Jean Patou- Amour Amour (Vintage Perfume)

When naming a perfume "Amour Amour" you're making a very clear statement. Jean Patou, or rather his in-house perfumer Henri Almeras, took it seriously. This 1925 composition together with Que Sais-Je? and Adieu Sagesse is part of a romantic trilogy that tells the story of a love affair- The exhilarating infatuation, the worry and doubt and the total surrender of body and soul.

It's easy to be a cynic and dismiss Patou's concept (and also the fact that each perfume was supposed to target women of different hair colors- Amour Amour is for the blondes, who apparently have more fun), and I do, but you can't ignore the fact that Amour Amour smells hopelessly romantic. More than anything it's a very feminine floral. Jasmine and rose give the perfume its elegant French feel, a lot of carnation, especially in the EDT concentration, and some dirty ylang-ylang. The eau de toilette drys down into a salty vetiver that smells surprisingly sensual, while the extrait de parfum is more animalic but takes its time getting there. Some sources don't list heliotrope among the notes, but when wearing the parfum I can clearly smell its creamy almond presence. As a matter of fact, somewhere around Amour Amour's heart it reminds me of a light-hearted and optimistic L'Heure Bleue.

Amour Amour, like the entire Ma Collection, was discontinued in the early 1990s but the EDT can still be found at various online sources. The extrait is harder to get, but bottles pop up on eBay.

Amour Amour ad from 1946- paperpursuits.com
Vintage fashion illustration of Jean Patou and Yvonne Carette dresses from 1933- myvintagevogue.com