Cafe

It's 3 weeks before Christmas, and my Mom is unpacking our decorations. There are boxes of lights, boxes of ribbons, bows and paper, a big box for the wreath we have hung on our door for as long as I can remember, and then the box of candles-both electric and wax-that we deck the halls with each year. I open the lid to the box of candles and there it is: the smell of Christmas to me. Bayberry, pine, spruce, cinnamon and cloves. That smell can only mean one thing-well, it did before I tried this fragrance! I've been wearing Cafe by Cafe now for 4 days straight. I wanted to get the best impression of it that I could so I made it the only bottle I took with me for a long weekend trip. It is safe to say, I have found a new favorite frag for my Top Ten list. This is the EDT I am reviewing, and with that being stated, I will tell you the longevity of this EDT is fairly good (upwards of 10 hours on me so far) but the sillage is nothing to write home about. I can catch wafts of it as I am moving around but otherwise it's pretty close to my skin. Hubby says he can smell it from about 6" and his sniffer isn't very sensitive. However, I had to get him VERY close for him to even pick up on it. It's not a head turner. The bottle is Dollar Store chic, indeed. It isn't impressive, but the spray works great on it so far and it's a FINE mist, which I always appreciate more than a targeted stream. Maximum coverage with that atomizer. When I first applied it all I could think of was Wassail. It's this incredible spiced wine drink served at the holidays full of every conceivable kind of spice. My cousin makes a wine-free version at Christmas and this is almost exactly what that initial mist called to mind. Then after about 10 minutes the wonderful carnation/patchouli notes began to warm on my skin and this frag really opened up and started to shine. It's a sweet smell, but not sugary or jammy. This has NO fruit to it. It's a calming, comforting smell that I expect from this type of Oriental frag. I absolutely LOVE the spices in this. That's what I tend to go for, though. If you don't want to have someone tell you that you smell warm and homey, then don't wear this. For all it's comforting overtones, it's also very opulent to me. This is a rich frag-not cheap smelling, in my opinion. I think if the formulation had a tad more carnation in it then it would almost be cheapy. My bottle had just the right blend and with that powdery soft patchouli blending with it, it's still very "foreign" and a bit mystical. There is a touch of incense to this as well that I also love. I highly recommend this wallet-friendly frag to those of you who love a warm, rich, but not over the top frag on those chilly winter days. I would probably wear this in warm weather, too, but only at night. Not a warm-weather, daytime wear for me. LOVE the Cafe by Cafe!!! Great value, excellent scent!

An incredibly inexpensive copy of YSL Opium 1977 version. I remember vaguely when this stuff came out, but I was already in the throes of YSL Opium and what did I want with a scent that was described as a cheap version of Opium. It was the go-go 1970's; yes, YSL Opium was expensive but there was lots of it around and you didn't worry about there not being any of it around when your little bottle was empty. What a difference 43 years can make. At least 5 major recessions later and yes, there's lots of 1977 Opium around, but at much higher prices proportionately and who knows where the prior owners have been keeping their little bottles. (Oh, it's such a pretty bottle, I think I'll put it here in this window.) In the meantime, Cafe Parfums of France keeps cranking these bottles out. (Maybe they aren't; maybe they're all remainders. I dunno.) It doesn't replace YSL Opium 1977 version, but it's a really good scent and it makes you feel like for once you've gotten a good deal somewhere. I mean gosh, this stuff is going on eBay for less than $15 for a 3.3 oz bottle. The bottle itself is tacky, and the plastic sprayer, cap and upper bottle cover are of the cheapest and probably most brittle plastic I've ever seen on a perfume bottle. I'm already wondering how I'll fix it when the whole thing breaks into 20 plastic shards in my hands. But right now it's great. Woodsy and dark rosy and lots of patchouli, but not quite as redolent as YSL. It has better manners. Doesn't last quite as long, maybe 4 hours unless you've doused your clothing along the way. Great stuff. And thank you to whoever either reviewed this in the last 10 days or wrote an article about it. I saw whatever it was, and bought a bottle on your recommendation. Otherwise, I'd still have forgotten all about it.

This a review for Café by Café Parfum/Cofinluxe, Parfum de Toilette, still containing Oakmoss and Treemoss in the ingredients list. (I know there are no other versions but I always like to make it clear.) What a lovely and warm spicy fragrance! And so underrated! I agree with many reviewers that it does bear a resemblance to YSL Opium, however I dare to say (and I am expecting stones my way) that Café is even better than Opium. It is spicy with an earthy hint of patchouli, but the rose gives Café a sweet soapiness that makes it a lot less aggressive to the nose than Opium. It also smells less dated to me, although I believe this is because Café did not define an age, like Opium did. One interesting thing about Café (and I found this to be true to many other Café Parfum fragrances I own) is that it is not a layered scent. What I mean is that, at the dry down, you don't smell many different scents unfolding on the skin - the smell remains the same from almost the first spray. This is not necessarily bad. Café is an uncomplicated fragrance - what you smell is what you get - and this is precisely why it is one of my favourite perfumes for daily wear. The bottle is not very imaginative, but I like its vintage minimalism. It suits the scent. The 30ml one is perfect to carry in your purse or bag. Café is a softcore Oriental perfume, for those who enjoy showing their spice off but don't necessarily feel like knocking passers-by out. It is warm but soft, intimate. It can be worn during the summer without fear (I have even worn it at the beach). Granted, the longevity is not its greatest strength, but it's cheap so you will not feel too guilty about reapplying it.

A couple of hours ago, I received the delivery of this fantastic bottle of perfume that cost a whopping 8 Euros. I had already tagged this fragrance as potentially curious and was quite keen to at least try it out. Given its low cost, it was easier (and cheaper) to order a new full bottle, than to keep me going on adventures with decanters. Today, although I was inclined to try a women's perfume with a strong osmanthus note, out of mere curiosity, I decided to go ahead with this also feminine fragrance as a SOTD. Right from the start it appears as an amazing scent (for the price) of rather spicy resins, which dry out acquiring soapy and powdery facets. In other words, it starts unisex and then leans towards a more feminine hue. This is a truly surprising and rather underrated gem. In reality, it is a perfume with a scent reasonably suggestive of being a lighter flanker of YSL Opium's feminine version. Perhaps it is a little too gentle to fully replace Opium, but it is certainly easier to wear and makes it possible to use an "Opium-like" scent in an office environment. It also reminds me slightly of Chanel Coco, which I reach for even quite often. So it seems like an irrefutable "two-for-one" deal, albeit in a poor bottle worthy of hiding. Performance is quite average and that is surprising too. With such a low price I expected a longevity of 2~3 hours. But I can assure all of you that it lasts more than 6 hours with 3 sprays and projects over an arm's length. If I would have to rate it globally right now, I am comfortable suggesting an 8.0 out of 10.0. Music: Norah Jones - "Don't Know Why"

I recently bought this because of the overwhelming amount of votes, as very similar to the good old Opium (1977 version). It is completely true. This is the early Opium I used to buy and loved to bits. I even have to vintage versions at home (keep them like treasures) and I tested all tree of them together, and there is no noticible difference. The dry-out is a little softer in "Café" and the longivity is a little shorter on skin. On clothes however it last days and still smells amazing. I am extremely happy to have found this, since Opium is now but a mere shadow of its former self. I have known Opium ever since its introduction, and loved it as simply the best scent ever made. I feel I can therefore speak with some weight, when I compare "Café" to Opium. Opium scent does not only hold memories of youth and passions to me, it also holds the memory of a time when parfumes were done right. If you miss the vintage Opium and hate the new terrible versions and their harshness, "Cafe" is for you. Meeting with this wonderfull scent again (allthough under another name) brought tears to my eyes. It is that good!