Câline

Patou's *Caline* (vintage parfumerie exoticism to the MAX) was one of those rare fragrances I kept for special occasions back in the 1980's, not only was it extremely expensive but most times just downright difficult to locate, even if you did indeed have the funds ready to go 'lol' it was definitely one of a kind for sure. I remembered the exotic floral heart of the usual suspects plus rarer absolutes of carnation, frangipani & cyclamen, just one drop of the parfum would last for hours on skin and a lifetime on fabric, seriously potent in extrait concentration, it really was so very special sadly I can't bring myself to search for this now as I fear the intervening years may have been too unkind to the few bottles offered in scant online auctions such as eBay and elsewhere, the memories still remain of a rare fragrance that hopefully one day will be re-invented if or when the archives & their formulas from Patou are again put back into production, I'm not holding out for this to happen, sadly. As a side note I knew a couple many moons ago where he wore *Patou pour Homme* and the lady of the house wore (you guessed it) *Caline* it was a match made in heaven, by all accounts and I believe fragrance has the power to transport one almost anywhere in the universe, known or imagined!!! Just a thought folks!!! Merci & Heartfelt Thanks to Monsieur Jean Patou, Your legacy will endure, there is no doubt to that, "Un genie de la Vie et du Luxe"...

Câline was geared toward the teenage gal of the swinging sixties: goodbye poodle skirts and hello mods with minis. But you could've fooled me, as following a smattering of this golden juice on the back of my hands and a jaunt to grab coffee, I was complimented on my "classy cologne." One could be forgiven for thinking at first sniff that Câline is a demure aldehydic soft charm for the finishing school sect, but no sooner than we are greeted by this ray-of-sunshine Pollyanna do we find that the honey gets thicker, the florals have a little more to say that "I'm pretty, I'm witty, I'm gay!" There's a more complicated angle to this West Side Story: there are Sharks and Jets among the roses and jasmine. Of course, since this is a Jean Patou, it feels near immaculate, and mossy, dusky dry down is nothing less than bliss.

I was fortunate to win a coffret of this, Moment Supreme and Amour Amour - same bottle as the pic - for an amazing price (the seller emailed me about how fed up he was). I'm not a Patou fan as it seems flighty and insubstantial - both my vintage Joy are consumed by my skin in moments. But Caline is a monster, the neroli aldehydic top notes wrapped in a musky light shawl that keeps it from being boring.

Hmmm...I put this on today for the first time. Not super appealing straight from the bottle sniff, so it took me a while to get to it. But several scents have blown me away after just that sequence of events. This is not one of them. From the notes and my love of Patou, this should ring every bell for me. Instead I smell soap. Pleasant, light, clean fresh floral with a hint of spice soap. It does smell like a scent for a young 16 y.o., but not a young girl of today. More like what would have been given to my generation at that age, and it would have been possible given I was 9 when it came out. Though I'm not sure anyone in my family or world had even heard of Patou at the time. As far as I know our awareness of Joy came decades later, we weren't exactly keeping up with French parfums in my midwestern suburb. I have learned to not despise a soapy scent, and this is pleasing in its way. It would be more of a summer scent, and definitely not when you are feeling seductive. I'll try it again next summer. It is surprisingly long lasting for an edt and such a light one at that. Cyclamen is rather an odd floral note, I don't remember being fond of their scent and that is quite likely what I'm not preferring about it. It is interesting though and quite different from today's scents and actually, most vintage too.

Since I have been collecting modern Patou's I thought I should venture into vintage waters w/ what has become my favorite design house. This came out the year my husband was born so I thought I will start w/ this. And I can say this was a good year. I like this one a lot. It starts off very aldehydic combined w/ bright citruses. Then the florals become soapy and mild w/ a slight woody effect. This is a very clean fragrance but in an old school way. I was a little girl when fragrances like this one were still popular but you didn't smell them on adults, I remember smelling fragrances likes this one on teenage girls on the bus when I was in grade school. It is similar to Jean Nate but classier and more expensive smelling. Jean Nate always smelled a bit dish soap to my nose. Caline is clean, bright, youthful and timeless in my mind. I don't see why this wouldn't work for today even for the younger crowd. If a teen wore this today they would get noticed because it is so different from the gourmands and syrupy sweet fruity scents and god awful aquatics they wear today. I may have to get some back ups of this mini or even a full bottle. I can see myself wearing this a lot, especially in the hot weather we have been having this summer.