Abano by Prince Matchabelli, 1934

I have an "After Bath Cologne" version of uncertain vintage. This smells like sweet baked grasses in field in August. It has been described as "orange, lavender, patchouli, herbs and grasses and oak moss notes" on another website. I guess the orange and lavender have been erased by time. The scent reminds me of the oils I have from WEIL. There is a depth that comes from serious quality natural components. What I find enlivening in this one, hard to pin down really, is an effect of honeycombed crystals. There is a texture to this, a flame in the grasses so to speak. It fades out to a sweet warmth fairly quickly.

Yes, it was memorable. First off, mine came in a collection of Prince Matchabelli miniatures in exquisitely detailed crown-shaped bottlees about an inch and an eighth across. The others included Golden Autumn, Wind Song, Reprise and Easter Bonnet. IIRC.a Then Abano itself, with that rich but not cloying honey note. And did I detect the scent of white clover on a sunny day? All of it over ambergris, amber and LOTS of frankincense. Nothing marine to me, but as an inland kid in the '50s, I wouldn't've known marine scents from Adam's off ox. Thanks for the memories!

Dark, syrupy without being sweet, marine and seashore, strong at first, but haunting. Ambergris? oud-y notes.
Haven't smelled this for decades, yet still remember! Anyone else love this?