More hot weather… We’ve had a rather strange summer. It’s sort of been, when it’s hot, it’s outrageous for here, and the rest of the time, it’s been cool/grey/wet/humid to the max/windy and gales. This past week was hot. Like, mad hot. A couple of days felt like the beach on the Atlantic Coast of New Hampshire, where my parents lived for some years: clear blue sky, very hot, salt-smelling air and very windy – dry, dry, dry. Other days were hot and very humid, with one day it feeling like the world was rotting — the air was so moist and some fun farmer had spread muck on the fields that morning.
I had seven more Cabanels to try from the sample kit and just couldn’t get my head round that number. So, I’ve done four this time round and the last three will come in a couple of weeks.
Onward (or On Y Va, as the people from the Les Frenchies youtube channel say at the beginning of their Paris videos).
Encore. Notes: carrot seed, peach, chai latte, iris, sandalwood, green vanilla, ambroxan and musk. This opens carrot-iris scratchy thing on me, with maybe a bit of chai sweetness. It’s very light – and I do mean very. It develops a toasty feel, with a bit of sandalwood and vanilla – a sort of cereal-y aspect. This is very short-lived on my chemistry – like a couple of hours max – and didn’t leave me wanting to try again for more longevity.
Très French. Notes: crunchy pear, peony, lily of the valley, sambac jasmine, “crystal clear notes” (yes, really), sandalwood, benzoin, vetiver Haiti and white musks. On very first burst of smell, I got peony. But that disappears in 10 seconds and becomes a not very pleasant pear (I’m not a pear lover anyway, in food or perfume). Lily of the valley emerges, which mediates the pear, and interestingly a salty note shows up (not listed) which works well with the LotV. This is soft and watery even as the jasmine emerges and I started to get some woods. The drydown has a strange ocean-pong smell. Like Encore, this is short-lived (though longer than Encore). Not something I will revisit.
Oha. Notes: bergamot, tea aroma, roses, jasmine, cardamom, tonka bean, patchouli and white musks. “… unique and timeless chypre”, per the website. Well, this is a really lovely chypre. It opens with a nice sharp citrus and tea accord which is interestingly dry. Then, the rose and jasmine emerge to deepen the fragrances. It still has a chypre-esque powderiness and a whisper of tea. This is a bit austere which is really attractive. The drydown is nicely woody but still with that powder accord. It’s very well done and quite long-lived on my skin – a text-book chypre. I don’t need this – I have chypres with more bells and whistles – but I appreciate it and think it’s well worth sampling.
Barkhane. Notes: bergamot, geranium, cumin, cistus, vetiver, myrrh, vanilla and oud. Per the site, “woody oriental”. It is that on me, but incredibly muted. It’s woody/herbal at the opening, with geranium but not much citrus at all. As it develops, I get some cumin and more geranium, with a whisper of sweetness (maybe myrrh) … and then the drydown was verrrry quiet, myrrh and vanilla. Given the notes list, I was taken aback by how soft this was. I was expecting a lot more oomph, presence and noise. It’s nice but extremely close to the skin. So, that would be a ‘no’.
The standout of these was clearly Oha.
So, three more to go.
Anyway, any of these likes for you? Curious? Already ordered the sample set and working your way through it? Looking forward to autumn or trying to hold on to summer?
Pics: Pexels and mine
After a scorching week, it’s now 65F and raining – and I ain’t mad at it.
I got nuthin’ on the Cabanel line – I sampled a few perfumes from them awhile back but cannot remember a single one. Sigh. Probably me. Or them. Who knows!
I tried to enjoy the heat because we’re likely now going to be moving into UK autumn/winter weather of cold, grey, constantly wet with flooding, and gale force winds periodically. The fragrances are very hit or miss but I continue to be really impressed with the whole sample offering.
Ok, Oha would be the only one I would like to try. I got some Teo Cabanel samples (none of the above) in a swap but neither one impressed me. Obviously it’s not my kind of perfume house.
I think (and someone said this in the comments on my first Cabanel post) that the older fragrances are very different from the new ones. I’m finding that the older ones work on me but most of the newer ones simply don’t. They are too light and my chemistry turns them weird.
Thanks to your excellent tip I also got the sample set:) It is so interesting to read how different aspects are stronger (or maybe our noses/brain circuits differ).
I liked Encore and actually ended buying a small bottle – it is perfect on those (rare) days that I want to wear something understated.
I wish Tres French would have been a watery crunchy pear on me…I got burnt tyres behind lilac bush, but unfortunately it was run over by monster artificial pear candy. Looking forward to try Oha and Barkhane, but I need a bit colder weather for those.
Glad to have enabled 🙂 Have you tried Cafe Cabanel yet? That really is my favourite so far. The last three I need to do includes Alanine. So, looking forward to that. Burnt tyres behind lilac bushes with pear candy. That’s a new one.
I quite like Cafe Cabanel, it smells a lot like my well-aged bottle of L de Lolita Lempicka.I have only worn it twice, so I haven’t made up my mind up yet. The only iffy thing is that sometimes CC gives an odd whiff of immortelle but luckily this is very short-lived.
I will give an update when it ends to my thunked samples list;)
Last week was blistering hot around here. Now we’ve cooled down 20 degrees and have rain. I agree that Oha sounds the best out of this group. Thanks for the reviews, Cinnamon.
I still have three left in the sample kit, including Alanine, which gets a lot of love. So, Cafe Cabernet is a winner and Oha is quite nice. I hope your weather is ok and the rain isn’t too annoying.
I haven’t tried these but Oha sounds wonderful. Crunchy pear, not so much. For some reason it made me think of the Monty python skit crunchy frog..
Feh on crunchy pear — or pear in any form for that matter. I don’t know that Monty Python skit. Always loved Ministry of Silly Walks.
Oha is the one I remember really enjoying, although I don’t think I bought it. It’s been varying levels of ridiculously hot in different parts of the U.S. but not bad at all where I am, which I’m appreciating. Thanks for the reviews.
Today is much cooler vs last week. And we’re due rain from tomorrow. Oha is very good. And the fact that they offer 30ml bottles helps 🙂
Love Les Frenchies! We watched a lot of their videos before our trip to Paris last summer ( beautiful but 103 deg!) and still say On Y Va when going out!
I really enjoy Les Frenchies. Down to earth and offer good, out of the ordinary ideas. And I love that the woman (can’t recall her name right now) is learning French and speaking more of it in the videos.
WOW Cinnamon,
My Barkhane ride is much more hefty. It lasts and lasts and pumps out great gouts of scent. Wonder if the heat has addled it?
Ohh sounds gorgeous.
Portia xx
Dearest Portia
How old is your Barkhane?
I wonder if the more recent tester of Cinnamon’s means Barkhane has been severely moderated?
I had a sample & remember Barkhane as what you describe. A sweet spicy myrrh bomb
OH! I hadn’t even thought of that Alityke. Mine is pre C19, so a few years. That could be it, definitely. Especially as all the new rules hit.
There is always the issue, which I neglected to mention this time, of my low body temp which sometimes mutes perfumes. But, given how much oomph Oha had I was surprised this was so quiet. And perhaps Alityke is right: that this is a newer iteration and just different.
Yeah, I’ll be interested to sniff this stuff in December.