Must de Cartier (1981)
by Cartier

This is one of the fragrances I used to spritz but couldn't afford back in the early 80's. Lord, I longed for this! 30 years later I can afford it, but read it's been turned to garbage. I took a chance anyway and ordered the extrait. It hasn't changed at all to my nose, maybe the EdT or EdP have, but this smells very, very much the same. Smells of oranges in opening, then I get a dose of civet, then the mellow vanillic, musky drydown which comes a tad too soon. This is very soft and understated and somehow 'cold' in nature. My tastes have changed somewhat, but I can see reaching for this when I want a comfort scent. Wears close with moderate lasting power. I can't see this offending anyone. Beautiful red leather case with sliding doors that open to reveal an architectural bottle of amber coloured extrait. Very well done.

20th January, 2012.

WOW! I was walking through Macy's today, looking to try some new scents (before buying online for cheaper, lol.) I was leaning towards a Chanel, but they did not have in stock what I wanted. The cartier was right next to me, I picked it up and within ten seconds was having the gift set rung up. I KNOW I overpaid, but I wanted it NOW! I remember wearing this years ago and cannot remember why on Earth I ever gave it up.

At first spray, it is a whopper of a smell, nearly overpowering. I felt transformed. Give it ten or fifteen minutes and it hits the comfort zone. Warm and inviting, yet staying somewhat skin close.

What is funy, is that as I was leaving the store, the two clerks who were earlier trying to sell me on the latest Beiber, Calvin Klein, Beyonce and Jessica Simpson scents stopped me and asked what I had sprayed because I smelled heavenly!

This is MUST for anyone not wanting to smell granny-ish, yet too old to smell like lollypops.

19th December, 2011. (Last Edited: 23rd December, 2011.)

A more refined and more introverted sister to the extroverted Opium, if opium is the party girl and libertine who hunts night clubs get down and dirty on the dance floor hot and sexy Cartier is an Ice queen
of all orientals with it's clinical elegance of green notes and orris makes
it cooler and more reserved then opium,
She frequents high end restaurants where
her sexuality is more in hidden codes
like a slip of a note with black ribbon
embroidered on the edge to bring him into her room at an luxurious hotel suite making love all night Cartier uses
a more subtle approach to seduction then
the fire of opium.

It opens cold with aldehyde i also can
detect cool wet green notes then dries
warm with spicy carnation and musk makes
it almost an masculine feel to the skin
orris root adds to the earthiness of Cartier jasmine starts to steep through
the senses the velvety note of rose is
prominent and yet elusive dries the middle part of the fragrance.

The drydown is warm and leathery like
soft supple with civet to make it an
animalistic exotica then dries to an
fiery and dry sandalwood and grounded
tonka bean amber sweetens the base and dries with vanilla.

If Opium is the Fire Must de Cartier is
the Ice.

20th October, 2010.

I've tried Obsession for women, and prefer this to Obsession, though I can see the similarities. I have the EdT and don't know if it is vintage or not. It has a separate cap and is rounded on the bottom, so that it can't "stand up," but must be placed on its side (if that helps). I avoid top notes as much as possible, so I can't speak to then. I have no idea what Luca Turin was talking about here, because his review in his "guide" book seems to be for a different fragrance. My guess is that he focused on the top notes.

The only "problem" is that if you smell it up close on the skin you will get that nasty rubbery smell that a strong amber note produces. Let it come to your nose from a distance and there is no issue. I don't get any strong green, but again that might be a top notes issue entirely. Rather, this is a soft oriental with a hint of chocolate and the slightest hint of an animalic note. There's not much in the way of spices, and it's just a little sweet (compared to today's gourmands). It's the vanilla/amber that dominates, creating a "powdery" effect. I like this one better than most "men's" orientals, such as KL Homme by Lagerfeld, for example.

In fact, I've been thinking about oriental fragrances lately, because I should really like them, yet I find myself wearing other kinds of fragrances (including gourmand/oriental hybrids, such as the women's Python by Trussardi). Most of the men's ones have too much lavender, or some other note that detracts from the "oriental effect" (KL Homme has too much geranium for me, for example). I do like the heliotrope and cinnamon dominant Diesel Zero Plus Au Masculin, but the first hour or so is too sharp, and then it is a bit weak (though really nice) thereafter. Some of the women's are too floral, too animalic, or try to do too much.

So, for me, the oriental needs to be focused on the powdery vanillic/ambery effect. There should be at least a hint of spice (and certainly not too much), and perhaps something else that works well here, such as Must's chocolate note. A slight touch of the animalic creates a richer and fuller quality Thus, Must fulfills my criteria for a "model" oriental fragrance. It doesn't have much of a "bite" to it (except perhaps those top notes that I avoided), but I don't think that's what I'm seeking when I want an "oriental," as I'm conceptualizing it. If I want a bit of bite, I have a "publicity version" of Opium for women (whatever that is), which features a strong clove note (no chocolate). Shalimar Light makes a lot of moves, but you end up with strong vanilla and hints of other things after an hour or so. I think there needs to be strong amber in the base for me to take an oriental fragrance seriously, though. I like Shalimar Light for what it is, but it doesn't give me much of an "oriental thrill." I've also tried Shalimar EdC, but that seems to be too much powdery amber and not enough of anything else (once the base is reached).

9th February, 2010.

Must de Cartier was a real surprise for me. I had expected it to be a big spicy oriental, but I didn't expect that it would unfold from start to finish in the complex way that it does. Luca Turin basically described it in The Guide as being the perfume equivalent of the ugly leftover chocolates that nobody wants in one of those big box of variety chocolates with strange fillings. While I can agree that the opening is such a cacophany of notes that can be overwhelming at times, it immediately settles into one of the most sensual and animalic scents I've experienced so far. I would say that I tend to agree with JaimeB's review. Yes, there is that looming chocolate-y note that remains from initial application to the warm vanillic drydown, but there are also big notes of leather and civet on me and that's why I'm smitten.

Other reviewers have said that the vintage is much better than the newer version. I have both in parfum strength and have tested them several times to see what the differences are. While I usually agree that the vintage is better, in my case the newer version works better with my skin chemistry. I get very little leather and no civet from the vintage version. On me the pervasive notes are chocolate, balsamy notes, leather, civet, amber, musk and vanilla, but sometimes it can be very woodsy. At other times, this scent can smell a little like Shalimar because of the big vanilla that starts to emerge closer to the drydown. In some ways this is a scent that's hard to pin down because it seems to shift slightly with each wearing, but for me that's okay because its always full of surprises. The sillage and longevity are perfect, as you only need to apply this once and it will last until the next morning. It's definitly a unisex and those who love gourmand scents should try this. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Jan Moran's Notes:
Must de Cartier (1981 Oriental-Ambery)
Top Notes: Bergamot, tangerine, lemon, aldehydes, peach, rosewood
Heart Notes: Jasmine, leather, carnation, ylang-ylang, orris, orchid
Base Notes: Musk, amber

12nd August, 2009.

A huge scrubber for me. It smelled like someone set fire to a car in a field of dandelions.

Amazingly bitter from the first sniff, only settling down to burned rubber and plastic smell. I think that's the rose; I'm a known rose killer.

26th April, 2009.