Caron - Tabac Blond

I wish I knew her when

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.
 

Caron - Montaigne

Elegant and stylish, retro and modern

The perfume house of Caron opened in 1904 in Paris. In the eighties, Caron opened a store on Avenue Montaigne which famously features crystal "fountains" or urns, designed by Baccarat. When you purchase an urn perfume, the bottle is filled for you from one of these crystal fountains. The store in New York has them too, I hear, and I dream of visiting it one day.

In 2007 the perfume Montaigne was created by Richard Fraysse, the master perfumer for Caron. Montaigne preserves the elegant style of classic french perfumery while also being modern.

The opening will be familiar to anyone who has worn Chanel N^o5 - a floral bouquet with sparkling aldehydes; Montaigne has more jasmine. I immediately think "Oh, old fashioned perfume!" but it's old fashioned in a great way. Chanel N^o5 is still on the best-seller list for a reason.

After that lovely opening, the heart is powdery and creamy at the same time. It's centered around a thick yellow narcissus, supported with lighter mimose and orange blossom. I know it says "bitter orange" but I think is smells more like the orange blossom than the fruit. The creaminess comes from sweet amber and vanilla in the base.

Montaigne lasts for a good long time; I sprayed it at 8:00 a.m. and at 4:30 p.m. my wrist still smells like a yellow, orange and cream coloured bouquet.


House: Caron
Nose: Richard Fraysse
Notes: jasmine, coriander, bitter orange, mimose, narcissus, sandalwood, amber and vanille.

Photo: Mattias Kristiansson