Gres Cabochard Eau de toilette Spray 100 ml

Product Information

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor. The first spray is Ginger Wine or Sherry, very loud and very swiftly over. Then you get the talcum powder again, but when I waited for ten minutes I was rewarded with a fabulous Incense/Patchouli Leather fragrance that was worth about five times what I paid. Naturally it’s been reformulated into submission, but I don’t have the vintages to compare it to. When this has jumped out of the bottle it’s not so good, but when it’s gone to sleep on your skin, it’s divine. It reminds me of Leather that has been worn to Church, with a hint of papery dry Tobacco. The Tobacco note is not one of toxic exhaled smoke, but more one of the smell inside a Tobacconists, where the pipe smoke and cigars rub shoulders, giving off an aroma of dark, dried leaves. OK, my comparison values are AE and Scherrer - both rather durability monsters as well as Sillage monsters ...).

I am not especially fond of leather in fragrance, but Cabochard is very soft and smooth once it calms. As Guy Robert explains: Chevalier, Michel (2012). Luxury Brand Management. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-17176-9. Pierre Guillaume Bois Blond (now d/ced) – an all the time/any time favorite. Hay, woods, amber, musk Cabochard, probably the house's best known perfume, was created by nose Bernard Chant, and launched in 1959. The notes are bergamot, mandarin, aldehydes, galbanum, ylang ylang, jasmine, rose, clove buds, oakmoss, tobacco, musk, iris, sandalwood, vetiver, leather, castoreum, patchouli and labdanum. Overall it’s good Spiced Leather, but I can’t help thinking that I wouldn’t be so positive about this had I smelt the original, rather than this reformulation, which has deeply disappointed critics. (Luca Turin is practically in tears about this one). However, I have to work with the materials I’ve got. For my money, and there wasn’t much of that needed, this is a very good, aromatic Leather with a few shouts of Chypre Green notes and a schooner of Sherry before it finally calms down into its warm leathery base note.

46 Comments

Only the durability is a bit sad on my skin. After a few hours it is so close to my body that I have to spray again - and with two sprayers of conviction much more generously than I usually do. So this is my first conscious chypre, or at least chypre-like scent. Of alone I would not have approached him. Aldehydes, patchouli and sage make me already from reading headache. Recently, I’ve tried an EDT sample of Molinard’s Habinita (recommended for the same reasons)…..yessss…..like it for it’s warm but spicy smell on my skin and it seems to have some lasting power…..bit heavier than my Cabochard….and it is winter…..right now, I think it a lovely warm, fall/winter scent and glad I found it.

The fact that I feel drawn to perfumes of the 50s is unrelated to having been born into that era. Some of these fragrances feel like aromatic wish fulfillment and/or projection: despite the tyranny of long-line brassières and girdles (or possibly in light of their existence) there has always been a subtext of suppressed eroticism, the controlled sensuality of discipline akin to a warrior preparing for anticipated battle. Clearly defined 1950s gender roles makes this subversive quality all the more fascinating; today Cabochard de Gres reads as perfect for anyone who loves the impossibly dry elegance of a leathery tobacco-laden no-nonsense chypre.Ok, enough daydreaming, now refocus and get on with the numbers part. Oh no, no fragrance will help... I’d love to find some more vintage – I have a little vintage Fendi and Coco. Would like to find vintage Mitsouko and believe it or not, Old Spice. Grès was a French haute couture fashion house founded by Madame Grès in 1942. Parfums Grès is the associated perfume house, which still exists, and is now based in Switzerland. To me, it smells very classic. Actually, I have no idea about classics, most of them I don't like, as I associate them with old ladies tippling (well strutting) across the Ku-Damm with your fiffi on your arm. It will probably never become my genre but this one is still quite pleasant. The longevity is good, the sillage perceptible, pleasant and not too intrusive. Towards the end, it falls apart a bit. I don't really get it all apart at all. It is an interwoven fragrance reminiscent of old times. Slowly the scent settles into something suede-like and powdery-sweet at the same time. Reminds something of make up.

Slowly the smell leads me deeper into the forest and closer to the ground. It becomes more woodsy, heavier, sweeter, warmly spicy and a little bit earthy, but never musty or stuffy; I always feel the scent as somehow "fresh", as if a mild wind is blowing in the forest landscape. I am trying the Eau de Toilette, and the lasting power is excellent. By today's standards, this is very much a unisex fragrance. It is probably better suited to cold weather, though, and I am going to revisit this in the fall and see if it is something I would wear regularly. Grès's signature fragrance was Cabochard, created by Bernard Chant, and launched in 1958. [7] As of January 2017 [update], Cabochard is still being manufactured and retailed. Other perfumes, launched after the sale of the company, include: Cabochard (meaning “stubborn” in French), was orchestrated in 1959 by Madame Gres herself, along with a little help from Nose Bernard Chant of Aramis and the iconic Aromatics Elixir fame, to name but a few of his prolific creations.He starts green and herbaceous and yes the aldehydes are noticeable there but at least not as strong and unpleasant as first assumed. Cabochard was a fragrance created for Madame Grès, a renowned couturier, who after opening her fashion house in 1942 in Paris became famous for her fluid designs that draped the body like folds on the Greek statues. Bernard Chant was the perfumer responsible for Cabochard, and even though Madame Grès did not personally like it, she felt that Chant created a gem with Cabochard. Cabochard is often described as a softer take on the animalic darkness of Bandit. Indeed, if Bandit were to be polished to remove its rough edges, to soften its aggressive nature, and to mute its smoky leather, the result would be Cabochard, a leather chypre that is as assertive as it is graceful. A mélange of rich green notes, which is reminiscent of sliced green peppers and succulent leaves, creates an elegant transparent layer, under which an accord dominated by smoky leather is evident from the start. The leather reminiscent of a similar note in Chanel Cuir de Russie is subtle at first, hinting gently as to what might be present underneath the verdant radiance. Its strength grows over time, and as the hesperidic effervescence fades, calm darkness overtakes the composition. Inc, Time (20 November 1944). "PARIS FASHIONS: France's liberated haute couture has not lost its taste or touch". LIFE. 21. Vol.17. p.47. {{ cite magazine}}: |last1= has generic name ( help) It is hard to imagine that the formula has not been tinkered with since 1959, and in fact, Luca Turin has less than kind things to say about the current version. This is yet another fragrance that makes me wish I had started my smelling career 20 years ago.