Fidji by Guy Laroche (1966)

My earliest perfume memory involves tiny perfume bottles from Hawaii given to me by my father. Housed side by side in a clear plastic box, the squat, round bottles were crowned with plastic caps shaped like their representative flowers — pikkake, orange blossom, and orchid — and I still remember the viscous film that gathered around their caps when I opened them.

My appreciation for Fidji is, no doubt, colored (scented?) by this early memory of "exotic" perfume, as it, too, evokes a fantasy of a similar faraway island, the island nation of Fiji in the South Pacific Ocean.

Fidji, "the perfume of paradise found," rather than being a soliflore representation of an island flower like those simple souvenir perfumes, instead creates an olfactory translation of paradise, with notes that evoke the dreamlike mood you feel lying on the beach as an island breeze blows the scent of tropical flowers your way and the sun warms your skin.

Fidji starts off green-fresh in its top notes, moves into radiant (as opposed to indolic) jasmine, rose and ylang-ylang, and, softened by buttery orris, it dries down to the woody and spicy warmth of sandalwood, vetiver and oakmoss.

Top notes: Galbanum, hyacinth, bergamot, lemon
Heart notes: Carnation, orris, jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang
Base notes: Vetiver, musk, sandalwood, oakmoss

From the moment Fidji adds a "d" to the real spelling of Fiji, it signals a move away from the real island to a paradise of its own making. Its whispery-soft evocation of island flowers stands in contrast to what I imagine today would be a kind of vulgar literalism. (Imagine a drug-store quality "Tahiti Extreme" — with notes of mango, coconut, pineapple and Tahitian vanilla. I know — I'd rather not, either.)

By the time Fidji dries down, I smell a golden rose, kept fresh by galbanum and citrus notes, fattened by orris, with the slightest woody spice of sandalwood and oakmoss. The volume of its initial, intense rush of greens and florals is turned down, but Fidji's quiet, gorgeous presence lingers for hours.

PLEASE NOTE: As for all the scents reviewed here, this review is for the vintage Fidji, whose juice is a darker caramel than the current light-colored Fidji you can still get pretty much anywhere. I bought some new stuff a few years ago, and I didn't quite know why the magic wasn't still there. Now I know — the top notes and florals are there, but they're not as rich as the vintage: they smell watery and transparent. They're also not followed up by the warming basenotes in the original formula, which makes the reformulated Fidji seem one-dimensional and lacking the dreamy mood the multifaceted original creates. The reformulation also just smells cheaper than the original. This lack of evolution from green to floral to spicy/woody/warm in the reformulation is like a day on a beach without a sunset, namely — not good.

Comments

[Mals86]

(Ooh, you just posted this! I'm avoiding the State of the Union address...)

That little coffret of mini parfums arrived today, and I sniffed several - the topnotes seem to have all gone sour, but I think they're still good under that layer.

One of them is Fidji, which I've never smelled before, but which has called to me ever since I saw its notes listed somewhere. I'm hoping it is All That, and will report back later.

Thanks for the look at your childhood. How sweet of your dad! I have only visited Hawaii briefly (5 days), but the few modern scents I've smelled that reminded me of it were OJ Frangipani, Maoli Colonia Dulce, and to a lesser degree, Amaranthine.

[Flora]

How wonderful - one of my own first perfume memories was a little container of Hawaiian perfume vials sent by a relative - I can still remember how wonderful they were, Pikake and White Ginger and Plumeria, and to this day I adore tropical white florals.

I did love that old Fidji, though the carnation did not seem very "tropical" to me, it was great stuff. Too bad it's been cheapened now.

[lady jicky]

I have always loved this ad - so dangerous and yet exotic . I have to say that is one sexy bottle too.

[Kristy Victoria]

Where do you get all of these great vintage scents? I love vintage but they are so tough to find.

Have you tried Les Nez Manoumalia? That, to me, is like wading into the shore of a Hawaiian beach! Very different from Fidji though.

[Perfumaniac]

Mals 86,

 I was listening to the State of the Union address while
writing about Fidji. (Does that constitute being in denial about the state of
the union? Probably! ;)) Kudos to you on scoring a coffret. I have a couple of
them, and they’re wonderful ways to get initiated into a lot of scents of a
particular era. You should try
vintage Fidji; it’s good stuff. Thanks for the modern recommendations — Amaranthine
is such a gorgeous name.

 

Flora,You’re right about the notes in Fidji, they’re not obviously
tropical and yet…

 

Kristy

 I get vintage from a variety of places — reputable sellers
on eBay (people with good ratings), The Miniature Perfume Shoppe, and other
sites online. It often starts with them, or I’ll just google “vintage X”
and see what comes up. I’ve gotten duds, but mostly been thrilled.  I haven’t tried Manoumalia, but thanks for
the suggestion! I still try to keep up with the modern world, too. :)

 

Lady Jicky — that ad takes me back. I always loved the
snake!

[lady jicky]

Don't forget the cymbidium orchid and the Asian ladies wonderful shaped lips!
Wish I had lips like that! This ad was before fillers too! LOL

[Sian Carpenter]

Where would I be able to get the original formulation of Fidji. I have such lovely memories of it and the new formulation defintely doesn't have the magic of the original.

Sian

[Perfumaniac]

Just look up vintage Fidji on eBay, Sian. Here's an example of what it should look like: http://tinyurl.com/2flztd

The juice should be amber-colored and not the pale yellow color of the reformulation. Good luck!

[julie]

Just got a smidgen of Fidji, vintage uncertain, from a basenotes friend. The top shares a lot with my beloved Weil de Weil; the base is more spice than leather. Curiosity satisfied. Since I have about four ounces of the Weil de Weil PdT, I'm set for galbanum-laced hyacinth infused greenies.

[D]

Hello. I sent you an email I would like to order some perfumes is that possible?