20 Carats (1933)
by Dana

WOW! I can't believe how much I like this!

The lineage of 20 Carats to Tabu is clear. They are sisters. 20 Carats is an oriental that is a bit lighter and brighter, but still has that same spicy edge as Tabu. More floral than Tabu, but still spicy. Even with the bottle that I have, there is a bit of citrus on top, but 20 Carats is all spicy powder with cinnamon. It has the same rootbeer note as Tabu but it's not as pronounced. It pick up patch & musk but 20 Carats does not have the same animalistic presence as Tabu.

I got 20 Carats and Tabu from the same estate. Both are 3 oz vintage spray colognes in the rubber bottles with the funky shaped sprays. Tabu is in the black bottle, 20 carats in the cream bottle. I'm guessing that they both date to the 1930s. My 20 carats is "blended in the USA with imported essences." Bottle is numbered 3283. I feel lucky to have found her and her bigger sister, Tabu, which were owned - but never worn - by the same woman.

27^th December, 2010 (Last Edited: 07^th February, 2011)