Tocade 2013

It's hard to find the right adjectives to describe Rochas Tocade... it is so beautifully crafted. It's a Luca Turin favourite for a very good reason. There's an old-fashioned quality to Rochas Tocade that nods to legendary perfume juggernauts of yesteryear such as Guerlain Shalimar, yet it still manages to smell 'modern' at the same time. I can see any women in every age group pulling this off effortlessly. It does not smell like any of the new perfumes (read: fizzy fruitchoulis) being marketed and churned out as of late, but somehow it doesn't smell dated. Although Tocade smells very upscale, sexy and feminine, it's very also bright and cheerful; Tocade is a happy fragrance that puts a smile on my face. It smells "fluffy" in a way as it's quite endearing and cuddly. The soft and sweet pillowiness of this fragrance makes it a great comfort fragrance. Now, I have never tried the original formulation but I'm very pleased by the 2013 reformulated juice. To me, Tocade is very much a vanilla-rose affair from the top down so in that respect it's pretty linear, but it reveals so many different facets of that wonderful accord. Still, Tocade manages to be masterfully blended; the notes in this perfume all meld together so seamlessly, that they smell like an entire "single" note. It is niche quality stuff. At first, Tocade opens with salted pepper note (?!) which is then followed by a heady, boozy rose liqueur. The vanilla at the beginning is very innocent-seeming, but that doesn't last long. She starts to uncover her true nature in a come-hither way, firstly captivating you with a happy, girl-next-door vanilla and then she is reveals herself as dark, ambery and sexy. I agree with another reviewer that there's a certain spice added to the vanilla that is not listed in the notes--cinnamon, to be exact (I guess Maurice Roucel is very masterful at creating spicy vanilla aromas). The rose is very lush and full in the heart, with the whole composition encapsulated with powdery iris and a touch of freshness from the magnolia. Eventually, the rose becomes more demure, and becomes more buttery. The vanilla fully blooms on the skin, thick but soft at the same time. The composition is grounded by sensual woods to balance that quality and gives the fragrance depth. People are saying that this reminds them of the Turkish delight (loukhoum) dessert and while I wouldn't necessarily disagree with this assessment, Tocade never really smells foody at all to me. The rose is too luscious and fresh, and actually has a wet quality in the top and heart stages. The deep vanilla in this IS reminiscent of vanilla extract, but it's grounded by inedible sandalwood and iris. The sillage and longevity of Tocade is excellent. Two sprays is all I need to last the whole day, and I have fragrance-eating skin. I was surprised to find out that this was only an eau de toilette and not eau de parfum! It definitely feels more like one. The quality of this fragrance would suggest a higher sticker price, so this is a complete steal in my opinion. This is a love for me.

I never smelled the original formula. But this one I quite like it. People keep saying this is a cheapie: well perhaps in their countries it is but not in mine: I blind bought this yesterday for 27€, wich is not cheap in my book. Not very expensive either thought for a Rochas. They only kept one solitary bottle of this at the Rochas stand at Primor, and was almost hidden on the lower shelves, with no tester at all. The fact of this being an affordable Rochas and all the rave reviews was what made me blind buy it. This is not cloying, no extremely foody, this is not your usual sickengly sweet teen vanilla. Vanilla in here has the same adult, sexy vibe as in Vanille Noir by Yves Rocher, only not as dry and not so unisex. Also reminds me of the vanilla in Hypnotic Poison because this is all grown-up and sexy, and the cozyness and powder of the vanilla in Soplo Tierna by Mercadona (a lovely clean powdery vanilla-musk cheapie, you can buy 50ml plus a body milk for 3 ́50€). It does not last long on my skin, a pity (longer on clothes) and sillage is light to moderate, wich makes this very wearable during the day, in hot weather and working enviroments. But this is not a serious fragance: on the contrary this is cheery and playful. The woods and citrus in here lend it a bit of freshness and the mix of roses and vanilla is somehow unusual, very perfumey and classy smelling. There ́s something slightly oily and indolic too, perhaps the magnolia. This is so very distinctive, and I ́ve never smelled this on anyone before, also it ́s not intrusive and propper for every occasion so this would be a lovely signature scent. Curiously I think I smell some jazmine too and a bit of tobacco even it ́s not listed on the notes. I love powdery scents, and even thought this is no extremely powdery like Kenzo Flower, it has a certain powdery feeling of expensive make up and vintage fumes. This reminds me a lot of Maderas de Oriente: the same distinctive mix of vanilla and roses, carnation, iris, citrics and powder, the same creamyness. But there ́s actually some woods in here at the bottom that Maderas de Oriente lacks in favor of musk and pink pepper, making this somehow more unisex and more perfumey. I love it and I think if you love Maderas de Oriente you ́re going to love this too.

With the relaunch of classic Rochas perfumes it is interesting to note how different are opinions and feedbacks about these gems. I, personally, find the new version of Tocade to be amazing despite the fact that it might have been changed slightly. It smells very sensual, elegant and well-rounded, something that could be found at Guerlain boutiques or elsewhere. Another thing to mention is that some French reviewers find this version to be more "original", similarly, as in the case of Madame Rochas and Femme. This leads me to thoughts that the pre-2013 versions could have differed pretty much in the EU countries and the USA. Anyway, I don't feel any nostalgia about the 90's version whose bottle and packaging I find to be hideous. It seems that Rochas is trying to put these perfumes back into the prestige market. Let's hope they don't fail. Upd: Can't explain why but there is a huge difference between Tocade 2013 sold in France and that of Britain. I, probably, won't sound very original, but the French version was WAY better than the one I bought from the UK. Has anyone come across similar issues? I know that some reviewers (from Italy, I guess) described, for instance, new Rochas Femme as an awful piece of perfume, why I know that Russian reviewers find it to be closer to the original, so it makes me wondering if perfumes are somehow "adapted" to local markets...The UK version is almost identical to Charrier "Ambre".

I LOVE this perfume. It's different from the rest. To me, it's a dry vanilla, so different from Jessica Simpson's Fancy, but I love both. To me, Tocade smells like a woodsy vanilla with a soapy touch ... I'm guessing from the cedar. So pretty. It's not harsh or overpowering or spicy. Just a smooth vanilla wood scent that lingers so mildly and yet so long. Even my mom said it was very pretty .... and she's usually telling me I put on toooo much perfume ... but you know how it is, after a while you can't smell it on yourself .... Edit: This is quickly becoming one of my favourite go-to perfumes. My mom, who cannot stand most perfumes says this is the only one she can wear. I think what makes it so unique is adding the cedar to the vanilla .... no other vanilla scent like this.

I mostly get rose and wood with the vanilla toned down. Just a lot of metallic rose and wood. The rose is deep, dark and shimmery. The metallics make it very luminous to me. It smells like Tocade, but it's grounded, not magical. Where I see a bright and beautiful fairy wearing the original, this is for mortals having tea with the fairy princess. Very pretty. Update: When I wore this in colder weather the cedar seemed separate from the blend. Now in summer it's seamless. Longevity and sillage are very good. Even with my poor sense of smell, I can smell it all day, with arms length projection. If I take a deep breath it comes through under my facemask. The top I wore yesterday still smelt lovely this morning.