Perfume lovers seem to fall into one of two camps about vintage fragrances. Either they seek them out, eager to try many iterations of their favorites; or they avoid them, fearing that they’ll fall in love with a perfume they’ll never smell again. I fall into the “better to have loved and lost than never loved at all” camp. Usually, that’s fine. I mean, there’s always another good perfume coming along, right? But when my 1.25 dram bottle of Parfums Ciro Danger extrait runs out, my heart will break.
Danger, released in 1938, is a rich, dark rose with an animalic edge. I have to wonder if it was inspired by Schiaparelli Shocking, released the year before. The big difference is that Danger’s rose is balanced by helpings of cinnamon and lavender. The result is seductive and romantic, but intriguingly odd. Aren’t the most beautiful people like that?
I don’t know how old my tiny bottle of Danger is, but certainly older than fifty years. As you might expect, its top notes have turned to the smell of damp cardboard. (I’m starting to like that smell, just as I like the smell of old books. It’s my nose’s soundtrack for anticipation.) After a few minutes, it burns away, and Danger's signature of rose, cinnamon, and lavender takes center stage.
Underlying this spicy-herbal rose is a regular Golden Age of Hollywood cast of notes: amber, sweet sandalwood, honey, musk, moss, resins, and a touch of civet. And probably lots more. Without the wit the lavender and cinnamon adds, Danger would simply be another beautiful, predictable rose done in a grand style.
The lavender and cinnamon, swaddled in ambery sandalwood and musk, continue until the perfume fades, hours and hours after putting it on. Maybe because this is the Extrait, it wears quietly but stays lush on my skin. As the rain and cold move in in my part of the world, I’m loving wearing Danger. I think it will take well to cashmere sweaters, vintage coats, and silk twill scarves, especially if their colors are rich and patterns just a bit off-kilter.
Ciro Danger is long discontinued. Do any of you know of an herbal-spicy, dark rose fragrance you can recommend? If not, do you know any perfumers we can beg to make one? (I’m only half joking. Sigh.)
Truly a “zero danger” to run out of a precious vintage!
)
Thats probably why I fall in the vintage avoiding group because the end is just so sad. (Not to mention the constant fear/battle of using it up quickly or else it will risk going bad the next day or to savour it slowly)
That being said though, I will definitely not pass up a chance to test a vintage if I come across one; just not actively hunt for them (for now…maybe?
I understand the sadness of losing a beloved vintage fragrance, I truly do! But I still can’t resist. If Danger somehow crosses your path, though, do try it.
If I have the fortunate chance to come by one, definitely! From your description, I can tell it is a true gem.
I think so!
I don’t know any current perfumes of that description but Dawn Spenser Hurwitz does custom orders and she did recreate Fath Iris Gris and vintage Opium in the past few years
She’s so talented! If I can’t find a good substitute for Danger, when my ship comes in I’d definitely consider getting in touch with her.
The only two spicy dark roses that come to mind are Lyric Woman and Diptyque L’Eau, but those are shots in the dark (rose). Thank you for the review!
I have Lyric Woman and like it a lot, but it doesn’t have the same wit as Danger. Who would have thought that a strong shot of lavender and cinnamon would be so good with rose?
It is a great name for a perfume. I bought Bandit, Shocking, Madness, and Trouble ( a great one-star perfume) based as much on their names as their scent…and Danger would tempt me for the same reason. I can’t think of a Danger-like scent. I like carnation and rose together, though, for that lush spice. Danger sounds a little more surreal than that.
Those are all such great names! So much more interesting than the usual Something Noir.
Angela, I imagine Andy Tauer could make it if anybody could!
And I’m sure it would be a fantastic, deeply spiced lavender rose with a resinous base. I wish he would now! lol
You’re right! He’d do a fabulous job of it!
Hi, Tamara! I had a ball in Seattle week before last, and did a quick, all-day tour of the Olympic National park. What a gorgeous part of the world! Already planning to visit the PNW again next summer.
Is Epic Woman at all similar? I think its a wonderful spicy perfume, definitely with rose and cinnamon notes, but I believe it lacks the lavender.
Epic Woman is woodier and less wacky to me (if that makes sense!). Maybe I should try layering a rose with Dune or Moment Supreme and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
It’s pretty modern and nothing like a vintage scent, but Etat Libre d’Orange Rossy de Palma Eau de Protection is a dark, spicy rose — pepper and ginger in the top scattered over an armload of fresh dewy roses, and then it all gets inky and gothic as incense and patchouli sidle in and slowly take over. I really love it. It’s probably my favourite rose scent of the last decade.
It’s been too long since I’ve smelled that one, and the rose-ginger combination sounds so good!
Ah, somebody in America should buy this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/4pc-Les-Parfums-Ciro-Surrender-Reflexions-New-Horizons-Danger-Perfume-Mini-Set-/371647114442?hash=item5687e4ecca:g:olEAAOSwbYZXU4uy
That’s similar to the set I describe in my comment below, although the design of the caps and box are different. What a bargain, no?
Yeah, I’d definitely take more vintage/blind risks if I lived in the States. So it’s probably good for my bank account that I don’t :-p
If I weren’t about to leave my day job, I’d jump on that set right now!
Congratulations on leaving your day job!! One day soon I hope to leave my night one…
Thank you! I’ll still have to find another job, but I’m hoping for something that doesn’t tie me to a desk quite so much. I hope your golden moment comes with the night job soon.
Early on in my freewheeling days on ebay, I bought a boxed set of four 1/2-oz “Parfums CIRO Esscents” from the 1960s, I think, based on the design of the box. The set includes Surrender, Reflexions, and New Horizon, as well as Danger. The shapes of these little glass bottles are the same as those of the original crystal perfume bottles, but they have simple screw tops instead of glass stoppers. The concentration isn’t specified.
I’d never gotten around to testing them because the cap on Danger started to track when I tried to open it. Your review prompted me to stretch sturdy tape around the cap, open the bottle, and take it out for a spin.
I think you’ve described Danger perfectly! In mine, the cinnamon is subtle; I might not have identified it myself (unlike in Youth Dew, for example). It’s also not skanky, unlike Shocking. I think it’s really terrific, and that if it were a new niche perfume, we’d all be raving about it.
One thing I’ve been reflecting on this year is how there used to be so many more spicy perfumes in the last century than there are now. I don’t know if IFRA took away some of the essential spicy notes, or if this reflects the disappearance of Mysore sandalwood, but I always loved spicy perfumes and really miss them.
In terms of who might attempt to create a worthy replacement now, I’d suggest Barbara Herman, whose Eris Perfumes channel the spirit of long-lost classics.
I’m so glad you took the chance to try Danger despite the busted cap! It took me a while to feel the lavender and cinnamon’s full impact, but once I registered it, it became my favorite part of the scent. Great suggestion on Barbara Herman. I bet she’d think of a great name for her take on it, too.
Little pieces cracked off along the lower edge, so I had to figure out how to conserve it, or something else to decant it into, before I opened it. I’d just been lazy to do that – for several years, LOL.
It’s intriguing to me that lavender can be so key to Danger without it smelling the least bit masculine. It doesn’t smell at all dated, either, unlike many vintage perfumes that I love.
I agree! It’s a rare fragrance that makes lavender smell like perfume rather than a cleaning product or fougere. The rose is genius with it.
I think it’s the IFRA restriction on eugenol that might be the reason for the lack of spicy-ness especially in cinnamon and carnation.
That makes sense. I usually think of eugenol as clove-y, but there’s a cinnamon aspect to it, for sure.
That’s a great point, Lindaloo! It could be eugenol that keeps the spice mix from seeming too flat or sweet.
The only dark rose fragrances I own are Paestum Rose and Voleur de Roses – love them both.
I love Voleur de Roses, too! Such a good one for autumn.
Thanks for the review. Aren’t the ads and bottle fabulous!
I have a large decant of Ciro Danger in an unspecified age and concentration (but not parfum). I got it when someone in a FB fragrance group was splitting a huge bottle and offering decants as a random act of kindness.
I can’t pick out any notes at all. But after the slightly damaged top notes fade, what I smell is a dry spicy amber enlivened by something aromatic (so lavender and cinnamon are in there I guess but not presenting, to me at least, as individual notes). It is a little musty, but sexy. Perhaps the closest thing I know is Dioressence. There are notes in common (rose, cinnamon, musk, moss) but apart from that, both smell to me of sexy, clean-but-not-so-clean skin. Danger is a great name for it.
I probably prefer Dioressence to be honest because it is a tad less dry. But I’m glad to have Danger because once my decant is empty, it’s empty! Gone.
Thanks for comparing thoughts on your decant! It sounds a lot less rosy than my extrait. The comparison to Dioressence is interesting, too–I’ll have to try them together. Thanks!
Sometimes lavender and I don’t get along very well, but if it plays more of a supporting role, there are a few perfumes I like with a pretty intense lavender note.
When it comes to vintage perfumes, it all depends on availability, price and how well it’s held up over the years. I’ve bought some Crepe de Chine and White Shoulders whose top notes are so deteriated that it does tend to impact the overall quality of the fragrance, so I don’t often look to hard for vintage frags that are extremely aged. Though I am seriously considering some older version of Opium to add to my collection just because I’m really drawn to that one lately.
Dark roses are a favorite category of mine and I second Rossy de Palma, Voleur de Roses, liked Malle’s Portrait of a Lady well enough though it wasn’t quite perfect to me, will always champion my beloved L’Arte di Gucci and have recently found a lovely “budget” dark rose in Elizabeth and James Nirvana Rose. In the perfume world, it’s practically a give away at $85 for 50ml, and I smell rose, maybe some carnation, patchouli, vetiver and amber. I tried to be skeptical but it’s actually really perfect and I think I might spring for a rollerball at the very least.
I was surprised to learn that Portrait of a Lady is a top seller at the Paris Bon Marché’s Frederic Malle counter. I guess “surprised” but “not surprised,” too. I love that Sephora carries rollerballs of some of its fragrances.
Angela, that is surprising to me as well considering some of the other gems Malle has in their lineup. POTL was nice enough, but not great and definitely not my favorite dark/moody rose ever. There was a note in it that just kept the whole thing from hanging together well on my skin though I’m not quite sure what it was, but I appreciate the idea even if it didn’t quite work out for me. Une Rose is still my go-to for a dark Malle rose.
Oh, I also thought of Juliet Has a Gun’s Lady Vengeance just now while I was writing this. It’s polite enough you could wear it out to dinner or while entertaining, but does have a lovely little edge. I don’t know how the Extreme version smells, though am quite curious since I like and own the original.
I’m a huge fan, too, of Ann Gerard Rose Cut for a rose with enough incense to ground it–but not too much–and a lovely helping of saffron.
Angela, hopefully you’ll see this in time.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Perfume-Ciro-Parfums-NY-Danger-READ-DESCRIP-/381520998412?hash=item58d46c700c:g:bGwAAOSwUV9WmWAu
That is so thoughtful of you! Thank you.