Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
08/02/2019
Oriane
133 Reviews
Oriane
A Complex Leather Floral Chypre?
Top Notes: Aldehydes, Bergamot, Cardamom, Coriander.
Heart Notes: Lily of the Valley, Carnation, Gardenia, Rose, Frankincense, Vetiver, Myrrh, Jasmine, Patchouli.
Base Notes: Amber, Leather, Honey, Coconut, Styrax, Moss, Musk, Castoreum, Vanilla, Civet.
I am not really sure how to categorise Occur! given the notes pyramid. It opens with a massive blast of aldehydes underlaid by crisp, green bergamot and hints of spice. I cannot identify cardamon and coriander specifically, though. All I can say is I detect a hint of spice. The top notes linger on my skin for an amazingly long time, but eventually, the floral heart notes begin to open like a bouquet. Again, I cannot really untangle the floral notes they are so well blent. I do detect a smidgeon of pungent incense in the heart. In the deep dry down I mainly perceive leather, moss, and a hint of musk. Sadly, I do not detect the other base notes because I love amber, honey, castoreum and civet. Occur! dryness is unrelieved by any real sweetness from honey, and there are no fruit notes to soften it.
Occur! seems to me to be a perfume of its era: dry, chypre-ish, a bit green, and unsweet. This review is based on my vintage bottle of the cologne mist. It comes in a black rubberised bottle with a faux diamond beneath the exclamation point. I also have the cologne splash which seems to have a bit more leather in it if that is possible. My bottle is very likely from the early 1960s whence the fragrance was first launched, and although the bottle has been well preserved, I am sure it has lost a bit of its oomph over these many long years, although the top notes are amazingly well preserved. I would love to have tried Occur! whence it was first launched. It must have been a real head turner.
Occur! is a fragrance I wear mainly for my own pleasure either at home or sequestered in the stacks at the library or on a quiet stroll through the park on a cool day. I doubt many people who might be around me would be favourably impressed with this fragrance. It does not smell like anything most people would wear today. In its day, it was probably reserved for evening wear due to its several animalic notes. Today, I would not recommend it for either office wear or social wear. I find it a very personal pleasure that most people would not appreciate.
I think the right man could wear this as well as a woman. Despite the many florals, I do not find Occur! to be particularly feminine. It wears pretty close to the skin after the first 30 or so minutes, but as I say, my bottle is quite old. I really wish I could perceive more of those fabulous base notes, and that is really my only complaint about this fragrance. Longevity, projection, and sillage are average.
If you are interested in so-called "old school" fragrances, the type that no one makes anymore (that I am aware), and/or you like dry, chypre-ish fragrances, and/or if leather is a note you wish to explore in more fragrances, and/or you are not put off by aldehydes, then I definitely recommend Occur! to you. If you have a penchant for collecting perfume bottles, this one is quite nice for a fragrance that was very "accessible" in its day. In the 40s, 50s, and 60s, Avon produced some really nice presentations for the price point.
Prices vary, but if you want a nice example of the original style bottle with the rhinestone on the bottle and the bottle in its box, expect to pay as much as $40, $50, or more for it. Occur! is definitely worth a sniff you like aldehydes and leather notes. Again, I would have loved to smell this at the time it was first launched. I must have been quite a beauty.
Heart Notes: Lily of the Valley, Carnation, Gardenia, Rose, Frankincense, Vetiver, Myrrh, Jasmine, Patchouli.
Base Notes: Amber, Leather, Honey, Coconut, Styrax, Moss, Musk, Castoreum, Vanilla, Civet.
I am not really sure how to categorise Occur! given the notes pyramid. It opens with a massive blast of aldehydes underlaid by crisp, green bergamot and hints of spice. I cannot identify cardamon and coriander specifically, though. All I can say is I detect a hint of spice. The top notes linger on my skin for an amazingly long time, but eventually, the floral heart notes begin to open like a bouquet. Again, I cannot really untangle the floral notes they are so well blent. I do detect a smidgeon of pungent incense in the heart. In the deep dry down I mainly perceive leather, moss, and a hint of musk. Sadly, I do not detect the other base notes because I love amber, honey, castoreum and civet. Occur! dryness is unrelieved by any real sweetness from honey, and there are no fruit notes to soften it.
Occur! seems to me to be a perfume of its era: dry, chypre-ish, a bit green, and unsweet. This review is based on my vintage bottle of the cologne mist. It comes in a black rubberised bottle with a faux diamond beneath the exclamation point. I also have the cologne splash which seems to have a bit more leather in it if that is possible. My bottle is very likely from the early 1960s whence the fragrance was first launched, and although the bottle has been well preserved, I am sure it has lost a bit of its oomph over these many long years, although the top notes are amazingly well preserved. I would love to have tried Occur! whence it was first launched. It must have been a real head turner.
Occur! is a fragrance I wear mainly for my own pleasure either at home or sequestered in the stacks at the library or on a quiet stroll through the park on a cool day. I doubt many people who might be around me would be favourably impressed with this fragrance. It does not smell like anything most people would wear today. In its day, it was probably reserved for evening wear due to its several animalic notes. Today, I would not recommend it for either office wear or social wear. I find it a very personal pleasure that most people would not appreciate.
I think the right man could wear this as well as a woman. Despite the many florals, I do not find Occur! to be particularly feminine. It wears pretty close to the skin after the first 30 or so minutes, but as I say, my bottle is quite old. I really wish I could perceive more of those fabulous base notes, and that is really my only complaint about this fragrance. Longevity, projection, and sillage are average.
If you are interested in so-called "old school" fragrances, the type that no one makes anymore (that I am aware), and/or you like dry, chypre-ish fragrances, and/or if leather is a note you wish to explore in more fragrances, and/or you are not put off by aldehydes, then I definitely recommend Occur! to you. If you have a penchant for collecting perfume bottles, this one is quite nice for a fragrance that was very "accessible" in its day. In the 40s, 50s, and 60s, Avon produced some really nice presentations for the price point.
Prices vary, but if you want a nice example of the original style bottle with the rhinestone on the bottle and the bottle in its box, expect to pay as much as $40, $50, or more for it. Occur! is definitely worth a sniff you like aldehydes and leather notes. Again, I would have loved to smell this at the time it was first launched. I must have been quite a beauty.
