2019 bottle of Cabochard de Grès  by Samantha Scriven©

“Cabochard de Grès is a tribute to all women who jealously guard treasured, heartfelt memories of a voyage to the furthest reaches of the world as I do.” Alix Grès

I gave my  2019 Cabochard de Grès  a home when I saw it all alone in TK Maxx for a mere £12.  Nobody else wanted it and it was crudely encased in a Perspex blister with a garish Sale tag glued to it. I was surprised at the low price and even more surprised that this is in fact a 2019 version of the original 1959 classic.

Bette Davis photo by Victor Skrebneski, Los Angeles, 1971

To me Cabochard de Grès   (French for stubborn) is like an old lady with a scandalous past. She’s the not the glamour puss of old, but she can still cast a charismatic spell and even flirt a little.

 Vintage Cabochard ad via okadi.com

Cabochard de Grès  was first launched back in 1959, during the golden era of popular leather chypres such as Robert Piguet Bandit (1944) and Caron’s iconic Tabac Blond (1919). Leather and smoke were de rigueur and somehow smelled especially good with red lipstick and fur, or maybe my imagination added that bit in.

Madame Grès at work Photo Credit: © Boris Lipnitzki / Roger-Viollet

Madame Grès herself had an interesting life: firstly, a sculptress, then a milliner, then a couturier. Her real name was Germaine Émilie Krebs, but she used an anagram of her husband’s first name to create Grès. He was to later desert her, but she kept his name, and in the spirit of olfactory karma, we remember her, not the cad who left her. Madame Grès branched out into fragrance after an inspirational trip to India, no mean feat in the 1950s. The house has changed hands several times since then and is now based in Switzerland. I applaud them for Cabochard’s loyal nod to the old guard as other houses rush to please the ingénues with their sweet tooth for candy concoctions.

Suzy Parker in leather gloves, photo by Dan Wynn, 1950

So what does this classic of old times and new serve up? To me, the leather gives an elegant vintage feel whilst the galbanum hints that a big, loud chypre accord is a-wing and heading my way.  A satisfying musty cloud of oakmoss gives me the hit I was looking for as roses and jasmine make a brave fist of femininity among the smoky leather.  Aldehydes add a retro feel akin to dusting powder and soap and messy dressing tables. Here’s the part where we need to talk about tobacco. This is not the chemical fug of modern cigarettes, but the mist that hung above heads in jazz clubs once upon a time. It’s late nights, lipstick and liquor. You won’t actually find tobacco in here, but when patchouli, oakmoss and leather start hanging out, this is what happens. To coin a retro British phrase, they rub off on each other like a badass gang of friends that your parents disapproved of. I bought my mother, a committed smoker, a bottle of Cabochard de Grès and it actually seemed to complement her smoky patina. I get it, I really do.

photo via @parfumsgres on Instagram

If you’re wondering if the new 2019 version is as good as the old, well, that’s purely subjective. As ingredients have shot up in price and compliance has tightened, this perfume lover is just happy to get a leathery chypre in 2020. It’s especially welcome among the froth of the modern beauty counter, which feels as if it is aimed at twenty-somethings, not vintage grand dames such as moi. Also, when I pay under twenty pounds for a 100ml bottle of eau de parfum that I adore, I’m not going to nit-pick and wonder if something better is out there. Comparison is the thief of joy.

Anjelica Huston by Firooz Zahedi 1970s

 My bottle, rescued from loneliness in TK Maxx and given a loving home, has made me very happy. It gives me attitude, gratitude and a faint yearning for the days of my youth when I stayed out till the early hours and came home smelling of cigarettes, cheap red wine and sometimes, if it was a good night, someone else’s cologne. Did you even HAVE a past if you can’t smirk about it from time to time? Come with me, dear Cabochard let’s be bad together.

Notes: aldehydes, galbanum, oakmoss,  jasmine, rose, sandalwood, patchouli, leather, sage.

Samantha Scriven, Senior Contributor to ÇaFleureBon and writer of Iscentyouaday

Disclosure: My own bottle, opinions are my own.

You can buy  the 2019 Cabochard at Fragrancex.com for under $13

Are you familiar with either the 2019 Cabochard de Grès  Eau de Parfum or  the 1959 vintage reviewed by Sr. Editor Ida Meister here?

What do you think about the reformulation?

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