I’m a sucker for anything vintage, including vintage perfume. The problem with old things is exactly what makes them so charming: they’re not new. Vintage dresses are sewn with cotton or silk thread that gives, and fabric that shreds with age. An old pulp novel with a gorgeously lurid cover too often has yellowed pages that barely cling to the spine. Similarly, a vintage fragrance, although dream-inspiringly old fashioned, won’t smell as lively as it did when it first left the store shelf fifty years ago.

So, I was especially happy to get to know Pierre Bourdon Sous les Magnolias and La Fin d’un Eté. These fragrances have the charm and character of a vintage Edmond Roudnitska perfume, but they smell crisp and fresh. I can’t remember the last time I bought new perfume, but I came home from Paris with a bottle of each…

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