Gush›Van Cleef Arpels›First
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Van Cleef Arpels First
Van Cleef Arpels

First

Citrus
Fresh
Floral
White Floral
Fruity
Green
Aldehydic
EDP · 1976 · womens

Van Cleef & Arpels, the luxury jewelry house known for its distinctive Alhambra motif, introduced First in 1976 as a signature fragrance that would become an enduring classic. The brand's heritage of craftsmanship and refinement translates directly into their fragrance philosophy, creating scents as carefully composed as their designs.

First opens with a bright aldehydic burst of bergamot, peach, and black currant that immediately establishes a sparkling sweetness. The heart is a full floral bouquet, dominated by jasmine, rose, and tuberose alongside carnation, hyacinth, and lily of the valley, creating a lush, multi-layered middle that blooms generously on skin. The base settles into warm amber, vanilla, tonka bean, and sandalwood with subtle animalic touches of musk and civet, providing depth and longevity without overwhelming the florals.

This is a confident floral for someone who doesn't shy away from a full, rounded fragrance. First works well for formal occasions or anyone seeking a prestigious, recognizable scent that feels both feminine and sophisticated. It's a fragrance from an era when florals were allowed to be abundant, making it ideal for those drawn to The Romantic, The Homesteader, and The Heirloom.

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Main Accordsreported by community
Citrus
23%
Fresh
23%
Floral
90%
White Floral
80%
Fruity
70%
Green
18%
Aldehydic
100%
Woody
54%
Vetiver
18%
Earthy
36%
Musky
36%
Powdery
60%
Amber
18%
Warm Spicy
18%
Vanilla
36%
Sweet
100%
Gourmand
36%
Animalic
50%
Creamy
18%
Fragrance Notesbrand verified
Top · 0–30 min
Aldehydes
Aldehydes
The chemical family that created modern perfumery, aldehydes were first used prominently in Chanel N°5 (1921), adding a soapy, abstract, almost metallic sparkle that lifted the fragrance above anything previously possible. They don't smell like anything in nature; their effect is more textural than aromatic. Aldehydic fragrances feel luminous, sophisticated, and distinctly 20th century.
Bergamot
Bergamot
A sun-ripened Italian citrus with a brightness that goes beyond lemon, simultaneously tart, floral, and slightly spicy. It's the defining note of Earl Grey tea and the backbone of countless fresh colognes. Perfumers love it as an opener because it lifts the entire composition without overpowering what follows.
Black Currant
Black Currant
Mandarin Orange
Mandarin Orange
Peach
Peach
Ripe, juicy, and velvety, peach has a warm, slightly creamy sweetness that feels lush rather than childish in the right context. It adds a fruity sensuality to floral and oriental fragrances, and its slightly fuzzy quality can even play into tactile, skin-like accords. A note that feels like high summer.
Raspberry
Raspberry
Bright, tart, and slightly jammy, raspberry adds a vivid fruity pop that is harder and more energetic than peach or apricot. It's a signature note of modern fruity florals and adds an accessible sweetness that broadens a fragrance's appeal. Best used with restraint unless you're deliberately going for big and fun.
Heart · 30 min – 3 hrs
Carnation
Carnation
Spicy, clove-like, and slightly powdery, carnation is one of perfumery's oldest floral notes, with a warm, almost peppery character that distinguishes it from softer flowers. It has a vintage, slightly old-fashioned quality that is coming back into fashion. Think pressed flowers in an old book, warm and complex.
Hiacynth
Hiacynth
Jasmine
Jasmine
Intoxicating, heady, and slightly animalic, jasmine is one of the few flowers that smells as rich in a bottle as it does climbing a garden wall at dusk. It has an almost fleshy, indolic quality that stops it reading as purely 'clean.' Jasmine is a workhorse in both feminine and masculine perfumery, adding depth and soul.
Lily Of The Valley
Lily Of The Valley
Crisp, green, and dewy, this spring flower smells like rain on cool grass with a clean, soap-like clarity. It's one of perfumery's most requested scents despite being nearly impossible to extract naturally, so it's almost always recreated synthetically. The result is fresh, tender, and timelessly elegant.
Narcissus
Narcissus
Green, honeyed, and slightly rubbery, narcissus (daffodil) is one of perfumery's most complex and difficult white florals. It has an almost animalic indolic quality alongside its sweetness, giving it a raw, living-flower character that synthetic white musks can't match. Used carefully it adds extraordinary depth.
Orchid
Orchid
Exotic, slightly sweet, and airy, 'orchid' in perfumery is usually a constructed accord rather than a direct extract, designed to evoke the flower's mysterious tropical beauty. Depending on the perfumer, it can read as vanilla-like and warm or cool and green. A note that suggests luxury and rarity.
Orris Root
Orris Root
Tuberose
Tuberose
One of the most intensely floral natural ingredients in existence, rich, creamy, and almost narcotic in its sweetness. Tuberose is polarizing by design: it's meant to be enveloping, not background. It has rubbery, vanilla-like facets that make it feel both sensual and slightly retro.
Turkish Rose
Turkish Rose
Ylang-Ylang
Ylang-Ylang
Base · 3–12 hrs
Amber
Amber
A warm, resinous accord rather than a single ingredient, amber is typically built from labdanum, benzoin, and vanilla to create a rich, honeyed, almost solar warmth. It's the quintessential base-note family, adding a comforting richness that makes fragrances feel complete. The difference between a fragrance feeling cold and feeling alive.
Civet
Civet
An animalic note with a raw, musky, slightly fecal quality that might sound unappealing but adds extraordinary depth and sensuality in small amounts. Natural civet is no longer used (it was obtained unethically); modern substitutes are kinder but similarly provocative. A hallmark of classic Chanel and Guerlain fragrances.
Honey
Honey
Sweet, waxy, and faintly animalic, honey in perfumery has an almost skin-like quality, intimate and slightly raw. It's related to beeswax in the natural world, and both add a warmth that reads as close and personal. Honey bridges floral and oriental families, adding natural sweetness with a slightly dark edge.
Musk
Musk
The base layer of almost every modern fragrance, a soft, warm, skin-like scent that extends longevity and bridges other notes together. Natural musk was once derived from deer (now banned); today's musks are synthetic and range from clean and soapy to dark and animalic. The right musk makes a fragrance smell like 'you.'
Oakmoss
Oakmoss
The defining ingredient of classic chypre perfumery, damp, forest-floor earthy with a faint bitterness and incredible complexity. Real oakmoss is now heavily restricted by IFRA regulations, which is why vintage chypres smell so different from modern ones. When present, it creates a raw, outdoorsy anchor that no synthetic fully replicates.
Sandalwood
Sandalwood
Creamy, smooth, and milky with a soft, skin-like warmth that clings beautifully. True Mysore sandalwood is one of perfumery's most precious ingredients, simultaneously wood and skin, never cold or sharp. It rounds off sharp edges in any composition and makes the wearer smell subtly, irresistibly warmer.
Tonka Bean
Tonka Bean
Sweet, powdery, and almond-like with hay-like, slightly tobacco undertones, tonka bean is one of perfumery's most useful base notes. It shares coumarin with fresh hay and freshly cut grass, adding a warmth that feels nostalgic and comforting. Essential in gourmand and soft oriental fragrances.
Vanilla
Vanilla
Warm, sweet, and universally appealing, vanilla is to fragrance what salt is to cooking. Real vanilla is complex and slightly smoky, though most perfumery vanilla is synthetic and reads as clean, sweet, and creamy. It slows the evaporation of other notes and is the reason certain fragrances feel like a second skin.
Vetiver
Vetiver
Earthy, smoky, and complex, vetiver root is extracted from a grass native to India and has a scent that is simultaneously rooty, woody, and slightly lemony. It's one of perfumery's great base notes: tenacious, unisex, and endlessly adaptable. A fragrance built around vetiver feels grounded and deeply confident.
Who Wears ThisScent DNA matches
❤️
The RomanticBest match86% match
Your fragrance is a love letter you never stop writing.

Warm roses, vanilla, amber, creamy musks. Soft, evolving, intimate.

🏡
The Homesteader84% match
Rooted, warm, and entirely self-sufficient.

Warm skin musks, sandalwood, soft cedar, clean vetiver. Grounding, intimate, unhurried.

🏛️
The Heirloom84% match
You carry something beautiful that most people have forgotten.

Powdery, soft, classically sweet. Iris, aldehydes, gentle florals, quiet vintage warmth.

Based on this fragrance's accord profile · Find your Scent DNA →
Community
Rate this fragrance
Rate this fragrance
0255075100
—/100
Most Popular with this Scent DNA Type?
❤️
The Romantic
Your fragrance is a love letter you never stop writing.
Warm roses, vanilla, amber, creamy musks. Soft, evolving, intimate.
Discover your type →
Scent Profile
Citrus23%
Fresh23%
Floral90%
White Floral80%
Fruity70%
Fragrance Family
Floral
EDP

Van Cleef Arpels First— Prices, Coupons & Buying Guide

Best price today: First is $0.00. Without a coupon the lowest price is $0.00. Gush tracks 47+ retailers updated every 2 hours.

Are grey market retailers authentic?

Yes. Jomashop, FragranceNet, and MaxAroma sell 100% authentic Van Cleef Arpels fragrances through unofficial distribution channels. The fragrance is identical to department store stock. Grey market refers to the supply chain, not product quality. The price difference comes entirely from the distribution channel.

Frequently asked questions

What does Van Cleef Arpels First smell like? +
Van Cleef & Arpels, the luxury jewelry house known for its distinctive Alhambra motif, introduced First in 1976 as a signature fragrance that would become an enduring classic. The brand's heritage of craftsmanship and refinement translates directly into their fragrance philosophy, creating scents as carefully composed as their designs. First opens with a bright aldehydic burst of bergamot, peach, and black currant that immediately establishes a sparkling sweetness. The heart is a full floral bouquet, dominated by jasmine, rose, and tuberose alongside carnation, hyacinth, and lily of the valley, creating a lush, multi-layered middle that blooms generously on skin. The base settles into warm amber, vanilla, tonka bean, and sandalwood with subtle animalic touches of musk and civet, providing depth and longevity without overwhelming the florals. This is a confident floral for someone who doesn't shy away from a full, rounded fragrance. First works well for formal occasions or anyone seeking a prestigious, recognizable scent that feels both feminine and sophisticated. It's a fragrance from an era when florals were allowed to be abundant, making it ideal for those drawn to The Romantic, The Homesteader, and The Heirloom.
What are the notes in Van Cleef Arpels First? +
Top: Aldehydes, Bergamot, Black Currant, Mandarin Orange, Peach, Raspberry. Heart: Carnation, Hiacynth, Jasmine, Lily Of The Valley, Narcissus, Orchid, Orris Root, Tuberose, Turkish Rose, Ylang-Ylang. Base: Amber, Civet, Honey, Musk, Oakmoss, Sandalwood, Tonka Bean, Vanilla, Vetiver.
What fragrance family is First? +
Van Cleef Arpels First belongs to the Floral fragrance family. It is an EDP.
What is a grey market fragrance retailer? +
Grey market retailers sell authentic fragrances sourced through unofficial distribution -- typically excess inventory from authorized distributors. The product is real and identical to retail. FragranceNet (est. 1997), Jomashop, and MaxAroma are well-established with millions of verified reviews.

Gush earns a commission on purchases at no cost to you · Prices update every 2 hours · Coupon success rates based on affiliate feed data · Grey market = authentic, unofficial supply chain