Tabac Blond (1919)
by Caron

TABAC BLOND by Caron is immediately stunning, even chic when I smell it off fabric. Not surprising considering it was released by such an esteemed house at the very cusp of a golden era in perfumery. But on my skin it turns rather butch and stays that way for the next 30 minutes, the smoky masculine leather slowly softening to a more gender-neutral, buttery yet dry floral-tinged amber and musk. And as the vanilla gains in strength so does its feminine appeal. But just when I thought this is turning out to be another musky amber vanilla, a glowing tobacco note arrives to give it an entirely new dimension.

I must say this is by far one of the finest scents I've had the pleasure, no, privilege to sample; I feel so lucky to have stumbled upon this hobby. Words suddenly feel so inadequate for Tabac Blond is truly out of this world.

*** This review is of the extrait ***

My sample of the Caron Tabac Blond extrait smells like a sharp old potpourri with some concentrated Old Spice thrown in; plus the warm tobacco for awhile. Disappointing after all I've read. I am beginning to wonder if there is not an aspect of 'the Emporer's New Clothes' in perfume reviews. Or at least a Rorshach test of the reviewer's frame of mind more than anything else.

This is truly a stunning fragrance from which one can never escape from it's hold over you!
How this fragrance vividly reminds me of a long-ago youthful love of mine, Katie. Stunningly beautiful and enjoyed life to the fullest. Her love still lasts, after all these years...

I am giving my opinion on that supposedly reformulated (extract) version.

There was a time when I wasn’t a fan of these kinds of balsamic vintage leather scents. But who hasn’t had their own change of hearts with perfumes?

Everything changed when I fell in love with Knize Ten, after I had dismissed that one too for quite some time.

Anyway….Although Tabac Blond shares obvious similarities to Knize Ten, it isn’t nearly as magical. In fact, it is very lame comparing to that one. Tabac Blond pales in comparison with few other scents as well in this category, but yes, especially when it comes to Knize Ten the contrast is very sharp.

Tabac Blond is androgynous ambery leather scent with balsams and hint of flowers. It is quite much sweetened up by vanilla. Only slightly smoky and surprisingly thin and wimpy. It is not particularly rich or mysterious. It is not romantic or captivating. Simply put, the magic is very much missing.

Not too that bad this, it has its moments after all, but considering the fact that I like to review these scents with the value for the money in mind too, I must take my thumbs down on this one.

I would love to smell this in original formulation. I presume it would be quite an experience.

Today, I am having a life-affirming experience, one so happy and complete that I feel I have been re-acquainted with a lost part of my soul. I am wearing Tabac Blond for the very first time. It is so perfect for me that I am emotional, could truly cry. I've always known just from the reviews that this would be my kind of perfume: on the dark side, unconventional, idiosyncratic, gender-bending. It's also beautiful in the extreme: golden tobacco warmth, liquory leather, clovey carnation, balsamic, the prettiest, most ladylike, of patchouli bases. So denigrated in its current fomulation by Luca Turin, I can only wonder with reverent awe how its antecedent must have smelled.

I'd like to bathe in this intoxicating magic philter. Tabac Blond is a supreme accomplishment. Even the reformulation is a masterpiece. To call Tabac Blond a leather scent is like calling Beethoven's 6th Symphony pretty. Tabac Blond rises above all stereotypes and labels as to scent gender. It is beyond merely being unisex; she is a lion of a scent who does not discriminate among any of her pride. Tabac Blond chooses you; you don't choose her. Once you are one of her initiates, you may never return again from whence you came. I wouldn't go so far as to say that Tabac Blond is without peers, but she is definitely in a very small club indeed.