Bain de Champagne (Royal Bain de Caron)

Royal Bain in its modern version is nothing short of a men's delight. It may be quite different from what it was before, or not quite what it was, but as it is now, it's a truly delightful floral barbershop-style vegetal of vanilla powdery goodness. I keep waiting and waiting for that dull, rubbery sour note that so many similar cheaper scents eventually have (and usually quite quickly) But Royal Bain never goes there. It remains sweet, floral, and just slightly woody in the base. As it evolves over a few hours, it takes on a nice deep fruity edge - almost like the scent of apple peels that have oxidized for a little while - a kind of sugary, ripe sweetness that almost smells a bit like wine or cider, but all in a very pleasant and refined way. The base remains very rich and almost buttery. As I type, I'm at about 3 hours wearing time - Royal Bain still smells great, just slightly diminished and gentler now. I thought at first that this might just be something you splash on in the morning to be followed by a proper scent later in the day but this could work as a 'most of the day' scent, I think. Spring florals are close at hand!

THE ROYAL BATHROOM OF PRAYERS _______________________________________________________ Ever since I was a child, I loved lilac. I loved the lilac trees, the lilac bushes, it's overwhelming strong scent, it's colour ... simply everything. One of the best features, even nowadays, that I simply love about the lilac, is that a lot of people don't like it. It's almost the same with 'ROYAL BAIN DE CARON'. With ease Caron built a wonderful lilac shrine. But it's more that just a shrine. It's almost a fortress, with thick pillars made of opoponax and benzoin. And the shrine is being guarded by defensive towers made of mysterious imperial vanilla and gorgeous sandalwood. At the end of the day, you will come to do, what all others have done before you at a shrine. You pray. You pray and thank the wonderful God of Caron for letting you witness the wonder that is LILAC. Overall: Just like religion, ROYAL BAIN is not for everyone. It is inceredibly strong, with huge sillage and even an obnoxius longetivity. It's powdery, very sweet and very 'in your face'. Longetivity: - 20/10 Sillage: - 8/10 All in all: 9 out of 10 points.

I rember smelling this as a little girl at my grandmothers house. It sat on her shelf along with carven ma griffe and tweed. Royal bain by Caron was first developed at the request of California millionaire William Randolph Hearst to scent his bath instead of champagne. It was thought at the time pouring champagne in the bath was the height of luxury. The formula has changed over the years so take the reviews with a grain of salt. They are probably correct for their bottle. My bottle is pre ifra regulation as there isnt really anything that screams synthetic about it. This is a vanillic creamy sweet soft plush powder oppoponax bomb. If you liked the drydown on Opium.. this is similar. Amoung the creamy powder is rose, lilac, sandalwood, benzoin, inscense, and the caronaide plush musks. Its soft, comforting and lovely to wear at bedtime. I did not experience any fruit or champagne , perhaps the lift could be champagneish... Perfect for a dandy, someone that loves creamy powdery vanillic soft scents...there is a reason its been around since the 1920s.

This makes for the perfect nightcap, a pastel balm for my weary body. Its first movement is antique lilac and spiced rose, tender and comforting, with a foreshadowing of warm resins. There is a metallic hue, a glisten, that outlines these florals, jogging the memory of a distant, out of reach past, either my own—or of one's life before my own. I think of a pristinely groomed man of the early 20th century, trying to make his way in the world, dignified and earnest. I imagine that kind of man that would be illustrated by J.C. Leyendecker, strong-jawed and wide-eyed, averting his glance, yearning, and his smell is of fresh-from-the-barber-powder, nosegays, opoponax and benzoin, with just a soupçon of his own perspiration. I anticipate dreams when I wear this at bedtime, dreams where I am rescuing hurt souls from the past and sending them to a future that looks better than the actual future that is today. So yes, that's Royal Bain de Caron.

I have a sample from mid summer 2009, and just purchased a vintage bottle. The new sample, on my left hand, has incredible staying power, a delicious, powdery, sensual, almond-y lilac note. The vintage formula, on my right hand, smelled identical, at first, but after an hour hour, the powdery lilac has muted. And, the formula on my right hand makes me sneeze, whereas the modern one, on my left hand, does not make me sneeze. There you have it. Both are beautiful. The modern formulation has more depth and staying power. An hour on into the drydown, it has a nice hot chocolate kind of quality. I was about to say no chocolate on my right hand, but yes, it is there-- a slight chocolate on the vintage version drydown. Maybe nuttier and richer on the modern formula, with a touch of the tabac blonde vanilla pipe tobacco. I think both versions are absolutely wonderful. The old one seems more floral. I actually prefer the new version.

In my endless search for vintage French perfumes, I ended up finding a bottle of the older formulation that is labeled "Royal Bain de Champagne" vs "Royal Bain de Caron." Not sure what I was expecting, but the first immediate thought I had when I applied this to my skin was "wow this smells like champagne." Super unique and interesting scent - not very strong but I don't think it's supposed to be. Super floral, and maybe the older formulation is different, but it not sweet even slightly. I'm honestly kind of craving a little sweetness... maybe the newer bottles are better, who knows. It's boozy but it reminds me of the dried rose petal salt we'd sprinkle on cucumbers back in Iran. Fun and unique bottle as well, love the Deco style. Definitely dropping a capful in the next time I take a bath (whenever that may be).

This is an oppopanax and benzion heavy hitter. The vanilla and the rose are there and very vaguely the piquant note of lilac. I can detect amber but the sandalwood is very faint. Its slightly sweet but more than that it is sort of creamy. I totally get the similarity with the smell of newly washed hair. I can also see why someone thinks its similar to Geurlain l'instant (it would need more rose) It really has good longevity and moderate sillage. I am using it to layer with other fragrances that are poor on longevity or too strong or too spicey (eg Kenzo L'elephant) to soften and round them. It was so cheap but its smells of luxury. Very nice and so comforting like a big cashmere hug!

Just ordered another bottle after 2001...yes you heard that correct( same bottle for years same smell no spoilage ).....I’m 38 years young now and like then still reminds me of coconut essence champagne ... mixed with 24 karat gold ( if gold had a fragrance I guess )and a lil chandan scented hand rolled Incense on the dry down end....classic beauty ..friend of mine when I was about 16 Silled a lil of hers on a teddy bear I had....how I discovered my love for it silicate and fragrance wise...bear still smelled like Caron for weeks even years ...highly recommend as a blind this is cute on my vanity and a decent all around smell on random days buy....you won’t regret it

Royal Champagne Bath was primarly meant to be a bath water additive or splash. Sort of a posh Jean Nate. The size of the bottles(very large) at a relatively low price point compared to other Caron scents of the day support it's intended usage. It was sold mostly in very large sizes. We also carried some small travel sizes that came in the exact same bottle and label sizes were were sold unboxed. I had male customers who regular purchased the small sized bottle. To me, the beauty of this scent is in the bath.

it is increadibly gorgeous delicious parfume - if i would call it - it smells of "caramel", "bon-bons" "ananas" - it simply say nothing. The smell has a big palitre of notes...it smells delicious, happy, expensive, musky and vanilly. It is also one of Caron's creation which EVERYBODY like without exception (as most of the Caron's scents are not everybody taste - but they ARE ALL trully UNIQUE experience and gorgeous!) I LOVE CARON!!!!

There is something about this perfume that keep me coming back....I am having quite a lot of bottles myself and Royal Bain was always out of my pick but irronically there was also nothing that could make me miss madly. I even went angry on that day when I miss her so much but could not find her anywhere, turned out she was borrowed by my girlfiend (Royal Bain rocks on women too) Arghh!!!

My family is on our second 250 ml bottle over the last 10 years. It is really nice mixed in bath water and I generally like opoponax. Lots of benzoin and lilac as well. This perfume does remind me of a 1980s carpet cleaner powder that I used to use to clean spots out of the carpet growing up as a kid. Without this association I think I would like this even more.

This used to be one of the most beautiful perfumes on the planet, but has been reformulated - and is a shadow of what it used to be. Nevertheless, it still has a charming, powdery touch to it, and the topnotes still speak of champagne and sparkle in the rain... So much better than Flower by Kenzo which copied its structure, and still a very extravagant choice.

My mom has a bottle and it makes me so happy everytime she wears it. One of these days I'll snatch one bottle for myself and enjoy it fully. Truly versatile, beautiful, and signature-scent worthy. I never get tired of it and it is a beautiful scent to wear when you have nothing else to wear. Elegant, classy. Lovely all-rounder!

A classic mother smell. I immediately think of my mom when I smell this, but I am biased because she's owns a bottle that's still not empty! I find myself constantly smelling it. I used this classy, older woman scent all the time as a kid when I play dress up. A very timeless heavenly fragrance. I hope it never goes away.

Мирише на нещо вкусно, на козметика, на релакс, на много неща и същевременно е уникален, страхотна бутилка, това е един от двата Caron, които познавам и искам още. Страхотна трайност.

Comforting floral and vanilla. Often receive compliments when I wear it.

This is a lilac fragrance and that should be the top note.

Oooh, this was a nice find! This was one of those spur of the moment blind buys, you know the ones, you are browsing through an online retailers catalogue and add a couple of things you've been meaning to try to your basket, when you see it "people who bought this also bought..." and it is something you have never heard of, so I thought, sod it, at this rate I may wind up on the streets but at least I'll smell good! Fun bottle, mine is the 125ml splash edt. I mean, it is verging on the tacky, but in a fun way. The scent itself is really beautiful, sweet but not in a gourmand, fruity or sickly way. Elegant, feminine, pretty, gentle, I like this a lot, the only reason it is not a "love" was that I have only just tried it, so need to see how it wears (day off today so it hasn't had a true test run yet!), and because I am less keen on the splash bottle. Ok so I have 125ml, but it isn't the easiest bottle I found I had to basically shake it into my palms and apply, like an aftershave. Except not to my face. But it is not the most efficient. I may decant some into a little atomiser. I tried this in the bath today, added a capful to the water and it did smell lovely and luxurious. Himself even decided to join me ;) so at least it didn't repel him! Left a gentle lingering scent on the skin for about an hour after. I then applied some a la the method described above, and it lasted about 4-5 hours I think. Little hard to say as it turned cool tonight so I put on yesterdays jumper with traces of violet blonde and cabochard on it! This was very nice. Would like in an edp spray. I will be interested to try other Caron scents on the basis of this.

What an odd scent. I don't quite know how to describe it, lilac which gives me a very "old fashioned" vibe, like the charm of lilac bushes sharing their scent through an open, lace curtained window. This perfume feels "shady & cool" despite all of the warm, resinous ingredients. It is a very soft scent on the skin, as previous reviewers have described. I'm really having quite a feeling of nostalgia here, how the cool scent of lilac bushes in the shade melds with resins & vanilla here, I would have expected to be absolutely repulsive! But, it is really beautiful! I'm surprised, & taken aback to be honest. It's dainty, well mannered & old fashioned in the best possible way. Not for everyone, that's for sure. I have a feeling a lot of sweets lovers would not be enchanted by this contrasting elixir, but I'm definitely intrigued enough that I think I want a bottle! It reminds me of simpler days, sunshine, lace & lilacs. Warm skin, a pleasant nap on a crochet pillowcase, this beautiful scent. Delightful! It's very close to the skin, so do not expect sillage here, this perfume is for you. It's definitely for me! I think I want to try it in the bath too. It progresses to a sweeter & softer scent which eventually starts to lose the cold edge of lilac & settles to a delightfully comforting skin scent.

I’m sure this is the new formula since it’s a recently acquired sample. I’ve never smelled the old version, so have nothing to compare it to. The sample vial was labeled Caron Royal Bain de Champagne, but I’m pretty sure it’s the same as the “Bain de Caron” listed here. When I first put it on, I immediately smelled candied violets that seemed very light and ... yes, bubbly and transparent. However, it quickly developed a harsh note that reminded me of paint remover and lasted for about 10 or 15 minutes. After that the scent became gentler and lighter again, like clover, honey, and - something really odd in the sillage. Then it struck me. Banana pudding! The kind they serve in the US South with lots of vanilla, sliced-up grey, mushy, overripe bananas, and soggy vanilla wafers at the edges. It’s absolutely disgusting as a dessert, but in BdC it’s lovely. It’s as if a banana were transformed into a clean, frothy, vanilla and violet flavored mousse without any of the funky aspects of the banana smell. This is an unusual, light, cheerful scent that I think would be nice sprayed on rather than dabbed.

I was wearing Shalimar today. Having showered and readied myself for bed, I decided to try my new beauty, Royal Bain de Caron. My immediate reaction was that I couldn't have done a very good job removing the Shalimar, so I dabbed a little more RBdC on my ankle (not a place I normally bedaub with any cosmetic product, but - well - needs must), left it alone for five minutes, then cautiously sniffed it. It wasn't my imagination; RBdC and Shalimar are definitely similar. They have seven notes in common: opoponax, benzoin, incense, vanilla, rose, musk and sandalwood (according to Fragrantica's list). Not unexpectedly, RBdC is lighter - but if you like Shalimar, there is a good chance you'll like RBdC and I think this will be an alternative to wear during the spring and summer, when my beloved Shalimar is too heavy. Shalimar is sixteen years or so older than RBdC; Wikipedia notes that Jacques Guerlain, like Ernest Daltroff, "frequently incorporated bases produced by M. Naef and the Fabriques de Laire". I would lay money on this being the common DNA.

A pleasant perfume in an evocative bottle that belongs in a guest bathroom in a big old house. Of course you want the 250ml splash. I'll never use all mine before I die as I only splash it on twice or so a year. I like it very much but my fragrance commodity system wants this to be 15 dollars for the 125ml and 20-30 for the 250, like Tabac 300ml bottles are. And many other cologne fragrances that make sense as splashes. I prefer Grey Flannel splash, and a host of Spanish splash colognes. Bain de Caron is so Frenchy powdery and if it goes south, it's to Byzantine churches, not sunny Mediterranean citruses. I LOVE the detail below that this is coveted Voodoo water in Haiti. Quel chic. Of course this is a vanillic Florida Water, and there's nothing pettilant about it. I have struggled sometimes with the tops of these orientals with opoponax & benzoin - looking at you Shalimar - as it often goes to petroleum. But with familiarity the nose doesn't panic rather waits for the good amber vanilla elixir that will arrive.

Given the famous champagne note in this, I tried this out for the first time on an appropriate day: the first of the year. It's terrific in that it has some wonderful notes like opoponax and lilac that you very rarely find these days. It has a great scent that may not be suited to younger tastes, perhaps; but an open mind will show how lovely it is. (It has other notes that are still contemporary of benzoin, vanilla, amber, incense, and rose.) I don't know how the effervescent champagne effect is produced, but it's charming; the rest of this is warm and cozy. Although it is sold in a splash bottle and was supposedly meant to be dissolved in tub water (so you can take a bath in champagne, as the name suggests), you don't really need to do that unless you're feeling indulgent.

This is awfully comfortable. It's sweet, slightly powdery and floral all at once. I'm surprised that this is so inexpensive! Personally, I find this to be of a much higher quality and composition than fragrances of similar compositions. Sometimes, there really is no substitute for the original. I picked up a 250ml bottle (probably enough for a lifetime in my collection). Body heat gives this classic a seductive sillage. I'm sure that this will get any man or woman followed. I love how balanced this is on my skin. None of the notes overpower the others. This would be a pure joy to spray (enter decanting) and I'm glad to have this part of perfume history. This is my gateway to the house of Caron.

The whole story of how I've got this parfume is weird. I was in the shop to try it and the saleswoman instead of spraying it on my wrist, sprayed it in to my eye! I hope, accidentally... She was so sorry, that just has sold me a bottle for 20 Eur. And... I like it. It is so sweet, but the same time bitter. It's very unusual. And I can't stop sniffing myself. I can't tell what exactly unusual in this scent, but it is just not like others. I've worn it already two times and I'm very satisfied with this purchase. Upd. The parfum smells like he doesn't know, what he wants: to be sweet or bitter, angel or devil-like... I love It! It is a part of me and it reflects my individuality so exact.

While I would have loved to smell its original formulation from the 1940s (maybe one day), the newer version still has some charm. I don't use this fragrance like a typical perfume. Indeed it has become part of my bathroom decor, sitting in the coils of my silver snake sculpture. I use a dash of it in my bath water when I want to feel like a Gilded Age hedonist, or run some through my hair to add a little champagne sparkle to my scent of the day. I don't think I'll use it as my solo scent of the day, however, as it seems more like a bath product. For the price ($22 USD for 4 oz), I have no regrets.

This is a sophisticated, classic fragrance. I bought it an used it maybe 5 times over the several years since I have purchased it. For me, it is too powdery. The sandalwood note is very strong and I really am not a fan of powdery scents. I bought it at the time as this was something that my Aunt used to wear and I loved it on her. It was my homage to her. A very mature, classy scent. I would say the Estee Lauder Private Collection is another classic fragrance. This scent also reminds me of Champagne perfume by Yves Saint Laurent, which I cannot find on this site.

After reading Luca Turin's review slamming the modern formulation as a "metallic flower", I got a hold of a vintage 1961 bottle of this fragrance. Comparing it to the current version, it's less sweet (but still pretty sweet) and richer and smoother. It's different, but not very different. They still smell alike - it's not like it's been warped into something unrecognizable or anything - I don't get LT's hate. The vintage "Bain de Champagne" is nice to have, but the modern version is perfectly fine too.

An easy to wear, vintage oriental vanilla. I feel like I have smelled it before—and I’m sure I have—but I can’t place it. Thinking my vial decant is the newer stuff, and I have zero complaints. Can easily imagine acquiring Royal Bain de Caron, quickly becoming a favorite bedtime scent. Overall Royal Bain de Caron projects a kind of clean, powdery trail. Can imagine this smelling good on anyone, and it’s a great budget buy. I also think this is a great gift purchase.

Royal powdery floral vanilla, that's what this perfume is, however I could swear I smell some civet among the ingredients. Therefore, despite all very comforting pleasant sweet notes, Royal Bain is not so easy to wear IMO. But choosing the rigt time, I always find it excellent, specific and so unusual powdery soft. Actually I love it!

A present, modern Bain. It was one of those scents good for my personal days of laughter, because I could smell lemonade when I wore it, and people around me - "something nice, of sweets and cream". Tried vintage. Lemonade with champagne or champagne with lemonade? Nice, I like this scent.

I was a bit dubious about this one at first, now I love it. It's a powerful (more on the feminine side than the masculine side), sweet knockout! I love the longevity and the bottle is quaint too! If I could drink it - I would!!

I like Caron....too. But I didn't like this one. It may be the current formulation, since I haven't tried the vintage. The current one smells too artificial and synthetic to me.

My mother used this when I was growing up. She didn't wear it a lot, but when she did I vaguely remember it as a nice, powdery, floral fragrance, almost like flowery talc. I just received the latest version in a trade and am wondering when it became a milk chocolate bomb? Maybe it is the type of vanilla used, but that's what it smells like to me. I know this was reformulated, but I didn't know it was reformulated into a gourmand. I also don't remember it so heavy on the vanilla either, and it certainly didn't have a synthetic opening. Though I'm disappointed all is not lost because one of my daughters loves gourmands. I'm sure she'll like this after the synthetic top notes burn off.

My general opinion: don't bother. I can be almost an apologist for old Caron parfums, but not this one. I put it on for the first time in at least 7 years and it hasn't gotten any better. It's still a cloying sweet rosy scent that wants to be exotic and oriental, or what passed for oriental in 1923 when it was first launched, but just comes off as crass and almost vulgar. Don't let that champagne bottle imagery fool you; there is nothing here that smells remotely like champagne or even sparkling rosee. And it wasn't considered iconic in the 1940's and 1950's either; it was never a big seller.

I am surprised that I actually dislike this perfume. Based on the scent profile, Bain de Champagne is my dream fragrance: incense, opoponax, benzoin, amber, rose, and lilac––that's everything I love about in a perfume! And it is vintage smelling, which is another element I would've loved. Unfortunately, the scent of Bain de Champagne is suffocating to me, and make me nauseous. This perfume basically smells like a bottle of vintage sweet ambery rose water. It sounds beautiful so I don't understand why I had such a bad reaction to it.

Blind buy for me. It does not smell anything like champagne to me. To my nose, this smells only of rose, incense, and a little bit of amber. This smells like an orthodox Christian church. Not a bad smell, but I bought this mostly for the history and its bottle design.

Royal Bain de Caron for me was a major disappointment. The wonderful champagne design bottle is really nice and fun but beyond that there is not much to say. Too light of a touch and what does touch me is the sweet powder that for me just does not sit right. I like powder in some other scents but not in Royal Bain de Caron The ingredients such as opoponax, benzoin, incense, sandalwood and rose seem like they would create a wonderful old world magic and even majesty but alas it falls short. This was a blind buy for me and usually I have been successful in that endeavor. You have to expect a few disappointments along the way when you blind buy so I will save this for maybe a nice after shower splash. (It really fades fast on me.) and then layer something more to my liking over it. It doesn’t smell bad. It just doesn’t have panache. There is no mystery to this light watery concoction. Two silver stars **

This really does have a brief champagne "sparkle" at the very top that seems to involve honeydew. The middle starts to resemble C. Howard's square violet-flavored candies, which are very unique in their sharply floral smell and taste. Later on, a base of mostly vanilla remains, with a little leather and flowers. This one is too feminine for me, though it might not be for some guys, and a lot of women might like it. I could see the appeal of its "old money" flapper-era nostalgia, not the least in its unique bottle, but I personally couldn't use it; it's just too over-the-top sweet and anachronistic.

A great Oriental Vanilla indeed. Rich, warm, seductive, flirty, heavy, modern-and-the-same-time-old-fashioned. Like a warm hug of a long lost friend. I can't wear it at all, my throat gets thick and a cough alot. If you find it -try it. Its lovely! En ljuvlig Oriental Vanilla. Rik, varm, förförisk, flirtig, tung, modern-men-samtidigt-omodern. som en varm kram från en långväga vän. Jag kan inte bära den alls, halsen tjocknar igen och jag hostar enormt. OM du hittar den - prova den. Den är suverän.

Idk about this. Right out of the bottle it smells like sweet gasoline (bottle produced in 2020). It's mellowing out into a strange dissonant sweet floral. Maybe I need to smell this on someone else or pop it in bathwater.

This was not what I was expecting. A cloud of talcum powder, a wave of sweet vanilla. I was expecting it to be fresh and clean given the name, but it's overpowering and cloying to me. A definite no-go for me.

This was not what I was expecting. A cloud of talcum powder, a wave of sweet vanilla. I was expecting it to be fresh and clean given the name, but it's overpowering and cloying to me. A definite no-go for me.

quite awful. oldish, strange, not pleasant, harsh and synthetic. something between hairspray and insecticide.

Congratulations! We found it! the Worst Smell In The World! It’s that waxy-sweet, old-fashioned scent that makes me think “old lady’s purse” or “cheap old men’s flavored pipe tobacco” or “interior of a jitney cab with tinted glass windows and one of those Little Trees air fresheners and dice hanging over the dashboard” or “seedy dive bar.” It’s the base of a lot of perfumes, old and new; Zibeline and Narcisse Noir land here, and so do Auphorie Miyako and Capsule Troupe and Jo Malone Leather and Artemisia. Kenzo Flower is saturated with it. No two perfumes describe it with the same notes, but it’s unmistakable. Luca Turin calls it “debonair” and thinks of Fred Astaire, but I just find it dismal. Launched in 1923, Royal Bain de Champagne is the ur-form of this smell, on a pedestal by itself with no distractions. Fuck this smell in particular.

Disclaimer: treat all my reviews with a grain of salt because I have an odd chemistry so that there are very few perfumes I can wear successfully. (Amarige, Amarige Mariage, Organza, Opium, Raffinee, and Jo Malone fragrances are some.) I was really hoping for the Voodoo practitioner / good luck vibe, but this stuff smelled like Electrolux carpet cleaner on me. I hoped it would get better, but had some sort of medicinal clove mixture smell that I wanted to wash off. But this stuff is difficult to do so - took two scrubbings, waiting overnight, and then scrubbing again. And rose?!?! What rose?!?! Maybe I got a compromised bottle, but hard pass.

I agree with Stella by Starlight, it is harsh and synthetic, some other reviewer compare it wiht Flower by Kenzo, and I think Flower is much easier to wear then RBC. I bought Royal bain de caron blind and regret it.Awful mess.2/10

Royal Bain de Caron is a clean, soapy, musk & sandalwood scent, with Oriental flash notes but without the heaviness of a traditional Oriental perfume. Some of the reviews here suggest it's a luxurious soap or bath oil. I'm inclined to agree but I would also add that it's a unisex winter fragrance to be worn out in public in the cold months of December through February. I'm in the UK and it's already clearly winter so I reach for my warmer balsamic fragrances to scent my skin & to match my winter wardrobe of scarves, coats & furs. The bottle is shaped like - a bottle. It looks like a bottle of liqueur from the 19th century. Nothing about it is boozy but at times there is something like a rum scent. The previous reviewer was smart enough to detect a similarity to cherry scented vanilla coke. It smells like that or a warm root beer or rum. As such, she is not a dry, dark, introspective, aloof, melancholic or "serious" type of Oriental. She has a sweetness to her and a pleasantness that lingers. Another reviewer also compared it to a bath product for a baby and the "baby head" smell. And who doesn't love that smell? To me the sum of notes of florals, incense, sandalwood, amber wood & vanilla lean towards a clean regal unisex powder for wearing as a comfort and soothing scent in harsh European winters. In this way it does seem to evoke a "Royal Bath", in the classic sense. She is an 17th and 18th century Netherlands, East European or Russian monarch in her steamy bath, attended by her handmaidens who pour the balsamic oils, sandalwood and floral toilet water into her bath. When she emerges from her bath her fragrance is neither rich nor heavy, just as clean and pristine as one should be after a good bath. There was a time when royals & nobles did not bathe daily & there was no such thing as the shower so they had a once-a-year bath ritual. Throughout the year they masked their foul body odor with heavy perfume oil made up of floral water & musk. A fragrance that comes to mind is the old Medieval Hungary Water. The fragrance opens with floral notes of lilac & rose, classic soapy floral smells. I have dozens of lilac & rose scented soaps and this is exactly how it opens. There might be a little unlisted dash of aldehyde but as it lacks in citrus notes it's coming off as a floral toilet water soap fragrance. The florals are not screechy nor heavy as there are only those two notes. Soon, the fragrance becomes smooth clean musk with an incense, opoponax and benzoin. She is not terribly smoky, but one can still detect an incense. The rest of the notes are comprised of sandalwood & amber. I love the sandalwood in this scent. So there you have Royal Bain, it is a very well composed ancient bath scent for royalty. It's almost like something out of the Bible. Balm from Gilead, King David & Solomon's bath, Jewish-Hebraic perfume oil, a gift to the Queen of Sheba. I can't go without mentioning the sweet vanilla & cedar wood which come through in the dry down and turn powdery and pleasant, but not very feminine. I don't think this is a traditional woman's perfume but more a unisex bath product type of perfume. Beautiful, and subtle, warm and comfortable. This is a perfume I will be wearing as the winter lingers along with my other warm fragrances that are perfect for my skin in the cold. I hope Fragrantica editors write & publish an article on special winter time warm fragrances and if they already have, I must have missed it. Royal Bain is at the top of my list of these classic warm fragrances along with Nuit de Noel & Parfum Sacre which has a bigger fan base. This fragrance is as lovely as those 2 aforementioned Caron perfumes however & are all welcome at my home. A beautiful and simple scent of cleanliness and powdery incense. I'm reminded of the old adage: "Cleanliness is next to godliness" This is that kind of smell! So clean and divine, regal, for kings & Popes. And for YOU.

It's always fun to review perfumes from the house of Caron, because everyone knows that everything that anyone says may well be true—about their specific formulation! In this case, my generous vial of ROYAL BAIN DE CHAMPAGNE bears the original name (before the champagne police filed another law suit, or did this one precede CHAMPAGNE/YVRESSE?) and came in a box with the reference/batch #Q6961492 GE. All of this means, of course, that I can blather on with impunity, with no danger of anyone charging me with anosmia, since the likelihood that anyone reading these words has a sample from this very batch is no doubt vanishingly small. With this feeling of liberation to galvanize my spirit, let me begin by saying that I really had no idea whatsoever what this fragrance was about. The original name, to begin with, was all wrong—at least as regards the contents of my vial from batch #Q6961492 GE. Far from evoking images and memories of champagne, this bain would appear to be filled with chopped up leaves of wilted tuberose. It's not really tuberose, I realize, given the notes said to be in the original perfume, but that's what the overall effect is to my nose, a sort of pseudo-tuberose: thick and tuberose-esque without however approaching the heights (and authenticity) of FRACAS or CARNAL FLOWER. Key word here: thick. How can she be detecting a thick pseudo-tuberose note in a fragrance devoid of tuberose? you may ask. Probably in the same way that a monkey sitting in front of a typewriter for an infinite amount of time would eventually produce all of the works of William Shakespeare. Just keep mixing the components up again and again, and forget the recipe, and let someone else throw in his two cents' worth of advice, and then start again, and fiddle some more, and eventually, when all the planets are correctly aligned, a vial drawn from batch #Q6961492 GE will find its way into the hands of a single sniffer, on a day with the right humidity, who has precisely the chemical components in her body created through the digestion of eggplant and garlic sauteed in sesame oil and served with sticky brown rice. That person, and that person alone, will smell pseudo-tuberose in ROYAL BAIN DE CHAMPAGNE, batch #Q6961492 GE. It's not bad, I think, but in order to fairly evaluate this scent, I'll need to try it in a bath. There's no point in complaining that an apple's not an orange, after all. If, as legend has it, ROYAL BAIN DE CHAMPAGNE was composed to be used as a surrogate solution for the champagne with which some wealthy gent scented his baths, then it really must be tested in those waters. I may have to acquire a bottle for that purpose. Do try this at home!