Miss Balmain Pierre Balmain for women

I have this 30ml 1990s version of Miss Balmain EDT and comparing it to a sample of the older version, is nearly indistinguishable. It sings a woody, leathery hymn, bright and sharp, with fresh top notes, cutting through the air rapturously. It makes me think of the jonquils pushing through the April snow here today in Massachusetts. The chill of winter has not yet yielded to spring equinox, but the flowers and their yellow warmth sing in resistance. There's multiple moods and temperatures here, reflecting the brilliance of Germaine Cellier. Miss Balmain sears the air like a beacon, like one of her Gauloises, penetrating the atmosphere.

Strong, metallic rose petals and oily, organic surfaces; quasar quinolines emitting energy; a "Miss" that hits the target squarely, nowhere near as demure as her honorific suggests. Witchy without any witch hunt; bold, bright, and unrelenting, like the ruffled arc orange tagetes marigolds in the garden of earthly delights. Smoke and soap mingle at a cocktail party serving stiff drinks, clasping tilting figures with wandering hands, tracing silhouettes through the haze. It's pretty in pink yet serving black magic. Clearly, I am under its spell, even as it descends into pillows of moss and whispers of worldly grit.

It doesn't exist a woody perfume for women like this. I won't say a lot just....perfection in perfumery..
10/10.

When they tell you that Lanvin and Balmain made the renaissance chypres, believe them!

This is sweet, fermented, nutty, mossy. I just slow-clapped when I smelled it (extrait). I remember Fendi Donna's EDP with the same vinic palette. Oh my god this is so good, the leather note here adds to the grit, texture. Just symphonic you could cry!

I got a (60s?) vintage of this (round bottle with a bow), fan girling Germaine Cellier. This is the slightly easier to approach cousin of Jolie Madame. The pungent spices (coriander) giving it a slightly sharp edge on the leather base, well blended florals underneath softening the composition but only just. Like many fragrances of this era its difficult to pick out individual flowers, the only clear note is carnation with its characteristic spiciness. Its a confident fragrance, not particularly feminine but not too aggressive either. The very long dry down, 10h + finally reveals some sweetness underneath. Proud to have it in my collection.

Miss Balmain retains Germaine Cellier's usual bright, intense colors, and she reuses a set of fragrance formulas. Fiery and savory silty tobacco leather, hot, slightly spicy, not stronger than pepper.
Coriander accompanies the aldehyde aroma. The pungent smell tore a crack, leading me through the smoky opening into Miss Balmain. A little metallic at first, wait for a while, short and sweet, rose as the center, compound floral accents stand out, and the gray texture of orris root is looming.
Miss Balmain has the same genes as Jolie Madame.
The tough leather (isobutylquinoline) has a lustrous, smooth and oily finish over time.
Paired with the warm animal gland scent, the dark tide is surging, what a surging one!
Parfum appears full, rich and detailed, and is the perfect concentration of experience. The EDT has distinct layers, and the three-tone transition is clear, which is also very good.
Dried oakmoss, musk, vetiver and patchouli form the base under the action of carnation (eugenol), while tonka bean and amber soften and warm the floral harmony of rose and jasmine.
Leather greatly affects its temperament.
Miss Balmain is slightly closer to men on the gender spectrum, but still between men and women, not quite up to standard elegance, Miss Balmain lacks femininity.

One of the most desired vintage women's scents, I think with a reason.

The base of this scent are sharp and cold notes of leather and oakmoss, but richness and warm vibe of this scent brings species and hint of flowers. Very specific scent, unique and timeless. In one sentence, type of scents that perfume industy don't produce anymore.

Excellent performances and depth, specially the first formulation.

I've just bought three tiny vintage miniatures of Jolie Madame, Vent Vert and Miss Balmain out of pure sentimentality because I took one sniff of VV when I was a child and adored it. Unfortunately, the VV and Jolie Madame smell largely of alcohol - a lovely, interesting whiskey, maybe - but alcohol, nonetheless. Which is deeply disappointing and a warning to anybody having a go on ebay. HOWEVER, the Miss Balmain is sensational! It's dark yellow and an amber powerhouse singing with every flower you can imagine; it's the real thing. WOW, if this was what perfume used to be, it certainly does make our stuff seem pale by comparison. I can't stop sniffing it, it's just so complex and plain joyous.

This is no 'Miss'. For me, it is in the league of the original Miss Dior, similar to Vent Vert, but less green, and close to those which smell like Bandit, Cabochard and Jolie Madame, but less violetty.

These are perfumes for women. For women who enjoy the 'vintage' fragrances, which pretty much were flattened from the 1990's and we were sold sweet nothings and watery words, which then enveloped many females.

I'm wearing the parfum version today but also have a very vintage edt. This is leathery and powdery. Slightly wooden, with beautiful green notes, tempered by powder.

Not for girls. I was born just after this was created. I was introduced into perfume as a teenager with Miss Dior (not that light non-related current version), Magie Noir, Jolie Madame (actually a little too sweet for me at the time, but I enjoyed the violets), Opium and others of a similar vein.

I loved the 80's and early 90's, with statement perfume and edgy styles I wore. Skin tight velvet jeggings (oh yes, we had them then), red tartan Jigsaw mini skirts, cropped tops and Doc Martin's. My perfume went with my freedom as a woman and as a university student having a lot of fun. I didn't have Miss Balmain in my skinny collection, which I coveted, but it would have fitted right in.

Grayspoole hit the nail on the head by comparing Miss Balmain to an Islay whiskey. Peat, leather, iodine, not necessarily in a bad way. I don't really pick up the flowers. It seems odd to me that this was named Miss Balmain, perhaps a Miss like Jean Brodie. Nothing girlish about this fragrance.
While I am grateful to have had the chance to sample this vintage fragrance, she isn't for me.

I love vintage Miss Balmain, which was launched in 1967. Some are surprised that it is a "Miss" in pink, but I think the contrast between the scent and the branding was intentional. Miss Balmain was meant for the cool girls, those who wore lots of black eyeliner, kitten heels, and miniskirts. A French original ad suggests Miss Balmain for those who are "young, beautiful, and bored" (bored with other perfumes, one assumes, not with life in general). There is also some confusion over Miss Balmain's parentage. Fragrantica lists Germaine Cellier as the nose, but there are reputable sources that identify Harry Cutler (who went on to create Giorgio) and I think that is probably correct, although the influence of Cellier is undeniable.

From its smokey opening, which reminds me of a Islay single malt whiskey, Miss Balmain offers up a deep and full rose note, lily of the valley, castoreum, and a lovely dollop of isobutyl quinoline, a classic leather aromachemical. If you like this sort of thing, you probably already have vintage Miss Balmain. If you are debating about which vintage leather you should add to your collection, you probably should get Miss Balmain. It is slightly warmer and has more feminine florals than Azuree and Cabochard, and the leather note is not as bold, but all three are wonderful.

If Miss Balmain is what you want, shop carefully for the older vintage parfum and EDT. Miss Balmain was still being produced in the EDT formulation into the early 1990's, and it seems clear that reformulation occurred although some say Miss Balmain has held up well. Also, please disregard the extremely prolific reviewer below who describes Miss Balmain as an "aldehydic floral" similar to Oh de London, YSL Y, No. 5, and No. 22.

God this is fabulous.
Miss Balmain is the kinda Miss that's perfectly made up but wearing an edgy outfit and doesn't care what you think, not a dainty little miss.
On me it's powder but with beautiful flowers, leather and oakmoss guarding it's back. Beautiful and feminine but strong and unapologetic. I have the newer version and the old round splash version and it's only now with the new version I can really see it's glory as the splash is pretty dark and lacks a spray but I'm so glad I own both, this is the kinda aspirational perfume I love and admire!

This is definitely a blast from the not so distant past circa early 1970's to mid 80's, darkly animalic & quite leathery incl. innumerable complex base compounds still used at this time in haute perfumery, very unique and lush with Germaine Cellier's signature all over it, they don't make em' like this anymore, practically contains everything including the kitchen sink :) the eau de toilette is powerful enough although the parfum is absolutely diabolically/heavenly divine, that's if you can find the original deep ambery golden formula. Back in the day I could power through a 100 ml. vapo bottle (cylindrical+pink bow with white cap) of edt. every couple of months, imagine a dense floral/leather bouquet heavily fixed with carnation & marigold (tagetes & tobacco flower)+ civet? ,leather, oakmoss, vetyver, orris tincture & patchouli? "WoW"!!!
"Why" oh why do I keep tormenting myself remembering these almost impossible hard to find golden oldies ????
Fragrance junkies with a hankering for the vintage exotic, grab this if you ever have the opportunity, very different to other Cellier greats like Jolie Madame, Fracas, Vent Vert, Coeur Joie & my fave made for Balenciaga, 'La Fuite des Heures' UTTERLY FAB!!!

Edit: The latest & now discontinued reform is quite different, also rather tame compared to the original.. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!

Oh, how I long for times past when "miss" in a perfume's name didn't mean "smells like candy", but sharp, strong leather, oakmoss and aldehydes. Nobody messes with this miss! I don't normally like aldehydes but this perfume's got character! After 3.5 h, it softens and smells exactly like Chypre Mousse Oriza L. Legrand, a big favorite of mine. (Reviewing a vintage mini.)

Has a 1960's "wild girl" vibe... I picture Sharon Tate or Edie Sedgwick or Joanna Pettet or Tuesday Weld or Joey Heatherton or Katharine Ross or Faye Dunaway or Ann-Margret or even Lynn Anderson or Raquel Welch. Classy, but definitely 60's au-go-go liberated. Definitely a big bouffanted 60's hair fragrance. I love it.

An earlier post-er suggested Jessica Pare' in her late-60's MAD MEN look: Bingo.

I agree , the emballage is misleading... It doesn't smell "pink" to me, somehow. Or at least not that demure pink. Maybe a 60's Pucci pink.

Not one I reach for tons, but something that feels irreplaceable in my collection. Definitely a relic from when it was expected that perfume would smell like, drum...roll please, a perfume. If I had to choose a signature scent, I would *want* to choose Miss Balmain. She doesn't really smell like me but she smells like a woman I'd like to be. Warm, bright, confident and though it doesn't sound like many people pick up on it from the reviews, gentle.

I was wearing this at work, and a friend asked me if I was wearing Old Spice or something. Uh, no bitch, I'm not wearing Old Spice. Then she thought it was the older male we work with, she described it as something old school barber shop. But when I put my wrist to her nose it was me. Regular lay people are so accustomed to sweet feminine perfumes they don't know a "statement" perfume when they smell it.

I don't care what anybody says, whenever I want to rock Miss Balmain I will, she is beautiful.

A must have for every vintage earthy leather lover. Woods, leather, flowers and aldehydes in a perfect balance of almost endless longevity. Coriander is quite prominent at the beginning, then the perfume is quite linear all the way to the dirty musty drydown. I'm in paradise when I wear it, this is the grounded paradise of living angels who fight for complex joy and amusement every single day. Another lost masterpiece.

I would give ANYTHING (well.... almost anything) to be able to stock up for life - on Miss Balmain here in South Africa. So sad that I cannot find it anymore, except by ordering from the UK or US when shipping will cost me more than the perfume itself. Heartbroken....

The smell of SUCCESS. A self-made entrepreneuress.
Well loved orphan. Much respected head of household.
She's no heiress; so princesses, first wives, and gold-
diggers steer clear. Self assured, independence, even
sovereignity (from other mortals) will feel like home in
this. No femme fatale, vixen, diva, gothic types either.
This Miss is ALL FEMME & not a drop less. ...Peace...

1967 Vintage Germaine Cellier's Miss Balmain

Oh! De London or Y de Yves Saint Laurent with more elaborate detailing and with a warning sign: for women who aren't sissies. This is a green garden where flower children congregate to smell each other just to get high on the fragrance. The 60's was not really that innovative and experimental an era for fragrance as the subsequent 70's. Some 60's fragrances wore like 1950's fragrances or even 30's 40s, strong woods, heavy floral scents, and leather. This fragrance could easily pass for a perfume in the same family as Fracas Bandit Miss Dior and Jolie Madame. Miss Balmain introduces herself with strong aldehydes letting us know she is of the classic formula kind with aldehydes like Chanel No. 5, No. 22, and so forth. Mingling with the aldehydes are freshly squeezed lemons. Immediately, the gardenia, a screaming flower, is detectable. She is followed by green notes which are the leaves of the lily of the valley and bushes of white flowers. There is jasmine, carnation and narcissus. But this is not a simple floral fragrance. There's more of course. A spiciness gets released with the other notes of culinary corinader, vetiver, some orris root and the smokiness of the patchouli. The fragrance lasts forever and dries down to woods, heavy oak and oak moss. There is also leather, musk. It's like two fragrances in one: the aldehyde floral fruity, the day time, the green notes that feel like an herbal tea and then the strong leather outfit that is worn at night. During the day the women who have been smelling each other in the garden and at night are now doing something else LOL They're smoking patchouli. They're high and on the drugs of fragrances. I must say that nothing can create a vision to my nose like a vintage fragrance. I have also smelled and worn the reformulation which is ok, not a replica but not bad either. All they did was add a touch of tonka (which smells like vanilla, but in this case it's very soft) and some coconut. The original of course was an assertive female. And yet at times this fragrance gave me the feeling that it was modest and few women wore it but it provided some influence. It seemed to have inspired scents like Balmain's Ivoire de Balmain the vintage 1980 version, or scents like Aliage by Estee Lauder from 1971. At the time of Miss Balmain's release, more women were probably wearing Y by Yves Saint Laurent Guy Laroche Fidji, Jean Desprez Bal a Versailles, Hermes Caleche and Dana perfumes. This one was an homage to aldehyde floral chypres of the Golden Age and it's divine. I love to wear both the vintage and the new formula.

I came upon this classic at a thrift store this afternoon, with our first November rain and cold front. I started the morning with Mitsouko, a rainy cold day go to, and then showered in afternoon as temps were warmer. Then I shopped and found Miss Balmain. I had tried to order the Ivoire from a perfume kiosk in a mall earlier in the year, wondering where is perfume purgatory for these wonderful old fragrances. I grabbed Miss Balmain for under $20.00, while I still wait for news from the perfume people of the other one, and gave explicit promise to pay for the Ivoire whatever insane price it is now. So, color me happy when I found this.
It suits a cooler and wet day because of the oakmoss and leather. I could detect sweet notes of flowers in the second hour, but thankfully the base notes just went center stage quickly. I, too, have grown tired of some of the new frags because everyone wanted in the business, and too many new colognes are sweet and girly. Playful is one thing, but smelling like a Mars bar is not my idea of "deep woman," This scent has a characteristic that matches a thinking woman.
This is a mature woman's scent because of its complexity. Winter demands notes of leather, and homage to the oak god.
Hats off to House of Balmain.

I have a lovely little miniature of vintage Miss Balmain, thanks to @yohji, thank you!

I knew this was vintage at first sniff - that unmistakable oakmoss chypre. From the bottle it smells weird at first, and on first application it's odd for a few minutes, but give it a little time and it transforms into a lovely oakmossy, dried-twiggy smoky autumnal sensation!

I don't think that's going too far, sometimes I get a bit carried away with description, but I tested this on my mum who was round for lunch today, and she too was in love with this chypre classic of yesteryear.

I think the top notes might have disappeared as I get very little floral, but it's the base that's special anyway.

Intriguing, witchy yet elegant. It will indeed smell old fashioned or odd if you wear mostly contemporary styles, but as with many vintages, they knock spots off some of the unusual niche perfumes that aim for smoky chypre effects.

Wonderful stuff!

Its been a while but today I took out my vintage Miss Balmain and remembered how much I love this perfume. Compared with today's candied, bubblegum scents this may seem old and very masculine but I find it a classy, feminine fragrance for a confident and independent woman.

To me it doesn't really develop from one thing to another but the various notes are all put together, and stay together, from the beginning to the end. I smell lots of wood, leather, oak moss, carnation and coriander with a background of jasmine, rose, amber for a smooth sweetness, and aldehydes for a light powdery finish. You would think this to be loud and overpowering but it's not. It has a medium silage that I can smell only when I hold up my wrists to my nose. Longevity is very good, today it lasted me a good 12 hours before it started to fade.

I haven't smelled the new version, but I'm sad that the original has changed and will need to look around for deals to stock up.

I just found and bought a tiny 1 1/2" mini in an antique store today! It's full , and still beautiful! The liquid is very dark but seems to have not lost its beauty, the leather coming through just lovely! I don't know how to describe it actually!

Vintage, real Miss Balmain. Classy leathery chypre, a woman who can ride a horse, and next hour sit in a office winning the project of new building investment, come back home and make a great dinner for family, and invite friends forgetting how tired she was or is or should be, who can do all sort of things – from being a stockbroker till growing carrots and roses on her backyard, - effortlessly or so – it seems.

Yes, its an earthy fragrance, she lives a real life, grounded and strong, being very sincere and natural in all aspects of life, just like trees and their roots, she is proud of her ancestors and her descendant will be proud of her. And they will never forget the fragrance she loved most of others – Miss Balmain.

I actually wrote a review about a real woman, who died few years ago and who was very inspirational figure for many others.

Such a rich, complex fragrance! Both classic and classy and very much a French creation.

For self-assured, powerful and supremely self-confident women. Should have been named Ms. or Madame Balmain, because no Miss or Mademoiselle has the maturity or gravitas needed to carry off this composition without seeming to be playing dress-up in her mother's wardrobe.

Remove Jolie Madame's powdery violets, punch up the oakmoss, change her soft suede to fine equestrian black leather and elevate her from cast member to the starring role in the bright spotlights with a generous infusion of aldehydes and Jolie Madame becomes Miss Balmain. Nonetheless, they are so very much related I can't imagine anyone who likes/loves JM not liking/loving MB, and vice-versa.

Miss Balmain's initially evident florals seem to greet me at the door and disappear as I walk in and become enveloped by the green, woodsy fragrances of an old country manor house filled with well-worn leather furniture. Yes, green, woodsy, leathery and "old money" aristocratic.

Long-lasting with intimate sillage and, in my opinion a definite "must have" for women who appreciate the finer things in life.

Miss B's charm comes from a slapdash composition and that succeeds.  It conveys an honestly straightforward approach, and the result is a charming perfume with character.

Forget any discussions of buttery Italian leather, sophisticated Russian leather, discrete French glove leather.  Miss B is A stiff coat leather with a note of cheap compact-powder florals. Both ranges of notes, the leather and the compact, tell you to take it or leave it.  There's something wonderfully practical about this perfume. It doesn't suggest that you contemplate it in search of meaning, intent or mood. It has that sort of checklist femininity: hair, makeup, purse, dress, shoes. Walk out the house, never give it another thought. For some people this approach could be a a pile-up of mismatches.

For the right person though this approach can read as Just Right, and demonstrate a strong sense of self possession.  Miss Balmain is for a person who likes its dichotomy of notes and is smart enough to recognize it connotes an easy execution of gender more than a belabored performance of it. For the person wearing Miss Balmain, perfume isn't a giveaway of your personality or desires, it's merely a fragrance that s/he likes to wear. Try too read further into it and you'll be barking up the wrong tree.

1967… The new, rebellious age of liberation meets the sophisticated, well-dressed glamour of early 60th. The wind of new changes sweeps through all layers of society. The psychedelic, experimental music of the Beatles, the Doors, Pink Floyd and others take the pop-culture to the places where it has never been before. The fashion, style and of course perfumery is caught in this whirlwind of changes and that’s when Pierre Balmain releases Miss Balmain.

Recently I have become a huge fan of Mad Men show, which has its 5th season set in spring of 1967. And as soon as I tried Miss Balmain, I thought that’s what the new Mrs. Draper (portrayed by beautiful Jessica Paré) would wear. A bit rebellious but classy and sophisticated, just like Megan herself who managed to catch an eye of a man like Don Draper.

The scent captures the 1967 era perfectly, but yet it never goes out of style with its beautiful, complex and sophisticated composition. I was impressed by it from the first sniff. The beginning is very chic layer of aldehydes and green galbanum notes with this gorgeous leather scent. Just simply beautiful. The scent has long development arc as it gracefully transitions into the floral bouquet of lily of the valley, jasmine and ylang-ylang well balanced by the woods and leather. Nothing is out of place. I love that the floral bouquet is not overpowering or stinky, which could happen with jasmine, but rather soft and sophisticated mixed with creamy notes of rosewood and sandalwood. The scent becomes even more leathery as it develops towards the dry down, but in the same time, it remains feminine and alluring. The sillage and longevity are both great.

There are scents from the by-gone era that I like to try to travel in time and experience the past, but I would not consider wearing outside of my living room. But not with this one. I love wearing it. It is one of the best leather scents I have ever tried. Overall score 9.5/10

Miss Balmain is a truly beautiful scent. Smoky, loved to bits, careworn leather, surrounded by a bouquet of florals so well blended no single note dominates. I love the sweetness the coconut gives to offset the smokiness. It is so completely different from modern fragrances and disappointingly so hard to find I could cry about it. It is so sad fragrances are not made like this anymore. I do smell the similarity with Azuree, but Azuree is very much a masculine leather, Miss Balmain is definitely all woman! I love all the vintage Balmain fragrances, they are simply exceptional.

What has always made me smile are the girlish pink ribbon, pink box, simple bottle. As if it contained a girly scent!
THIS SCENT IS FOR A WOMAN-WOMAN, a grown up lady, very confident, very smart, very tough, but with a sweet heart, soft forms, warm embracing.
It's one of the few scents I keep buying and buying bottle after bottle, using and using, year after year, and do continue loving despite the 100+ diffent scents I have in my drawer.
A spectacular creation from the past but still very up to date.
You can't miss having this if you are a true scentaholic!

Whenever I want to feel like a hussy I wear Miss Balmain. And I mean that in a best possible way. I love Miss Balmain! IMO it's like a throwback to a teased hair, chain-smoking, lotsa lipstick and leather jacket wearing tough floozy.

The leather makes it feel tough and on the masculine side (by today's standards, back in the day scents like this were typical feminine offerings), the carnation gives it an old school feel and the narcissis makes it cheerful enough and kind of keeps it from becoming a too old fashioned scent.

My first spray of the vintage EDT of Miss Balmain was a true eye opener! What a blast! And, I mean that in the best possible way! Aldehydes, leather, carnation, oak moss, and vetiver, OH MY! This has got to be one of the most glorious cyphers! It is bold, it refuses to be categorized it and it's packaging is an oxymoron!

I also detect the amber and the orrisroot in the dry down, which is just glorious. The aldehydes gentle along with the leather and smokiness wafts away, leaving a musky, woody, spicy floral scent that I absolutely love!

Miss Balmain is not for the shy. She is bold, bracing and shouts, no, HOLLERS here I am, like it or lump it!

The sillage is, on me, moderate.
Longevity is spectacularly long.

I love it. It is one of the best.

...I can easily imagine Germaine Cellier (she was the laziest gal in town) taking perfume formula for Bandit (1944) and slightly tuning down the concentration of some components (e.g. isobutyl quinoline) and adding a few new ingredients. Result: beautiful and less aggressive leathery chypre known as Miss Balmain (1967). I personally like everything about it, except the name and the pink box (sometimes even a cute little bow can be found on the bottle), they are just nonsense! This masculine fragrance has nothing to do with those attributes. Germaine Cellier just couldn't have such an image in head. Jean Cocteau's friend (what a crazy mixture!), aggressive homosexual, she ate tons of garlic at the dinner table, always talked in a crude, low-class manner, smoked like a chimney, when women were expected to be behaving daintily, and was known for bravely stripping undergarments off Robert Piguet's models as they exited the runway and sniffing in an attempt to capture "the best of their femininity"! She went as far as coming to work at ten in the morning and leaving before noon, considering her work for the day accomplished! Would you ever expect from the eccentric butch [although she was beautiful and extremely stylish] some delicate pink flowers, bows, and ruffles?! I don't think so. What was Pierre Balmain thinking while packaging Miss Balmain?!!! Oh wait, ...maybe Miss Balmain is a drag queen?... LOL! Just kidding :-)

The name 'Miss' Balmain is misleading: this is an elegant unisex fragrance for confident grown-ups.

Miss Balmain opens with a very strong blast of aldehyde and leather accords and after an hour settles into this beautifully earthy, mossy, enveloping and grounded scent.
Later on the the warm woody character(vetiver), and faint flowery notes is what lingers on the skin.

Every time I reach for this fragrance, it strikes me what a perfectly blended and rounded fragrance this is - contemplative, strong, sophisticated and debonair.
I like to wear this to work and casual meetings, preferably in fall and spring. This scent evolves best in bracing weather and air, that is still cold or breezy or on rainy days.
The bottle, design and the name make Miss Balmain look and seem so unassuming and low-key, but this is a masterful fragrance, composed in the vein of old-school perfumery and style, and yet it is very modern and universal.
Sillage is moderate and perfect for use at the workplace. Longevity for me is about 5-7 hours.
If you like classics like, Arpege (Lanvin), Coco (Chanel), Mitsouko (Guerlain) etc., you should definitely give this a try.

Just not my cup of tea. I like woody/mossy fragrances but although I loved so many notes in this I ended up swapping it away.

I tried and retried this but never got anything more than bitter coriander and wet leather. It's smells quite "cold" to me and I think the difference for me between this and a mossy scent like Mitsouko is that the spice notes are warm.

Very dominating fragrance. I could certainly see this for the right woman 25+, but I think me and coriander will never get along.

The new edt is pretty enough. Mossy, woody, leathery and floral. Yet, compare it to the old stuff, it is weaker and a bit modernized I think. Vintage one, was thick, bitter, increadibly woody, leathery sharp at the beginning as rare old wine. Then, I remember intoxicating narcissus was coming and the composition was lasting many many hours on skin. Modern one, is sublte but still elegant. It's woody character remains but it is toned down. Florals are blured and mixed better together so as nothing seems prominent to my nose. Something is missing.... I don't know what it is but the new Miss Balmain has not that classic twist as it had. It seems to be more wearable now adressing to younger ages as well. I liked it a lot. Maybe I'll add it to my collection.

This is a review for current EDT in 2012.
I expected to love it but not because of the first 5 minutes.
It would be a dark, alluring beauty without the blast of waxy, sour, dusty and decaying aldehyde at initial stage. I can live in harmony with some aldehyde fragrances but not this one. Luckily, the aldehyde is strong for about first 5 minutes and after 15 minutes you can forget it and from that is a ravishing dance of vetiver blended with lush, yet mellow jonquil & jasmine on the base of condensed moss & earthy patchouli. This is embellished more with the tangy carnation. Thus, the whole composition sounds mysterious, even mischievous like an adventure in an epic forest under the murky, hazy moonlight.

it tickled my imagination before having it. i wasn't quite disappointed smelling it, but it is far, far away from Cabochard, my favourite.it is linear, from beginning to the end, on my skin.nothing surprising, just a good, comfortable smell.i don't think i will buy it again.

Stunning. I love this. My favorite of the Balmains. It makes an amazing masculine... Just dont be afraid of the pink bow on the bottle.

This scent is not "sweety pink girly" at all, which is what the ribbon and packaging might suggest. Miss Balmain was my first real perfume. I was 15, 16 years old. Before Miss Balmain I bought my perfumes with my own money, that I made as a baby-sitter. I had turned to tiny, angular bottles with perfume oil from India (really cheap, abt 2 Euro's). My favourite was patchouli. (Yes, I was a teenager in the 1970s hippie-era) My father was often abroad for business, always came back with a small present typical of that country, usually candy. One day he came home from France with a bottle of Miss Balmain perfume, telling me that I was becoming a woman now, and in Paris girls my age had their first perfume. I was absolutely smitten by this gift and the idea behind it. I loved the scent too. To me it was like a chique, stylish version of my patchouli-oil. I never stopped using Miss Balmain, and I'm literally still a miss. Lovers yes, husbands no. I'm not sure if the contemporary Miss Balmain has the same formula it used to have. Whatever the case, I still love it. It's not your typical feminine scent, it's even a bit masculine, it's smoky, rich, full, intense. A perfume for women who own themselves.

I'm not shure about Miss Balmain: is it a bit vintage or quite modern and very unique perfume? It opens sharp, leathery aldehydic with vetiver and flowers (narciss,rose and carnation), among wich I can smell some lemon. Later it evolves to more soft and a bit powdery floral scent but still the leather and vetiver are there, less aldehydes maybe. It's fresh on top and creamy inside. Very nice and really long lasting!
Colder weather perfume. I found it suitable for daily formal occasions. But I must point out again, the classification of any perfume on "day or night" always depends on my personal mood and the feelings... and Miss Balmain can easily be night perfume as well.

This is not what I expected. This was,also, a blind buy...EDT, modern formula.

For some reason, I expected something stronger and more aggressive. Instead, what emerges is ,herbal greenery and freshness softened with white floral, perhaps lilly of the valley. This is a chic, refined woman: there is nothing little girlish about this one despite the name.

After only twenty minutes or so the fragrance shifts:
the freshness and the floral seems to evaporate, leaving behind an herbal leather with surprising staying power. This sudden shift from beginning to drydown seems abrupt to me,like where's the second act in the play?

However, I won't complain because this is a lovely fragrance at a reasonable price, that has that delicious leather note like Azuree, and plays it with subtlety and charm. I think this was a good discovery. I'm looking forward to comparing this to the vintage in the future.

I like this very much.

( Much later in the day...) Miss Balmain just gets better and better. I've taken a shower and applied this fragrance liberally. It is subtle and sophisticated, an herbal-leather smokiness that settles about the body like a comforting warmth, a second skin. It sometimes reminds me of Azuree, and at other times it has a greenness that reminds me of Aromatics Elixer...it is very subtle, balanced,
and refined...and I am very comfortable in this. The longer I wear this the more respect I have for the creator of this lovely perfume. Excellent!

Definitely my cup of tea.

The Balmain trilogy would have been: JOLIE MADAME for ladies, BALMAIN DE BALMAIN chic sporty and MISS BALMAIN for young misses. As a matter of fact I find Miss Balmain more "mature" than Jolie Madame. Both are incredibly chic, absolute elegance and charme but I find the charm in Miss Balmain is more refined than the one in Jolie Madame. I use both with the same enthusiasm (I also use and love Balmain de Balmain) but to me Miss Balmain is for more formal occasions than Jolie Madame. This is a case when you face a perfume made with much art, an excellent example of what perfumery used to be and is no longer, alas.

I have a small spray decant of a vintage version of Miss Balmain. Before spraying, I thought I picked up some lovely leather and woody notes on the vial. However, upon spraying, it starts off extremely strong, sharply aldehydic, and intensely floral.

After a half hour or so the citrus and sharpness goes away, leaving a smooth, abstract floral chypre-type scent. I can smell oakmoss and powder in the base. Oddly, on my skin there is never much of the leather and woody scent that I detected on the sample vial. It’s too bad, because I really would have enjoyed it. However, all in all, this is an excellent old-fashioned floral chypre that’s well made.

It’s a shape-shifter that goes from sharp, citrusy and aldehydic to soft, floral and mossy. I like it, but can’t help wondering what happened to the leather.

I have been searching for this for ages and finally have found it, absolutely love it to bits, bought a bottle years ago through Perfume Connections in Qld and was never able to find it. Thanks to Fragrantica and their never ending list of fragrances I have been able to purchase it. Every time I wear this either day or night I get lots of comments on the aroma. My next mission is to purchase the original Fendi as this is another all time classic, which is becoming extremely difficult to purchase. Another fragrance that I would include in this category is Donna Trussardi for Women (in a frosted bottle) not in the white leather look bottle, and is getting difficult to purchase also, but I managed to get a bottle online and am in heaven once again.

I bought Miss Balmain to try as Fendi Fendi was my all time favourite scent.

It is a wee bit like Fendi Fendi, but Miss Balmain is sharper & thinner. I still have a small bottle of Fendi to compare it with & the Fendi is more golden, fuller and a more 'round' scent, slighly honeyed, in comparison. Miss Balmain is not so long-lasting on my skin, either.

I can also appreciate the comparison to Azuree, but Miss Balmain appears to be lacking the citrus top notes of Azuree. When Azuree dries down the leather is drier and a stronger note, but the dry down of Miss B is less leathery and more floral.

Having said that, Miss Balmain is a delightful foral leather scent that smells far more expensive than it is. The bottle is charmingly retro & I'm glad I bought it.

I love leather scents and there's a spot on my shelf for all three!

24. may 2011

Surprisingly good! I didn´t expect that such a vintage fragrance can be soo good! Very nice composition of what i call a lady-like fragrance (not in a matter of age, but behaving). Rose, carnation, coconut, leather- they are all present here and the opening is one of the most beautiful i have sniffed ever!
I could never appreciate it until lately since the whole Balmain range has never been sold in the country i live, so it is only possible to order it online or buy it abroad, so i am a "virgin" if it comes to "balmain" fragrances :)) . And i am glad i did, because it is a real gem and very well balanced indeed. A good alternative to the Chanel "Chance" and "Coco mademoiselle" addictions in my country. It smells so refined, full-bodied and rich i just can´t believe that i have missed it for soooo long time.
I guess i have the older version of "Miss balmain" since it doesn´t look like the ones on the pictures, but with a black label and black lid. But i definitly want to try the new one also.
Absolutly worth trying and buying!!!

UPDATE:

OK, it's official. I thought I was imagining it..
I had to share my new love, Miss Balmain, with two old, dear friends.. .think most of my lifetime friends. So I sprayed it generously on them...and they both said, 'but this smells so like what you used to always wear.'

SO. I'm not mad. This supremo out-Fendi's Fendi. It is stronger, lasts longer, and has that amazing, inviting and tempting combo of oriental sweet with spice and smoke and warmth....
When I wear it, I feel good enough to eat.

I am definitely in heaven, as my quest for a Fendi substitute has been met with a master fume. Thank you, God.

I've just ordered two more bottles, because I AM NOT EVER RUNNING OUT OF THIS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Money. Lots of it, and it's old money. And life is carefree, life is filled with fun. I walk into any room and my elan captures the eyes, ears and adulation of everyone.

That, definitely, was what hit me the minute I sprayed on this perfume designed by an artist from heaven. Don't ask me to work out the notes, or the middle phase, or the dry down. The energy is sweet/sour, aldehyde and leather, and the mix is pure divinity. I think of Catherine Deneuve....elegant stunning,alluring, but in the most ladylike way.

Funny, it also takes me back to a perfume made by an iconic Australian designer from the 60's, Prue Acton. I have tried and tried to find a bottle of her perfume, but this is so reminiscent of it. And that takes me to another time, place and picture for Miss Balmain.

Sydney. Hot nights. The late 60'/early 70's. Glamorous, false eyelashed and micro skirted, liberated girls. And nightclubs where everyone smoked, and drank black russians, and everything was new and reborn, because this was the new age and we were it's people. And this was our smell....

Vibrant, earthy, gentle sweet. It reeks of luscious, but refined femaleness.

I want to drink it!! Heaven!!

I'm ordering in more bottles, because I can't get enough....

I have waited a long time to find & buy the vintage version of this juice & i finally found it on ebay at a bargain price. I was desperate to have a juice from my year of birth.

This has not failed my expectations at all. The opening is massive & gives a big fat wallop to your senses. Just as Ivoire de Balmain does & both Estee Lauder Youth Dews. Its definately the citrus notes that pack the initial punch along with the jasmine sweetness.

After 10 minutes the blast of citrus disperses allowing the vetiver to the forefront, vetiver never leaves but stays hugging your skin through to the end.

I only have to wait 30 minutes for the real depth of this beauty to reach my nose. Amber, musk, rose & carnation are the top players on my skin alongside vetiver.

This juice dries down warm & soft with enough flowers to make it feminine but its true depth is musky & woody.

Im delighted i love this fragrance & hopefully will have it as my signature some day. It has been worth the wait & was a major succesful blind buy.

Im eager to try the updated version to see how they compare.

One of the most magnificent perfumes, next to "Jolie Madame."

I've never met a bottle of Balmain that I didn't love but this one took me longer than the rest. I have a vintage EdT in the round-shouldered bottle and for months I'd sample it and back off. Its opening is sharp, pointed, almost confrontational.

Finally I decided to try to meet Miss Balmain halfway and discovered that when the intense top notes begin to settle into the middle notes the whole composition relaxes considerably. It becomes the sort of chypre I'm always lusting after.

There's a note all the way though that kept puzzling me. My sense of smell is sort of blunt, I'm afraid; I can't separate notes like many of you can. But there's something in Miss B so familiar if only I could put my finger on it. I searched for ingredients in the old formulations and found thujone. Aha, of corse, now it made sense.

Thujone is the sharp-smelling compound in mugwort, yarrow, tansy, chamomile and it's probably what repels moths in cedar. But our human noses have a positive reaction to these plants once they're accustomed to thujone's stridency---ergo, Miss Balmain takes a few minutes of getting used to. Once on familiar terms, MB becomes a good old-fashioned chypre that smells like it costs more money than it does. You know, the common denominator in all Balmain perfumes.

MISS BALMAIN is the recipe for wonderous fume! It goes on and gets ur attention with the floral nuances.THere is a kiss of spice.BUt the holy grail of this fume is the wonderful woody dry down.One feels as if they r walking down a country lane in the fall.The leaves r turning colors and somewhere,someone has a fire.THe smokiness only adds to the florals which have broken into their last bloom and the deep woodiness of the trees.A gentle cool wind blows reminding u of the promise of winter.U hug ur sweater closer and smile.

I found this scent to be incredibly similar to Azuree by Estee Launder. Miss Balmain is woody, dry, resinous, sharp...comparing to Azuree-wich my brain cannot stop doing-Miss Balmain flies out of the nozzle and presents in the beginning - to be much woodier- it´s also a softer woody feeling than Azuree-it´s also dryer-so much dryer-I desperately wanted a humidifier after the first spray! Miss Balmain´s leather is much softer, not so in-your-face. Sometimes Miss Balmain exhibits a gentle powdery scent, as Azuree would never do. Miss Balmain is never sweet. At moments, Azuree does shout out some kind of deep sugary notes. Miss Balmain doesn´t last the 5 days as Azuree does.
So, that´s my review. While sniffing Miss Balmain, I could not stop thinking of Azuree. All in All, I prefer my Azuree. If you hate Azuree, because it´s so pungent-maybe try Miss Balmain?

If you like contrast or to compare Leather Scents
Gres Cabochard and Miss Balmain are perfect examples Miss Balmain is Prim
fruity sweet bright naive lively a Good
Girl scent Feminine and Represents
Daytime. Cabochard is dark rebelious
masculine mysterious woody sexual
vampish bad girl smokey tabacco
and represent the Night.

this is a nice scent but does not grab me like Cabochard. i think there is too much Coconut mixed with Leather is a
bad idea but whould'nt buy it again.

"Miss Balmain 1967 - the new perfume for one who is young, beautiful & blasée". Thanks to Doctormod I sat down to sample Miss Balmain with my 99yr old granny.

For me it brought back memories of being very small & staying round at my (other) grandmother's house. The house was old: wood-panelled, leather seated chairs with brass studs, the grandfather clock ticking loudly cutting through the heavy still air tinged with furniture polish, & dried flowers.

It was bathtime & the steam rose from the big enamalled tub & mingled with her perfumes, powder puffs & potions. A jug of daffodils stood in the corner, enveloped by the ozonic cloud. The bath salts were girly, rose-pink cubes - a confusing body for something that was so herbal, mossy, stripping & dry! The overall fragrance was never sweet but clean, herbal, mature, & as fierce as nature herself....like the calm before a storm in a tall, silent forest.

My granny felt that it was similar to Bandit - a gentle, young Bandit without the balls, bite & stubborn nature (I'm paraphrasing a bit there!).

The aldehydes did not irritate & the feisty chypre nature was as refreshing to sample as my mum's beloved vintage O de Lancome on a hot day - what a break from all the sweet-nothings out there! For someone who loves orientals I am equally delighted by a fierce, dry retro-chypre. Moss-magic!

This is a wonderful scent, very mature and strong, yet not overwhelming. The lasting power is excellent, extremely good value for money. I detect leather, something smoky, wild and intoxicating. I feel very feminine in it, but strong and self-confident at the same time, this is an ego-booster... It is a warm and extremely sensual perfume, with a twist.Perfect for all occasions except for summer and office usage.

I put this on and after 30 minutes had three things come to mind: Aquanet, ouch, and No.

Now why don't aldehydes like me? It's like walking into a hair salon as a wedding party of 10 is getting their hair set.

Underneath it all I can detect my favorite notes, like narcissus, rose, Orris root and oakmoss, which is very delicate and smooth here. But because of the strong aldehydes it's like listening to opera in a crowded bowling alley.

I really shouldn't say this, becuase this scent is a little older than I am, but I also find it ...hush....a bit dated. Balmain, the original, sits better wiht me.

A good scent to try, however, If you don't have the same reaction to the top notes.

What an expensive-smelling scent! If old money had a smell, Miss Balmain is it. It reminds me of gold heirlooms, the silver buckles on a buttery leather harness, expanses of sweet manicured woods surrounding the estate. Enter a young woman with a pertly upturned nose and pouty lips, riding cloths smartly tailored, leading a thorough-bred about its paces.

Miss Balmain isn't a sheltered lady - she's just accustomed to the finer things in life and extremely demanding, bordering on severe. The green coriander in the opening does not relent as it progresses to dry mossy patchouli-vetiver. The blow of the hard crack of leather is softened by powdery orris root. I smell a smidgeon of rose, but the florals are barely detectable under the handsome woodsy-leather.

Despite the "miss" in the name, I would not recommend for teenagers. Like reviewers below mentioned, it is a masculine and assertive fragrance. Miss Balmain demands that her wearer be upkept, arrogant, elegant, and ballsy.

I bought it for my mother and we were both disappointed. I remember her wearing it when I was about 11 or 12( I am now 53) but I don't care for it now, nor does she. willing to sell it for 10 plus shipping if anyone is interested. Maybe Jolie Madame is the one we liked.

Miss Balmain strikes me as an oxymoron. Or does Miss Balmain spend her days on a saddle riding through the woods? For that is the true identity of this unexpected perfume, whose presentation was quite deceiving. Rather than pretty, sweet, or flowery, Miss Balmain is dry wood and fresh leather mingled together in a standoffish way, as if to proclaim: "I don't give a damn what you think." Reminds me of CABOCHARD, perhaps because so few perfumes contain significant leather notes that they leap out at me, like a lasso!

Leathery, dry woody fragrances have their place, of course. I like them on certain days, reminiscing about riding on noble steeds over majestic Rocky Mountain peaks... Alone.

Miss Balmain is one of my great favorites, perfect for an evening of theater, a lunch in a fun cafe or an elegant party. Versatile with its big bouquet and leather chypre underpinnings, I can see this one going just about anyplace with elan.

I can imagine a conversation between Pierre Balmain and Germaine Cellier going something like this: "Madame, take this marvelous Bandit of yours, apprehend her and dress her in silks!"
I'm not sure if Bandit came before Miss Balmain but they are sisters at heart, Miss Balmain is the more floral, less untamed version.

Gorgeous!

Unique perfume with a strong character, Miss Balmain in the title has nothing in common with this unique composition. Bottle is cute, but color is unusual, do not expect tender tones! Leather, moss and vetiver in the starring role make this fragrance so original, and it's definitely not a tender feminine fragrance.This is a sharp fragrance that wears women with style.

I bought this one mainly for educational purposes and because it was really affordable. I only tested it once and I really don't understand this scent, nor can I smell the leather. All I can smell is dry flowery dust, maybe tobacco as well. It isn't disgusting, but not very pleasant either.
I can't recommend buying this without sampling :) I'm still not giving up on Miss Balmain, I will try to test it again, maybe in colder weather.

EDIT:
Actually colder weather was not necessary. It seems I just needed some time and perspective. I have to admit I had a little help with this - from Miss Dior. I really had to smell Miss Dior first to be able to appreciate Miss Balmain. Miss Dior is much lighter, MB is really rich and dense. Anyway I love them both.

Soft, dry, powdery, flowery leather. Nice odour!

In one word: "terrible". It was just a dissappointment for me! Miss Balmain smells like tobacco cologne...

I had the same experience as Scent Lover. I've seen this in my local TK Maxx store (which is called TJ Maxx in America!) and they had this in the perfume section at a very reasonable price and I was tempted to buy it but didn't know anything about it or what it smelled like so I resisted the temptation because I thought it might smell disgusting! The reviews on here though are very good though so I wish I had bought it! Hopefully next time I'm in TK Maxx I might get a bottle.

Gosh.. I saw some in TK Max down here in Europe and thought couple of times to get it but I couldnt find any proper reviews online and I didnt want to buy it out of the blue. Now I am reading your comments and thinking that I should have got it cause it sounds nice :(

Just wonderful, but, unfortunately, I can not find it anymore!