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Sunday, September 14, 2014

Cabotine De Gres

Not my photo, but an uncredited one from the Internet.
 
I bought a bottle of Cabotine on a whim, knowing nothing more than I used to like Cabochard. The bottle is lovely (I also bought Cabotine Rose at the same time, so they make an attractive pair on my perfume tray) and the initial whiff I got taking it out of the box (tearing into it in the parked car like a damn junkie) was nice. A Nice, green floral. Mind, there's absolutely nothing wrong with a perfume sending a message of nice, but given the smack-you-in-the-head effect of other Gres scents, I was a little underwhelmed.

This morning, I gave it a proper spray. My initial reaction was that it reminded me a bit of our housekeeper who always smelled like a combination of hair pomade, black coffee, and Lysol disinfectant. Which isn't necessarily bad-you could smell worse, for sure. As it dried, I could detect coriander, and Palmolive soap. Still, I wouldn't say I disliked it, just that it was ticking so many things I wouldn't associate with a perfume I'd wear. Palmolive blended into Irish Spring, and something fruity, and a while later that synthetic civet smell. And more Lysol. It smells very, very clean except when it smells like synthetic civet, and then it smells like a chemical reproduction of something extracted from the glands of a small cat. Meow.

I know, I should hate it-but I don't. Frankly, I'm not sure what to make of it. For the price range (El-Cheap-O) it is quite good, in a green, antiseptic way. Like you just took a bath, with Lysol, Palmolive, and Irish Spring. Then, Ella Mae did up your hair with her old lady pomade. And made you a cup of black coffee. There's other whiffs of florals in there, but they're subtle and lost in all that green. I like a good green perfume (Guerlain Vetiver, Innisfree, Aliage) but I can't help but feel like this one is going off somewhere it hasn't quite arrived at. Do you ever smell something, and think...almost? There's so much perfume in the world that I love, it seems a waste of my time wearing something that is at best, almost. What's missing? No idea, this is a fragrance that feels all over the place to me, and I don't really need to go to any of those places as I've already been.

All of that said, this is a nice enough green floral, and it would be perfect for someone uncomfortable with heavy fragrances. It starts strong (you may wish to spray it away from others) but mellows pretty quickly. I did not find it long lasting on my skin, but then for less than $10.00 I wasn't expecting much.  There is an odd greenness to it that barely reminds me of the smell of tomato plants before they fruit, that is, the stalks. There's a whiff of fruit, but it is all very bright. I wonder if Cabotine would appeal to avid gardeners?

Have you tried Cabotine? Does it remind you of soap and cleaning products? Tomato vines, perhaps?

7 comments:

  1. "All of that said, this is a nice enough green floral, and it would be perfect for someone uncomfortable with heavy fragrances."
    Didn't Cabotine come out in 1990?
    Anyway, that's typical for most modern fragrances after the 80's, clean, green, soapy, very little sillage.
    Strong perfumes used to be considered 'sensual' now they're considered offensive & or give someone a migraine.
    Geez, I'm thinking of all the lines from the Palmolive commercials-
    "Call the police, these hands are a crime!"
    “Oh Madge, I’m just in love with this Palmolive.”
    “Uh-oh, does your husband know???”
    “OH MADGE.”

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  2. @Bibi

    Yeah, the 2000's were even worse with the "ozonic" scents that someone once told me smelled like, "The Breezeway bus to the Cape", but then seeing my blank expression continued, "They're really clean busses."

    I get much more allergic from these antiseptic scents than I ever did from Samsara (which could, if used to excess in a small space make me a bit wheezy).

    I could use Madge the manicurist-my hands are a fright!

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  3. Where did you find this for under $10?
    This is my favorite perfume, believe it or not. Every time I wear it I get compliments.
    I think the thing with any perfume is to find the one that melds with your own scent/chemistry/whatever, which this one apparently does with me.
    I have always ADORED Estee Lauder's Beautiful on others, but it just doesn't smell the same on me, as sad as that makes me. I've enjoyed your perfume-related blogs lately. Something about Emeraude reminds me of my mother in the 70's. Big hair and all haha.

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  4. You are really, really good at describing and writing about perfume! I am hopeless, I don't think I have a particularly acute sense of smell, and I only get very broad notes, I can't fathom the details in perfumes at all. I do like fresh, green, grassy scents, and citrus-y ones especially, so I would probably like this. I can stand a bit of cleaning fluid in the mix!
    I started to wear perfume in the late 70s-early 80s, when I progressed from Charlie to Cinnabar. Good lord, the smell was probably enough to fell an ox, never mind an teenage boy or two. Xxxx

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  5. @Autumn
    I found mine at Marshall's. Sometimes they're good, other times it is wall to wall celebrity scents-just depends on the day. I was tempted to grab a bottle of Burberry because I used to like it in the 90's, but I resisted. They had tons, and tons of Chloe if you can believe it. I don't think I've seen a bottle of that since '83 when my housemate Becky used to pour it on by the bucket. Nice girl, but oh, the Chloe...
    Cabotine really divides people, so I must be some sort of oddball meeting it with just a shrug.

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  6. @Curtise

    I wanted to love Cinnabar (and Opium, and Samsara, etc.) but the Oriental scents just never worked for me. I'll bet the boys would have fallen in your path perfume or not-they were swooning!

    I can't even remember what Charlie smelled like-I don't think anyone close to me wore it.

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  7. What an engaging account of this scent (which I'm not rather intrigued by, I must say) - you always have a marvelous way with words and it shines all the more when discussing the topic of perfumes (et al), dear Goody.

    ♥ Jessica

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