Femme 1989 Eau de Toilette

Version from 1989
Femme (1989) (Eau de Toilette) by Rochas
We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.
8.1 / 10 257 Ratings
Femme (1989) (Eau de Toilette) is a popular perfume by Rochas for women and was released in 1989. The scent is spicy-chypreartig. The longevity is above-average. It is being marketed by Inter Parfums.
We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.

Main accords

Spicy
Chypre
Floral
Fruity
Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
PeachPeach CinnamonCinnamon PlumPlum RosewoodRosewood BergamotBergamot ApricotApricot LemonLemon
Heart Notes Heart Notes
CarnationCarnation CloveClove JasmineJasmine RosemaryRosemary IrisIris RoseRose Ylang-ylangYlang-ylang
Base Notes Base Notes
OakmossOakmoss AmberAmber BenzoinBenzoin PatchouliPatchouli LeatherLeather MuskMusk VanillaVanilla

Perfumer

Ratings
Scent
8.1257 Ratings
Longevity
8.4193 Ratings
Sillage
7.7186 Ratings
Bottle
7.6191 Ratings
Value for money
8.536 Ratings
Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 16.04.2024.

Reviews

11 in-depth fragrance descriptions
8
Bottle
8
Sillage
9
Longevity
8.5
Scent
Serenissima

608 Reviews
Translated Show original Show translation
Serenissima
Serenissima
Top Review 37  
"Glamour never takes a day off"
This was said by Iman, former model and the woman who managed to tame David Bowie and be married to him until his death in 2016.
Yeah, "Mrs. Jones" knows what she's talking about!

I'm sure Marcel Rochas, the man behind "Femme", would have liked that statement:
He loved glamorous women!
Because this man always claimed that only "real" women fascinate him: for him, women have no style until they are 30 years old.
This is a quote from a fashion designer who dressed women like Mae West, Carole Lombard and Jean Harlow.
Today he would certainly be offended by this opinion; also by the fact that the beautiful amphora shape of the flacon is based on the sensual and female hip line.
This is intended as a homage to femininity in a round and sensual form; it contains a fragrant appreciation of the woman and invites you to touch it!
And is by no means sexism, but a bow to the creation of women.

Even this new edition of the perfume from 1945 in the concentration of an eau de toilette still reveals the extraordinary race of a chypre fragrance: fruity or hesperide notes, floral heart of jasmine or rose, then woody notes.
Here, too, the perfect balance of all scents is revealed: beguiling, heavy and luxurious, but at the same time floral and fruity.
"Femme" is a sensual woman who likes to hide her secrets behind a fragrant mask.

The top note alone is extremely enchanting: apricot, peach and plum, generously spiced with cinnamon on a delicately fragrant rosewood.
The nostrils are already vibrating: I want more of that!
Of course, rose, jasmine and carnation are also cleverly interwoven with the magic of ylang-ylang (a special favourite of mine).
This previously created, already thoroughly feminine scent tissue is peppered with cloves and a few needles of spicy rosemary.
For the base, the treasure chest of sensual fragrances is once again reached into and not too shy:
Aphrodite appears, surrounded by wonderful and rich swaths of creamy, warm vanilla and musk and golden brown patchouli. Benzoin and oak moss provide resinous, slightly strong spice; a touch of leather is also a must.
Amber crowns this rich fragrance composition and rounds it off to a magical whole.

To conclude, I quote Marcel Rochas again: "You must smell women before you have seen them."
Even "Femme" as an eau de toilette circles around its wearer, mysteriously sensually anticipates her and - with this silage and durability it is undisputed: "Femme" is still long reminiscent of a woman who, invisibly, though palpably, follows Aphrodite as a sensual goddess over the red carpet of life.

After Ttfortwo had already sent me a generous bottling of this fragrance in late winter and I was able to experience the magic of "Femme", I long owed the comment promised at the time: I simply lacked a "hook".
Many fragrances tell me a story quite soon; the light, airy summer dreams rather than these mysterious heavy and opulent beings. With these, a full-fledged commentary often needs an appropriate "hook"!
Yesterday my fragrance friend Jessica from Belgium delivered this to me and already while reading it I knew: This statement fits to "Femme": here glamour is always present.
So I have two fragrance lovers to thank for the fact that I could write this commentary.
Many thanks to both!
21 Comments
10
Longevity
8
Scent
Awesomeness

247 Reviews
Awesomeness
Awesomeness
Top Review 6  
Maligned and unappreciated.
Oh, poor Femme Rochas. It's much maligned for being reformulated (in 1989), and it's under-appreciated for being wearable (today).

This reformulated version strikes me as a nice balance between older style fruity chypres and more modern ones. It's also knock-down, drag-out, 10-times better than the reformulated Mitsouko which sells for much more than Femme's discounted price.

I appreciate Femme for what it is, and I could careless what it was. It's beautiful, it's wearable, it's comfortable, it's gorgeous.
0 Comments
jtd

484 Reviews
jtd
jtd
Top Review 9  
survived reformulation
Rochas Femme would be interesting if only for the fact that it is a great battle-axe of perfumery.  It originated during a time of rations and war, it has survived a number of  formulations, and it's survived trend and fashion, no mean thing. But Femme is interesting other reasons. It is an early work of the the noted 20th-century perfumer Edmond Roudnitska, and it is an early and stellar example of the dark fruity chypre, one of the best styles of 20th-century perfumery.

From castoreum to methyl ionone (the chemical Roudnitska apparently made use of when he found it in a factory during WW II) to oakmoss, Femme has had its ingredient list maimed over the decades. I can’t say how much the current model resembles the original, which was apparently quite a dark delicacy. But what I own is a parfum de toilette in a one ounce round bottle (the "Byzance" bottle) that may or may not be from the 1990s.  I've also had a few carded samples from an old perfume shop of what was labeled eau de parfum.  They smell similar enough to my nose.  I suspect Femme's saving grace has been it's dark, boozy plum note. It is enhanced by a cumin note that I believe was ostensibly added to replace animalic elements as they became unavailable.  Here Femme is luckier than many of the other animalic perfumes to have been reformulated.  The woody cumin works fits the darkness of the fruit. Used strictly as a spurious animalic, a cumin note is generally unsuccessful. Reformulations that use this sort of crude bait and switch are one of the reasons reformulation is so demonized. 

Look at the great mid-20th century chypres, with their great lung-buckets full of oakmoss and other toxins.  If you line up Miss Dior, Ma Griffe, Miss Balmain & Jolie Madame the vintage and current models, it's hard to see the modern bottles as anything other than a fall from greatness. Femme and the other fruity chypres of the time appear to have enough grit and chutzpah to survive the criminalization of oakmoss. To my nose Femme as well as Guerlain Mitsouko and the underestimated Y by YSL, are in better shape currently than the others mentioned above. 

A well-done reformulation certainly helps, but Femme's other advantage is context.  Forget the old chypres, Femme could be seen today as a smart, boozy version of the generally vapid fruity floral. Femme fits right in line with Badgley Mischka by Badgely Mischka.

Femme isn't what she used to be, but who among us is?  I hope I can find a context in which I'll still shine as she does at her age.   She's a tough old broad and I'm still honored to wear la Vieille Femme. 
0 Comments
LiliumLibido

51 Reviews
LiliumLibido
LiliumLibido
Very helpful Review 7  
Estrogen gone wild
I will preface this by saying that I much, much prefer the reformulated version, so this is the one I am reviewing.

Unabashedly feminine and voluptuous, Femme is an amazing treat for the senses:
From its gently seasoned, stewed fruit compote opening that flows right into its spicy floral heart, the fragrance is a dance of flavors and textures.
The base contrasts the earlier lushness with deep earthy notes, dry and dark, only to be gently softened with the barest hint of vanilla.
It is said that there is no cumin in the reformulated version, but I beg to differ: I get cumin and it wraps the whole composition into a flustering aura of unsettling crude sweat.

The whole impression of this perfume is one of swaying hips and throaty laughter, it bursts with glowing sensuality, plays up the beauty of the floral notes against the tentalizing fruity notes while allowing what can only be described as shameless depravity to permeate every part of the composition.
It's that slight B.O note that gives this perfume such raw femaleness: It's beautiful, yes, but deep down, the question is not "what does she smell like in public?", it's "What does she smell like behind closed doors, after a savage night of ... ?" You fill in the blanks, lol.

Femme is just that: a celebration of what a woman really is, not a mold of what she should be like.
0 Comments
5
Bottle
7.5
Sillage
7.5
Longevity
8
Scent
Lola82

362 Reviews
Lola82
Lola82
Very helpful Review 4  
Wartime Elegance
Dark and Indolic Femme reflects the austere and well
tailored elegance of wartime fashion of the early
1940's of boxed shoulders and wasp waists mannish
and yet feminine rochas must have been a milestone
during it's release in 1943 a scent that is'nt frivilous nor girlish it was simple and yet sophistocated a perfume that conjours the rationed
mentality of wartime,

Femme demands but doe'snt
scream like Cinnabar,Spellbound,Opium,Ciara,or Obsession it slowly draws you in like a spider waits for it's pray or a cat that slowly stalks to get
his prize, The opening starts off sweet with the note of Peach then dries of a deep and juicy scent of plum. Cinnamon brings the heat and the fire of Femme with delectable nuances Bright slices of Bergamot
and lemon turns this fragrance to a zesty drydown,
As this scent dries to the heart of Rochas it turns
woodsy and grounded begining with Rosemary and powdery Red cartnation Iris seems to have a subtle
effect usually giving a cool crisp scent but there is no edvidence of that, The note of Jasmine with it's nocturnal Elegance to the senses Greenish and semi-sweet cloves finishes the middle.

The Base note drydown is my favorite a sexy mix of
Leather Civet and a tinge of Tobacco, Picturing
Marlene Dietrich in a skin tight black leather
low cut gown in a moving train in the first class
compartment seducing all the powerful men with
smoke blowing from her glossy red lips from a cigarette from her black Leather Gloves.

Femme is Fire beneth an icy exterior.
0 Comments
More reviews

Statements

4 short views on the fragrance
KuraiKurai 3 months ago
6
Sillage
7
Longevity
6
Scent
A mandatory lesson. Before diving into high end modern chypres, get this stuff for a few bucks and learn the basics of the game.
0 Comments
MrHonestMrHonest 5 months ago
7
Bottle
7
Sillage
9
Longevity
9
Scent
Incredibly complex indolic fruity floral with a huge dose of cumin in the opening and mid. Passionate, sophisticated, yet daring for many.
0 Comments
Charilaos77Charilaos77 1 year ago
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
8.5
Scent
I find nothing specifically feminine in this perfume, so I rock it confidently as a man. Excellent chypre, highly recommended!
0 Comments
BertolucciKBertolucciK 2 years ago
8
Bottle
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
7.5
Scent
Oldschool Chypre, very mature. Good scent but difficult for me to wear. Quite spicy, very floral. Stone fruits, a rough leather, oakmoss.
0 Comments

Charts

This is how the community classifies the fragrance.
Pie Chart Radar Chart

Discussions about Femme (1989) (Eau de Toilette)

ChapeauClack in Perfumes & Brands
What interests me most is : What does the new version of "Femme" smell like ? I own a very fine bottle of an old EdP and I cannot imagine it can be rivalled...

Images

54 fragrance photos of the community
More images

Popular by Rochas

Moustache (Eau de Parfum) by Rochas Rochas Man (Eau de Toilette) by Rochas Eau de Rochas Homme (1993) (Eau de Toilette) by Rochas Absolu by Rochas Alchimie (Eau de Parfum) by Rochas Eau de Rochas (1970) (Eau de Toilette) by Rochas Byzance (1987) (Eau de Toilette) by Rochas Mystère (Eau de Parfum) by Rochas L'Homme Rochas by Rochas Tocade (1994) (Eau de Toilette) by Rochas Moustache Original 1949 by Rochas Macassar (Eau de Toilette) by Rochas Lui Rochas by Rochas Madame Rochas (1960) (Parfum) by Rochas Globe (Eau de Toilette) by Rochas Eau Sensuelle by Rochas Madame Rochas (1989) (Eau de Parfum) by Rochas Eau de Rochas Fraîche by Rochas Eau de Rochas Homme (2015) by Rochas Femme (1945) (Parfum) by Rochas