Cabotine

There is no fragrance like Cabotine is. Seriously. It doesn't exist. It is one of the most special and complex masterpieces ever made. The big sadness is that original components didn't remain, they had better longevity. Including a wonderful bottle. Crazy bottle. This is an eccentric miracle. Madame Gres actually approved this fragrance and that is very important. The name means theatrical "poser." Is it theatrical? Oh yes. Right away. With the first smell. Théâtre... Is it poser? Yes. But extremely special. Jean-Claude Delville probably sold his soul to invent this. It opens with wit. Opens with a flash. It flashes! Radiates. With Green notes and ripe fruit, pay attention! Plum! Peach! Very female. Very sensual. Grass! (I would dare to say it's fresh grass note, not overly strong, this is my guess), Orange blossom (ohh yes), Blackcurrant, Tagetes, Cassia, Peach (ripe peach peel), Coriander, Plum (ripe plum, next to skin parts), cassia and wonderful tangerine, which takes you to middle notes. Butterfly Lilly clutches tangerine to enter and stay. It stays till the end. It is wonderful. BTW. Did you count? It opens with 10 notes! Splash of notes. One of the best openings ever in perfume history. Why? Because it fits what follows. It radiates green and transformés into deep brown and white. This is not for simple noses. Why? Because it is a complex perfume asking to be worn by complex women. It is sophisticated to the point of not being predictable. YES! It is not predictable. It will always smell different, different notes from the heart will dance around Butterfly Lilly. It is an extremely witty perfume. This is goddess perfume. Hits you with the magic she wants. It can do anything and it doesn't care do you like it. It can even smell different in one day. It is eternally unpredictable and majestic. The heart of Fragrance is composed of Hyacinth, Tuberose, Carnation, Butterfly Lilly Jasmine, Violet, Ylang-ylang, Freesia, Heliotrope, Iris, Rose merge into base notes. Civet, Vetiver, Black Currant, Musk, Sandalwood, Cedar, Amber, Tonka Bean and Vanilla. Light vanilla. Fits. The bottle, whose stopper was turned into the shape of a flower, was created by Thierry Lecoule. The vintage bottle is beautiful. More beautiful in my opinion. Simple and eccentric. As much as I like to talk about every note separately because I find that important. Knowing plants is crucial to understanding perfumes. If you don't understand the character of, for example, geranium, why wear that perfume? Do people choose so baseless? Detached from the spirit of plants and their own character? Do people know themselves? I hardly believe a person, that knows nothing about notes knows himself. But! I will skip taking all notes. I will only describe the magnificent Hedychium coronarium. Butterfly Lilly is not Lilly! So don't expect Lilly to smell. It doesn't smell like Lilly. And no it's not a similar smell to Jasmine. Have that in mind. It is a FOREST flower! It contains the smell of forest water and soil! Incredible plant. Evergreen plant. Protected plant. Growing in a forest mountains climate, this plant blooms for only a few weeks in fall and winter! Fall to winter, not spring! Special yes. Each flower lives a few hours, which makes it difficult to extract the oil. Dr. Braja Mookherjee, found a way to analyse the oil structure using the living-flower technique, and to copy the fragrance of the ginger lily, which enabled the industrial production. Cabotine is the first perfume which contains ginger lily in its composition. It's a strict composition but feels so loose. Floating. The magic of Butterfly Lilly. There is no other perfume doing that better. It's a theatrical cocktail that addicts you. Wonderful perfume. Is it like that green Dior? Is that the Dior Poison version? No. There is no perfume like this one. Secretive. Eccentric. I warned you. It is the most unpredictable perfume I ever had. And not light perfume! (I wear it for a very long time. Years and years. Having the pré reformulation bottles. Are they better? Longevity is better, rest very similar.) I suggest wearing it not directly after a shower. It behaves great on the hair. Backside head. Behaves interesting if you layer it. Or over body oil. Argan for example. P. S: I suggest testing first. It is not simple in wearing sense. Try first.

I spent a long time thinking about this review in order to say everything I want about this unique fragrance. I blind bought it and recommended it to a friend who lives very far away from me as a blind buy and we are both delighted, but still I wouldn't recommend it as a blind buy for everyone as it is not a fragrance for everyone. The perfumes of the Grés house are different, they are not mainstream, they are not perfumes for a teenager or for a Kardashian type woman . All Grés perfumes have that typical French retro flair that is not admired by the masses, they are sophisticated fragrances for sophisticated women. To understand and appreciate this fragrance, it is beneficial to, if not to study, at least to look at Madame Grés' work and the amazing Greek pleated evening gowns that she designed. You have to give this perfume the situation and circumstances to stand out properly and Cabotine shines the best with a similar type of dress as madame Grés was designing. It is suitable for an elegant dress or flowy blouse. You have to wear proper makeup. This is not parfume for leggings or jeans. This perfume has so many aromatic accords that looking at the list makes you think, wow, what's not in here? We can find black currants, currant leaves, coriander, plums, tangerines, peaches, citrus, jasmine, hyacinth, ylang-ylang, freesia, cloves, tuberose, roses, irises, violets, musk, sandalwood, amber, tonka bean, vanilla, vetiver and the specialty of that perfume Himalayan ginger lily which was used in this perfume for the first time ever. This fragrance is green, fresh, full of white flowers with a little fruit, aldehydic, it is the smell of freshly cut grass, the smell of laundry washed in a mountain stream, dried in a meadow full of flowers. There is something buttery, fresh, invigorating, sparkling and French about it. I don't know what else to call it :-) I believe that lovers of french perfumes understand what I mean by the word something French :-) The perfume is strong, long-lasting and sharp, it needs time to develop, at the beginning, right after you spray it, it's like someone slames you with a huge white bouquet and you don't know what to think, but after an hour it develops and softens. It is suitable for every season, but especially for spring, but I can also imagine it in summer and winter. Cabotine is a name for an wandering actress from the end of the 19th century, and that's what Cabotine should be, it's for different types of women, a young woman could pull it off, her mother can pull it off and her grandmother can pull it off too. Cabotine can change her faces, but it's still a fragrance for a woman who understands and appreciates perfumes. It is not the type of perfume for a woman who owns only one perfume and wears it with every outfit, for every occasion and in every season. This perfume needs to be staged. As for the bottle, it's amazing and kitsch stylish, the juice is yellow-green, rich, just like the fragrance. The broccoli-shaped top is iconic and I hope they NEVER change it. Cabotine has been compared to the discontinued green Tendre Poison, and indeed they are quite similar, however Cabotine is definitely not a knock off of Tendre Poison. Cabotine was launched in 1990 and Tendre Poison fou years later in 1994. And finally, Dior took Tendre Poison out of production, as it didn't sell that well and Cabotine still lives on, perhaps that says it all.

Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen - Ladies specially, because this review is for you. I could not write about this little fragrance without any amount of affection because it lives in my heart. And it is with affection that I say "little" as something cute, delicate, in my humble opinion. When I was a teen in the early 90's there was this cologne in Brazil named after "Spirit of Flowers" by O Boticário. Later, I found out it was an obvious copy of Cabotine which had been recently launched and became a hit because it would match the usual warm weather and due to its price. I wore the national copy due to being more affordable, and some time later, I tried Cabotine and knew it was much, much better and finely crafted. As O Boticário has always had this horrid habit to simply take successful fragrances out of market, regardless of their faithful clients, I knew one day I would be orphan of my beloved Spirit of Flowers. (And it happened quite soon). However I also knew one day I would be holder of a lovely and cute bottle of Cabotine, with its gentle, exquisite and captivating spirit. The true spirit of flowers. I had - as I have - never felt a fragrance like this. And I say "felt" meaning my senses and my emotions. It deepens my breath in order to feel all those flower notes, closes my eyes so nothing disturbs us and makes my imagination and memories drift and fly. Perhaps Cabotine is poetry in liquid form. Or maybe a magic potion to the spirit. One might be transported to an ethereal garden where spring is the constant and eternal season, or simply thrown back in their most fantastic childhood dreams. Heaven only knows. (Heaven; what an appropriate word now). I read the review of Ms. Mooniq where she said the eau de parfum was better than the eau de toilette. I agree. It is concentrated enough to last over half a day or a night. I confess I like to wear it to bed. It relaxes me. For those who are considering Cabotine as their next acquisition, my advice is the usual: try it on skin before buying. Spray it lightly from some distance and wait a few good seconds until it dries. Then smell it. When worn in the correct way, Cabotine will not annoy you or even others. It is actually a compliment getter. It delivers a light green floral atmosphere with delicate fruity notes. A true masterpiece by the house of Grès. I would say Cabotine appeals to that gentle side of us. One of my aunts, who is also my godmother, is addict to it. She is a small woman with a kind personality. There could not be a better choice for her. For those who consider a blind buy, I say: okay. It is a beautiful fragrance and it is quite probable that you will like it. (Remember my advice when trying it on skin). If you do not, or if it simply does not work on your skin, you will have a nice gift to someone else. But someone who really likes floral notes. I highly recommend it.

One must have a mind of winter to understand the scents that memory conjures. This thought occurred to me the other afternoon, a silvered, gloomy afternoon, as I contemplated two glass bottles. My curiosity had been pricked by the comparisons between the darling, Cabotine, and that elusive ghost of a perfume, Dior’s Tendre Poison. So, I did what any sensible person haunted by such a notion would do: I acquired the former, an Eau de Parfum no less, and resolved to settle the matter myself. Well. The chatter, was correct. They are identical. Or nearly so. To distinguish one from the other is like trying to separate the reflections in a looking glass; a futile, rather dizzying exercise. The same heart beats in both bottles. And yet, where the common consensus—that tiresome chorus!—declares them to be the very breath of spring, I find myself transported to a different season entirely. On my skin, Cabotine does not whisper of dewy petals; it speaks in the richer, more complicated dialect of December. It is the scent of a fur coat, damp with cold, as one steps indoors from a snowy street. It is the faint, buttery, almost animalic scent of a face cream from another era—a whisper of musc and civet that speaks of vanity and warmth. It is the very aroma of Christmas presents heaped under the tree: not the generic smell of pine, but the specific, secret smells of the gifts themselves. Of a polished orange in the toe of a stocking, of walnuts cracked on the hearth, of a new box of crayons, and of gingerbread, spicy and dark, from a kitchen window. As I noted once before, in a moment of similar clarity regarding Tendre Poison, this fragrance is not a romance; it is a reassurance. It is the enveloping, uncomplicated hug from one’s mother, or perhaps a favorite kindergarten teacher. It feels vintage, which in today’s world of screeching, ephemeral concoctions, is a profound and welcome relief. And its longevity! It clings to the skin, this Cabotine, with the tenacity of a true story. It is, I am almost sorry to say, rather better at outlasting its more expensive, high-end cousins. A fact which I am sure would cause no end of delicious consternation.

This is what happiness smells like! 🍀 A girl in her mid forties who is sometimes still mistaken for late twenties to early thirties has new aches and pains now. Her joints hurt a little more, okay, a lot more, and she notices herself changing. She sees the small beginnings of "crape paper skin" developing as she looks at her once perfectly smooth arms. She traces a finger over them, wondering, "When did that happen?" She moves a little slower now as she takes her leisurely evening walks because her knees and back like to "playfully" remind her they are there with little bursts of surprises catchs and aches. She hasn't been bicycle riding all summer due to those mischievous knees of hers she muses, as she thinks of how much she misses it. One day, when she is watering her porch garden of flowers, she realizes that no matter how spare the flowers petals become with the sun and winds, the smell is just as beautiful! Getting older is like that. It doesn't change your scent. This perfume is that scent. It is the scent of youthful clover mixed with laughter. The scent of changing but staying the same. A scent some would call old upon first glance, but once they inhaled it they would realize no matter the age there is nothing old about it! This scent is a girl who is not middle age, her age just happens to be somewhere in the middle now. The scent is a girl in her mid forties who still plays like the child at heart she is when her knees behave well. This scent is giddily sniffing all the flowers and all the petals are beautiful, "crape paper" sun and wind kissed or not! 😊 Youthful happiness in a bottle!