Lancome – Tresor eau de parfum review

Tresor is one of the most famous perfumes of the French brand Lancôme, while based on its composition and formulation, as well as the number of people who have found their signature scent in this fragrance, it is really true to its name – treasure (tresor in French). It appeared on the perfumerie shelves worldwide in 1990 and initiated a whole new direction in perfume making – so-called linear compositions, while the credit for all of it goes to ingenious and mysterious Sophia Grojsman.

On official websites Tresor is described as floral-oriental, or floriental, with the dominant notes being peach and rose, followed by amber, musk and vanilla. However, this time I will take you, like a diving instructor, to the depths of the perfume-making world and reveal the secrets I described in my article Psychology of Perfume – How We Experience Perfume? as a piece of an iceberg below the water surface, hidden from human looks and observations.

Tresor belongs to a completely new generation of perfumes, unique for its monolith quality and the absence of a traditional pyramid structure. Moreover, the true pioneers of the linear direction in perfume-making are also P Chopard Cašmir, Dior Dune, Calvin Klein Eternity and Givenchy Amarige. Although initially a strictly American phenomenon, the desire to enable the consumer immediately what the perfume will be in the oncoming hours, as something that was impossible with the old structure, became possible with this new character perfumes. Buyers wanted strong, floral and sweet perfumes whose effect was often longer than the weekend relationships in the nightclubs flourishing in the cities in the 1990s.

The technique applied to achieve this is the use of a large amount of synthetic components that were able to last exceptionally long on the skin and to be present in high concentrations (over 25%), without the ensuing hardness and coarseness if natural ingredients were used. Additional natural materials served only as a decoration but such approach has been kept until today, when synthetic substances are the perfume skeleton, while the natural ones are the flesh (the terminology used by perfumers, although I prefer the terminology related to the Christmas tree, where synthetic substances are the tree and the natural materials happen to be the decorations).

Tresor is the most typical example of these new formulations since it is based on equivalent amounts of Hedione (a floral scent like jasmine), Iso e Super (a woody-amber fixative), Galaxolide (a synthetic musk) and methyl ionone (a floral violet-like synthetic scent). The vanilla-like base comes from vanillin and what people describe as a floral, primarily peachy scent, is actually a very popular substance in the perfume-making industry, called linalyl acetate, which smells like fruit salad with mild tones of flowers.

Despite being based exclusively on synthetic substances (but, frankly speaking, which perfume nowadays is not?) and being very strong and somewhat vulgar, Tresor is one of my favourite perfumes. A beautiful interpretation of the rose, simultaneously dominant and powerful on one hand, while sensual and erotic on the other hand, gives a comforting hug at the end of the day, like a cashmere scarf. The perfume carrying the essence of modern femininity ideally suits the woman after the age of thirty, when she finally becomes aware of all her qualities. My suggestion is to wear it in the evening, although it will stay with you in a subtle and velvety way the following morning as well, like a touch of the romantic kiss on your neck from the previous night.

The perfume was created by Sophia Grojsman.