Caswell Massey is one of those venerable purveyors that somehow always manage to fly under my radar. Of course I’ve heard of them and have even run across them in other people’s bathrooms but my shaving needs are rather prosaic- whatever soap-like thing is handy to use as shaving cream and a five-blade razor I have been refilling for years. I did know they did scents but kind of hadn’t bothered, figuring that they would be pleasant, self-effacing things that WASP gentlemen would wear, content in the knowledge that they smell fresh and clean, but not flashy or, how shall I put it? “Light in the loafers” was the old phrase.
But maybe that’s showing my age. Because these turned out to be a lot more interesting that I thought they would be..
Number Six (Or in this case, VI, since it’s the EDP) is the oldest scent that they sell and I’d bet one of the oldest ones continually sold. It’s from 1772 (and no I was not one of the first customers) and while the website doesn’t state when the EdP version was released, they do state that it is the “higher strength, amber infused, and most authentic edition of the 1772 recipe worn by George Washington” So there. Notes: (from their website)
Top: Sparkling Bergamot, Rosemary, Neroli
Middle: Golden Amber, Clove, Dry Rose
Base: White Musk, Lavender
All of this is a lot stronger and more interesting than what the listed ingredients would have you believe: The opening is super-bright neroli but the dusky clove comes in pretty quickly and I swear I smell a bit of leather in there. The opening then becomes sweet- like the bergamot had been candied. The rosemary is thoroughgoing and for me the amber comes in at the end with the lavender and musk. The sandalwoody finish stays well into the next day, but you have to get thisclose to smell it. The lasting power is such that I don’t think I will need more than the $40 7.5ml travel size I purchased (and lord love them for doing travel sizes!) but if I had three bottles of scent rather than, er, more than three I would go for the big one.
One of those cunning little “cottages”
Newport is kind of more conventional, being an “true aquatic fougere” (no it ain’t, thank goodness.) and is meant to evoke “the spirited sailing culture of New England.” It might be meant to evoke that but seems to me to be more akin to sampling the cultured spirits from a terrace of a “cottage” on Belleview Avenue. The notes: again, (from their website)
Top: Mandarin
Middle: Lavender, Geranium
Base: Balsam, Cedarwood
This doesn’t list mint, but I do get something very much like it in there- a “mojitos in Miami” vibe that doesn’t quite jibe with the buttoned-up Newport thing it’s supposed to be going for, But then this sort of scent isn’t me at all- I think I am a bit more Nouveau Newport Beach than staid Newport, RI. If it’s you I would go for the larger size: 88ML is only $80 while the 7.5ml I purchased was $30. Lasting power, as is usual for a scent that I am meh about, is excellent.
Gardenia is something that was kind of a surprise- I usually think of gardenia as being somewhat overwhelming. like Jungle Gardenia, which Patty wrote made her want to “find a pack of Chesterfields, do my hair up in a beehive and head out to see if there are still inappropriate men at my age to neck with” (not that that’s a bad thing) This is far more innocent- kind of a blameless gardenia. A gardenia introduction, or better yet a gardenia seduction. A gardenia gateway drug. With these notes (again from their website)
Top: Citrus Zest, Leafy Green Accord
Middle: Gardenia, White Peony
Base: White Woods
You can apply all you want and only get a hint of the bad girl that gardenia can be. If this were a movie (perhaps pre-code) this would be the scent of the innocent young heroine before fate (and the script) turned her into the cigarette-smoking, gin-swilling bad girl in a tight Orry-Kelley gown who lures the hero to his doom. I liked it a lot. The $30 for 7.5ml size is sold out as of this writing; the $125 60ML is still available. Surrender to Chance has this one to try.
Have any of you tried these? Let’s discuss in the comments. Gardenia and several of the others in the line are available to try from Surrender to Chance.
My bottles (pictured) were purchased by me. Gardenia Sample is from Surrender to Chance. Images: my iPhone, Pexels and Wikimedia Commons.
I have been dealing with the head cold from he!! on steroids but came here to tell Tom and those Posse members in CA to please stay safe and use an abundance of caution always.
I used to have Caswell Massey Freesia Signature Scent in one of those bottles with the bulb atomizer, but it all evaporated on me. While looking swanky and glamorous, those bulb atomizers are horrible. I haven’t tried any of the three you reviewed, Tom. They sound very nice. A shy gardenia sounds lovely.
Bulb atomisers look lovely but really don’t work at all, which is a shame.
I have a friend from uni who wore CM cucumber cologne back then and smelled insanely great. Sort of both fresh and fruity but also musky.
March and I did The Great Cucumber Hunt a few years back and I think CM was one of the snipes we hunted.
Alas
I am going to have to look for that.
I would love to find a nice cucumber cologne. Fresh did something called cucumber baie (I think) but I ran out and never saw it again
Heya Tom,
I love their Sandalwood. We used their soaps for a while and I remember there being a very nice Sandalwood body lotion that went with them. Did not know they did fragrance.
Portia x
I actually didn’t know that myself. I only knew the soaps.
In case anyone is concerned, the fires in LA are at the moment in the Pacific Palisades on the far west side, miles away from my neighborhood. While we did have a minor brush fire near me north of Sunset in West Hollywood, that fire was knocked down in under an hour. Most of LA is under a fire watch due to the high winds, which are supposed to be keeping up until tomorrow (Wednesday the 8th) evening. However my neighborhood is untouched, fingers crossed.
I WAS worried about you, thanks for checking in! We’ve gotten windy (although no precipitation), presumably part of whatever nightmare is burying a huge swath of the country in snow and ice right now. We used to have a Caswell & Massey at the mall eons ago (although I don’t think George Washington shopped there) and I remember thinking their scents were pleasant. This was all pre-perfume-obsession and I’d welcome a revisit.
I wish they could divert a little of that snow here..
Uh… yeah! We ARE concerned. But knowing it was Palisades kept me from getting too worried
I always ( slightly) ogle the C-M offerings whenever I’m at one of those boutiques or ‘European Drugstore’ types – but (shrug)
Must remedy that
I figured you’d know the area which makes it better (because you know I am not there) and worse (because you know what is there- Malibu feed bin- gone. All that coast is going to look a lot different for a while.)
They were evacuating Santa Monica canyon last night
Glad to hear all is ok with you. The Palisades situation looks totally awful.
It’s dreadful. Now it’s Malibu as well.
I have been worried about you so thanks for the info.
I am glad I am in the flats..
Fingers crossed here, too, for you. It would be a sin for anything to stop you from writing such wonderful reviews with historical L.A. references..
CM was one of my perfume gateways in junior high. Their cucumber cologne got me through many wildly hot and humid East coast summers.
Stay safe, Tom.
Thanks for the kind words!
I wish I had that cucumber one- I don’t see that they still have it.
Glad to hear that, Tom. Let’s hope and pray it stays that way.
Here’s hoping!