Calandre

Calandre is part of the classics of the brand. By the way, when you access the company's official website, that's where you'll find it. It was created in 1969, which means it is almost 50 years old and has much history to tell. Incidentally, speaking of history, some say that its bottle was inspired by the United Nations Headquarters, with its wide windows on straight columns, reinforcing the urban and architectural concept of pure lines, using glass and metal. But there are controversies: some say that Paco met with Pierre Dinand (creator of the bottle) and told him that he wanted to evoke a couple having sex in a car. At the time, Dinand protested, saying it was quite uncomfortable and they would need a big car, a Rolls Royce, for example. Then, after studying the design of the car and the concept of sex on the hood, they took as inspiration the front grille of the radiator, which in French is called Calandre. The perfumer was Michel Hy, creator of classics of an era, such as Rive Gauche (1971), Mademoiselle Ricci (1967), Ivoire de Balmain (1980), among others. Obviously, after almost five decades, it has undergone reformulations and the raw materials are no longer the same. In addition, Calandre was sold in Eau de Parfum concentration and is currently manufactured as Eau de Toilette. It has aldehydes, bergamot and green accord, in the output. In the body, it has notes of jasmine, iris root, lily of the valley, rose, geranium and hyacinth. To finish, the base features notes of sandalwood, amber, musk, vetiver and oak moss. Calandre was born to break rules: its bottle was very innovative for a feminine fragrance of that time. And the perfume could not be different: a metalized rose with a powdery nuance (typical in the perfumes of the 70's) and avant-garde style, of absurd projection and also durability. I remember this fragrance in the late 80's and I can see much resemblance to what is sold in the market today. But of course, we can not compare the absurd potency of before with the moderate of nowadays. On the skin, it opens floral and dated, very old school, with powdery nuances very present. Over time, a metallic content fuses with the rose and opens space for a balsamic and mossy base, which permeates throughout the evolution. The barrier between feminine and masculine ends in the blink of an eye and, for this reason, Calandre has always been highly praised by men over the years. As the competition always existed, in 1971 Michel Hy was involved in the creation of Rive Gauche, for the house of YSL. They are really similar, but the latter is much more floral and feminine, in my opinion. Calandre resisted the time, the changes in the fashion and the market and remained faithful - as possible - to which it always represented in the perfumery universe. And remains beautiful, elegant, gender-bender and with reasonable projection and high durability. On my skin, at least, it lasts about ten hours. If there is a double-edged sword in the perfumery, which is pointed and sharp, it is called Calandre.

Paco Rabanne Calandre: (GREEN/MOSSY CHYPRE FAMILY) I have really wanted to try this perfume for a very long time,after reading that Joanna Lumley absolutely adore's both YSL Rive Gauche & Paco Rabanne Calandre,& YSL Rive Gauche is actually my ALL time favourite signature perfume!! So when I saw Calandre being sold in my favourite online perfume outlet at a really good price I had to buy it!! Have now been wearing Calandre for three day's in a row & have received SOooooooooooooo many compliments already it's unreal & I can honestly say that I also absolutely adore it!! This indeed is very very similar to YSL Rive Gauche,from the very first spray that touches your skin all the way through to the dry down!! (MY MOTHER ACTUALLY THOUGHT I WAS WEARING MY SIGNATURE YSL RIVE GAUCHE) & like myself she has a really good perfume nose!! They actually could very much be twin sisters in this (GREEN/MOSSY CHYPRE FAMILY) The only slight difference I can tell between them is that Calandre seems to be slightly lighter or more transparant where as Rive Gauche is more richer deeper & darker etc!! I now can fully understand why Joanna Lumley absolutely loves them both,& indeed why she use's them!! for both their aroma's is just outta this world,& the way they both linger around the wearer is amazing,leaving the most gorgeous aroma behind you when you leave a room!! The staying power of Paco Rabanne Calandre is absolutely fantastic too & deffo on power with YSL Rive Gauche,actually can both smell them still on my skin the next day after wearing them!! Im really so pleased that I now have Calandre firmly in my perfume collection,& yes I deffo will be buying this absolute beauty from now on along with my YSL Rive Gauche!! So if like me, you absolutely adore YSL Rive Gauche then you deffo must add Paco Rabanne Calandre to your perfume collection & see what you think about it also.

After hearing about the death of the great Paco Rabanne, I was inspired to go through my collection of vintage miniatures to hunt out some classics from the brand. I don't think much of modern PR offerings, but this and La Nuit - the perfumes I found - are both underrated gems. La Nuit is an excellent floral chypre, while Calandre is a rich green aldehydic floral. Predating classics of the genre, namely YSL Rive Gauche and Chanel No. 19, Calandre is just as good, if less celebrated. It closely resembles my vintage parfum version of Rive Gauche - a rich, dense-but-dewy green aldehydic floral. I adore the relaxed 1970s vibe of such scents. My Calandre dates from the 1990s, and despite the dark colour of the liquid, it remains bright, with most top notes intact. Calandre opens with dewy green notes, sap-like and damply fresh. There is a slight herbal quality here. Aldehydes add soapiness, giving a clean masculine feel to the opening. Powdery florals follow, enhanced by the green undertone. Lily-of-the-valley leads the way, with soft, powdery iris as a melancholic counterpoint. Sap-like hyacinth adds a vintage-style edge to the bouquet while geranium enhances the herbal component. The drydown is earthy and mossy, tending towards chypre territory with woody notes adding depth. A soft muskiness emerges as it fades, with powdery florals remaining as it becomes a skin scent. Sillage and longevity are moderate. Green from initial spray until final fade, Calandre is beautifully balanced - airy yet dense, powdery yet dewy, punctuated by its greenery and relatively subtle use of aldehydes. Feminine-leaning, but perhaps unisex by today's standards, it is an ideal springtime scent, expertly composed. Objectively excellent, Calandre also happens to be tailored to my personal taste. Green genius. 5/5.

I have the new formulation of Calandre EDT. I bought it after reading reviews on how it resembles on vintage Rive Gauche (new Rg is my signature). Well, I don't know original Calandre but I assume this new perfume must be different from the vintage. At the initial spray it really reminds me of RG, it has that slightly sharp, metallic feeling to it that I love so much. But on my skin, Calandre becomes very quickly a beautiful, very easy-to-wear green fragrance that is musky and powdery a bit, I even dare to say sweet (but by no means the way recent mainstreem fragrances smell sweet). There's not too much cool or metallic or old-school feeling here anymore, it's rather juicy and also reminds me faintly on the sadly discountinued Envy by Gucci (maybe because of the lily of the valley). For about an hour later the drydown reminds me on vintage RG's drydown but agan, new Calandre is much easier to wear it's definetely a modern scent. It is very nice, even pretty, different from most of the fragrances nowadays out there, but not entirely special in my humble opinion and I have a feeling that I will be easily tired of it. However, I like it and would recommend it to try. Update: now I'm testing this and vintage RG edt side by side. And surprisingly enough there is much more resemblance than I first remembered. from the first spray to the drydown they're developing in parallel, maybe Calandre is more bold and RG is warmer. but they are much closer to eachother than vintage RG and current RG are! Actually, one may think, albeit they are definetely not the same, that the differences are due to the age of the old vintage RG edt and not that they are entirely different perfumes. I highly recommend Calandre for those who are longing for vintage Rive gauche and can't accept the new formula

Let me tell you about Calandre..and Metal and Eau de Metal..They all have an ethereal metallic note in them. I first used Paco Rabanne's Metal which I loved wearing when I was 20. At that time I had never smelled Calandre-only Metal. Forward 30 years,I walk into a shop where they had only retro fragrances and asked if they had Metal. They told me they had only Calandre and that it smells dated and fits more older women. She was so wrong! What is dated anyway?? When Calandre came out, it was mostly younger women who bought it-it certainly did not attract only older women. The perfume itself has a certain formula which attracts only a certain group of people, be it in the past or present. After spraying it on my forearm, I left the store and by the time I had walked down one block, I realised how much this perfume expressed me.. At first spray, you get a blend of adelhydes with bergamont, geranium, rose, jasmine and hyacinth. After the aldehydes wear off, WOW! Calandre tranforms into a soothing, very pleasant breeze of a slightly powdery chypre with a long staying power. It almost smells like an expensive shampoo, or a high priced body lotion that you feel so comfortable with and love smelling on you. I would describe this as a flowery first,green second, and powdery chypre last. Hard to describe it really, but that's its beauty! I actually dislike rose smell in general(much more so in perfumes!) but Calandre is one perfume that my nose accepts its rosy note.

This review is for the original fragrance blend. When first sprayed I thought I had walked into a lumberyard where they were sawing all types of different wood. This initial impression was almost immediately replaced by a scent that was so very familiar, yet I couldn't quite place it. I went about my business for a few minutes and sniffed again. THERE! I finally identified the spice cardamom! It is not one the pyramid of notes, but that's exactly how it smells on my skin. A while later, I sniffed again. Another strange aroma appeared--it smelled just like a grapefruit smells when you peel it. So now I have a mild cardamom and grapefruit rind that is quite pleasant mellowed by the underlying woody notes. to my surprise, I didn't get the zing of the aldehydes in Calandre. I LOVE aldehydes and rather missed the high I get when smelling them. I am sure they are there working their magic, but in a most subtle way. The dry down is just heavenly. Out sneaks the softest jasmine who blends so well with the other scents that have left their distinct impressions but the cardamom is still waving it's arms, saying I'm still here. This is a very satisfying scent. It is clean, interesting, and very spritlely. Like a wood nymph flitting through the woods trailing her jasmine scent. It is ever so feminine and very, very chic. Silliage is, on me, soft to moderate. Longevity is about 2-3 hours. I would love it to last longer. Intoxicatingly lovely scent.

I was very impressed with the tester I bought earlier this year. I wore it off and on through the summer here in the Midwestern USA. Definitely unisex (and I got compliments, for what it’s worth). I agree that this has some similarities to Rive Gauche but there are some distinct differences. In fact, my nose interprets it as somewhat of a cousin to Rive Gauche and Knowing, two other unisex gems. Today’s Calandre is less metallic than RG, and less bracing than Knowing. It does share the green aldehydic components of both, while having a somewhat creamy component that the other two lack. Maybe the orris is responsible for this. Side note. I remember a lot of the hate that Phantom got when it was introduced. When I received my tester of Calandre, I could actually pick up on a bit of Phantom, which was the farthest thing from my mind. It took a few wearings before it dawned on me. That lets me know that whatever faults Phantom may have, it does have at least some measure of the Paco Rabanne DNA going way back to the glory days of 1969. Even if Calandre has been reformulated it certainly and firmly reflects the time of its launch like few other fragrances do. Calandre was probably one of my nicest scent surprises of the past couple years.

One of the best floral aldehydes of the 1970's--a style of scent that was wildly popular in that decade and now seems almost nostalgic to me. A lot of the "reminds me of" scents listed here were also some of my go-to fragrances during my college and early post-college years--Rive Gauche--Ma Griffe--Essence Rare--I still have some of these in my collection. The green, sweet freshness and the clean French sophistication of these dressy feminine fragrances were a perfect expression of outward bound, fashion forward, young, independent women just getting started in life back then when so many things seemed possible. I'm sure there will be some " Seems like an old lady" comments in these reviews. This is not fruit-chouly candy gourmand melted marshmallow girly stuff--this is womanly and warm adult femininity, dressed up and out in the world in a way that women were just starting to experience. Roe V Wade was passed in 1973--and I might have been wearing this scent on that day. Fragrances are a snap shot of memory in the brain--and this is a good one for me!

Calandre is my signature scent. I first purchased this fragrance in the early 80's as a teenager. I remember using my babysitting money to canvass the perfume counter in the now closed John Wanamaker department store. Unfamiliar with notes back then, I now realize that I was interested in the Aldehydes mixed with an array of sweet florals which were capped off by amber, wood, and musk. People knew that I was present in a room when the sensed the intoxicating qualities of this scent. I had no problem purchasing this scent in European department stores where I lived, however, that wasn't the case in the United Stated. I am so thankful that I found the discount perfume companies which have allowed me to remain connected to the scent my youth. This scent has accompanied me for over four decades during my transformation from a teenager into womanhood and motherhood. Calandre will always have a very special place in my heart!

One of my all time favorite fragrances right up there with rive gauche. I started wearing both in the late 70's. It smells like rive gauche and chanel no.19 was blended together. It's such a well blended scent that isn't overpowering. A beautiful soft green and slight floral with a musky and powerdy dry down. I recently unpacked my fragrances from the 70's and 80's when I was working in the fragrance industry and calandre was among the fragrances I packed up, I'm pleased to say it still smells as wonderful as the day I got it and makes me curious to try the newer version of it. Found some on ebay so I'll update with the comparison. Well, I just received the newer version of this fragrance and I am happy to say that a side by side comparison of the new and vintage are pretty much identical so I can spray away and always buy more.

Quite an unusual scent. When I first tried it I thought "soapy, musky, it's nice enough" but then an hour passed and pure magic happened. That oakmoss and aldehydic blend over a rose settled itself into my natural skin oil. I thought perhaps it had faded already when I got into a taxi. The female cab driver told me I smelled beautiful and I realized that it had not faded at all, my nose had simply gotten tired of telling my brain about it. Minutes later, I met a friend at the airport and as we embraced he nuzzled into my hair and remarked how I smelled great. This is just a soft comforting smell, but also crisp and green. I also wore it the day we buried my grandmother and catching little whiffs of it was nice during that difficult time. I sure wouldn't mind owning a bottle of this.

If you can score a (vintage) bottle of Calandre EDP, it is well worth the effort. Calandre is very similar to Rive Gauche by YSL and shares many of the earthy green/dry notes found in Quartz by Molyneaux and Silences by Jacomo. However, Calandre has a sparkling, herbal quality that is captivating (imagine a cool gin & tonic with a twist of lime on a warm summer day). Plus, Calandre can easily be worn by either sex. Further, Calandre is incredibly versatile—great for office wear or perfect for an evening at the symphony. Sillage and longevity are above average. Every time I wear Calandre, I receive tons of compliments! While at a party recently, a guy told me that my perfume had a “mesmerizing effect” on him. Can’t beat that! :)

Terrific stuff, not reformulated out of recognition (though my vintage bottle does have more depth and complexity?). And a terrific bang for the buck - this doesn’t smell nearly as cheap as what it is. Probably my favorite green perfume, without that odd metallic edge that the reformulation of Rive Gauche picked up. The aldehydes lift the the very natural and fresh smelling roses into the rooom. Fantastic, and very cheering The bottle itself has....not survived reformulation as well as the juice? On both of the newer editions I’ve seen, the metallic frame has been kind of loose and wonky. But the price is right, and I’m not one to pay extra for a bottle. The sprayer is fine and doesn’t leak, so good enough, it gets the job done

I have the current version. I remember seeing this back in the ‘70s and ‘80’s and it’s possible I wore it, but it wasn’t a favourite back then. I only bought this recently and was kicking myself for not having discovered this sooner. If you like soft breezy green Chypre style fragrances and you’re into aldehydes, this is for you. One is immediately reminded of white flowers, not heady tuberose or gardenias, more like a delicate green white bloom. I didn’t wear Rive Gauche in the ‘70s or ‘80’s, I have only discovered the current version recently, so can’t comment on any similarities. It’s definitely part of the Climat and Tamango family in my opinion. Timeless, beautiful and elegant classic.

A blind buy for me. I've been curious about Calandre for years and finally caved. Within minutes I noticed the resemblance to Rive Gauche and wondered if I'd made a mistake buying Calandre, because is it worth owning both? But actually I seldom wear Rive Gauche. RG is richer and more complex, assertive to the point of being aggressive. In Calandre, the powdery element softens the edges. Calandre is RG's easy-going cousin. Her style is casual, off-hand chic. She's a city girl but enjoys walks in the countryside, and loves rumpled linen shirts. RG is always in pressed cotton blouses and lashes herself to her office desk all day, chasing that promotion ...

shortcuts: if you like the next perfumes then you should try calandre : 1- joseph parfum de jour 2- jacomo silence 3- chanel 19 4- hermes 24 faubourg 5- hermes caleche edt 6- anais anais cacharel 7- miss dior originale . . these are real perfumes real elegance .. the sense of being and the voice of nature. clean vibes.. the first sniff will be a little bit harsh so try not to sniff it directly so hard i recommend to spray it while walking around. such a crispy green leaf soaked in bergamot juice and then dried under the aldehydic bright sun she falls she fly to base of the tree where the oakmoss is .. stuck together forever

I bought a big bottle of Eau de Calandre at the airport at Mallorca back in june 1985, I thought it was fresh and different, and I have always missed the smell of that beautiful perfume, and, a few years ago I got my hands on this beauty! Even though I love vanilla-scented perfumes, which I use a lot of now at christmas-time, it can be to much of that good stuff, therefor, I'm so glad to wear this aldehyd-bomb, and, it smells so good in wintertime, the lily-on-the-valley shines through and the same with the oakmoss :)) This perfume is not for everybody, but it is very perfect for me, and, HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you =))

There's something so beautiful and nostalgic about this perfume. It is green, aldehydic and musky. It begins quite strong but then mellows out a bit. It is a familiar scent though and not in my opinion, super unique. I think that because rive gauche smells so similar to this (apparently) it might be better to purchase that instead as it is much cheaper. But, I think there is a space for this type of perfume and smell in everyone's collection that appreciates perfumes trends and has strong scent memories. It moves quite quickly into the skin and mingles with the bodies chemistry really beautifully.

Calandre is now my warm weather signature without a doubt. EA Green Tea was my decades-long choice as a blind reach before being supplanted by EA Eau Fraiche. What made the difference is the earthiness of Calandre. That was the missing puzzle piece. All the notes I love in GT and EF are there, but Calandre has smoother blending and softer edges. I will spray my EA favorites with abandon on days when I want something brisker or sharper, but Calandre has won my heart and become my go-to.

Calandra is a beautiful, romantic, classy, alluring perfume. A classic feminine, fresh, green, dewy-soft, floral, with a strong base of gorgeous vetiver, wood, heavenly patchouli, and lovely oozy amber, and a gentle powdery orris. The violet is strong all the way to the end, and the other flowers gently waft in and out, and there's a tang of the bergamot, especially at the beginning. It's lovely. Really beautiful. I've loved it for a long time, and love it as much today as I ever have.