Caron's Tabac Blond was created in 1919, a "deliberately provocative1" perfume for the chic, liberated women of that era, women who smoked in public. It borrowed leather notes from masculine perfumes and combined them with tobacco and vanilla. Tabac Blond informed the great leather perfumes that came after, like Cuir de Russie, Bandit and Cabochard.
According to Luca Turin in Perfumes, The Guide, Tabac Blond was a stunner in her time. Now she barely registers. I spilled half of my sample vial on my arm, and I could still barely smell it. Very soft tobacco and smoky leather notes open the perfume, and hint at what it should be, but they fade to a powdery amber with no presence at all.
What once was for a woman who wished to be provocative, Tabac Blond is now the perfect fragrance for one who's afraid to be.
House: Caron
Nose: Ernest Daltroff (original), Richard Fraysse (reformualtion)
Notes: leather, iris, cedar
1 From the Caron website.
These reformulations continue to piss me off. How I would love to experience the original Tabac Blond.
ReplyDeleteOne of my fave Carons but I have to be in a raunchy kinda mood for it. I've never tried the vintage so I guess it's a blessing .Great review :)
ReplyDeleteI agree. I can barely smell it on myself but I love the "idea" of it. It has the potential to be something just amazing. It isn't bad; it's just too "watery".
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