Oscar by Oscar de la Renta is not discontinued, but the fragrance has undergone a bottle change which has led to speculation that the fragrance has been reformulated.
Many luxury designer brands have diversified to include fragrance houses as part of their brand identity.
Some luxury designer brands started their fragrance houses earlier than others. One of the luxury designer brands that branched out to include fragrances later on was Oscar de la Renta.
The first perfume to be released by the brand was an eau de toilette which remains one of the flagship fragrances of the fashion house, called Oscar by Oscar de la Renta.
After seemingly disappearing off the shelves as a popular fragrance worn by women, there were speculations that it was discontinued. However, it was just rebottled and allegedly reformulated.
The biggest reason for fragrances being repackaged
It is not uncommon to have signature fragrances being rebottled in the world of fragrances, especially fragrances that were first introduced into the market before the world had come to face the reality of global warming.
This is as some materials used in perfume bottles were harmful to the environment when acquiring or manufacturing them to create the fragrance bottles.
As such, when the world realised the impact of high carbon footprints, some of the leading fragrance houses moved to packaging their fragrances with eco-friendly materials, resulting in the change of their bottles and packaging.
Is Oscar by Oscar de la Renta perfume discontinued?
Oscar by Oscar de la Renta was first released in 1977 as the first perfume released by the fragrance house of the lauded fashion brand.
At the time of its initial launch, the fragrance made an impact in the market as it went on to earn the Oscars of fragrance accolades at the FiFi Awards in 1978.
During this time, Oscar was a popular fragrance worn by women. The bottle was a hexagon shaped glass bottle with a silver strip attached at the top of the bottle with a silver detail and the house’s logo hanging from the strip. The cap was whimsically designed to emulate a freshly-bloomed flower.
However, in the years since the height of the popularity of the scent, it seems that it was one of the long forgotten fragrances as it all but disappeared from the shelves and was not as popularly worn by women as before.
This resulted in the assumption that the fragrance had been discontinued. But in fact, the fragrance, which is part of the Oscar Signature collection, was not discontinued, instead, its packaging had been changed.
The new bottle design of the fragrance endeavours to pay homage to the classic, as its design is more understated. The bottle is still shaped as a hexagon but is less heavy than the original.
Moreover, the 50ml and the 100ml bottles are more longitudinal to allow for more fragrance. The brand has done away with the silver strip and silver logo detail.
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| Buy it on Amazon | Buy it on Amazon |
Instead, the now black bottle cap has a silver stripe at the bottom of the cap, and the logo is etched into the bottle.
Can I still buy the original Oscar (EDT) bottle?
While reputable online stores only have the new Oscar by Oscar de la Renta (EDT) in its repackaged bottle, a number of second-hand online fragrance stores still have the original bottle of the signature fragrance for sale.
However, a fair warning is to be aware of sellers who will sell counterfeit Oscar (EDT) fragrances.
Therefore, it is always important to do your research about the online store and read the reviews by customers who have bought from them to know whether it is a legitimate store or not.
Online stores without a review page or customer feedback must be avoided as there is no guarantee that you will get the authentic fragrance in its original bottle.
What does Oscar by Oscar de la Renta smell like?
When Oscar by Oscar de la Renta was released in 1977, it was touted as a classic fragrance with a note profile that includes white floral, aromatic, woody, and amber.
Designed by the acclaimed perfumer Jean-Louis Sieuzac, a look at the overall fragrance profile of the fragrance reveals the following:
| Details | Oscar (EDT) |
| Description | An amber Floral fragrance for women |
| Top notes | Cloves, gardenia, coriander, orange blossom, basil, peach, and bergamot |
| Middles notes | Tuberose, ylang-ylang, lavender, iris, jasmine, rosemary, rose, and orchid |
| Base notes | Cloves, myrrh, sandalwood, lavender, amber, opoponax, vetiver, musk, patchouli, and coconut |
Has Oscar by Oscar de la Renta perfume been reformulated?
It is not uncommon for fragrances to be reformulated and for the matter to not officially be confirmed by the fragrance house.
Therefore, when it comes to Oscar (EDT), while it cannot be confirmed that the fragrance has been reformulated, it would make sense.
This is as reformulation of most signature fragrances happen because the materials used to make it are either being criminalised or are more expensive to source.
But this reformulation could have affected the fragrance, as fans that are aware of the original and the alleged reformulation suggest that the original perfume had a potency that the current version does not.
To me, the original Oscar was the most elegant scent I have ever worn! People would run up to me to ask what I was wearing. I was devastated when it changed. At first I thought I’d accidentally gotten an old bottle but it was just the changed version. They ruined it when it changed I wore the body creme, lotion and the spray and it was heaven.
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I agree, I hate the new scent, it has a sickly sweet musky smell that just clings on, have you found anything similar? I used to love Oscar the original
I have used Oscar for over 40 years and have always LOVED the scent now it has a sweet musky smell I hate. I even bought a second bottle thinking the first one was “bad” and the scent is also off.