First by Van Cleef & Arpels: launched in 1976, in USA by 1977. Distributed by Van Cleef & Arpels Parfums of New York. Created by Jean-Claude Ellena of Givaudan.
Fragrance Composition:
So what does it smell like? It is classified as a floral aldehyde fragrance for women. It has a natural floral bouquet. An aldehydic floral fragrance with natural floral absolute top notes of Turkish rose, Italian jasmine and narcissus. Middle notes are aldehydic with sharp black currant, ylang ylang from the Comoros Islands and a juicy hint of mandarin. The woody base notes include soft sandalwood, tonka bean, oakmoss and amber.
- Top notes: aldehydes, peach, raspberry, bergamot, blackcurrant buds and green mandarin
- Middle notes: carnation, hyacinth, lily of the valley, orchid, tuberose, orris, Italian jasmine, narcissus, aldehydes, rose de Mai, Turkish rose, Bulgarian rose, Comoran ylang-ylang and cloves
- Base notes: castoreum, patchouli, civet, honey, oakmoss, vetiver, sandalwood, vanilla, musk, tonka bean absolute and amber
Bottle:
Presented in a diamond shaped bottle with a pendant stopper designed by Jacques Llorente.Fate of the Fragrance:
While First is still in production today, it has suffered from reformulation in the past decade.
Look at the packaging to help you date your perfume:
From 1976 to 1999 - "Sanofi" division
From 1995 to about 2000 - some bottles are marked with the USA distributor name "Adipar LTD"
From 1999 to 2007 - "PPR-GUCCI" with address
From 2008 - onward - "InterParfums"