Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Jean D'Albret CASAQUE Perfume



I'm wearing Jean D"Albret's classic Casaque today. There isn't any good reason for choosing it except possibly I'm still vibing on blue notes, thinking about last week's Candlelight perfume. Casaque doesn't have any lilac in it per se but there's hyacinth and typically it's blue. I suspect hyacinth is closely related to narcissus, or jonquil, and it usually reminds me of pure sunshine. It's not exactly a lemony warm sunshine feeling but rather a radiant flower full-to-brimming over with nectar feeling that seduces everything it touches. Used in perfume, it creates a lush, full bodied scent bursting and juicy. Besides the hyacinth, I can pick out the lily of the valley, jasmine, ylang-ylang and rose. It's a non-foody, non-fruity, non-vanilla, nectar fest. When I check the official notes of Casaque, mimosa and citrus, lemon  and bergamot are also listed. Of course they are there in the composition, lending a sour-sweet (nearly urinous, but not quite) honey embellishment to the green floral. This perfume opens in a rush, all the notes hitting you quickly and swirling about before the lemon honey thins things out a bit. Some people report this scent is soapy- I know there's supposed to be some carnation in it , but I don't see it as having a clean or creamy flavor. In fact it can go a little animalish with me, that honey thing growing more intense as the floral sugar rush dies down. The lily of the valley is a pure delight here. It is delicate and almost high-pitched but just delectible, trending towards Serge Lutens' Un Lys, in that by turns the lily smells more like a true lily flower, or tiger lily and less like LOV. The dry-down retains a bit of the floral brightness and honey sour, but it is very mild, anchored by a soft sandalwood and musk. The scent is surprisingly light for all the richness I decribe and actually it is the type of thing a young girl could wear in the spring or summer. The perfume is purer, sweeter smelling, more LOV, like good, old school formulation Diorissimo parfum, just very very nice. The EDC is really good, too, with maybe a little plumy underbody and a lighter, fresher form, but otherwise very true to the perfume.  I understand Irma Shorell has the license for Casaque but I've never smelt her version.   The Vintage Perfume Vault, where the scent of yesterday's vogue lives.



Note: I have a bad habit of posting vintage perfume ads for you to view for free and in context of a perfume discussion. I apologize for providing freebies to you but I love free information and I hate the ruthless elimination of free information from the 'net. It'll be the death of the darn thing, when everything gets covered up with a fee per view banner! I for one am not in favor, I'm more of a pirate than a prince (or princess) , I guess. So these are some of the last perfme advertising images you'll see from the vintage ads. The bottle is my photo.

4 comments:

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Amelia said...

Damn! My first spam post! Maybe I was wrong to preach about freedom of information on the internet! In any case, I'll be reviewing comments from now on before allowing them to show to avoid another yucky post like the one above- sorry to all my readers for this bit of dreck!

Unknown said...

My God, what a wonderful blog you have here! I am a lover of Guerlain and have had many classics mentioned here but certainly never the wonderful elixirs I've read about. Imagine sampling Mitsouko in it's most original formulation! I can't!

I dabble in Frederic Malle fragrances as well. My largest (total) perfume collection was just over 70. I am down to a mere 5, trying to show a little more restraint than in my early 40s. Have you seen the wonderful video on YouTube about a man's Guerlain collection? He talks of visiting the old marketplace in Paris to find original Guerlain bottles, some still holding a few drops of the original perfume. Fascinating!

Amelia said...

Jae, Welcome to the Vault! Guerlain is a world unto itself. No other house has inspired singular such devotion among its fans. Truly one could devote oneself exclusively to the pursuit of things Guerlain has made (and create a world class collection, in the course)! In any case, enjoy all of your olfactory explorations and keep coming back to the Vault!