Aromatics Elixir Clinique 1971Perfume

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7.7 / 10 406 Ratings

Aromatics Elixir (Perfume) is a popular perfume by Clinique for women and was released in 1971. The scent is spicy-chypre. Projection and longevity are above-average. It is being marketed by Estēe Lauder Companies.

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Perfumer

Bernard Chant

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes	Bergamot, Vervain, Geranium, Camomile, Coriander, Clary sage, Rosewood
Heart Notes	Orris root, Jasmine, Carnation, Orange blossom, Rose, Tuberose, Ylang-ylang
Base Notes	Oakmoss, Musk, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Frankincense

Ratings

Scent

7.7 | 406 Ratings

Longevity

9.3 | 306 Ratings

Sillage

9.1 | 295 Ratings

Bottle

6.6 | 284 Ratings

Submitted by Sani, last update on 15.01.2021.

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Reviews

Cryptic 8 years ago

„The Mouse that Roared”

Clinique's Aromatics Elixir has been somewhat of an oddity since its launch in 1971. At the time, perfume houses were splashing out with big ad campaigns...

Sorceress 7 years ago

„Dirty Laundry Scent”

When I was 19, I became a Clinique fanatic. I delved into their skincare diligently. I even allowed an SA to give me a makeover one evening before a date with...

06/01/2020

Gipsy1982

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Gipsy1982

Less helpful Review 5

Not for me

I know that the perfume is a classic that is loved by many. But despite several attempts, I just can't get used to it. The top note is extremely pungent and the heart and base note are not getting milder and don't blend with my skin like they usually do. And the heart notes and base notes develop on my skin like Maggiweed. According to the fragrance pyramid, I should actually like the perfume, but unfortunately I don't. And this is not the only chypre I have. From aromatics Elixir I rather get headaches and nausea but fortunately, as we all know, tastes are different.

6 Replies

05/24/2020

Nazafarina

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Nazafarina

Very helpful Review 7

Missis.....Columbo

A beautiful invitation flutters into the house. Invitation to Mrs. Columbo, her husband's in downtown L.A. on investigative business, and I get to spend the whole day with her in the little wooden house over the beach. Winking over huge sunglasses, she greets me, her dark hair covered with a colourful scarf, full red lips with beautiful teeth and a truly funny smile on her face. She embraces me lovingly and tenderly, my nose captures a touch of spices, a haze of clove and geranium. It is summer, and the sun is golden over the Pacific Ocean. She turns around, we are standing in her rustic kitchen, the espresso is already steaming in the cups. She goes in front, outside to the veranda, I follow the fragrant coffee trail, mixed with the noble, aristocratic scent of her aura. We laugh, we are exuberant, cheerful, the heat is mixed with the fresh breeze of the sea, in between the woods of her wonderful perfume combined with the dry floorboards of the veranda. She suggests to go down to the sea, one is in possession of a small catamaran and wants to take a trip. Do I agree? No question! Her wide, colourful tunic, matching the hairscarf, flutters in the sunny wind in front of me, I am wrapped in a wonderfully warm, austere, yet very soft fragrance illusion, which invites you to dream every second. We jump down, take the steps like two young girls and downstairs the boatman is already waiting. The freezing cold waves hit us, refreshing in these outside temperatures, and after a long boat ride we meet a hunchback mum with her boy. They roll around, they jump around like two young dogs and it is a great intimate joy to watch them. At the same moment the deep, loving base of Aromatics Elixir is revealed, Mrs. Columbo is happy and spins in circles in the wind. MMMMhhhhh, a rich fragrance full of power and spice, balsamic almost worthy of a Grail. I am very happy because of these moments. As we drove back, finding ourselves back on the veranda, I hear the tinny sound of Monsieur's engine roaring up the serpentines. I quickly say goodbye, because Mrs. Columbo has already started the fire, because after the many hours in which the landlord has kept himself afloat with work, toast and raisins, he is now looking forward to a nice T-bone from the grill. I drive down the road and watch the sun setting over the sea. It was a dreamy summer day...

4 Replies

05/12/2020

Primel

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Primel

Pot pourrit

The appealing advertisement of Clinique that the fragrance makes you "happy" aroused my curiosity. It must have been a perfume with a high percentage of essential oils. Normally " organic perfumes " are rather narrow-breasted, one cannot say about AE. Interesting. I had to test it. The nice lady at the clinic counter sprayed my arm, which was stretched out to her. Indeed, a wonderfully spicy and herbaceous scent caressed my nose. Herbs play the absolute leading role in this fragrance, not fresh green, but rather a dried bundle of herbs, flanked by a flower potpourri. Although I associate chamomile with sickness and nausea, it did not bother me (at first).

Fortunately, on that day my reason was stronger than my greed! I resisted the temptation to have a 100ml bottle packed right away.

I was not prepared for the following: the fragrance began to tilt on the worst part of my skin, at first sour and pungent, then musty, it literally rotted :-( The fragrant bundle of herbs had turned into a compost heap! So the camomile after all? Or was the tester tilted? But I would have noticed that immediately?slowly memories of past stomach upsets and intestinal flu came up in me. Then this odeur stuck to me like glue! Only after several washes was it gone.

Pity. I wish I could have been happy with Aromatics Elixir. :-(

3 Replies

05/11/2020

8
Scent 10
Longevity 10
Sillage 6
Bottle

Rosalie

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Rosalie

Top Review 26

Hippie Chic for the Hippie Chick

Reading some of the comments here I am amazed how different perceptions and associations can be. The first time I tested this fragrance may have been in the early 90s, and, despite its intensity, I liked it immediately. This scent reminds me of my exuberant time in the 80s, when I danced my feet flat almost every weekend in the "Alternative Disco"...

At the beginning of the 80s it was always crowded there on weekends. Punks, freaks, alternative, weird but also some chic people wanted to have fun, see how to spend the evening, or just "dance off" like me. I remember those hot summer nights, I wiggled, danced and jumped over the dance floor. The music was just great, and then these smells: At that time there were these little bottles of scented oil, which were very popular because they were cheap and some of them didn't smell that bad : patchouli, opium, musk, yasmin, ylan ylang...above all there were clouds of nicotine, and every now and then a clearly noticeable cannabis note "wafted" through the room and mixed with the sweat of the dancers. When you breathed this for a while, the scents would condense and become an intense scent, and I was intoxicated.

Aromatics elixir would have been noticed even then, however, and would have been successful. This fragrance is an announcement in itself, it is so dense, intense and rich that only a single spray is enough - in my neck. Then it lasts, hours after hours.

At first I was surprised by the camomile, as I had never perceived it in fragrances before. Here it is present, but very quickly blends in with the colourful array of clary sage, rose geranium, coriander and co. Carefully dosed, it remains harmonious, and soon Patchouli leads this round dance.

Sprayed Aromatics Elixir once on a hot summer day, as mentioned, one sprayer is enough. I was in the mood for a light "hippie outfit", and this fragrance seemed to suit it. The scent accompanied me for almost a few days, it was the patchouli that surrounded me for a long time. Not disturbing, but becoming more and more gentle, and even in the heat easy to bear. Also my scent of sensitive husband was impressed, and that means something. In my clothes the scent lasts almost eternally
No, AE is not a "silent peddler", but the time of the 70s, when it was launched, was intense, colourful, loud... a time of "women's movement", when women raised their voices, demanded their rights and fought for equality. So this fragrance fits quite well into an already special era, and stands for itself.

Not a fragrance I can or want to wear all the time. But I am glad to own an older version, and I don't give it away anymore - despite sensitive bronchial tubes ;o))

SO.....and now I hear "Shine on you Crazy Diamond"... ;o))

16 Replies

04/29/2020

3
Scent 10
Longevity 8
Sillage 9
Bottle

EsterEverest

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EsterEverest

Helpful Review 9

That's how I might smell later...

I bought the fragrance because of the very exciting descriptions - flying blind, you could say.
I can smell the raw materials used very well for all of them.
So on paper, exactly what I want. a pithy scent, not a crowdpleaser, something with character I don't know what to say... i got exactly that, but unfortunately in this case I'm part of the group, which doesn't let the rather extraordinary scent pick it up, but prefers to stay outside.
The perfume is not badly made and I can understand immediately, with the first spray already, what someone can find in it. It has something timeless and extraordinary. Definitely a fragrance that stays in the memory - unfortunately, one could add, but I think it depends very much on the wearer's own body scent.
But the image that immediately comes to mind is that of an aging, somewhat over-painted lady who is used to getting her way. Nothing for weak nerves and weak noses
It is a herbaceous cloud that is almost overly dominant on the olfactory nerves - following the recommendations here, I really only used a small spray. My bathroom is still filled with the shadow of the fragrance - the silage is literally, breath(be)robbing.
Unfortunately, even after some time, it did not arrive on my skin.
Scratchy, unruly and the wrong kind of frost I feel with it.
The camomile is very dominant on my skin at the first attempt, only to be knocked away by the organ blossom and the really very powerful patchouli like in an unfair match. The rose resonates subconsciously, but not radiantly, as it can sometimes be, but dull, dull, weedy.
My husband says to the scent, it makes me feel a little older... and it's true, it has an earthy, sedate quality
Between you and me, Aromatics Elixir, that's not going to happen... maybe in a few years, who knows.
But you're making me into a woman I'm not yet

7 Replies

10/27/2019

8
Scent 9
Longevity 9
Sillage 7
Bottle

Serenissima

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Serenissima

Top Review 27

from another world of scents

Amazing that "Aromatics Elixir" has been on the market for so long.
Only towards the end of the eighties, when the opulence was almost overflowing and reached a previous climax in fashion and fragrance, did this spicy something appear on my fragrance horizon.
At that time, elaborate wardrobe dominated: "Dallas" and "Denver Clan" still show the enormous proportions of fashion at that time.
Christian Lacroix created impressive collections in his beautiful "gemstone colours": Sapphire blue, robin red, emerald green and lots of gold dominated the fashion with not exactly puristic cuts.
The creations of the fragrance world were just as powerful and impressive: if you look here for dates, you will find many of these powerful and impressive creatures in the enchanting flacons.
We loved her very much and wore what is today a little bit called the "massive humming noise" every day:
That's what happened! Everybody did it!

Suddenly a woody, spicy fragrance appeared: "Aromatic Elixirs" set a counterpart to the Oriental Chypre fragrance in a true fragrance laola.
We all noticed! What was that?
Whoever is in the middle of a vortex is dragged along and does not notice it at all.
Where would this mighty fragrance opulence, which I still love today, have led then? Was there ever an increase?

Suddenly, aromatherapy was used and "That was good!" (to quote a former Berlin Governing Mayor following)
Spice and freshness (sometimes even a bit biting!) suddenly reigned: "Aromatics Elixir" conquered us.
The top note alone resembles a walk through the herb garden of a monastery: the senses are awakened and calmed at the same time.
All the green and herbaceous was given attention; we saw and rediscovered our fragrance environment!
A fragrant balance suggests itself: the senses are suddenly freed from all the fragrant balast and begin to spread their wings!
instead of being opulently scented and overwhelmed with fragrance A lightness in the fragrance spread!
And yet the heart of this seductive fragrance carries all the classics that we know from the past and love so much.
Only here jasmine, iris, carnations and their well-known playmates seem slim, less peppy.
So there is also a kind of minimalism here.
Oak moss and patchouli bring earthy nuances to this composition, Vetiver also belongs to this category.
Whereas musk, sandalwood and incense clearly appeal to the senses.
This classic fragrance appears round and new and inspiring.
Do we dare?

"Aromatics Elixir" removed pomp and plush from the scent world; it was new and somehow puristic!
Even the followers of Jil Sander's minimalist fashion found in her first perfumes the concentration of fragrances associated with the spirit of the times: they were not tame and natural: they only wore "antique" names

But at the same time "Aromatics Elixir" was also not without problems.
Several cases of allergic reactions in the form of pimples and sore spots on the sprayed skin I saw myself.
If this clear, woody-spicy fragrance did not immediately disappear from the repertoire of some users, it was only sprayed on the underwear! Where he left borders.
To my knowledge nobody found the trigger: it was just like that!

At that time I was still swimming on the wave of monster scents; "Aromatics Elixir" only touched me peripherally.
Most of the time I was confronted professionally with this new spicy-woody freshness.
It was not until the end of the nineties, when I discovered Shiseido fragrances, that I discovered this area for myself.

Through our lovely perfume "Gold" I now have the opportunity to test "Aromatics Elixir" once for me.
Despite careful packaging, the slender, fine-walled glass foil was destroyed: a long crack was drawn through the glass body.
Thus "Aromatics Elixir" enriched not only my skin, but also my apartment: a positive addition to the currently only moderately available feel-good climate due to various construction works in the house!

Timelessly beautiful is this fragrance from Clinique still; it spreads well-being and also attracts a lot of attention: "sensually beautiful" would be here even the more appropriate expression!
But also I have to be a little careful; on some days this aromatic beauty bizzelt nevertheless very much in my nose: I must sneeze and the eyes get immediately red borders and tears!

So I find here a not completely unproblematic smell creation, which lures me however again and again.
But in the meantime I have learned to sound out our mutual forces - there are days when "Aromatics Elixir" and I go on a confrontation course: then we make a bow around each other!
But it is beautiful, this clear purity in the fragrance!
Thank you, Gold, for the generous bottling!

17 Replies

06/15/2019

Schnuppern

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Schnuppern

Once upon a time...

As a young woman in the 80s Madonna sang of a Virgin, MTV flickered across the screens, - and the world gave the impression she was just waiting to be conquered.
At wine festivals you could see women who had been beautifully dressed, they wore handbags with big logos and hung in the arms of tanned men with polo shirts with animal symbols and big watches on their wrists.
The ladies gave off a beguiling, breathtaking scent, I followed him and sucked him in greedily.
As a student these things were unattainable for me, only many years later the handbag moved in, the husband wears neither polos nor expensive wristwatches, but the AE became possible.
But what a shock, the scent doesn't like me.
While it is warm, mysterious and actually indescribable with other women, it smells biting and repulsive with me. Too bad. All the years unreachable and then one in the true sense of the word a bitter and bitter disappointment.
How life plays just like that, years of dream dreams fizzle out.
After all, I find AE on many women still as intoxicating as back then, he really can not wear everyone and the smell awakens a lot of beautiful memories.

4 Replies

05/16/2019

10
Scent 10
Longevity 10
Sillage 9
Bottle

Lillie

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Lillie

Top Review 23

Ur tincture

The most bitter, spicy, impressive, most loved, most hated perfume on the planet. Its wearers are either anosmic (and accordingly it is overdosed), then it attracts negative attention, is loud and almost rude, or they wear it like a veil, are aware of the magical powers and let it seep deeply and gently into their environment.
My first attempt with Aromatics Elixir took place in midsummer. Big city, noise, dust, people, fumes, dirt. I put on the EdT (!) in Karstadt at Herrmannplatz and was enchanted. Like a protective cocoon I am surrounded by silence, almost meditative pausing and my muscle tension is released, as is my irritation. Instant wellbeing!
Then further attempts with the EdP ("Perfume"), and here the dose constitutes the magic. One sprayer too many and you're over it. I dabbed it on at first, used a mudflat swab as a carrier. You can also spray it into the air and walk through it. I particularly like the minis (4 ml), which have a very small spray head, here then spraying goes flawlessly. I love the scent in winter because it envelops me in cosy, cuddly herbal and spice melange and I love it in summer because it cools and centers through its aromatherapeutic effect. Personally I also find it very sensual, patchouli and tuberose, ylang and sandalwood are in my opinion very erotic in their scent. I can only recommend to everyone who doesn't dare to go for it because he or she might associate his or her (bad) experiences with the name with the overdose carrier to sniff at the bottle like a smelling bottle and to feel this beneficial effect. I swear by this almost therapeutic scent even in the case of inner restlessness. A masterpiece!
For me the primordial mother of all Chypres (although only 1971 created).
Am I the only one who can smell cinnamon?
Allegedly one of the most popular women's fragrances in the Mediterranean (it makes itself surprisingly good in the heat - rationally dosed -).

10 Replies

03/02/2019

8
Scent 10
Longevity 9
Sillage 8
Bottle

Merteuil

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Merteuil

Top Review 10

faye dunaway in fur

the ultimate hippie-chic perfume for pel-wearing ladies from the taunus in 1978; clean and dirty at the same time, it actually reminds of the smell of old furrier goods when they were 'politically correct' and harmless. kamille, patchouli and eichenmoos play the main roles here, the overall effect is completely different from many bernard chants of that time, which all somehow rotate around aramis and/or cinnamon.
patchouli in a completely different way, and dilutes a great ironing water (which I don't mean depektierlich)!

3 Replies

01/26/2019

4
Scent 10
Longevity 9
Sillage 6
Bottle

SchatzSucher

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SchatzSucher

Top Review 46

Sometimes it's just not meant to be

There are scents that capture us immediately. A first spray and you're on cloud 7.
Of course you should never be blinded by the very first impression and wait and see how the scent develops over the next minutes to hours and whether the enthusiasm is still the same.
But it is also said "there is no second chance for a first impression" and that is true.

But this can also be applied to the less good impressions. And that was true from the very first sniff on the Aromatics Elixir from Clinique.
When he met me for the very first time, I knew immediately: I don't like him. That doesn't bode well Aromatics Elixir first came to my attention about 25 years ago on a female customer. She wore this fragrance very generously and spread a heavy cloud of scent. For me, it was something like bumping into an impenetrable wall. I have seldom smelled such a repellent scent.

The Aromatics Elixir actually contains a lot of stuff that I like. I like flowers, I also like herbs, I like oakmoss and patchouli, chypriges is also welcome, but here everything has been processed in such a huge amount that it lies on my respiratory tract and depresses me.
The fragrance does not appear friendly, warm or in any way cuddly to me in any of its phases. I smell dry, stiff and overburdened floridity, paired with severe and extremely tart herbaceous aspects, as well as an overdose of moss and spices. Pungent, scratchy, narcotic. None of the ingredients help to make the fragrance more accessible or endearing. It's all too much for me and breathtaking, in the worst sense. I almost have the feeling that you could cut the scent, everything seems so impenetrable.

I must tell you that the customer who applied the fragrance so lavishly was unfortunately of the extremely unpleasant variety. Never satisfied, always looking for a reason to complain about something, this was not true, this was not true. Of course, one always remained friendly and helpful and always looked for solutions, but inwardly one thought, "My goodness, you old grumbler, just vanish into thin air with your horrible scent"

And as fate would have it, I have encountered exactly this fragrance from time to time on other customers who were carved from the same wood. And again and again this great antipathy against Aromatics Elixir built up or even grew.
Then I had peace from the smell for a long time and it was gradually forgotten.
But some time ago, on a trip in the ICE back to Hamburg, a lady was sitting right in front of me. This lady was perfumed with, yes exactly, Aromatics Elixir. I recognized it immediately. This lady spread quite a veil of scent and to make matters worse, she threw her scarf elegantly and sweepingly over the backrest and I couldn't stand it any longer. I was supposed to put up with that for 4 1/2 hours? I'm going to break!
I couldn't move because the train was full to bursting. So I had no choice but to spend the trip in the on-board restaurant. In the end this was expensive fun but at least I was spared this cloud of scent.
It is also noticeable again and again that the already very rich and strongly radiating scent is used so lavishly. In addition, there is a durability that is second to none.
Only after many hours Aromatics Elixir has retreated and laid down so far that it becomes bearable for me. But that is then clearly too late for me
I definitely acknowledge that this fragrance has always been very popular, currently 321 owners, which is not a small number. Also the fact that it has been on the market for almost 50 years speaks for itself.
To all those who appreciate the fragrance so much, I don't want to speak ill of Aromatics Elixir, this is just my personal feeling and what I associate with the fragrance.

I have long thought about writing something about this fragrance. But why not express disapproval? Each of us has one or the other scent that makes him/her flee. And now it has just hit Aromatics Elixir At some point it hits everyone. And the scent always pushes me down from cloud 7 very quickly and I know that it just doesn't fit with us.

36 Replies

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