Tabac Blond Caron Eau de Parfum

Bottle Design Félicie Wanpouille Bergaud

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8.4 / 10 238 Ratings

Tabac Blond (Eau de Parfum) is a popular perfume by Caron for women. The release year is unknown. The scent is leathery-spicy. The longevity is above-average. It was last marketed by Cattleya Finance.
Pronunciation

Layers well with Taklamakan

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Main accords

Leathery

Spicy

Floral

Smoky

Woody

Fragrance Notes

Carnation

Leather

Iris

Vanilla

Vetiver

Amber

Perfumer

Ernest Daltroff

Ratings

Scent

8.4238 Ratings

Longevity

8.1191 Ratings

Sillage

7.4193 Ratings

Bottle

8.1177 Ratings

Value for money

8.019 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 08.04.2024.

Reviews

10 in-depth fragrance descriptions

03/08/2021

8
Sillage 9
Longevity 9
Scent

Friesin
33 Reviews

Translated Show original

Friesin

Top Review 57

Closer to you

A phrase, yes, that would have saved me. Couldn't he have been ranting about the weather? I hated weather talk. "When the sun's gone, it's about to get cold," that was a delightful turnoff. Instead, here he was, standing next to me, coincidentally at the same boring event. Caught my gaze and didn't release it as he casually murmured " This isn't for people who are barefoot at heart, hmm? " I took those words from him, and they fell delicately into my lyrical heart. Crap This wasn't supposed to happen, I was just going to show my face here for a minute, and leave right away. The wine I'd been drinking wasn't helping now either, the smirk guy smelled lovely, like spices, smoke and leather and a sensual buzz flooded my system. As we pretended to listen to the speeches, we grew closer and closer. Like magnets aligning. I could feel his warmth against my side. And without further words, in this room full of people , a lustful aura surrounded us, a connection that made my heart beat faster and my senses heighten. I wanted him to touch me, and was completely at his mercy.

'Tabac Blond' won me over.
I wrote him this story because I cannot share the attributes assigned to him.
Often described as harsh, cool, androgynous and aloof, 'Tabac Blond' is extremely approachable to me.
The brilliant spicy-nutty start, opens the heart and nose for leather. From the beginning, the interaction seems adult, almost intellectual.
The iris note breaks the edges and gives an ensnaring powder impression, without being sweet or sultry. Amber and musk lend warmth for hours. Enveloped is this fragrance work of art from the namesake tobacco, but without smoke development.
The impression of paper from old tobacco tins, it is , which prevails here.
And all this close, very close.

I'm totally smitten with this timeless classic, which, like any other fragrance, is suitable for any gender.

*'For all who are barefoot at heart.'
Poems by Jan Scácel

07/02/2021

10
Bottle 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 9.5
Scent

Mikadomann
11 Reviews

Translated Show original

Mikadomann

Top Review 37

A moment of intimacy and sensuality

I think it's the beginning of a journey...

I owe the fragrance ticket that enabled me to make the first leg of this journey to the generosity and wealth of knowledge of a wonderful Parfumo. Therefore, this comment is dedicated to Can, and with respect and deep gratitude.

Those who read my reviews and statements know that I often approach fragrances in images. The associations help me better understand scents and work them out for myself.

This particular scent also immediately created images in me. But this time it was different.
In the first second, a movie scene came to my mind. And even more than the scene, which I actually only superficially remember, the image of the character and the image of the actress who plays it arose before me. This scene and the image of this actress opened up the fragrance to me.

The movie I am talking about is "Carol", the actress is the beautiful Cate Blanchett. In a scene at the beginning of this movie, she enters the toy department of a department store.
As she does so, she exudes an intangible elegance. She wears a long, brown fur coat, black underneath, a red scarf, on her blond and laid hair a red cap. And she wears leather gloves in her hand. In a close-up shot of her placing these gloves on the glass sales counter, it quickly becomes clear that this accessory is yet to play a significant role.
And it may even be these gloves that first came to mind when I first smelled the fragrance.
A few minutes later, before leaving the salesroom, Carol will turn around to give the saleswoman, as well as the audience, a breath-taking moment of feminine elegance and distinguished nobility.

And that is exactly what Tabac blond is to me: elegant, distinguished, noble.

To make one thing clear:
The fragrance is not for me a fragrance for ladies. He is also not androgynous. He is what the person wearing in is.
I had briefly considered juxtaposing the female character with a male counterpart. It would be men from literature: Forsyte, Gatsby, Swann.
But Cate Blanchett doesn't need a counterpart.
I keep the scene, which may well be found in a trailer on the net, in my head and so find the scent again.

The leather gloves, the fur. In many scenes of the film, the main characters smoke, both women.

Indeed, the scent is smoky.
But it's not smoke in the classic sense, not a blue haze in a smoky room. Nor is it the well-scented pipe tobacco.
It's the smoke in a spacious and dignified hotel lobby, showing itself in a beam of sunlight coming in through the large window, where it curls. White, shimmering, and carried not by nicotine but by tobacco.
This smoke, this note of tobacco is in the fragrance from the beginning and remains the prominent note almost all the way to the end.

The leather that I find indescribably beautiful in this fragrance is the soft leather of frequently worn gloves. They are soft suede gloves, perhaps deerskin.
And even though there are very delicate, barely perceptible hints of animalic notes (I couldn't decipher which component in the pyramid is responsible for that), but then the leather is underlined mostly by a clean, beautiful creaminess. Vanilla and amber are responsible for that creaminess.
For me, this is the key to the art of this eau de parfum.
It is as if you have captured in the composition exactly the moment in which the lady removes the glove from her well-groomed creamed hand. It is the exact moment and I have the impression that I perceive this scene not with my eyes but with my nose. It's as if a director is guiding my nose very close to that hand. And in that moment, smoke, gently creamed skin and the last hint of soft leather come together for me in a wonderful chord.
So it's not the scent of the gloves that are leather. It's the scent of skin that has slipped off a glove made of leather and has a residue of that scent lingering on it.
What I have described as slightly animalic is the skin, the human, physical about the scent a blend perhaps with the tiny beads on the wrist of a clean body on a warm day. In this moment, Tabac blond succeeds in translating a fragrance experience into one of intimacy and sensuality.

The fact that the garden carnation is rated so prominently here surprised me at first. But I believe that it is precisely this note that is responsible for the fine, noble.
Because indeed, the fragrance is in the background - and towards the end, almost in the very last minutes increasingly - floral. I perceive the clove, however, never strong.
It introduces the fragrance and it ends it. It always accompanies in the background, never plays for me in the foreground. I would never think of calling this fragrance floral. It would always be smoky for me. But no matter at what point: at the beginning, when the fragrance is smoky, or at the end, when it becomes creamy: The clove always highlights the best part of it. Perhaps that is what leads some people to classify the fragrance as a women's perfume.

It is my first truly classic fragrance from this traditional house. With the first spray, I knew I had found a fragrance that would stay with me for a long time. He has triggered a passion in me and made me curious about the very classic fragrances.
A few days after trying the fragrance, I contacted the house in Paris.
I ordered the eau de parfum and asked for the perfume at the same time.
The somewhat awkward explanation unfortunately did not help me.
However, with the Eau de Parfum I received a sample of the perfume. Today I know that my question had apparently arrived exactly a few days before the release of the new formulation of the perfume.
I have since compared the two formats. I don't want to open a category of better or worse at this point. That is not in my nature. They are both wonderful and unique fragrances. Besides, I also lack the knowledge, the history, the comparison, the olfactory education that would allow me to make an astute comparison.
Perhaps the floral note in the new formulation is stronger towards the end. The fragrance pyramid would suggest that, and supported the thought. At first I had only with the new perfume, but later also with the older Eau de Parfum a very quiet, associative memory of the florality of Xerjoff's "Opera". Never as loud or as exuberant, of course. Perhaps readers can support me and get to the bottom of this idea.

I believe it is the beginning of a journey...
A journey that will take me to the classics. In the meantime, I have tried "Pour un Homme de Caron", "Yatagan", but also "Jicky" and "L'heure bleue". I have the impression as if I rediscovered my passion for fragrances.

This journey is just beginning.
I am happy if readers of this post support me with hints on worthwhile intermediate destinations.

01/23/2012

10
Bottle 7.5
Sillage 10
Longevity 10
Scent

Larimar
4 Reviews

Larimar

Top Review 10

The Mystery of Tabac Blond

Tabac Blond is a hell of a naughty and ‘mean’ fragrance. It is rather difficult to pull off 'with style' or better with 'the right attitude' and grasp it in its complexity. After all, it takes quite a woman to love this on herself as the usual female fragrances today smell so totally different in comparison. Part of Tabac Blond's thrill IMO is that it is sort of 'daring' for every wearer... it is not a perfect fit for women nor for men. It’s ambiguous or androgynous, its intentions are concealed and never clear. So, I think Roja Dove is very right in saying that Tabac Blond is a 'difficult' fragrance.

However, I had people literally walking around me in circles to finally stand behind me or following me on a train to sit exactly next to me or a woman at the gas station (how fitting with Tabac Blond’s gasoline and harsh smoky opening! ) commenting in total awe that she had never smelled such a perfume. Tabac Blond does this to the ones not in the know and often strikes them like lightening... its absolutely weird, harsh, butch but opulent opening with the delicious and slightly sweeter and softer heart/base gradually joining is a moment of perfect perfume bliss. Iris/orris is a big helper here to keep the picture blurred all through its progression. The overall mood of Tabac Blond is dark, very dark and seethingly sexual.

Tabac Blond is a glorious piece of perfume history… did Ernest Daltroff initially have men in mind to wear this? Was it meant to conceal the stains of smoking, which was still a rather scandalous pleasure for women in the 1920s? Flapper girls… and and… It is all part of the magic and allure of Tabac Blond today.

To my experience there is no 'reformulation'. Tabac Blond - like e.g. En Avion - was newly interpreted when Alès - with Richard Fraysse as nose - took over. All samples I got hold of from the period afterwards smell basically the same (including the so-called ‘vintage Tabac Blond’ from ThePerfumedCourt). The original Tabac Blond (and En Avion) was fundamentally chypré in character and as such ‘old-fashioned’ in the style of the 1920/30s. All these chypré classics of the time were redux in their heart and base, but lingered on for a long time. The idea of the time was refinement (Caron was and still is the pinnacle of luxury!). A comparison with the great Lanvin classics is inevitable. It is immediately clear when you put on some original Tabac Blond how rich of animalics it is. If you took Rumeur, Scandal and My Sin minus the sweetness from the florals (mostly jasmine) you would be indeed very close in feel to the original Tabac Blond as if they all together were variations on the same theme.

Some last words of advice: Do only buy from Caron directly and only go for the extrait! I think some reviewers on the web (mainly U.S.) got an EdP without knowing. This is really half the story, short-lived on skin and not special and rich in the way the extrait is. Bear in mind that Tabac Blond is not a big sillage fragrance (I apply more), smells fantastic if part of it gets on fabric, keep trying if you are 'confused' but intrigued (in case it does not instantly click with you - it took me quite some tries to get it). Vary spraying and dabbing to find your preferred method.

In the end, I think Richard Fraysse is doing an excellent job at Caron and his interpretation of Tabac Blond is outstanding. Caron is the ONLY house today to keep the grand French Haute Parfumerie style alive.

How I love thee, my Tabac Blond!

08/12/2014

5
Bottle 7.5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 10
Scent

MasterLi
375 Reviews

MasterLi

Very helpful Review 5

Words fail me...

What an incredible masterpiece this is! Like gold or pearl necklaces, and dresses made from finest black velvet. This is a perfume which has to be not smelled but rather experienced!

Tabac Blond (I'm reviewing the Eau de Parfum here) was released in 1919 (same time as the legendary Mitsouko by Guerlain) as a perfume for women who smoked! It was a revolutionary concept, and also a revolutionary perfume in many ways because firstly, it was the first time that leather had been used in a woman's perfume and secondly, this was one of the very first tobacco fragrances! I think it's more revolutionary than Mitsouko though.

It's a hard one to explain but I'll try to. What you get is dry, soft tobacco, like the paper which lines a pack of cigarettes, rather than the cigarettes themselves. Spicy carnation dominates, along with a gorgeous leather-iris combination and a hint of animalic notes. Damp cedarwood and dry, dark vanilla mixed with creamy ylang-ylang complete the base.

This is unlike anything I've tried in a very long time. When I smell this I get two images, elegant balls and women dressed in black with white gloves and cigarette holders, marble floored ball rooms and the golden aura from crystal chandeliers. The other image I get is the women of the 1920's, androgynous women (this was reportedly a favourite of Marlene Dietrich). I don't get "flapper" or "loose woman" out of this. I get "rich woman who smokes"... and yes it's a lot like the smell of makeup and tobacco but at the same time is so deep and luxurious that it really deserves a few tries to really see the elegance in it. It really gives of an aura of gold and black and luxury. I can't explain any better than that. If you can, please try and experience this. A legendary perfume.

02/07/2012

7.5
Bottle 7.5
Sillage 10
Longevity 10
Scent

Rebella
16 Reviews

Rebella

Helpful Review 8

The mystery of perfume presented to an alien.

If I had to chose only one fragrance that should reveal and explain the European perfume history, herritage and style to an alien (from outer space or a person totally blanc of associations towards perfumes in general), I would chose Caron´s Tabac Blond.

From the first time I tried it, it had me. And I was intrigued, repelled, fascinated and very much attracted. Tabac Blond is to me the perfume of the perfumes. It´s so close to what perfume is all about (to me) that I call it an archetype.

Everything you might want from a real high class perfume, you got it in Tabac Blond. Even thoug I have more expensive perfumes in my collection, nothing makes me feel as proud being a perfumista as Tabac Blond. Living without knowing Tabac Blond would be a great loss. Greatness beyond words really...

Oh, but oh... how does it smell? The opening is very sharp, like a lot of old school perfume openings are and I´ve learned to love those harsh, a little repelling openings, if the medicin isn´t bitter, it won´t work as well, right? It´s bursting with almost oily carnation, underscored by equally oily, slightly bitter lime and a raw, rugged leathery note. Love it.

The smokey character from vetiver reveals. Some softer notes from florals. It warms up, it meltens in to my skin, creamy yet still harsh, mysterious and dark. The dry down is all about golden creaminess, woody patchouli, soft vanilla (not the eatible kind), regal amber and animalic musk. Love it even more (if possible).

If you´re usually in to fruity florals, you´ll proably hate Tabac Blond. It´s far from a modern scent, yet I find it timeless and ageless, and I hope Caron will continue to keep it this way, as far as I know they´re still having the original formula (or at least as close as possible). I do not find the eau de parfum so different from the extrait. Not as long lasting, and you need to apply more of course, but the esscential fragrance seem very close to my nose.

If you don´t have any fancy clothes or golden jewelry, not worry, Tabac Blond will be happy to wear you for a while even if you´re dressed in jeans and t-shirt.

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