On weekends I work at a vintage clothing shop. I love the Jean Harlow dressing gowns and Grace Kelly day dresses we stock, but I’ve noticed a steadily growing clientele for Pat Benatar blazers and even Debby Boone gauchos. Yes, for some of us the ’80s are back. You wouldn’t catch me dead in an ultrasuede shirt or leggings, but I have to admit that I adore a whopping 1980s rose chypre. At the top of my list are Ungaro Diva and Paloma Picasso Mon Parfum.
Jacques Polge, the current house nose for Chanel, created Diva in 1982. The notes include mandarin, aldehydes, coriander, rosewood, tuberose, cardamom, rose, jasmine, narcissus, carnation, ylang ylang, patchouli, sandalwood, oakmoss, honey, vetiver, civet, musk and labdanum. Diva is beautifully blended, silky, womanly, and supremely French. If Diva were a real-life diva, I’d peg her as Renee Fleming, wending her voice seamlessly through Schubert lieder.
Two years later, Paloma Mon Parfum, created by Francis Bocris, hit the market. If Mon Parfum (often called, simply, Paloma) were a diva, she’d be Maria Callas smack in the middle of an Italian opera. A combination of Basenotes‘ and Osmoz’s listing of notes for Mon Parfum yields hyacinth, citrus, coriander, angelica, cloves, rose, mimosa, ylang ylang, jasmine, patchouli, honey, civet, oakmoss, sandalwood, and vetiver.
Diva and Mon Parfum have a lot in common. They are both demanding, complicated, spicy rose-centered chypres that last hours on the skin. Once you’ve smelled either of them you’ll always know them (and once you’ve tried them on your skin, you’ll always apply sparingly). But, like sisters, despite their similarities they have different personalities.
Diva is softer and more feminine than Mon Parfum. While Diva pours tea in a drawing room outfitted with couches covered in silk brocade and lets you leaf through her first editions of Marianne Moore’s poetry, Mon Parfum serves spicy demitasses of espresso and leaves the next room’s door ajar so that you see a rumpled kimono on the bed and spike-heeled leather boots tossed on the floor. Diva is knowing in an emotional way. Mon Parfum knows physically. But both scents are constructed grandly, solidly, and with the self-regard that made the 1980s the glory years of both Wall Street gamblers and Lower East Side street artists.
You can keep the 1980s slouchy boots and pastel earrings. I’ll keep the perfume. Ungaro Diva and Paloma Picasso Mon Parfum are both bargains at online discounters.
Note: image via imagesdeparfums.fr.
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Can I have your slouchy boots, then? LOL, I loved them!
I also loved Diva for a while, before she became too much of a drama queen for me to handle every day…
Nice review, A.
As a devout lover of PP Mon Parfum, I agree with the silk kimono stiletto boots impression. Very sophisticated and worldly. Brings to mind others that are similar, (Halston Couture and Gucci III) such memorable fragrances!
I remember wearing a red lipstick similar to that worn in the ads…..
If I had any slouchy boots, I'd put them in a box and send them your way!
I like Mon Parfum a lot, too. I just have to be careful that I'm wearing it, and not the other way around. It feels so solidly structured, but interesting to me–very grand.
Every so often i see the Paloma Picasso lipstick (Mon Rouge) for sale and think about getting it. It goes with the bossiness of the perfume – this is the one shade, you will wear it or you will not wear lipstick!
PP was one of my first experiences with scent – a kind SA gave me a couple of minis when I was a mere teen. I was hooked, and it'll always have a place in my wardrobe, even if my current daytime life means I'm just dabbing a little on before bed.
I have been so curious about the lipstick! On my lips, red lipstick tends to turn mauve and looks horrible, except for a few (Nars Fire Down Below, MAC Dubonnet). I have a feeling its a blue red.
I bought a small bottle of PP at the duty free shop in Heathrow, years ago. I decanted it into a black opaque bottle with a silk tassel on the cap that I had lying around, slipped it into it's satin pouch and forgot all about it. I found this treasure a few months ago in the bottom of a forgotten box (more than a decade later) and fell in love all over again. I missed Diva the first time around, but someone sent me a sample earlier this year, and again, love. I rank both of these with Habanita: scents I'm glad I own, that only need a pindot for application, that smell fabulous but yet I don't want to smell them everyday. Only a fellow perfume lover would understand.
Great post as always, Angela!
Paloma Picasso was the one and only signature scent I've ever had, and I wore it every day for about 5 years, before I became a full-fledged perfumista who changes her scent daily! That was over 20 years ago & I still love it..
You pretty much explain how I feel about these two, and about Habanita. I'm glad you liked the review!
It's a classic, in my mind (and very fitting for someone with the handle “Liongirl”, too, I'd imagine!).
Great reviews, Angie! PP Mon Parfum brings back memories of my cousin who wore it 20+ years ago. She was in her early 20s and had just got back from France where she'd been living for a few years. I distinctly remember her then goth phase: dressed in black head-to-toe (elegant rather than grungy) and trailing a veil of Mon Parfum that enhanced the aura of mystery and chic about her. It was, I believe, my first true fascination for a scent so thanks for triggering that olfactory memory!
Diva I'll make a point of trying when I'm next at Sephora.
Elegant goth! I like the sound of that a lot. And it sounds like a perfect match for Mon Parfum.
Haha, anything that you can compare to Maria Callas HAS to be worth at least trying.
I remember really not liking Diva but PP is a strong chypre that I do like. However, because I am a fan of aquatics, it's the Fleur de Diva that I absolutely love, along with Ungaro's fabulous designs and fabrics.
Well, tempestuous, commanding, regal, artistic, and singular all sum up Callas and Mon Parfum to me. Give it a try!
I've never tried Fleur de Diva, and I see that there's a fragrance called “Divas” by Ungaro, too, and I've never tried that one.
I wouldn't mind an Ungaro dress, either.
Great review! I was seduced by Marina's essay on Paloma into an unsniffed ebay purchase of the parfum some time ago and I tried it once and tucked it away. I have a feeling I might be ready now…
And that's so funny about the 80's fashions. I was sitting around with some friends a couple of years ago comparing notes on the most outrageous 80's outfits we had worn — acid wash jean jackets, neon earrings with matching vests and socks, silver shoes, faux hawks — and then one of us fired up her computer to get some info and there on her Yahoo page was a picture of Pink wearing neon and an acid wash jacket and her usual faux hawk… So scary! When are the shoulder pads arriving?
Enjoyed finding your posts on the Xtbay blog, btw…
That bottle is the ULTIMATE example of gorgeous 80's glamour!
I'm telling you, the '80s are back. High-waisted jeans, fringed boots, velveteen blazers–I've seen them all lately. It scares the heck out of me.
Definitely get out the PP parfum! I haven't tried it, but I hear it's great.
There's a perfection in '80s glamour that makes it banal in some ways. But I do love that Ungaro wrapped dress.
Great review! I hear the way-back machine humming. OMG, the shoulder pads! The little floppy bows with navy blue suits. And I remember that we had to wear pumps with 3-inch heels when we traveled on business, and running through the airports to make a plane. And yes, Diva. Weren't we all so empowered in that red liptstick!
It was such a weird time, style-wise–the 1940s throwback look, but the crazy symmetry and bald color that made everything look cheap. Running through an airport in 3-inch heels would be tough, but remember those gorgeous pumps with the conical heels? Nice. And some of the 1980s perfumes could knock out down a block of Boy George fans, but others of them I really like.
I loved Diva! and this photograph I'll never forget – the dress and the bottle: such a beautiful match.
Remember that I did not like Mon Parfum, don't know if I would now.
PPs red lipstick was somehow unusual then so strong and outspoken, so red.. but it made her famous.
Remember that Chanel suddenly had very matte pink and mauve lipsticks, but these were not a sucess, lipgloss on the other hand was hugely successful. YSL was the first one who brought them on the market in red, dark brown and deep purple.
Big hair, broad shoulders with shoulderpads…Claude Montana was one of the first designers who introduced this silhouette.
Lipgloss was all the rage! You have a great memory for cosmetics trends.
I think you should definitely give Mon Parfum a try now. I'm always interested to see how what I think about a perfume changes over time.
Hee hee hee – Boy George almost knocked me down once! Ah, the 80s.
Angela, I would be nice to try that one again. Wish I was in The Netherlands, so many more fragrances available overthere.
You know, I keep dreaming about SL Five OClock Au Gingembre, actually I dreamt that I smelled it…and I never really 'smell' in my dreams, as far as I know.
I dreamt that it smelled like ginger but sweet and bitter, very pleasant.
Maybe I would just love to try it, but SL is nowhere available in Prague.
He looks like of short, but barreling through a nightclub I could definitely see him knocking someone over.
I guess there's no need to sample a scent if you're able to smell it in a dream without even touching a bottle. It would be really interesting to see if your dream of it matches the real thing!
I'd forgotten about the stacked and other imaginative heels. And the perfume–really, most of it I wouldn't wear to a rat fight, but a few are treasures beyond compare. Oh, deer, I'm geezing again.
You're funny! Giorgio might be quite nice at a rat fight.
Tastes do change over the decades as they have, for sure, for me. Paloma Picasso was a staple in my arsenal in the 80's. Important event? Special evening out? Even meeting an old friend for the afternoon, only one fragrance would do and that was Paloma. I recently purchased it again and still love it. Because of your review on Diva (which I had never sniffed) I bought a bottle from 1stPerfume.com whose prices by the way are bar none THE BEST with crazy fast and cheap shipping. I do love it, but I fear I have as I stated at the onset of this blog switched my tatses. Lovely Diva, I will probably have this 1.7 oz. spray forever, but glad I own it. Gucci Rush, and shockingly some of the older Estee Lauderfragrances have become my insanity.
I only have a 30 ml spray of Diva and find that it's enough for me, but, still, every once in a while I'm in a grand Diva mood, and nothing else will do.
I like the old ELs, too! Azuree, Private Collection, and Youth Dew are probably my favorites.
wow, just when i was contemplating a new bottle of Diva your review reinforces my choice
i just adore Diva, it gets compliments more than any other scent i wear. i loved it in the 80's also, could not wear PP (headache!!) but i also wore L'Arte de Gucci *swoons*
question: do any Diva lovers notice a significant difference between EDP and the EDT? i find that the EDP is “missing” something that i used to love in the scent, was wondering if it is more prominent in the EDT. thanks perfumistas
I don't know about the differences in Diva, but sometimes the EdT formulation is a little more crisp and green than the EdP (this is true for PP, for instance). I wonder if that's it?
hm, that could def be the case- and the fact that i am a huge lover of crisp & green that would also make sense/scents
think i will have to go sniff- lovely way to spend a friday afternoon! thank you for your response Angela
Have fun!
I love this post! I suppose I was always a perfumista and didn't really know it until recently. When I was just a teenager in the late 80's I ordered some mini's sampler from the back of Town and Country magazine that had Paloma Mom Parfum, Salvador Dali, Deneuve, and something else I've now forgotten….what can I say? (Aside from props to my mom who probably wrote a check for this for me way back in the day before we could order everything with plastic.) I LOVED all of them at the tender age of 15 or 16, especially Deneuve which sadly no longer exists. I often regret that I didn't keep the small Dali nose shaped bottle, and often also want to buy another bottle of PP, but I think it would last the rest of my life. These influential early scents for me (which also included Coco and Bal a Versailles) make me feel a little sorry for all the young women out there now who are being marketed to death with very simple sugary smell alikes. When I was a young woman, I aspired to be Coco or Paloma or Deneuve…..sophisticated, intelligent, beautiful, mysterious, worldly….what are all these modern simpering sugary fragrances inspiring in young women today? I am hoping that these perfume websites and interesting niche perfumes will entice and encourage young women to be a little more daring, etc. Thanks for the walk down memory lane!!
I'm glad you liked the post! It's true that so many of the 1980s perfumes were definitely not for shrinking violets. It's wonderful to be able to discover scent–and there's plenty of scent to discover, that's for sure!
This thread makes me melancholy for KL…have been searching for it on and off for half a year, now, trying to find out if I'd like it now… I get flashes of what it smelled like, but have such clear memories of late '80's, out late, so young and thinking I was oh so ready for the world…and wearing my KL purchased from employee discount at Hudson's.
Does anybody remember Lagerfeld KL? Same era…
Yes, I do remember it. One of those frags I adored and wore quite often.
I think the 80's are reminiscent of all things “Big” like my hair, big perfumes, (I wore Diva and Paloma Picasso, Fendi and Magie Noire) big (flourescent) jewelry.
No wonder there aren't many pics of me in H.S.!
KL! I feel like I've seen it around somewhere. have you smelled it recently? It would be interesting to see how you feel about it now.
It's funny–I almost made this a review of Diva, Mon Parfum, and Magie Noire, but I ran out of steam.
I have one horrifying picture of myself in the 1980s with poodle bangs, teal leggings, and an orange tee shirt. Horrifying.
I think I know where to get a sniff, I should revisit it and see if it's what I remember. Magie Noire I still adore and will never be without.
It's a good one.