In Lower Manhattan, standing in the middle of a recently cleared open space, a man in a suit holds a large shovel. He makes a speech, tension grows, and he triumphantly plants the shovel into the ground to thunderous applause. The first dig on what will become the city’s most impressive skyscraper. In Trieste, a crane carrying a large shiny metal plate strategically brings it over its mark, and slowly sets it down on a freshly constructed slip way. This plate is the keel and one day the whole weight and structure of a mighty ship will rest on its back.
Across the globe, every project begins with a ceremonious first step. The first of many that one day culminate into something larger than itself, something that overshadows it in importance. It may seem a sad story, but that is exactly what it was meant to do. Not to stand out, but to fade into the background of noise of all that comes after.
Every single step that comes later, they all would be impossible without it serving, steadfastly, as a backbone to provide support. Like Atlas tirelessly holding up the Earth, it does a thankless, yet important job. A job that one could argue is actually the most important of all that will be done.
This article will be the first part of a series where I will look at, document, review, live with, and come to appreciate the five successful scents that Lanvin created in the interwar period. The first of these scents, although not as important as Atlas, was the first brick laid in the company’s fragrance portfolio. The foundation of all to come after, this fragrance was Lanvin My Sin.
“The Best Paris has to Offer”
– Lanvin Advertising, 50s
The Bricklayer
Source: Studio Harcourt on Wikimedia
Source: National Library of France on Wikimedia
Started in 1889, Lanvin is one of France’s oldest, if not the oldest, fashion maisons still in existence. The story of Lanvin is one of love, creativity, and one woman’s dedication not only to her daughter, but to quality and providing the best products she could. That commitment is what helped to grow her company, and her, into one of the most prolific designers of her time.
To read the full history on the company itself, and Jeanne, I have written an article that goes over it in detail. Click here to read more.
After the horrors of World War I, the dawn of the 1920s brought with it a new hope of peace and prosperity, and for many that hope was reality. For Jeanne, she spent the 1920s expanding into new markets, and one that she considered to be very important was the fragrance market. Before My Sin launched, Lanvin had commissioned and launched at least 10 other fragrances in her boutique. Scents like Lajea, Le Sillon, and Niv-Nal all gave Jeanne invaluable experience in the industry. Sadly, none of them would last beyond even their decade, with most being discontinued by 1930.
For these scents, Jeanne turned to a mysterious Russian perfumer only known as Marie Zède (or sometimes Madame Zed). Try as you might, there is not a lot of information to be found online about Marie. Some have suggested that she was a Russian émigré, fleeing the revolution and attempting to conceal her identity while still making a living. Although possible, the more likely answer I have found is that the pseudonym was created by a fragrance company that Lanvin contracted to create these scents. Whatever the real story, the original scents Marie Zède created were relatively unsuccessful and, as such, are all but lost to time.
In 1924, however, the final scent that Marie crafted for Lanvin would go on to become the first success that the brand would see in the industry. That scent was My Sin, and it would not only be a key pillar in the interwar quintet, but would survive until its discontinuation in 1988.
But what made it so successful? To answer that, we will need to look at the scent profile.
Lanvin My Sin – A Most Provocative Perfume
My Sin was originally released in 1924, and from that time to its discontinuation, it was available in a variety of different concentrations. In my collection, I have three different bottles of My Sin, an Extrait of Mon Péché (My Sin) dating to the 1950s, an Eau de Lanvin of My Sin from the 1950s, and an Eau My Sin dating to the 1970s.
Vintage Lanvin had some strange naming schemes compared to some of its contemporaries, and it can lead to a lot of confusion about what exactly is in the bottle. From my research, the Extrait concentration is the most obvious, being the pure parfum. Any bottles labeled with Eau de Lanvin in addition to the fragrance name is a mixed bottle, where they mixed the original fragrance with another fragrance in their portfolio named Eau de Lanvin. These bottles appeared sometime in the 1950s and served as the softer less concentrated version of the fragrance. Eau de Lanvin was a fairly light and refreshing citrus floral scent that, in my experience, does little to change whatever scent it was paired with other than softening it. Finally, Eau My Sin came after the discontinuation of Eau de Lanvin and was essentially an Eau de Toilette concentration of the fragrance.
For this review, I will be using the Extrait for the majority, and the Eau My Sin for some of the top and mid notes.
So what does My Sin smell like?
Applying the scent to my skin, I am hit with quite a few notes at once. My Sin opens with a burst of citrus and aldehydes. Right away I can smell neroli so intensely on my skin, with a hint of lemon coming up from behind. The top notes on me are weirdly green for something released in 1924, and very crisp and clean. To paint a picture, the opening really makes me feel like I am in Italy, off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, sitting in the garden of some villa surrounded by citrus trees. The heat from the sun warms my core, and the gentle breeze from the ocean brings with it wafts of citrus and flora. However, make no mistake, these notes are not presenting themselves as a summer beach vacation. No, the top notes show that My Sin keeps its secrets close to heart, it is reserved and restrained, if slightly chilly. It gives you just a peak to intrigue, but forces you to move at its pace to really appreciate what it has to offer.
Once the top notes begin to dissipate, My Sin rewards your patience with a smooth and rich mid and base. I pick up on me jasmine, clove, lilac, and rose quite a bit. Oddly, the base does not live on its own level, but intermingles within the mid and permeates through. In that base, I pick up a lot of civet, vetyver, and a slight hint of vanilla and musk. Maybe even a hint of sandalwood? It is smooth, warm, and slightly spicy, but not overly so. If anything, there is a devilish sweetness to My Sin, it sort of intoxicates whomever smells it and puts it under its spell. I have read somewhere someone referring to My Sin as smelling “skanky,” and as much as I would hate to agree, they are kind of right.
It is hard to describe, but the scent really does represent what I would imagine would be someone’s sinful secret. It is sort of primal, animalistic, and dirty, but it also feels like it should not be. Where a scent like Shalimar (click here for review) became the go to bad girl scent, My Sin feels more complex and sophisticated than that. If My Sin was a person, she would be a middle aged well-respected woman of class and status. Reserved, restrained, and always impeccably dressed, but for the right person she unravels and becomes shockingly sensual and open.
Wearing it, I feel as though I have been let in on a naughty little secret, and the shocking part is that it was my secret to carry as well. As the excitement of that revelation dies down, your left with My Sin’s true nature. On me it finishes off and becomes a warm, balmy, woodsy musk. Fully revealed, it forces you to bask with it in that villa’s garden in all of its warm animalic glory.
A Secret Revealed
Although it often gets overshadowed by its younger sibling, Arpège (click here for my review of vintage Arpège), My Sin holds its own ground in comparison to it.
What makes it unique is that it is not afraid to show you what it hides beneath the surface, it wants you to experience that reality with it. But it is restrained and wise enough to know not to just show you what it hides all at once. Not only does it unlock itself, but it unlocks me as well and gives me a boost of confidence that no other scent in my collection has done before.
Maybe that unlocking is the sin referenced in its name. Whatever it is, My Sin is a provocative and complex fragrance, and it is no wonder why it kick started a fragrance empire.
I welcome you to let me know your thoughts in the comments, I would love to know if you have any experience with My Sin or your memories of it. I will see you again soon for part two, where I will review modern Arpège and compare it to my vintage review.
As always, thank you for reading,
– Zak
Gallery
Leave a Reply