Authentic Vintage Bal a Versailles Perfume by Jean Desprez: The Destiny of Things, Story 263
How to tell if a vintage bottle of Bal of Versailles is authentic or not?
photo via The Destiny of Things
The last of my perfume collection from childhood to college,
here
Unfortunately, I didn't collect miniature perfume for their scents, but for their bottles! So I don't know much about perfumes, cologne, eau de toilette and their scents. All I know is I fell in love with the mini sized bottles that looked exactly like the ones every female relative had on their vanity or left in the bathroom.
Do people still have vanity tables? I would collect those too, but.....
However, since listing my childhood mini perfume samples I've learned more about perfume than I have ever wished to learn! And this perfume is a good example of it!
In the beginning of listing my perfume collection, I was diligent about researching some aspects of them, like in the case with this bottle, it does not say if it's perfume, cologne or eau de toilette, so I spent hours on line trying to find out, but didn't find much.
However, I am techless and can spend hours researching something and then mr oz who is techful usually finds the information I'm looking for in less than five minutes! So go figure!
Usually when I'm researching an item, I find other information and it's most likely something that intrigues me. For instance, this was Michael Jackson's favorite perfume and he kept his favorite perfume in his pocket.
photo via The Destiny of Things
The last of my perfume collection from childhood to college,
here
Anyways, if you want to know what I found interesting about this perfume, you can read about it
here. The Etsy buyer who ordered this perfume or cologne or eau de toilette because I never did find out after days of searching wrote me this:
Hi, last night I received the two minis of Bal a
Versaille I ordered and here's a pic of them. Your bottle is on the
right, unmarked with the name of the perfume house. It smells different
from the other mini and the sample EdC I have. I've never seen a
bottle, even a mini, that carries no identification of who made the
perfume. Unless you can point me to a source that says Jean Desprez
issued unmarked mini, I can only conclude this isn't authentic.
photo via Etsy buyer
Now I can thank you, but at the time this photo sent me into a panic!
Like I've mentioned before, I didn't collect perfume for their scents, only for their bottles, so I don't know much about authenticity, except where I got my collection!
So when I got this email I first felt like I did something wrong and secondly, panicked because who likes bad feedback! And lastly had no information on how to defend my little bottle of Bal a Versaille, except that I most likely had it from childhood and that most of my collection were direct sample bottles from Bullock's in California or gifts because everyone in my family helped me collect them!
My Aunt's best friend's mother who worked at the cosmetic counter at Bullock's would save them for me in the cutest little Bullock's bags. The bag would get passed on til I eventually got them or a couple of times my Mom or Aunt drive me there for a visit at the department store, so I could personally thank her. And she would end up giving me more! It was a dream come true for a little miniature collector!
Alas, all that information was already in the listing description! So I went back to researching and found this as my own shred of information in my defense:
I have researched this perfume several times in the past to find out if
this bottle held perfume, cologne or eau de toilette, but never found
anything substantial and again this morning about it's authenticity I found
this comment from this site on Aug. 31, 2010, www.basenotes.net/threads/257881-Bal-a-Versailles:
"BAV has been through many permutations and a truly confusing array
of bottles. The license for it has changed hands quite a few times,
probably more. Right now it's held by a small Florida marketing company.
With each licensing, bottles and formulations have changed. Any "EDP"
is certainly modern. The big round EDT bottles with the plastic lyre top
are modern. It's utterly confusing. To be safe, if you want the vintage
EDT, look for a rectangular bottle with a white shield-shaped label
with gold trim, and white box with the same shield -- these were made in
the 70's. Cologne the same, except the label and box can be blue. (For
obvious reasons, all splash bottles should be full and unopened.) For
vintage perfume, 1/4 oz size, make sure the top of the little round
bottle is spherical, real metal (brass I believe) and the neck has
several "crimps." Any other packaging types are more likely to hold
modern reformulations.
But even if you get a modern reformulation, it's a damned sight
better than a lot of the dreck that's out there now. Nevertheless, all
Bal lovers owe it to themselves to track down the vintage. It's
gorgeous, beyond lush. "
According to my email, this information is already over four years old and I had passed it on to the buyer about a year ago and had forgotten about this perfume I didn't hear back from
the Etsy buyer until 5 days ago, in which she thanked me for the reply
and wished me the best! I am so relieved! Thank you! and thank you for this story!
So in defense of this bottles authenticity, the bottle is rounded and the top of the bottle is metal with the crimps, however I don't know if this is the 1/4 oz size, like the article says, "utterly confusing!"
photo via The Destiny of Things
The last of my perfume collection from childhood to college,
here
Saying Goodbye: I stopped collecting mini perfumes when samples changed from looking like
their counterparts in miniature and instead came in those little glass
tubes with a plastic closure!
I don't have many samples left, except the ones list
here, however my Mom does have the other half of my perfume collection!
I don't mind saying good bye to these at all because although I still love the little bottles, I am so allergic to perfume now, it's difficult to be near someone who is wearing any.
What I Learned:
1. I need to develop thicker skin! I need to realize that no matter how much I describe a listing not everyone is going to be happy with their order! I need to realize that bad feedback is just a part of life, even if I never give bad feedback!
Yes, I do not give bad feedback, but I've never had a problem with ordering things online until this year. And I only responded to one of them because what the photo showed was different than what I received.
I believe that everyone has bad busy days and despite this they still do their best.
2. The year is almost over and I'm starting to check and revisit old goals, so I can dream up the next ones for the New Year.
Any suggestions on how to research online faster and more effectively? Of course, I took a few minutes to research this perfume's authenticity again, but all I found was this interesting review on it's fragrance. Makes me want to try it!
The only real way to know if BAV is authentic is with a rectangular bottle with matching box?
Random review I found researching, which reminds me of my Louis Vuitton story:
The
first time I met Bal a Versailles I was 16. On my way through
Nordstroms I saw it sitting on the perfume counter, in the middle of the
shiny modern 80's bottles, looking very out of place. I'd never even
heard of BaV before but I rather recklessly spritzed it on both wrists
(hey, I was young, lol).
The next 20 minutes were miserable. BaV was completely out of left
field. I wanted to wash it off! But then something changed and it
became quietly perfect. At the end of the day it was so warm and
delicious and that I knew I had to try it again.
Every time I wear this fragrance, I am still uneasy for the first 20
minutes. During that time I am 90% certain that I've made a mistake.
But after that, it is simply one of the best fragrances that humanity
has ever managed to formulate. It is warm and deep and delicious and
sensual.
I've read that there are over 300 different ingredients in this
masterpiece. I can't smell them all, but I always feel like I'm wearing a
work of art when I put it on.
It's not a fragrance for everyone. It's a fragrance that lasts, but it
doesn't zing across the room like some perfumes do. It has very
rounded, full, soft edges.
This is not a fragrance for a girl. This is a fragrance for a woman.
If you're tired of the soapy, piercing, headache-inducing "clean clean
clean" laundry perfumes, if you'd rather smell like a goddess than a
lollipop, if you'd like to make people nervous at church, give Bal a
Versailles a try. :)
25 February, 2014
I love that part that says, "if you'd like to make people nervous at church!" All that in a fragrance? SOLD! If I weren't highly allergic to perfumes, I'd be tempted to try Bal a Versaille!
I kept my perfume collection in the box above and brass glass
display boxes from Mexico. Remember those? I loved the doors and the hinged clasp closures.
Related Stories:
1.
The above Bal a Versailles perfume review reminds me of how I started collecting Louis Vuitton, read about it,
here
"As a recovering hoarder, I do believe that some scents do bring back stronger memories, but for me most of my things unlock a secret."
