid a payment and the insurance is in our name. That really got me going. She had to have the last word ****ing go home, duh!
She finally went after getting told she would not take this to trial because I was within my rights. So that’s that, but she got rid of all kinds of pkgs. my 4yr old brought me an Etro dress that was in the pile of boxes she had found. They weren’t visible. They were on the other side of the car we don’t use in the carport. I bet 25 boxes or more. I did alot of shopping online but I’m not doing that anymore. Franco won’t sell to me because my bank told me to chargeback the sums. I am going to have to fill out a police report and she is either going to give the money back or go to jail. That’s going to happen soon. I’m giving her time to get the money. It’s into several thousand. She’s got a deadline. Then I’m pressing charges. So there is my story. Now how am I gonna get my Orange Sanguine or Amber Nue? Does Atelier have a site? All this and I’m still standing. We are moving into a great house soon and I will finally have my red couches with talevera bowls and trinkets, wall art and fixtures. It’s classical Mexican painting. It’s beautiful. Check it out sometime. There is also a Southwestern artist named Francisco that my doctor owns hundreds of his paintings and is always looking for a place to store them. They are worth about $200,000/per piece. Maybe I can talk him into housing them in my Tucson home. I would die, I’m from Alabama, I meaning he said yes I would fall out. Imagine me: loudmouth Italian/Cherokee Indian in Tucson and how I have time to have this much drama going while I homeschool and have for 10 years. Southern Belles can do anything. This too shall pass. Felt like telling you all this Angela, since I love you so much. What say you?? Especially about the perfume, isn’t that a good deal? The Atelier? 200ml/$184????
Holy Cow!! What a story! You should write a book!
The Atelier sounds like a good deal if you love it.
Sarah: I’ve edited your comment to remove the name of the store. Please, don’t bring your disputes with shop owners or perfumers here…it isn’t appropriate.
Hey! Sirocco is my one of my Top 5 faves. I wear it everyday. Perfection!
Cheryl
Angela: I really enjoy your review of JR. When I was a young teen and used to hover in the fragrance aisle of the local department store, I used to love smelling this tester. I always wanted a bottle so bad, but my mom thought it was too mature for me. She was probably not wrong for me at 13, but I still wish that I had a bottle from then. It always seemed so mysterious and elegant.
Too bad you never got one! Really, I think it’s kind of a youthful fragrance–as least as young as Babe, my teen perfume, was.
My heart skipped a beat when I opened NST and saw the review of my favorite – and for years, my signature – scent. Sigh…
My uncle sent me a small bottle of the parfum when I was 12 (!) and I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever smelled. I wore it for years – until early 2000’s – and finally gave it up. Too many memories and too much reformulation.
I only ever wore the parfum as the edt was a very different fragrance. Angela, if you’d ever smelled the old parfum, you would understand the name. It was very rich and indolic.
Also, I have read somewhere (and of course can’t remember where) that Charles Worth originally developed JR to give to his clients with their couture purchases way back in the 1800’s. It was only much later that his grandson had it marketed commercially.
SOTD: L’Heure Bleue in honor of my team. GO BIG BLUE!! Only 40 more minutes.
That’s hilarious! Someday we should match sports teams with fragrances. Something cheesy for the Packers, etc.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for your team!
Thanks! 😀
Been wondering how long before a basketball reference surfaced! Perfect scent for your evening (well, for anytime, but you couldn’t find a better name tie-in). Good luck!
Are you a college b’ball fan, Joanne? As they say around here, “I bleed blue.” lol! This state is electric with excitement for tonight’s game.
Thank you for the stories! I wish I could smell the old parfum….Also, I love the quote “too many memories and too much reformulation.”
Nice review! I always wonder if there is a big upswing in ebay sales when you do these vintage reviews.
I love perfumes that are Perfume – I remember thinking that when I first smelled Enlevement au Serail. I have felt that way about a lot of perfumes, in some ways, but occasionally they just stand out in your mind as “this is what they really mean”.
Enlevement au serail is a perfect example of what I consider a “perfume” in that way. It’s a hard concept to try to explain–I’m glad you got it!
I love perfumey-smelling perfume, too.
We should form a club!
Lovely review. Thank you Angela! I would love to try the vintage one. It sounds as if it could be something I would enjoy. I am always at antique and vintage markets, so I’ll keep an eye out for it.
I think it’s fairly easy to find. Do report back if you get the chance to try it!
Perfume smelling perfume…Angela give me a couple more examples please. I don’t know either of these. I am left out once again. I’m still a novice…but with aspirations. I think I know what you mean. I would say Caron’s Farnesiana is a perfume smelling perfume?? What say you. Is Carnal Flower really that great and who likes Byredo frags? I love Seven Veils!!
I don’t know the Byredo fragrances very well at all, so I can’t say much about those.
“Perfumey” perfumes are so hard to describe! To me they’re perfumes that don’t smell like anything but perfume (I know that doesn’t help!). They’re abstract and beautiful.
how wonderful that your review should appear today! I was just searching the internet yesterday for reviews of Je Reviens. My mother wore it … might have started in the 1940’s. She certainly wore it through the 1960’s. She had the fluted blue bottle as well as the flat “wafer” shaped blue perfume bottle. I’ve just ordered a sample of the designer perfume from the Perfumed Court and can’t wait to put it on and see if it smells as I remember. In the 1970’s she switched to Bellodgia (the reformulated is too carnation*y for me) which was warm and spicy but not as subtle or elegant as the Je Reviens.
I hope you report back and tell us if it smells like you remembered! Bellodgia is a gorgeous perfume, but you’re right, there’s something special about Je Reviens.
Ah – memories! Precocious child as I was, I used to love wearing the original Je Reviens parfum in the 60s; it came in a tiny, titchy version of the midnight blue fluted column bottle. I recently tried the Couture edt, which is meant to smell more like the original than all the other versions floating around, but have to say that I was disappointed – it smelt thin and cheap.
The latest news is that Roullier White here in the UK (the lovely people who are very helpful and scored great publicity by selling the Kate Middleton perfume) have announced that they have obtained the parfum – presumably someone has decided it would be worth (ha, ha!) making this strength again. I have sniffed it on a tester strip, and must say it is much better than Couture, but I can’t really tell from this how close it is to the original parfum. Must say that my credit card is trying to wriggle its way out of my purse ……. but I must resist ………
Interesting! So Worth perfumes really are going through some ownership changes. Robin did some research online and had a hard time figuring out who owned and manufactured what. I hope the new Je Reviens is a success.
I’m wondering which Atelier to get Amber Nue or Grand Neroli for everyday use.
It sounds like you live somewhere warm–how about the Grand Neroli? It might be more refreshing.
Please tell me where I can find a bottle of Je Reviens in the Atlanta area. I miss it. I wore it in the 80s and would hunt for it in shops during port calls while in the Navy. This female sailor wanted to smell like a girl when she was off duty, not like mechanic the I was reeking of diesel fuel.
I understand that the formulation has changed. Please tell me which one is closest to the original. Thank you
I wish I knew the Atlanta area, but I don’t, so I can’t help you there too much. You’ll probably have the best luck by ordering online. worthjereviens.com sells it. People say the Couture version is the closest to the original, but I prefer my vintage bottle that I bought at an estate sale.
Thank you. I will place the order.
I have the EDT and quite enjoy it. I have not had the pleasure of smelling the earlier formulas. I get a lot of carnation and orange blossom with a clean, musky dry down. Maybe a bit thin, but lovely never the less.
Je Reviens, thankfully, smells like Je Reviens whatever it’s formulation!
I had an English teacher, junior year in high school, way back when I was young and supple and clueless, who *loved* Je Reviens. I’m not sure why he told us this, or if it was even appropriate for him to tell us this. But we all loved him very much and believed him when he spoke. He said he loved Je Reviens because of the name. “Leave the key under the mat, baby, because, depend on it, I’ll be back…” He said this in a promising and ecstatic tone. And he said it several times, without reference to either Napoleon or Josephine. I got a bottle of the drugstore version a year or two ago and was kind of meh. That was a big disappointment. I may go back and try it again, it’s still on the shelf in my cupboard.
It’s so funny: that teacher probably thought he was projecting the image of the sophisticate and got some sort of subconscious thrill from hinting at sex in front of junior high school girls. Instead, he left a longstanding feeling of creepiness. Ick.
Je Reviens deserves better!
In the last 50’s my boyfriend gave me a bottle of Shalimar, he loved it on me, then one day my cousin picked me up and when I got in the car she wanted to know if I dumped vanilla on myself. That killed it for me, whenever I wore it all I could smell was vanilla so I stopped wearing it, my boyfriend was so angry.
Then, one day in the mid 60’s I spotted a bottle of blue perfume and asked to smell it and then tested it om myself. I was hooked on Je Reviens for years, I don’t recall why or when I stopped using it, maybe it got to be too expensive or my boyfriend who became my husband gave me a new scent but I think of Je Reviens from time to time with fond memories.
I wonder what you think if you smelled it today? It might bring back lots of wonderful memories. It would be a fun experiment.
After posting here I ordered some. We’ll have to wait and see if it smells the same as it used to.
I also ordered some Shalimar for my husband, we’ll see what he thinks of it after all these years.
In the late 60’s I used to drive past the Estee Lauder plant every and for a mile or so before and after all you smelled was Youth Dew. The mother of a girl I worked with at the time worked at the plant and she would get bottles from “bad” batches and gives them to us. That too held many memories for me, especially that delightful daily drive. So, I ordered a small bottle of that too.
I know, I’ve gone fragrance wild but it’s going to be so lovely when they come in and all the memories from my youth come back to visit.
What terrific stories about the Estee Lauder plant! And don’t feel bad at all about ordering three tiny bottles of perfume. If I told you some of the damage I’ve done to my wallet in the name of perfume, you’d feel positively virtuous. I hope the perfume brings back great memories!