Casbah

Wow. Where to start? This is Queen of The Casbah. Unearthed. Bottled goth. Straight up. I stumbled across a 1.7 for a steal. Avon pulled a true *sookie sookie* with this scent. Though I have been equally impressed with Avon as disappointed, Casbah is a trippy scent and I am impressed. If you love clove and nutmeg with a strong disposition towards fine ancient spices and heady orientals of the middle and far east, chances are you will love Casbah. I am one of those women, so greatly appreciate the smell of powdered iris, smoky clove and nutmeg wafting around. This is a very unusual treat for me, as the only big clove bomb I can think of right now is Dana Tabu, and Casbah smells nothing like it or Samsara, which was mentioned somewhere here. I can rarely detect nutmeg in a blend but in Casbah it's there. This blend is off-the-chain ancient. Ancient unleashed! I agree with roseombre's unfavorable phrase words "ancient" and "coffin". It does smell of what I imagine a mummy Queen would be embalmed in and I think it is a beautiful, very interesting smell. Certain aromas of ancient times fascinate me. The smell of this fragrance smells of the time in which perfume was BORN and I'm diggin' it! (up). It is mostly dark iris, spicy clove with a hint of nutmeg; dusty, almost musty but not quite. The powdery note The Master Nose chose for this frag is spot on Royal Egyptian Mortuary with all its finest most glorious florals and spices, nailed it right on .... into the sandalwood coffin. I find that brilliant and quite beautiful. The soft powdered floral is present; sweet but not overly so, and the old clove is positively present and remarkable mixed with a good sandalwood. Casbah is one many would cry "old lady" on; a description I detest. I have smelled dank, matronly perfumes and Casbah is nowhere in that category. It is ancient in the exotic, true, old world spice way. Softly elegant, spicy, rich, even sensual. Despite the morbid imagery it conjures, it's an unexpected softy, perfectly executed, that will scare the hell out of gentle-clean-safe-white floral girls and the tooty fruity florals girls alike. Casbah is purely gothic as it gets. It's a dare, which smells nothing of today's perfumes. It is "once upon a time, in a land faraway.... a long, long time ago" extract. A must-have for collectors of fine and unique blends. A connoisseur's delight. :) Now, if I wanted to be snarky which is, of course, so far beneath me... *wah!* I would say a few great names for Casbah would be "Ruins L'Iris" "Nile Dust", "Royal Ehumation", or something on that 'note'. Jokes aside, this Casbah is an obscure blend. I have never smelled anything like this, feel I have unearthed the treasure of the ancient queen's favorite smells personally adored so much by her she chose them for her burial... and I am Rockin' The Casbah. (Yes!) ....and I don't care that "Sharif don't like it". The Clash - 1982

Casbah is my first love...and the most precious treasure in my collection. I was 13, when I smelled first this beauty in 1992.After when it's came out to the market I've got a tiny little sample from my ex-classmate whose mother was an Avon-lady in the 90's.I guarded this tiny purple sample for long years in a small jewelry box.:)After 18 years (in 2010) finally I got a full bottle on my hands. Casbah is about powder and spices. For those who in love with powder, musk and orientals-Casbah is the heaven itself. No doubt, Casbah has the typical late 80's vibe, it's absolutely reflects the animalic and oriental floral features of this decade. If you like CK Obsession, 273 Rodeo Drive by Fred Hayman and Bijan Bijan, Casbah is your jam. Casbah is a powder bombshell in a good way.Sultry and captivating.Rich and bold floriental twisted by warm spices.Seductive marriage of the notes,hazy yet intensive combination of iris and musk.Rose, sandalwood and spices makes the heady accord rounded and deep.It’s becomes more intimate as the skin’s heat pulses through it. Intoxicant and mesmerizing.It's well blended and nothing like the perfumes Avon releases nowadays. The longevity is amazing as it ingrains into the skin, this beautiful smell just lingering around me more than a day!!Well made quality perfume is this. I'm a proud owner of this splendid fragrance.

Sultry, intoxicating, heavy with so many spices. Jasmine pierces into you with an immediate animalic sense, Iris packs an earthiness while nutmeg and cloves spice this musky mix that bewitches and spellbinds. Casbah is a fully potent woodsy scent that needs to be worn carefully. A sweet mixture of heaviness, wear this lightly in the colder weather or sparingly on pulse points. I envisioned Rita Hayworth wearing this as she danced her Caribbean sensual moves in Fire Down Below with Robert Mitchum watching her lasciviously. Rita Hayworth was a Hollywood beauty who graced the big screen with mature sensuality. She knew who she was and dictated it easily with the arch of an eyebrow, the look in her eyes, the toss of her hair. Casbah transforms you into that type of woman. A woman who can captivate and Casbah does just that. Casbah heats up and radiates stronger with the heat of your body as time goes on. A little does go a long way with this fragrance. I dabbed a bit on my wrist only and I can smell the aroma many hours later. Casbah is a sexual magnet, a fantasy perfume. Such a shame it's been discontinued, but it's still available on the secondary market, thank goodness.

Just bought a bottle off Ebay as this used to be my signature in my late teens and I remember loving it and missing it when Avon stopped selling it. On first sniff I can tell it's "vintage" as it has a definite 80s vibe. It is also strong! I found the smell quite OTT at first but it has settled after ten minutes or so into a beautiful powdery spicy slightly smoky PERFUME (capitals required...this is full on!) Beautiful and dark and captivating!

Somehow I missed buying Casbah and have always regretted it. Recently, my Avon lady included the tester bottle of Bohista from the past in a clearance bundle. Very nice. Both products were created by named Noses. Waiting for Delcroix Nuit here in Texas. Waiting, waiting, waiting...