Under the radar scents: Costes 2

warm and cozy Costes 2 go to scentsHello, dear Posse folks! Cold weather has descended fast and furious on us here in the Deep South, and had me chomping at the bit to pull out some old favorites. So as I was poking through one of my perfume drawers recently on a chilly morning, trying to find just the thing to fit the day, I pulled out a little black mesh bag and looked inside. What did I find? Costes 2.

One spray on my wrist and I knew it was just the thing. Not fancy, not flashy, but a soft, comforting scent that feels like a cashmere throw wrapped around your shoulders to ward off the evening’s chill as you sit outside on the patio. On stressful days, I’ve found it be quite calming as well. And with the holiday crush coming up before you know it, I’ll take all the calming I can get.

Notes are benzoin, Turkish rose, gaiac wood, Tunisian orange blossom and Ceylon cinnamon incense.

Costes 2 was popular when it first debuted, but you don’t hear much about this one or its older sibling, the original Costes, much anymore. But they are lovely scents created by the fabulous Olivia Giacobetti (waves to March, a HUGE Olivia fangirl!) and made for the very chic Hotel Costes in Paris.

If you don’t happen to have this in your fragrance arsenal, but do have Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Pour le Soir (not the Absolue), the MFK offers a similar effect, just a bit more potent. However, the MFK is not quite as yummy on my skin as the Costes 2.

Upon more poking around, I also came across Byredo’s Gypsy Water, which fills the bill similarly, just taking a little different route with its bergamot, incense and pine needles. It’s another low-key fragrance that’s lovely as well.

So what scent do you have that you might have overlooked for a while, but when you stumble on it and wear it again, it’s perfect. And you think “How did I ever forget this?”

  • Amy M. says:

    I found my wee bit o’ Anima Dulcis way in the back of my cabinet and spritzed away.  I had forgotten about its chocolate smokiness.  Costed 2… must remember to check that one out.  Have heard about it over the years! 

  • Portia Turbo says:

    Hey Ann,

    I recently pulled DIOR Feve Delicieuse, Keiko Mecheri Une Jour d’Ete and my vintage Guerlain Vol de Nuit extrait spray from the vault and am enjoying being back in love with them again.One that I recently bought a bottle of that I went through a sample and then a decant of is Scent by Costume National. We hardly ever hear about them on the scentbloggosphere anymore.

    Portia xx

  • Musette says:

    Mine was Amouage Beloved.  After liking it a lot, I put it away (because LOTS OF PERFUME, right?).  It languished in my Away space for quite awhile then, a propos of Floyd knows what, I pulled it out.  That first spritz had me wondering just that “How did I ever forget this?”

    It’s supposed to be 19F tomorrow, with snow tonight.  I will need more than a cashmere throw! 😉

     

    xoxoxoxoA

  • March says:

    Huh, why do I not own this already?!  I went back and looked (which was easy since my 2010 review pops up just above comments in “related”) and I felt like the drydown smelled enough like Barbara Bui, to me anyway, that I wasn’t sure I needed both.  And yes, Olivia Giacobetti is my queen.