Cabotine (1990)
by Grès

It reminded me of YSL Paris a little. Rose and soap and peach.
The dry down is good and floral but nothing original. Smells like a typical Bank of England smell.

This is a strange scent - Years ago I found Cabotine Gres at a scent counter. Drawn in by the fresh coriander and fresh floral tones, I kept be drawn back to testers. Now that I own it, I have mixed feelings. This scent is not for everyday, but still is enjoyable. Cabotine de Gres does not last as long as I would expect. When I feel "green and fresh" I give it a mist.

Genre: Green Floral

Cabotine exits the bottle in a flourish of very sharp, chemical, fruity floral notes and aldehydes, establishing an unfortunate air freshener vibe that the fragrance never fully manages to shed. The composition first sorts itself out into a harsh, soapy rose and ersatz carnation accord badly in need of rounding and warming. It improves over time, the rose losing some of its chemical rough edges, while woods and vanillic base notes add some much-needed textural relief.

With an hour’s wear Cabotine grows softer and prettier, reading as and aldehydic, fresh, green rose scent. Competition in this particular genre is keen, however, and Cabotine does not hold up well by comparison to scents like Alliage, Private Collection, L’Ombre dans l’Eau, and Chanel No. 19, never mind the infinitely more delicate Une Zeste de Rose and Drôle de Rose.

Fruity, green floral

A most unusual bottle - the stopper is topped by four green flowers - an additional four are clustered in a band adorning the bottle proper.

This is a very fruity, green floral that becomes quite sweet in the dry down. Over applying can result in a cloying, unpleasant effect - the sort of over play that sends one running to the HR office to complain about scent abuse.

It would seem to me that its best audience would be adolescent females, who want to smell like a candy factory.

Fine for its niche, which happens not to be mine.

Pros: Light, fresh feminine scent
Cons: Can be cloying if over applied

My wife once came home with Cabotine by Grès and wore it a couple of times. She likes it, but I find that this perfume has an overpowering chemical smell, not at all pleasant but rather bordering on nauseating. In fact, I hid the bottle in the corner in the back of her wardrobe so that she would stop wearing it. When she found the bottle, a couple of months later, she gave it to her mother, who didn't like it (The father in law was lucky).

The only perfume that I disliked more is Cartier De Lune. I wonder whether they share an ingredient for which I happen to be much more sensitive than other people.