Écusson
Long Lost Perfume (1947)

A Powerhouse chypre fragrance from 1948 by Jean D'albret
I was fortunate to acquire at auction many years ago a rare 2 fl.oz (60 ml.) glass/crystal flacon of the pure parfum (ref:404), the bottle sits upon a raised footed grey velvet dais and is accessed by lifting off a pale pink & grey fitted cardboard case/lid also known as a coffret, this is a much older presentation as the stopper is oval matte glass and fitted with a ground tipped bung which is firmly secured by gold thread & is double labelled with the Jean D'albret golden ~Ecusson~ shield & neck collar, thankfully there has been no evaporation with the contents displaying a rich, brassy & clear golden hue hence my unwillingness to open and use as I have a smaller 30 ml. bottle that I sample from time to time purely for reference purposes against other vintage floral chypres from approximately the same or similar time frame. The parfum is a rich sumptuous floral affair drying down and bolstered by lashings of rare Indian sandalwood, vetyver & oak moss finishing with smoldering mid century & now long discontinued nitro musk's, this is a very heavy fragrance and typical of perfumes from that era, this gem is kept in climate controlled conditions which hopefully will extend it's olfactive integrity. Application by vaporiser/natural spray would benefit in opening up this heavy, dense fragrance allowing for a protracted & glorious dry down, a most elegant blast from the past...
~Ecusson~ is French for a badge, epaulet or emblem, definately a Golden Oldy!!!

I like this one once it has time to settle in a little bit. It's a bit hard-edged starting out, particularly the EDC. A ton of very dry, tart, almost metallic aldehydes start things off, and I get virtually none of the listed topnotes. I wonder if perhaps they are degraded with age. I get a lot of brightness and bitterness.

The parfum is softer and feels more filled in, with a nice floral accord, but both shared this basic character. Agree with Bavard that it's soapy at this stage. There are small glimmers of what's to come trying to peek through, providing ghostly hints at warmth.

Seemingly out of the blue, the evolution (particularly in the case of the Parfum) finds its footing. The opening soap and aldehydes hit the deck, and what remains is a beautiful, soft, warm, woody, tobacco-laced vanilla civet musk accord, familiar to others from the era, polished and well executed. Enormous evolution. Compared the EDC, the parfum is far muskier, thicker, fluffier. I think it would have fit into the animalic discussion with the smooth, sweet musk on display. It smells Guerlain-ish. Loving the rich, golden base of the parfum.

The EDC retains more of the soapy, dry character of the top, and generally feels austere compared to the parfum. It's far mossier and woodier, and echoes some of the masculines of the era. It smells more like a typical soapy cyphre, perhaps in line with something like Monsieur Givenchy. In fact, I'm not sure these two iterations have much in common after the initial phases.

Imagine if you took the heart of No.5 and put it into the body of Shalimar, the result would be something like Écusson.

Once the pink aldehydic floral and the sweet powdery background have merged - and the thing finally gets going - this strange hybrid is actually very good. The problem is it takes a couple of hours for the opening gambit of bergamot, citrus and florals to settle down, and until it does, the first part is quite off colour.

It would be nice to see this done in a less wobbly composition because it's an unusual idea that does have some merit. In the hands of a skilled perfumer Écusson could have been convincing, but as it stands it's more curious than convincing.

Jean d'Albret version, Eau de Toilette

I have a vintage bottle by Jean D'albret. The aldehydes on top are "dark". The citrus note(s) are long gone. Slight bit of cassis and iris are present, if I inhale deeply. In the heart (which reveals itself rather quickly) I get carnation, dirty jasmine, rose, and mild geranium. Ylang Ylang shows up later. The base smolders with vetiver, sandalwood, oakmoss, and vanilla. The jasmine lingers until the end.

I owned a bottle of this in the late 80's. It pretty much smells as I remember it. This is a colder weather perfume with a vibe reminiscent of others released in the 70's and 80's [or before]. Old style, ladylike, timeless.

Nice light powdery tobacco floral This vintage scent (1947) intrigued me from its bottle on Ebay. I found a vintage mini and tested it a few times. The scent is reminiscent of so many early perfumes from the thirties and forties (Shocking, Replique among them). A nice soft tobacco, woody scent. The problem is that it disappears almost immediately, making it impractical to invest in it. I found the same thing true of Houbigant's APERCU - similar scent, disappears almost instantly. A shame, because I truly wanted to like this one.Pros: Nice smellingCons: Disappears completely in ten minutes

I was given a little shield shaped tourist bottle of Ecusson as a young teen in Paris in 1958.....so of course in my mind the scent evokes morning sunlight on shutters, café complet...

I have another little shield bottle now..it is a gentle floral that is perfectly friendly & slightly romantic, not overpowering, so I can wear it for an "evening out"! I save it to wear for a friend who has French sensibilities & French roots.