Jean Paul Gaultier Classique is one of the very few fragrances that I’ve owned in all its available formulations: first the Eau de Toilette, then the Eau de Parfum, Parfum, and Summer flanker. When it was launched in 1993, it was simply called “Jean Paul Gaultier.” At that time, I had recently lost interest in the fresh, light florals I’d been wearing for the previous few years. I was developing a new interest in sweeter, richer florals and gourmands, including Guerlain Shalimar for evening wear, and Gaultier’s creation soon gained a lasting place in my affections and on my bureau.

I’ve always liked Classique for being just a little bit vulgar, a little too made-up and over-dressed for the occasion. It’s a big hug of powdery flowers and liquored-up vanilla, and it still makes me smile when I wear it or catch a whiff of it on a passing woman. It’s like a colorful faux-fur scarf that you might buy on impulse and then end up wearing more than almost anything else in your wardrobe, because it’s warm and whimsical at the same time.

All this retro-love for the original Classique is basically a prologue to my disappointment in Classique X…

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