Castelbajac (2001)
by Jean-Charles Castelbajac

the orange blossom and almond combination make me swoon. I sniff myself all day. It is so 'nostalgic' and comforting but very modern, IMO. Hard for the 'non nose' to identify, which makes it fun to wear.

This immediately reminded me of 'Gaultier to the power of two'. It's also very sweet and warm. Castelbajac is a little more original than Gaultier. Although gaultier considers his scent as unisex, which i don't agree with. it's a warm comfort scent, very appropriate in winter times.

The opening notes were sweet yet warm & buttery. On dry down this smelled like original Bounce dryer sheets or clean soapy laundry. In my opinion, Castelbajac would be better suited for use as a linen spray or as an additive to iron water not worn on the body. On the plus side the bottle is cute.

Killer bottle, killer scent - a sharp, so sharp opening blast that fades to clean, soft, powdery beauty. Castelbajac is interesting that way; all the seriously intense aspects of all the notes, from the orange blossom to the almond to the patchouli and sandalwood, come at you so powerfully upon application. The closest I can think of to what it's like is something from Prince Matchabelli that one of my grandmothers used to wear, something that blasted sharp sweetness to an extreme. But then, soon after, precisely these same notes become as fresh and soothing as a newly laundered chenille blanket, heavy on the fabric softener. Throughout all, a trace of Elmer's glue. (That's got to be from the almond as well.) I've read that Jean-Charles Castelbajac himself was seeking to recreate olfactory cues from his own childhood with this, and I definitely "get" the connections. This is nostalgia of sorts in a Pop Art package and is one of my favorite comfort scents because it's got an edge to it; it's a bit more challenging than something that's just plain old sweet. I would compare it most closely to Etro Heliotrope, which also develops into a clean scent on my skin, but would give Castelbajac a slightly higher rating as it's just a more complicated and interesting take on fragrance to me.