I can't believe that Aromatics Elixir is 40!

I really like this fragrance - my best friend wore it and my sister-in-law wore it for years (and may still do to be honest I just haven't asked her). It was what you chose when you were buying your first proper fragrance and didn't want to smell like your mum by wearing Chanel no.5. So it was a bit of a shock when a bottle came into the office to celebrate 40 years of the fragrance and everyone said 'Oh it reminds me of my mum!'

That told me then...

It still is a really nice fragrance for daytime (well I think so anyway) so here is some of it's amazing heritage as told by the brand.

'AROMATICS ELIXIR is a bracing green chypre - at once visceral and intellectual - as powerfully womanly as it is vibrantly unorthodox. Its starkly severe quality is offset by a sultry warmth. The result is complex, uncompromising, formidable.

· Top notes: a heady rush of sparklingly herbaceous verbena, coriander, clary sage and chamomile.

· Heart notes: a plush embrace of Bulgarian rose, carnal jasmine and sensual ylang-ylang.

· Base notes: a fist of patchouli, laced with oakmoss, sandalwood, lavish Florentine orris and leathery labdanum, exuding a smoky, incense-rich trail of balsamic benzoin resin and earthy vetiver.'

And in the past 10 years 19.7 million bottles have been sold so it's still pretty popular and not just amongst the older generation (which almost but not quite includes me *ahem*)...

So to celebrate they've given it a bit of an update which goes something like this..

'To celebrate AROMATICS ELIXIR’s 40^th anniversary, Clinique has commissioned a limited-edition tribute to its classic creation.

AROMATICS ELIXIR PERFUMER’S RESERVE uses cutting-edge molecular distillation technology from Grasse’s renowned Laboratoire Monique Rémy (LMR) to create a fresher, smoother, modern interpretation of Chant’s original.

· Rose, jasmine, myrrh and patchouli notes are cleaner, lighter, with a contemporary transparency.

· The addition of orange flower absolute and peach lends a creamy luminosity.

· The fragrance’s intoxicating sillage becomes tender, subdued - a whisper rather than a shout.'

Sounds cool - look out for it nationwide from October 7th or buy online from Clinique.