Ivoire (new)
Pierre Balmain (2012)

I love love love this perfume!! Loved it from the first sniff. At the risk of sounding uncultured, have smelled the vintage and much prefer the new version. It makes me happy, makes me smile....don't know what else I could ask of any fragrance.

Soapy, perfumey greens. The greens themselves are kind of indistinct, sort of leafy and sort of like sweet galbanum, but always hidden behind a wall of perfumey white soap. There's a minty medicinal brightness on top that I'm assuming is filling in for aldehydes removed from the original version, and the scent itself is quite linear. It's clearly based on a proper classic chypre, but minus the moss and other elements, it ends up not evolving the way a classic would have.

All in all, the new Ivoire isn't bad. I'll gladly take this over the 400 stupid strawberry shampoo perfumes that are currently littering the high end designer marketplace. But I can feel specifically how it's been either "updated" or "dumbed down", depending on your opinion about classics. Meh.

ArghI feel very curmudgeonly writing this review. This is a reformulation of major proportions--so major in fact, that I would call it an utter re-working, with only the most minimal connection to its forebearer. The sweetness here removes any kinship with the original Ivoire, which was a spiky, mossy, almost leathery concoction that took no prisoners with its clear-cutting edgy greenness. There is a "prettified" sweetness here, and an almost plastic, Sephora-note that is bothersome in a perfume with this name. Ylang ylang? Vanilla? Whatever this note is, it places this scent into another genre entirely from the Ivoire of old, and far closer to something along the lines of Love, Chloe and that ilk. It does smell somewhat clean, but its overall profile is more pink than white, and it is missing all the marvelous bite that made its predecessor so strikingly unique.Pros: Clean smellingCons: Sad reformulation"

Waterloo The reinvented Ivoire deserves to have its praises sung. An Aston Martin is still an Aston Martin whether Sean Connery or Daniel Craig is behind the wheel. I've taken Ivoire for a spin and she's still a classy number. For those who don't know the original, the best comparison, to my nose, of the new incarnation, is Noa by Cacharel. Ivoire's new bottle will stimulate style comparisons with Chanel 19 Poudre and Elie Saab's creation by Francis Kurkdjian. The success of Ivoire will be due to Michel Almairac's interpretation which retains the integrity of the original. Top marks for my favourite perfumer (in collaboration with Jacques Fiori) It's also an amazing price! I was raised in an urban environment but I wouldn't be a Kiwi if I didn't know the scent of wool, rich in lanolin, off the sheeps back. Lux Soap. Sink a lightweight merino sweater into a gentle woolwash and the heavenly scent of clean and natural rises with the ribbons of steam. The temperature has to be just right. This is Ivoire, delicate but strong, simple but elegant. She's homespun but electric with curiosity. This would be quite virginal on a man. It's possible that Ivoire and a spray of Molecule 01 could raise the birth rate. I'll pass the baton. Pros: Knowing my fate is to be with youCons: Can't bring myself to find fault"

WOW! Talk about soap! Yes, the new Ivoire starts out with some sort of strange vegetal kick, but after five minutes, it morphs into the exact scent of those white bar soaps you get in hotels. It is a bit loud, the silage is strong and the longevity is great. This is one tremendous scent for those who want to smell laundry clean and fresh, but in a good way. I absolutely adore this!

No images of lollypops, fruit salads, fuzzy bunnies or pigtails in my hair. Also, no images of whips, chains or power suits for a CEO. Just a clean, crisp scent.

I find myself competing with my husband for this scent. I think it is maybe the vetiver in this, but I get a unisex vibe from it. My two male co-workers applied this to themselves. THEY got compliments from women all day. I got none from anyone. Whenever any woman would mention to them, "Ohhhh...you smell good. What IS that?" They would both break out in laughter, point over at ME and giggle, "HER perfume!"

This is one re-do that is certainly up to par, if not superior to the original. Way to go Balmain! LOVE IT!!!!

I'm very familiar with classic Ivoire. On my skin, the opening of the re-worked Ivoire was really very "pretty" and reserved. There's gallons of "pretty" out there so I was thinking this wasn't boding well for the first 20 minutes. I was thinking they really "modernized" Ivoire beyond recognition on behalf of all the aldehyde- phobes who associate the classic Ivoire's punchy top notes with a different era in perfumery (and avoid said era because it takes patience for the top notes to settle before the magic happens).
However, suddenly I was heartened! The familiar and beautiful heart of Ivoire emerged and lasted through the drydown.
Longevity was a good 8 hours for me.
I plan to pick up a a backup bottle of the original before it disappears but this does the house proud and I will eventually add this version to my collection, I'm sure. Thanks to the skill of the noses in this reworking, I did not have to re-neg on my current feeling towards this House "I never met a Balmain I didn't like".