Calèche Eau de Toilette (1961)
by Hermès

Caleche is crisp & sharp, it's primary accord seemingly composed of 2/3 aldehyde & 1/3 sour citrus. That's an oversimplification, but it really is very crisp and fairly linear. The aldehydes are ratcheted up to a high degree and the effect is strange and soapy.

Roja Dove tells us that perfumer Guy Robert here created new types of both floral (less sweet) and chypre, less severe, opening with sparkling citrus notes.

Barbara Herman notes the "blend of classic floral notes and balsams that provide a hint of Oriental sweetness" and its "masculine base."

I found it to be for me a sharp and musty floral chypre, drying down to cinnamon. I compare it unfavorably to La Renta's Oscar.

Top notes: Bergamot, Lemon, Neroli, Mandarin
Heart notes: Gardenia, Ylang, Jasmine, Rose, Orris, Muguet
Base notes: Tonka, Sandalwood, Oakmoss, Cedarwood, Vetiver, Amber, Musk, Cypress, Olibanum, Coumarin

Nice but unremarkable.

Genre: Chypre

Calèche starts out smelling like and aldehydic green floral chypre – a sort of softer and more floral Givenchy III or a muted 1000. It’s the “muted” that impresses me over the first part of the development, as Calèche rapidly settles into a slightly spicy floral leather skin scent with a mossy background. Besides a delicate transparency that’s rare among floral chypres, it’s most appealing feature is an almost-but-not-quite edible, nutty quality about its chypre core. The soapy moss and woods drydown that plays out after a few hours is in keeping with the rest of the scent’s refined development.

With its clean, prim demeanor, Calèche occupies a significant niche in the realm of chypre scents. It’s sophisticated, elegant, and somewhat formal. With its conspicuous aldehydes, it’s also a touch “perfumey,” in the same sense as, say, Chanel No. 5. It strikes me, paradoxically, as very gender-neutral as well, perhaps because it is so dry and understated. At any rate, it is a scent worth exploring if you enjoy chypres but find some of the other classics of the genre too opaque or heavy.

I am looking to find a signature scent - something I can use for years. So I read a bunch of reviews and went ahead and ordered 50 samples of everything I want to try and then some niche perfumes that came highly recommended. Caleche sounded right up my alley because anything orange/citrus peeks my attention.

I have to agree with LuciaW about this scent. I sprayed this on and my first impression was soap. It felt like a bucket of strong soapwater was poured over my face and I had to gasp for air for the first half hour. I wanted to wash it off but decided to pull through and see what the dry down smells like. On my skin there's no citrus at al, not the faintest hint! - the soap drowns it all. After almost 3 hours that was still all I could smell. One note: soap. Such a disappointment because after smelling it at the perfume counter on a piece of paper, I was convinced that this would smell great on me. Luckily I only got myself a 5ml vial of this. Now to tend to this soap-induced headache..

Aldehyde floral and vetiver-leather

Caleche is an example of classical perfumery. Beautifully executed aldehydic floral .

This has been no doubt reformulated since it first came out and I am reviewing the latest version Soie de Parfum which I bought this year 2013. Longevity has suffered somewhat but still a fine perfume.

( My bottle bought in 2009 Soie de Parfum - the scent was stronger / denser than this one and the dry down had more oakmoss . )

Gorgeous citrus and aldehydes open Caleche , rose - jasmine, iris in the middle , some ylang and the dry down is mostly vetiver these days with a touch of moss and a slight leathery vibe. Clean , classy and smells expensive.

It is quite close to Amouage Gold Woman but Gold is more peachy/plummy in the middle ,thicker and has a bit of frankincense.

Caleche in its present Soie de Parfum incarnation is also close to Chanel No 5. It is closer to Chanel No 5 than Amouage Gold Woman is supposed to be.

In fact, Caleche smells more like the Chanel No .5 of old than what No. 5 is today.

Wonderful stuff if you love and appreciate classic perfumes.

Pros: Classically beautiful
Cons: Longevity is not as good as previous versions "