Chantilly

I regularly search antique stores for vintage perfumes, and I recently found a bottle of Chantilly EDT in perfect condition. I dated the exact bottle design to a 1968 Houbigant ad, so I indeed got a true, very special, vintage example at nearly 60 years old. Chantilly was launched during wartime in 1941, while France was under German occupation. It became an iconic fragrance, favored by the women who stepped up to keep factories running while the menfolk were at war. It retained feminine elegance, while emphasizing the fairer sexes' subtle yet formidable strengths. It opens with surprising depth and spice, full of balsamy notes and cinnamon. It lacks the animalic heat of many fragrances from the era, instead becoming silky and powdery as it dries down. Unlike some vintage fragrances, I never find Chantilly as too heavy, despite its rich and complex base. This is an easy love if you're into vintage fragrances. It is a scented time capsule, especially if you can find an older example. I genuinely enjoying wearing this one, especially when spending time at home with my family.

I bought this after reading a review and description from a fellow Fragrantican. Chantilly has a very green and old-fashioned start, with strong neroli. This green phase lasts quite a while, and becomes stronger as the carnation and spices appear. And although it is strong, the perfume comes across as very feminine. A few hours in, it softens and becomes slightly sweeter and rounder. A gem for vintage lovers 💚💎✨️

I'm back, with a new development, Just now, today, I was able to sample and compare, on both skin and blotter, a (spray) bottle of Chantilly by Dana and a (dab) bottle of Chantilly by Houbigant. The take-away message of all this is that the two scents are indeed quite close, the differences I discuss below are minor. Side by side, the Dana Chantilly is slightly sweeter and brighter, while the Houbigant Chantilly is somewhat heavier and more resinous. The two main reasons for this are: 1) The citrus opening of the two formulationss does differ: The Houbigant version seems to lean more heavily toward lemon and grapefruit, while the Dana blend leads with bergamot. 2) The Houbigant version has a noticeable leather note that the Dana version lacks, at least relatively. Of course, this perceived leatheriness may actually be a result of more oakmoss and resins in the base. I know keen observers will soon point out only the Dana note pyramid shows a leather note, while the Houbigant one does not even list it. Regardless, it is the Houbigant version that is the more leathery. Again, both formulations are quite similarly pleasant, and should be interchangeable for most users.

Oakmoss is surprisingly prominent in the vintage mini I got. Works well in heat. Shalimar has that "mushroom" flavor; this one has oakmoss. I like oakmoss, but not so much in this kind of setting--benzoin, vanilla, orange blossom. It's a pretty cloud of resinous fuzzy sweetness, with strains of leather and moss. I haven't felt much of the citrus, which is fine with me. What a nice time I've had trying out Chantilly. Thank you, Houbigant. <3

I don't trust Dana, so I waited to cross paths with a vintage of the Houbigant formulation. I recently nabbed a mini dabber at a thrift store. When first testing out Chantilly, I immediately thought of Shalimar. After 20 mins or so, I spritzed on some Shalimar to conduct a sniffing comparison. These perfumes have a lot of overlapping notes, but Chantilly is not quite as similar to Shalimar as I initially thought. My revised opinion: If you spliced L'Air du Temps & Shalimar cologne, you would have something approximating Chantilly. The natural citrus components in this dabber have degraded, but after two minutes they're gone. The part of the opening I can make out? It has me thinking of Sierra Mist. There is an effervescent lemon-lime soda scent, but it's lighter, and more breezy than I am accustomed to. Neroli, yes, maybe lime and aldehydes as well? As it dries down, Chantilly veers more soapy and powdery, I suppose the sandalwood and musks. I get wafts of the spicy carnation and cloves, this aspect is one of the major departures from Shalimar. To my nose Chantilly is sweeter and more vanillic, it has that "vinegar-y" touch. The amber base of Chantilly is more centered around benzoin, I do not get as much of Shalimar's incense smoke, chocolate powder patchouli, and opoponax, although there are touches. The leather in vintage Chantilly is deeper and more prominent than modern Shalimar's leather note, but they are otherwise quite similar; dusty and warm. There's a strong emphasis on musky animalics and oakmoss in Chantilly's base, ultimately making it an amber chypre rather than a straightforward amber. I find myself preferring Shalimar, for now anyway. Still, Chantilly is quite a stunner. If you crave a softer, more powdery version of Shalimar, with the same depth of character, Chantilly would be a great alternative. It's an enveloping, rich, lovely, sophisticated, perfume. In lieu of the gutteral, overbearing enthusiasm we get from Shalimar (hissy, rank orange blossom!) ...Chantilly brings polite chit chat to the party.

It is now the easiest Houbigant perfume to find. Through a bottle of vintage Parfum, I realized that Chantilly is even more beautiful than I thought. This is a chypre balsam perfume with a strong oriental flavor. Warm and spicy, it reminds me of Tabu, Youth-Dew, Replique. It's dark in color. Vanilla gives Chantilly a soft sweetness. Other flowers such as jasmine swirl around the center of the carnation. Patchouli, amber and spices mix with musk and powdery floral notes, the incense adds a smoky texture.

Don't listen to nckwalker. This is one of the best perfumes I own. I don't have a big collection, but this is one of my best. I bought this as a "blind buy" back at the end of December, and haven't forgot it since. I just recently got two more for my birthday. I like the Dana version as well.

Chantilly is such an exquisite perfume. It is a most challenging vintage buy, though: One must truly be educated on the subject before attempting to acquire it, and only a very select few are able to deliver that education. I got mine from a bonnefied "Little Old Lady" for whom I have the utmost respect: She showed me how to recognize which bottles of Chantilly are the good ones, and which are the ones to avoid: Further, she unveiled secret details that are uncanny, so very subtle, though always delivering. The strangest little odd somethings. The most unexpected, eccentric details: These announce the doors into the rooms where you find The Real Chantilly. Subtle details and elements displayed on other doors illustrate the ones not to open, because behind them is an unkempt, poorly lit dressing room where you find a right watery mess fit only for the rubbish bin: It is true. Before "going in" on a Chantilly vintage buy, one must know and understand all of the details that distinguish the divine from the extreme outright common. Equipped with my private education, over the years, I have amassed quite the collection of Chantilly. The bottles I cherish the most seem to come from the 1970's. Earlier ones are often turned, and later ones, they are just not Chantilly--they are, if I must define them, a kind of linen spray inspired by Chantilly. There is a "Made in France" element there, too, to watch out for, and a very subtle "Blended in the US of imported essence." All of these are clues, yet none alone will deliver you the Chantilly that made Chantilly one of the most cherished perfumes of all history. It is a complicated maze to get to the heart of a perfume that no other has succeeded in copying. The one with that fizzy, fruity, effervescent opening. The splash that evokes peeling a clementine, or popping the cap off a carbonated, fruity drink on a hot Summer day: This effect, however it was achieved, has never been replicated. Then, the slow, slow burn that deposits you into a wonderland, all crystal chandeliers and sandalwood panelling. Chantilly is not Chantilly for nothing: We have here an extraordinary fragrance, so much so that it was fought over. That is why we have so many variants and "periods." Paul Parquet "won" it for a time. And to make matters even more complicated, some of the very best versions have no label at all, save for a very discreet gold sticker on their base that indicates "Parfums Parquet, Paris" In the fight, Dana finally got hold of it, and like they do with so many other fragrance legends, they poured water and nothingness all over it, putting out its sparkling suites of crystal chandeliers in eternity mirrors and turning its rich, intoxicating wood to plastic. We saw a similar end to "Je Reviens," when it turned from that singular blue hallucinogenic madness into a sea spray of still water that only reminded one of the ghostly essence, then, just like a fleeting, blinky vision, promptly disappears. Chantilly's bitter end happened that way, and it happened with Dana. Oh, but before...and during many years, there is a treasure to be found, if you have the keys and know which holes to put them in, which are the right locks. A treasure that equals any other great perfume in history you will find inside. A perfume that speaks a volume very close to Shalimar, and presents a pedigree equal to Eméraude, Chantilly delivers a dose of enchantment that stands up to anything. One of the best bed perfumes in history. Those who know, know. Womanly, yes. But a certain kind of man can absolutely indulge. The French say, "Les anges n'ont pas de sexe" and it's true. Did you know that angels have no gender? In truth, neither does Chantilly. Chantilly did not make its name off of of etherial lingerie, angel wings, and warm caresses for nothing. It indeed offers the wearer all of these things, and more. Men beware of the object of desire wearing this. Women beware of the object of desire wearing this. Non-binary Beings beware of the object of desire wearing this. Pink and frilly though it may be, if you get the right vintage, no one can resist: It is exactly as described in that one episode of "Bewitched," when the formidable Endora proclaims "My perfume is irresistible," then demonstrates how everyone, including the postman, falls prey to it. This must have been one of the right vintages of Chantilly. But, good luck be unto you in finding it. Welcome to The Maze.

The lightest and most joyful of all vintage ambers (though definitely a relative of shalimar and emeraude). I find something so cozy about this lemony sandalwood masterpiece! It’s not my everyday go-to nor something I pull out for dressy occasions but it is one of the first vintage fragrances I fell in love with and I continue to cherish it as a comfort fragrance. I just sprayed some on before bed and you can be sure I’ll have sweet dreams tonight. Just a very very special one for me 💛

Houbigant Chantilly is a perfume close to my heart. It was a Christmas gift from my maternal grandmother when I was 16. It became one of my signature perfumes thereafter. What I noticed about Chantilly is boys/young men treated me differently when I wore Chantilly. And I liked that they were much more reserved. It is a ladylike perfume and I think it convaded that message to them. I wore this perfume the night I met the man I was going to marry. I am very happy to have Chantilly Houbigant in my collection again. I see why people compare Chantilly to Shalimar but for me Chantilly wins. I dislike the sharp beginning and the very aggressive dry down of Shalimar. Chantilly softens the bright lemon opening and dries down to a soft powdery finish where Shalimar for me is almost tar like, the resins/leather are much to masculine and aggressive. Chantilly is not sweet by today's standards but I remember thinking it was sweet when I was 16-19. The sweetness of Chantilly comes from the orange blossom but hers has not been drowned in malitol like today's orange blossom fragrances. Chantilly is a ladylike bouquet of orange blossom and white carnations. Those are the main floral notes for me. The spices never overwhelm they compliment the carnation making it the star. As it dries down it becomes a warm and mildly sweet powdery carnation supported by vanilla and Benzion. Old world Romantic, ladylike with a Victorian sensibility, it feels like another time, one even more distant than the time period it was created. If you love true vintage glory, if you love and want to smell a perfume that feels antique. Like old world lace seek out a vintage bottle of Chantilly Houbigant. You will be transported back in time to the beginning of the 20th century. The Dana version is a tragedy and has destroyed the scent. I'm so happy to have this vintage beauty with me again.

It's a true love because I have loved the smell of Chantilly since I was a little girl , I remember going back to my grandmother's vanity table and sneaking a sniff from her bottle , which was the creme version ; she had other perfumes which didn't capture my fancy the way Chantilly did , they have been forgotten . My grandmother is long gone & I still love Chantilly . It's bright ,yet warm . It's spicy & sweet .It suggests a breeze carrying the scent of freshly split wood mingling with the smell of florals . With time that woodsy scent turns into a soft leather & the rest of the notes become hazy , languid . Powdery . As a lover of all things vintage this is a beautiful thing to own, I also enjoy the ads from the forties and fifties for this perfume , lovely!

Somewhere between Shalimar and Toujours Moi, lies Chantilly. This is borderline chypre but with a narcotic base of resins lifted with a heavy dose of aldehydes and a big hit of spices. Dries down to a romantic floral powder. More complex than I expected. If you enjoy carnation and benzoin, but struggle with animal notes that are in a lot of vintages, you might like Chantilly, as they are absent here.

This was my mother's favorite and I used to bathe in it and buy bottles and bottles of the body lotion back in my tweens and twenties (70's & 80's). This "old lady" is going to have to give this another go. I wonder if the formula is the same? From what I remember of the scent, this may be too floral for me now, as my tastes have changed. But I'm excited to revisit this old friend! EDIT MAY, 2023: I did revisit the Dana version last year and gave it away because I was so disappointed. However, I have just scored an adorable miniature bottle of the Houbigant juice online. I'm keeping my fingers crossed 🤞 EDIT JULY, 2023: YAY!!! I have my sweet Chantilly back! Spicy, lemony, vanilla, carnation, resinous, just as I remember ♥️. I'm so happy! Miss you, mom

Opening is fruity and spicy with a strong bergamot/lemon presence, reminds me with Shalimar Guerlain. Then the oakmoss took over the stage, joined by some floral notes and some warm notes. The drydown is quite powdery, mossy, a bit fruity. So far i’m happy with my finding. It’s classic vintage and rare, smells great too.

This is a perfume I much admire, and have both vintage and more recent examples. While Marcel Billot is credited with having created Chantilly in 1941, an article written by him called "75 Years of Perfume Creations" and published in the April 1966 issue of American Perfumer and Cosmetics, and a ground breaking one in which revealed the names of many of the perfumers behind many of the most successful fragrances created over that period, indicates that in respect of this perfume, while he was involved, that it's creation, largely due to wartime conditions, was "an example of a successful perfume developed through the cooperation of several perfumers", both in the United States and France. And the article itself further reveals that during that period, he was also involved in the creation of quite a number of other successes including at least two other Houbigant perfumes - H pour Homme and Le Premier Mai as well as ones for other companies such as Cheramy's Jolie Soir and Muguet de Chaville and Patou's Amour Amour and Que Sais-Je? Marcel Billot was also the perfumer for a Spanish company, Guidor which, unfortunately closed down following the death of the principal stockholder. The article itself, some six pages long, is one that is well worth reading as is the book he wrote in collaboration with F.V.Wells called Perfumery Technology, which also touches on the issue of perfume creation accreditation. Which we all take for granted now, but which at one time, was a mostly closely guarded secret.

When I was 16, I was asked to demonstrate Chantilly in my store. Back then it was an honour, and you had the dress and the whole nine yards. What happens is that you end up wearing a great deal of it. I had trouble with the carnation note, which struck me as off-putting. But the key, as others have said, was in the dry down, which was rapturous.

I bought an old and leaking bottle of Chantilly when travelling in Florida, spending approximately one dollar on it. Spraying it, I thought: "Whoa, that is far too strong and sharp for me!" Then I started reading something and forgot about it, and after a while a spectacular scent started to bloom on my arm. It was soooooo good! Vanilla and benzoins, very sweet and alluring. At that point I actually saw the similarity to Shalimar. After returning to Denmark, I could not repeat the experience, though. So I guess Chantilly needs the heat to bloom, at least on my skin.

As of this year, I will be considered 'old lady'. I believe many say that because the seeming simplicity and complexity of fragrances back in the day. Many fragrances were not single florals but in catagories of chypre's (sheep-ra),aldehydes, heavy florals, orientals with multiple ingredients that was heavy. Today women are getting use to single note scents that have very few notes in them, light, watery, sheer, and translucent. Chanel No. 5 screams aldehydes and many consider it 'old lady', though it is a classic scent. I can understand younger ones think that it is old, loud, strong. I use to be young and loved Avon sweet honesty back-in-the day. I would have never thought of being caught with Occur (Avon). As you grow older you began to appreciate complexity and boldness of some perfumes. I am glad that when I was in my early twenties, I started experimenting with more complex fragrances. This helps you to grow and value the senses. Yes, you could have allergies now, yes it may stink on you because of body chemistry and yes it just may not suit you. But by no means is it 'old lady'! Different time periods! Could you see someone 85 with Britney Spears fragrance? Yes, you are as young as you feel but you see the point? One last thought! Look at the longevity of some of the classic scents. Even though they may not have the same notes, they still are around! I am personally on a quest to find old fragrances that still have the original notes. Because of regulations many are not made the way they were. I have found some and I love it! Oh yes! I use to hate Chantilly back in the day! I found the perfume creme, body cream and the eau de parfum (Royale) on Ebay! What a treasure!

@Mrs. Loughran: Hahaha, I see what you are doing...you want to keep all of the vintage Houbigant Chantilly for yourself! It is a classic perfume. I don't blame you :-)

What is this business of an “old lady’s” perfume? I am new to Fragrantica, and I keep reading how this or that is an “old lady’s” perfume. Perhaps it is because it’s been around a long time?? Perhaps the reason it’s been around a long time is because it is so wonderful. I will admit to being an “old” lady, but there is no limit to what many of us old ladies can adore to wear, from Bal a Versailles, to Amouage Fate, to Habanita, to Salome, to Nuit Magnetique, to Bvlgari Black, to Ambre Sultan and even Au Coeur du Desert and even more beyond those! Chantilly was one of those that I loved in my youth, even more so because it was pretty cheap at the drugstore. I sure didn’t think it was for old ladies then when I was 15. On a whim I ordered some vintage EDP Houbigant Chantilly (it was pretty cheap - why not?) Wow, did it carry me back! It may not be my favorite scent, but it’s still lovely. It’s like you don’t want to drink the same wine every single night.......having a choice of wearing a different scent on any particular day is wonderful. I have climbed into bed after spraying on some Chantilly and I just love sniffing it!

I used to love wearing this to bed when I was a teenager. I still remember how it made me feel after I showered and put on my PJs. I think I need to buy it again just for these cold nights in Chicago or just as a room spray.

I have a vintage Houbigant EDT which I believe dates back to the 40s or 50s. There is no doubt that after all these years there is a harshness to the opening that is offputting. I only purchased it because I had a bottle as a young girl and I wanted to capture a bit of the past. This does that, but truthfully, I didn't care for it very much in the early 70s and I still don't care for it. But I am still glad I have it to dab on now and then when I feel nostalgic!

I have the Houbigant version so have no idea what the Dana smells like. I was gifted a bottle of this a long time ago when I was very young. Fortunately I never got rid of it because it took me this long to grow into it, which I guess is what I did. Now I do like it even though I don't wear it often. I would say that it smells more similar to Emeraude than Shalimar. I also understand what another reviewer mentioned as a "medicinal" type of smell, I think the same thing of all 3 of the fragrances I already mentioned: I like it because it's not common. I also enjoy the oakmoss and leather in this fragrance. Leather and lace for sure.

Sharply citric and spicy, and far more intense than the Coty version. I have the vintage perfume, and it's a got an almost medicinal opening that barely mellows out. Coty's Chantilly is lacey indeed compared to this. Makes me wonder how they'd be layered.

I have a vintage bottle of this Houbigant bath oil (which for vintage fragrances, I find this can be a better way to go, the notes seem to keep better), and it’s bringing back so many memories for me from the 80s, when people I knew wore this. It wasn’t a regular fragrance of mine, but I had this at some point as well. I remember the ads with Kim Alexis, with her hair up & dressed up in lace. It’s listed as being similar to Shalimar and Emeraude, and I can sort of see the comparisons. Perhaps in the same fragrance family, but it’s own unique scent. Avon Pearls and Lace was another one along the same vein. I’m wearing Pearls & Lace and the Chantilly side by side right now, and though they are not the same, they both evoke images of “lace”, and what that might smell like. Chantilly’s notes are well blended, I don’t find any notes to pop out at me, and I don’t think it has as much woody notes or vanilla as Shalimar, and it’s not as powdery to my nose as Emeraude. It’s a fizzy, “lacy”, soft oriental. Not sure how this compares to today’s Dana version, but this bath oil smells like I remember this smelling back in the 80s.

I don't like this very much. Have the vintage Houbigant and it starts out surprisingly harshly on me. I think it just doesn't agree with my skin. Sadly it's a little too much.

There aren't words for how beautiful this is. I love the Dana, too, but this one is warmer, rounder, and the longevity is off the charts. I love the sprayer on these old bottles, so much better than the modern sprayers. And the scent is magical. I have hundreds of perfumes, but this one gets the most compliments. I bought the vintage parfum as well, but prefer the spray. If you've only tried the modern one, try this, too. Very similar, but this one is rich and complete. Gorgeous.

After wearing vintage heavier concentrations (EDT or Parfum) I do agree the drydown of Chantilly and Shalimar are almost exact. You won't find the heavy incense/smoke of Shal in Chantilly, but the drydowns are def very very similar. Love them both! For Chantilly tho-- vintage only! Luckily it's cheap and everywhere on ebay.

There are 8oz body wash/bubble baths on ebay. One for $11 or two for $21, and just FYI-- they have lost their scent. :( I was so bummed. They don't have a brand on the bottle, it doesn't say Dana or Houbigant. I poured a good amount of my Houb Chant vintage cologne into the bottle and shook it.... that helped a little. On the plus side, it lathers sooo well, but without the scent-- there is no point. :(

Waiting impatiently for the order I placed for an original splash bottle of this wonderful stuff! My grandmother had the exact same and I remember begging her to add some to my bath water when I was a little girl. My tastes in perfumes was off to a very good start I believe! :)