20 Carats

Thank you for adding this! 20 Carats eau de cologne was my mother's signature fragrance for as long as I can remember. I think she wore it starting in her teenage years, and she always had a bottle with the gold flakes floating in it (it looked just like the one pictured above), and the bath powder as well, on her vanity. For the longest time, that was the only fragrance she wore, the 20 Carats and cigarette smoke (this was in the 1960s, before women were told not to smoke during pregnancy) aura that wrapped around her, day and night. She once told me that when she was pregnant with my brother, her cravings were not for a type of food but for saturating herself in 20 Carats, and incessant smoking of cigarettes. The consequences of this are that my brother has had asthma and allergies all of his life, and my mother, feisty though she is, has emphysema and carries portable oxygen with her, always. She no longer smokes, but she also no longer wears fragrance because she is scared that she might not be able to breathe. On the good side, her sense of taste came back. She was and is as mysterious (and often as frustrating) as her zodiac sign, which is Pisces. The beautiful, ornamental fish tempts and calls you to come closer to adore and contemplate its cold beauty, and then as you draw near to exclaim how fascinating it is to behold, it splashes you in the face with water from a powerful swish of its tail, and it swims away, taunting you. My mother is very much like her zodiac sign! I digress. She still doesn't know that when I was wee little, I would reach up for her bottle of 20 Carats and take the occasional tiny sip. I never wore it, but I have tasted it. 20 carats was a spicy, slightly floral scent and the only way that I can describe it (from memory) is that 20 Carats is the stepping stone to Ispahan, and then from Ispahan to Opium. Picture a lady from 1963, with a teased, bouffant-y type hairdo holding a daiquiri in one hand and a cigarette in the other, with the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim playing on the Heathkit Hi-Fi. And she is NOT giving out her secrets! This is a 20 Carats woman, and this is my mother. It smelled heavenly on her, rich yet light, alluring and compelling you to come closer, yet at the same time demanding that you admire her from a distance. The first fragrance that she gave me was a cute little bottle of Ambush, and she instructed me on how to dab it behind my ears, and to keep it out of sunlight. She told me "you're a floral girl" whereas she was an Oriental (perfume type) because she could wear easily the heavier, spicier scents. In the 1970s she decided to branch out a bit, and occasionally wore the original Zen by Shiseido, Shalimar (absolutely stunning on her), and the Germaine Monteil fragrance (Royal Secret), along with her beloved 20 Carats. 20 Carats underwent a reformulation, either in the late 1970s or early 1980s (My memory is fuzzy on that. But after that reformulation, it soon disappeared forever). The sales ladies at Abraham & Straus told her that it had been "modernized" and oh was she upset! Opium had recently debuted and she decided that Opium would from then on be her signature (you would laugh if you heard both of us grumbling about how our signatures were ruined; her beloved 20 Carats and my beloved Anais Anais). I think she had a brief flirtation with Hypnotic Poison, too. I'm sorry that I can't give more insight into how this perfume actually smells, it has literally been around 40 years or so since I've smelled it, but I came pretty close the other day when I received a bottle of Ispahan (I think it's the original formula) and sampled that. 20 Carats would have been a bit lighter, with just a tiny bit more floral and with the vetiver and whiskey notes. Very similar sensations,at least to me. Well, I need to get back to my studies, and my dogs are patiently waiting to be fed. Thanks for reading my ramblings, and thanks again for adding this lovely perfume to the database!

Dana 20 Carats vintage cologne splash. A beautiful citrus with feminine whiskey cherry tobacco opening. Tobacco these days is so masculine. Here it definitely has a foreign feminine floral edge. This is a fragrance for a DAME! An opulent release to help soothe the women coming out of the austerity of the great depression and WWII. I can see its cache in the swinging 60s, but 20Carats belongs back in the 40s. Its well put together, structured and quality. Today, if you bottled it differently, it would be an exotic niche. Top notes: bergamot, cherry, orange, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and aldehydes Middle notes: heliotrope, carnation, rose, jasmine, lavender, herbs, fern, myrrh, frankincense Base notes: sandalwood, ambergris, oakmoss, tonka, musk, balsam, tobacco, patchouli, vanilla, benzoin and vetiver Just to note for collectors/time travelers : There is a lotion that was made in mexico with a white bakelite cap. It is very smooth and mild. The cologne made in the USA is stronger with the silver cap. Both have gold flakes in the formulation. Later editions (1980s) do not have the gold leaf. It was marketed as a female fourgere. Males can rock this easily. Complete contraband according to the current IFRA standards. And how sweet it is to wear.

20 Carats EDP opens with what reminds me of the aroma of an Old Fashioned, complete with orange peel and maraschino cherry, eventually transforming into more a cherry tobacco and carnation, seasoned, spiced, and muddled with myrrh and benzoin. Smooth and boozy, this could at first be easily mistaken for a 21st niche style amber perfume, but some of that mid-20th century glamour puss muskiness and mossiness billows through in a way that would be hard to match today. The dry down is a superb sweet-smoky, tobacco-tinged cinnamon musk, lusty and heady, reminding me of all the aspects of lit a cigarette that is pleasant, aromatic, without the foul-choke-cough inducing aspects—so many buried memories surface any time the smell of cigarettes comes up, as bittersweet as it is. Warm and enveloping, it's less vampy than its sibling Tabu, showing some restraint while responsibly indulging in some hedonism. .

It smells like ginger ale. From the spicy kick at the outset, I find it full of smoke and champagne bubbles, equally light and transparent without being heavy. Warm, but with a cold and merciless light like a diamond. Sour, sweet notes released by the crystallization of sugar, revealing a cinnamon, carnation and patchouli-resin base. In an instant, it was like going back to the era of "The Great Gatsby" and participating in high society parties. Ambre Russe (Parfum d'Empire) turned out to be based on 20 carats, added more cinnamon, filled with a lot of amber, and enlarged to make a tower. In addition, special effects such as smoke are further amplified to make them more intense.

This is a vintage scent that repackaged today, would come across as a quality niche. Everything is blended so well in 20 Carats, that this perfume wears like a beautiful amber with depth: I pick up genuine oakmoss with resins, spices and tobacco. And it’s glorious. A wearable vintage perfume, with zero aldehydes. 20 Carats is smokey smooth, a little boozy and a big love. I immediately went onto eBay looking for a vintage bottle. I could not find the “Vintage cologne spray, yellow "metal/plastic" bottle with an aerosol spray nozzle” mschnabel666 described, but I will keep looking.