Casaque

The version I had was Jean D'Albret BUT it was sold at the Orlane counter, I would have purchased it in the mid to late '70's. This is the perfume of my 20's. I fell in love with the bottle in the blue box, the overwhelming sweetness and lush floral bouquet, the delicate softness and its femininity. What fragrance could have been prettier than this one, a rose garden drenched with rain...I was in love with this, the scent of it sent me into raptures! As I got older I abandoned this as a young fragrance, and will regret forever not having stockpiled a few boxes for later in life. I found one on eBay which is the real thing (at around 10 times what I would have paid in the '70's) and I am using it very sparingly. Don't bother with the Long lost version, you'll probably find the Fragranceshop has a half decent replica including their dry oil body spray and shower gel. I layer these products and then finish off with a dab of the real thing, and voila, I'm transported to the possibilities and magic of my youth!

Thank you very much for adding this, the original Casaque. Back in the seventies, it was one of my first pure perfumes, and I'd give anything to smell it again. It was the most beautiful powder-based floral scent I've ever encountered, completely unique and memorable but still very much an understated, womanly classic. I have racked my brains to come up with something current that is similar, but this was one of a kind. If you love rich, powdery ultra-feminine vintage florals and ever come across a bottle of pure perfume, grab it immediately!

This is from a very old bottle of eau de toilette of Casaque with a solid shining-gold-tone impressed label: Spicy opening with citruses, drying down to honeysuckle and hyacinth and other flowers that I cannot identify, with a background of a little sandalwood and civet. This edt is not powdery but refreshing - I love it and will hunt for another when this supply begins to run out!

Casaque is a bright, feminine fragrance best for daytime wear. Very citrusy with lots of lemon. The florals I get are primarily hyacinth at first and jasmine later. Very natural-smelling. The impression I get is jasmine green tea with lemon so it's great for spring and summer. Too pretty for me to imagine George Sand in drag. 😉

This is such a lovely, soft floral. I’m sitting next to a vase with cut hyacinth, and it’s not easy to tell which waft is Casaque and which is the plant — it’s that subtle. It makes me feel like I have all the time in the world. Wonderful.

@Forbiddenjade - George Sand (Amantine Dupin) was a celebrated French novelist, a literary critic and in her time far more popular than Victor Hugo...she wasn’t just Chopin’s “live in lady”.

So many floral notes! I get rose and gardenia and more. Reminds me of Giorgio without the spicy bite. I have a tiny vintage tester bottle and will wear it again.

This was for first scent as thirteen year old. Soft, floral, powdery, modest.

For those interested, I managed to find the original notes of this fantastic scent, and some information regarding the story of this iconic frangrance - from Cleopatra's boudoir (the blog specialising on finding reliable information about vintage perfumes, and their original notes). Top notes: aldehydes, bergamot, honeysuckle, hyacinth, lemon, orange, mimosa Middle notes: jasmine, lily of the valley, narcissus, ylang ylang, Bulgarian rose, lilac, gardenia, iris, lily, tuberose, nasturium, geranium Base notes: Iralia, East Indian patchouli, musk, sandalwood, civet Story: Casaque was launched in 1951, originally created for Georges Sand who (remember?) was Chopin's live-in lady. She wanted vibrance, mystery and a touch of the Orient - just like today. The familiar urn shaped bottle debuted in 1952. This bottle has a glass stopper, but can also be found with screw caps. The deluxe parfum flacon was much more ornate, made up of clear crystal with frosted details, and was housed inside of a luxurious velvet coffret which could double as a jewelry box. Variations of the urn flacon include those with and without a pedestal. These bottles were used from the 1950s to the 1970s and were known as the "Empire Presentation" by the Jean d'Albret company. Discontinued in 1977 when the Jean d'Albret business closed. The company was acquired by Orlane who released Casaque under their own name around 1977/1978. The perfume was finally discontinued in the mid 1980s. The trademarked name Casaque was acquired by Irma Shorell, Inc/Long Lost Perfumes in 1999 and the company had released their own recreated version of the perfume, changing noticeably its notes. These are the notes post 1977 production: Top notes: hyacinth, lemon and bergamot. Middle notes: jasmine, lily of the valley, carnation, orange blossom and roses. Base notes: musk and sandalwood. Let's not make everything about feminism. I reported a story @Annabear, not even mine (!) and was not seeking to advocate for women's rights with that. Wrong focus.

George Sand died, age 71, in 1876. If Casaque was created in 1951, It could not have been made 'for' George Sand. She was an incredible personality, writer, and free-spirit, so perhaps she was the inspiration for the scent. But, Casaque is a lovely, soft floral. It does not seem like the sort of scent that would be inspired by the cigar-smoking, cross-dressing, politically left-wing, Paris Commune activist, rule-breaking iconoclast and best-selling author that was George Sand. And her list of known lovers of both sexes is much, much longer just Chopin, whose funeral she did not bother to attend.

Parfumo has the notes as: Aldehydes, Bergamot, Carnation, Hyacinth, Jasmine, Lily-of-the-valley, Mimosa, Musk, Rose, Sandalwood, Ylang-ylang, Lemon. From the EdC I'm getting mostly a "dirty" floral.