I just today got ahold of a vintage (1970s?) Parfum de Toilette. I was able to compare it arm-to -arm with a formulation that is a couple of years old. The differences are astounding, even when adjusting for the concentrations. The older version has lost some of the top note brightness, but more than makes up for itin the drydown-kind of salty, a little oily, and very green. It reminds me of salty skin, late afternoon at the beach, in the grass with sweet peas and beach sage. I think it will last into tomorrow, if not longer! Maybe this is an animal base quality? The newer formulation has a generic floral note in its place. It's longevity seems to be a mere few hours. I would be happy to send you a sample of the vintage if you like!

Please keep me posted if you know of a newer formulation that may be closer to the original.

Thanks!

I keep several bottles in the fridge for summetime, actually ALL my perfume is kept in the fridge so I can keep it from disintergrating.

It has the gardenia in it that I just LOVE along with the other green notes.

That ad just knocks all this Tom Ford foolery to bits. A serious perfume. Leaving your mark upon a man – thnk of it!

If only they would re-issue the perfumes for furs or perfumed lipsticks.

Honestly, I did not expect much, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a wearable scent, if a bit old-fashioned. It smells very familiar, although I don't believe I could have smelled it before, and it is so different from the popular generic scents today that it somehow makes me stand out.

Fares Lahoud of Parfumelle suggested that it might have been reformulated only for the US market, and recommended that I contact Carven to find out. When I tried – but got no response – I asked a colleague in our Paris office to call them; still no luck. I finally emailed Selfridges in London, but they only had the new formulation.

I tried everything, including eBay, where I found a few bottles of the original, but they were slightly “off” from exposure to air and light. Then my assistant returned from a trip to Hong Kong with a bottle of Ma Griffe for me; the packaging was ten years old and quite faded, but the fragrance was perfect. That's the last time I experienced the REAL Ma Griffe, and I miss it terribly.

If anyone knows who owns the Carven Ma Griffe brand these days, please let me know. As soon as I can verify that the latest version is the real McCoy, I plan to send the CEO a dozen roses!