Cabotine Gold

Cabotine Gold immediately broke into my heart, unlike the original Cabotine that had to woo me insistently. Its vivid and dazzling notes have kidnapped my senses at the first sniff, perhaps thanks to the similarity with Coco Mademoiselle that I cherish. Without changing the bottle shape, but just the colour, Gold comes with a flask decorated with a golden floral motif. The well-known Cabotine cap is of bright champagne, and so is the juice inside. Well, I don’t know if Gold is allegedly a flanker of the original. Still, for sure, they share nothing, being Gold an excellent fragrance with a flowery oriental touch, nothing green, herbal, or too tuberous here. Gold caresses my skin with an explosion of boozy and sour tones. The pulpy mandarin orange of the top notes is uplifting and plays with the perfect touch of irreverent patchouli that doesn’t want to wait its turn and pushes hard. Then, a spicy and fruity accord soon joins that concoction, pink pepper crumbles over very ripe succulent melon, a tad fleeting. It is spicy, but in the right measure, with the gentleness of the pink peppercorn and not too much to kill other notes. The dark patchouli calms down as a sweeter, creamier accord elevates. The initial stage is fresh, fruity, and citrus, the fruit giving off a spring vibe. It is incredibly magnetic. A few minutes pass, and suddenly the voluptuous white floral aspect blooms; there is mellifluous jasmine that dances cheek to cheek with the Tiare flower while the biting pink peony watches the dance from the backstage. The aroma is not all too sweet, instead is soapy; the presence of the darkened base notes harmonized the overall bouquet. Here we have a middle stage full of blossoms. As the perfume continues to develop softened patchouli with warmer tones of amber grow, sweet and gold amber not akin to ambroxan or any other modern molecules, with a perfect earthy touch of dry vetiver; it takes a virile turn on the dry down because of vetiver. The more the perfume develops, the softer and more creamy it becomes, while still following in the footsteps of Coco Mademoiselle. Gold is more citrus though, perhaps with enhanced jasmine, and it tones the patchouli down; it isn’t so overwhelming that it drowns out everything else, though. The similarity between Gold and Coco does not make a clone of one another, yet puts the two fragrances in the same ballpark. Slightly resembles Coco Mademoiselle, but I wouldn’t call it a dupe. Gold warms with beautiful amber and becomes ever so lightly sweet and sour. I find Gold crisp, light, appealing, and sweetly understated. It has distinct layers; the scent changes over time and is unisex all the way. If a man wears it, it would be a sparkling, clean, masculine scent. Highly recommended for warm seasons like spring and summer, perhaps it could work on summer evenings and nights out. It is light, harmless, perfect to wear anywhere and anytime, whether in the office or in your free time. Underrated, cheap, but of excellent quality! Silage is decent here, it projects moderately, but is not a room-killer. If you like Coco Mademoiselle, and you’re looking for a softer and lighter version, this is for you. This review bases upon a 100ml (3.4 Fl. oz) I own since July 2019.

After being delighted by my blind buy of Gres Cabotine Vivide, my first of the Cabotine line, I did not hesitate another blind purchase on Gold. At less than $20 for 3.4 oz I figured no big loss if I hated it. I always thought I had expensive taste but apparently, and thankfully, When it comes to Gres Cabotine, that's not always the case. So far, I'm completely happy. I find the Gold, crisp, light, appealing, and sweetly understated. Sillage is light with a soft dry down and average longevity on me. I feel well put together and "complete" when I put on. It lifts my mood and makes me want to go out and meet people. I find it a cheery, bright, and upbeat frangrance but in a classic, clean, sophisticated way. I agree that it's well suited to warm Spring and Summer, sunshiny days. Gorgeous bottles is half my motivation for collecting, and I just adore the Cabotine's rosette themed bottles, and that there are SO MANY variations on the theme, allowing for an individually unique boquet of bottles on the shelves of adoring fans. The Gold bottle and rosette is just as sweet and lovely as the others. I'm getting enough enjoyment from my first 2 blind buys that today, I'm going for my 3rd, Floralie. I suspect Rose, and Rosalie, (the main character of a beloved childhood book) will follow the next time I allow myself such a treat.

My second blindbuy from Grés and thank God, not another confusing experience like Cabotine Gres! I agree with previous comments that it's very much like Coco Mademoiselle. But I definitely wouldn't call it a copycat/ cheap version of CM. It's very lovely and unique on its own and honestly I prefer this much more than CM. I get peppery hints at first, which I really like and then it turns into a softer floral scent with hints of melon. But it doesn't turn overwhelmingly fruity, very well-balanced. This would be a perfect fragrance for spring/summer but I don't mind using it at winter at all.

Wearing this for the second time, and again I have this nagging feeling. Why do I know this scent? Looking it up here, on Fragantica, gave me the answer: it has a lot in common with Coco mademoiselle. But.... not everything. This perfume is much more friendly than Cm, it stays closer to my skin, but is has the somewhat earthy base in common with Cm. Makes me feel calm and confident. Now the nagging feeling has gone, I am starting to like it more and more. But it has nothing to do with the green Cabotine (gold is my first Cabotine flanker).

Does it smell similar to Coco Mademoiselle? No. At least not to me. Actually, it reminds me of another (old) perfume which I can't pinpoint right now. I can smell alcohol in the top notes, but only for a few seconds, just until the scent settles down on my skin. To me it smells kinda festive, like New Year's Eve (of course, it might be the memories this perfume evokes, as it reminds me of another perfume). I love this cold sparkling scent! Yet another successful blind buy.