Gres • Cabochard • Fragrances

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*TOP REVIEWER* Kysyona on 4/24/2013 2:29:00 PM more reviews by Kysyona

Age: 30-35   Skin: Very Oily, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Hazel    

A slap in the face with an old dusty glove smudged in alcohol after wiping a spilled drink off a century-old rug stretched over a loooooooooong hall of a victorian villa in north London. A cream-coloured blouse with manly cufflinks with onyx, a vintage "doctor" bag carelessly thrown next to the sofa, cloudy skies foretelling an evening of burning the midnight oil at a cherrytree desk on a suede-upholstered chair. Green banker lamps, rain starting to spit onto the newly washed windows, a forgotten cigarette smoking itself
in suspense in a marble ashtray... This is what a vintage bottle breathes into my mind. What I got today in Galeria Kaufhof from a 30 ml EDT bottle reduced to 10 EUR was a fake leather belt blitz-wrapped around my neck and pulled hard until i saw the world spinning... I seriously thought i was going to faint, and I NEVER faint! This was a cocktail of death I wouldn't even serve to my worst enemy. Burnt rubber, the worst kind of faux leather, stain remover from the 70s spilled on top of all that and put on a slow fire. I could not stress enough how revolting that felt. Try it on an empty stomach and with sniffing salts at reach! Would I buy this product ( forget the "again" here )? - " no way in hell" is the button I am looking for here...
City association: North London
Persona association: Margaret Thatcher

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*TOP REVIEWER* Magixz on 2/9/2013 2:48:00 PM more reviews by Magixz

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Dry, Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Green    

This was a blind buy for me because the price was reduced so low for such a large bottle of Paris made fragrance. I usually cannot go wrong with a fragrance made in France. I brought it home and read all the reviews before I opened it as you cannot return it after it is open to this store. The reviews and fragrance notes sounded good to me. I opened it with great expectations. That first spray was very nice. Sort of reminded me of several of my favorite scents all rolled into one. A bit like Shalimar, Youth Dew, Cinnabar, maybe a touch of tuberose too. I liked it very much actually. I have to take away one star for the end of this fragrance though. The end, the very end, you know the smell left over in your skin, can't really smell the perfume notes any longer just dry left overs. Well this ending smell turned me off. I do like this fragrance but this in one I would have to make sure I showered off after wearing so it loses a point in my book. For the price and such a large bottle, it is a good buy, but I will not need to buy another bottle for the rest of my life. ;-)

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Lucky1963 on 7/4/2012 5:30:00 AM more reviews by Lucky1963

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Medium Brown   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

I started to use this fragrance at the age of 18.I have used it over 25 years.
I'm searching for it in many Parfumeries and at the internet,without any succes.
I would like to buy and use it again.

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allureveil on 2/23/2012 8:07:00 PM more reviews by allureveil

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Blue    

The photo above is of the packaging for vintage Cabochard, which is the only one that works for me now. Vintage is a sexy, somewhat "bitter" leather fragrance, but the reformulation is just nasty bitter. Can't count the times I've hoped against hope and bought yet another spray bottle of the new version, then sold it at a street fair, or otherwise passed it on. Now I go lemming for the tried and true original. It is sexy in a 60s way, like the original Rive Gauche, original White Linen, etc., etc., if you catch my drift. How I envy those for whom the second generation formulas of these work welll. Lucky you, and enjoy!

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*TOP REVIEWER* Olfactoria on 1/8/2012 9:22:00 AM more reviews by Olfactoria

Age: 36-43   Skin: Normal, Fair   Hair: Red   Eyes: Brown    

I may be alone in saying that the reformulated EDT is a-ok with me. My dim memories of the vintage parfum (grandma had it on her nightstand) are of a powerfully musty and dusty scent that blended cigarette butts, old shoes, and faded doilies crumbling in a cedar drawer.


I realize now that an 8-year-old was not in a position to appreciate Cabochard, but since the EDT (& reformulated EDP) are sold widely and I like them, I have no desire to relive the parfum and its associations with grandma's stuffy, ornate apartment.


The EDT reminds me a lot of other dry, soapy chypres like Jovan Woman, Paloma Picasso, and Aromatics Elixir (minus the heavy florals). However, it is perhaps the purest chypre of the bunch, starting out with a brisk citrus/herbal/galbanum opener and moving quickly into the woods and patchouli with very few floral detours. It's basically everything I like about chypres, with none of what I don't. On me, this wears light, clean, and sophisticated, with that magical cool chypre sillage. I LOVE it.


As for saving this stuff for formal occasions, I don't get it. But I've never understood why certain fragrances are deemed "casual" or "dressy." It's a smell, not an outfit. I am comfortable wearing Cabochard to stay at home with the kids, as well as working in a hospital setting. I don't really have many elegant soirees to attend these days, so why save a lovely scent for that? It just plain smells great on me.

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*TOP REVIEWER* tessture on 12/17/2011 9:23:00 PM more reviews by tessture

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

I got a slightly musty old French perfume at the onset, but with soft floral melange almost like powdery velvet underneath. A faint touch of the medicated powder notes I dislike in other vintages (Vol de Nuit does this on me particularly), but it's not pronounced. Still, it dried down to too much powdery galbanum for me. My sister wears this style better, so I'll pass this onto her. This was sampled from a vintage mini.

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Profunda on 6/30/2011 12:13:00 PM more reviews by Profunda

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Very Dry, Fair, Cool   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

A masterpiece of classic French perfumery by Bernard Chant,who also gave the world the wonderful Aromatics Elixir.It is very much of its time,"perfumey" in that traditional well groomed,ladylike,Parisian way.I first smelled this when I was 13 (ie A Long Time Ago) and I did not like it then-it seemed too complex and disturbing.Nowadays I can appreciate the craftsmanship of the composition,the balance and sheer quality of the ingredients.EL Azuree and Piguet's celebrated Bandit are similar leather chypres,but this to me is the best worked out and most lovely of this genre.I'm speaking about vintage parfum-I haven't smelled the reformulation,which I imagine is without oakmoss and therefore not worthy of the name Cabochard,which means uncompromising,or even at a stretch bloody-minded.

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*TOP REVIEWER* zeynepd on 12/29/2010 11:48:00 AM more reviews by zeynepd

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Red   Eyes: Hazel    

My recent encounter with the tough leather in Serge Lutens Boxeuses made me think of Cabochard, actually the first ever fragrance I "sampled" - i.e. as a little girl, I walked to my mothers closet, reached for a vintage bottle of it, touched the gray ribbon, felt the sensual lid and opened and sniffed it – boy it was one serious smell!
Now, decades later and with my mother still swearing by all formulations of it, I can say that this a fragrance that I appreciate but do not like it on my own person. Should be noted though: the opening is magical. It is a breezy and powdery, magical iris that gives me visions of blue clouds opening like a field in the horizon. I think this is aldehydes just at the right dose. Very soon, a tough but rounded leather emerges from unbelievable depths. This is the leather of long black coats or gloves that go so well with big sunglasses and silk scarves. It is both serious and wild at the same time and denotes a timeless air. Unfortunately, on the wrong chemistry, it also smells very heavy metal - or maybe I need to build my way up to this leather queen, I don't know.

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*TOP REVIEWER* CecileCecile on 5/2/2010 5:03:00 PM more reviews by CecileCecile

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Hazel    

I was lucky to acquire a vintage mini parfum of Cabochard somewhat recently. I definitely have mixed feelings about this parfum. It is a very very dark and serious fragrance, smoky leather and bitchy greenness bridged by basic soap. I inhaled deeply and recalled the mid 70s smoky haze, a smokers purse, gas-station liquid hand soap (from the 70s) and Charlie. It's a little like Charlie, only the darkness actually works here. The citrus is barely perceptible but it does lend a slight gleam to the facets throughout. I am not sure how I could pull this scent off. We shall see. I don't think I would buy again but am surely glad to have had the opportunity to try it for myself.

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*TOP REVIEWER* aperfectegg on 3/16/2010 7:01:00 PM more reviews by aperfectegg

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Combination, Medium, Warm   Hair: Black, Curly, Medium   Eyes: Hazel    

I was given this as a gift in the early 70's and used it up -- really loving it all the time. I recently put it on my swap list and got another bottle and fell in love all over again. There is no other scent like this -- very unique old fashioned and modern at the same time. I wear it to bed at night sometimes because I enjoy it so much. I will never be without my Cabochard (means stubborn in
French I am told).

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*TOP REVIEWER* ellizam on 6/24/2009 12:48:00 AM more reviews by ellizam

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

Wow! This is everything the reviews led me to expect. A green, oakmossy, dry chypre along the lines of Ma Griffe or Halston. There's a strong vetiver, a light leather in the base, and rich, dry herbal notes. As it melts in, if you've sprayed lightly you'll get Your-Skin-But-Better, kind of a soapy light richness. If you've sprayed a little more heavily, it's Ladies Perfume, all evening elegance. Perfect for summer, elegant for winter. Beautiful, classic vintage but with edgy modernity. This is not your Yawn-Fruity-Floral in any way.

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*TOP REVIEWER* georton on 5/7/2009 12:03:00 PM more reviews by georton

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Normal   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

Another hater here. I can understand a guy wearing it, but not me.

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Moyra on 4/4/2009 7:56:00 PM more reviews by Moyra

Age: 44-55   Skin: Dry, Fair   Hair: Red   Eyes: Green    

Sometimes I feel a distinct sense of dissassociation when I read perfume reviews....I wore the "vintage" Cabochard when it wasn't vintage, and I just bought another bottle, after many years of not trying it. Its still a beautiful, sophisticated chypre, as it was then, but nowhere do I detect leather or tobacco...nowhere. I have had several people sniff my wrist, and not one of them could. So I wonder, am I crazy? I had similar feelings about the famed coffee notes in L'Or de Torrente - never smelled them, but love the scent.
Cabochard is brilliant, elegant-lady-in-a-bottle magic, and a very lovely and potent chypre. Not for the shy, but definitely suits some of my more well-behaved but still confidently extroverted moods.
EDIT: When I repurchased Cabochard - after many decades of not wearing it, I also purchased the Body Cream. I now stand corrected about the leather/tobacco notes. Ewww. The body cream DOES smell like someone used a piece of leather to wipe out an ashtray. The perfume does not at ALL. Go figure.

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*TOP REVIEWER* elfriede on 1/12/2009 10:17:00 PM more reviews by elfriede

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Hazel    

While I haven't tried vintage Cabochard, the current version seems like it would make a great "office scent" in spite of the leather, which says something about how much the scent has changed, given the raunchy reputation of the original. This is a far, far cry from the strange beast I was expecting. Nevertheless, this is complex and sophisticated, develops nicely, and wears well on me.
Once the scent settles, there's a chord somewhere between the greens and leather, a powdery-aromatic-fougere thing, orris-wood-spice, that reminds me of Heaven Sent circa 1982, except that Cabochard is not at all sweet. The leather note is unmistakeable--not the soft leather of a lady's purse, but a heavy leather jacket. The castoreum (an animal note) amplifies this. The overall effect is fairly restrained, though. Late in the drydown I am also reminded of vintage Prince Matchabelli Cachet (NOT the current version)--powdery orris, woody chypre--only nicer, if I'm remembering Cachet clearly.
Probably only worth trying if, like me, you haven't tried the vintage stuff. Otherwise, if you like powdery orris root and dry, woody chypres, it's worth checking out.

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bergere on 10/10/2008 2:35:00 PM more reviews by bergere

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Normal, Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Green    

It's clear from other comments that Cabochard is a love-it-or-hate-it kind of fragrance; I'm definitely in the "hate it" category. It does smell sophisticated and ladylike, but the image it conjures for me is a very cold, elegant 1960s grande dame who smokes two packs a day (and this was before I had seen the picture of just such a lady posted on Perfume Shrine for Cabochard). I thought that a tobacco note would mean the scent of unsmoked pipe tobacco (the inside of Leavitt and Pierce tobacconists) or nicotiana; on my skin, the note is more old ashtray.

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*TOP REVIEWER* condesadepitimini on 9/4/2008 11:25:00 AM more reviews by condesadepitimini

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair, Warm   Hair: Blond, Fine   Eyes: Green    

A big classic and a masterpiece in perfumery.
I can understand why this is so little apperciated these days.... the fashion trend in perfumery nowadays is "joyful, playful, fruity, sweet, careless" and there is little space for chypres, powdery, or elegant perfumes, to my opinion.
Well there are exceptions - of course!
But what I mean is the creation of a fragrance that is deep and elegant, evoking a styled, classy lady, obviously clashes with the modern conception of the busy-woman-on-the-go we - unfortunately - almost all incarnate today.
Cabochard is that styled, elegant, classy lady, that makes an impression when entering a room.
That lady is sensual but not "in your face"; you get to understand her femininity only after some time - her perfume too: not overpowering , and it reveals its best on the drydown... so close to the skin, so powdery, so intimate.

As others have noted blow - and I agree - this is a fragrance to be best worn in winter and "fully dressed"...would not be suitable w/ a sporty or casual outfit, at all.
I love its class... and personality; you definitely own a well defined one if you wear this!

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*TOP REVIEWER* kzolin on 8/18/2008 2:50:00 PM more reviews by kzolin

Age: 36-43   Skin: Dry, Fair, Cool   Hair: Red, Wavy, Coarse   Eyes: Green    

I picked up a bottle of Cabochard -- unsniffed, because of its legendary status -- found at TJ Maxx while visiting family out of state. I really thought that I would like a perfume with a tobacco note. While living in Connecticut a few years ago, I fell in love with the smell of the tobacco farms each summer when the leaves were hung to dry in open barns. This is not that smell. Cabochard is so loud and aggressive it screams, "I'M WEARING PERFUME!" far and wide. I disliked it so much that I couldn't even be bothered to pack it for the trip home. Into the trash it went.

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mildred on 7/9/2008 4:02:00 PM more reviews by mildred

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

So freakishly similar to Courreges Empreinte-which I love and is extremely hard to find. I have the edt, but probably won't repurchase; it is something to wear on special occasions, and generally worn in Fall/Winter. Love it, though!!

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LizaElliott on 5/23/2008 2:14:00 PM more reviews by LizaElliott

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Green    

I first encountered Cabochard as a teenager in the 1960s; I was given it as a gift, and it seemed so grown-up (and a little weird--definitely not your average fragrance and definitely for a woman, not a girl) that I passed it on to my mother. In my 20s, I gave it another try and liked it better. Then the formula was modified, and it made me sneeze.

In the fall (Cabochard doesn't feel like a summer fragrance to me), I'll get a vintage bottle and see if it works for me now. I think I'm finally mature enough.

(Now, if only Coty would bring back Imprevu!)

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*TOP REVIEWER* boombutt on 5/15/2008 12:20:00 AM more reviews by boombutt

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Green    

my husband really likes this scent on me. i enjoy it layered over Cuba Gold for Men. it seems to tone down the fragrance to a level i admire. i like it b/c u dont smell it coming and going. it is not a girlie fragrance by any means. it dries down very green and a tad musky on me with great staying power. i cant detect the leather or smoky notes on me. although that could because i layer it over Cuba Gold. smelling it straight from the bottle i am not brave enough to wear it alone... YET. i dont think i will purchase it again merely b/c i am not head over heels over it but i dont dislike it either. i think i did well for an unsniffed purchase though.

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