It seems the idea of a seductive perfume has changed drastically over the years. Had anyone were to make a perfume today and name it "Will You?", it would probably not be a somewhat haughty floral with plenty of green, hyacinth, rose and a light aldehydic opening in the style I think of as very French (and the husband as "very vintage").
Voulez Vous by the house of D'Orsay was first launched in the mid thirties and probably smelled different than the juice in the (circa) 1960s bottle I found last year. My Voulez Vous is pretty, has its hair in a perfect chignon and wears racy lingerie under the buttoned-down silk blouse. Stereotypical? Yes, definitely, and so is this D'Orsay perfume, but it doesn't make Voulez Vous any less enjoyable for those of us who like this style.
My bottle is of the extrait de parfum, and as such I would have hoped the longevity would be better. I get about 3-4 hours before Voulez Vous dissolves into a powdery green with a touch of vetiver. It smells rather fresh, so i'm not sure if it has deteriorated (I bought the bottle sealed in box at a flea market). I don't really mind- it's another small memento from the perfume world of yore.
I was trying to find more background information about this perfume and the house of D'Orsay and happened upon this article from 2002. I thought you might get a chuckle for several reasons.
D'OrsayVolez Vous perfume ad from 1943: paperpersuits.com
1960 ad from an online auction.
