Café Cabanel photo by Samantha Scriven

“I revived Teo Cabanel in 2005 with the ambition to continue writing its story, (to) create a unique link between the past and the present” Caroline Ilacqua, Teo Cabanel

Teo Cabanel has a fascinating history which adds a classic French pedigree to its fragrances. From its humble nineteenth century beginnings, to its famous fans including The Duchess of Windsor, the house is headed by Caroline Ilacqua, who thankfully saw fit to continue the work of these unique perfumes with unique credentials. Caroline inherited Teo Cabanel in 2005 at the tender age of just twenty-two, but this wise head on young shoulders wasted no time in coaxing these beautiful fragrances back to life. (In case you were wondering, The Duchess of Windsor’s favourite was “Julia.”)

Cecile Zarokian

For Teo Cabanel Café Cabanel, Caroline worked with super star independent perfumer Cecile Zarokian (Jul et Mad Stairway to Heaven, Jovoy Paris Private Label, Nishane Ani and many more) and a future gourmand classic was born.

The bottle itself is heavy and gold, with its eye catching black, red and white abstract design. It feels expensive and weighty, but also luxurious and intriguing. It comes beautifully boxed in white and red with a gold plaque. It feels precious to own and to hold, like a statuette. Now, I’m not usually a gourmand fan. Years of messy children cured me of wanting to smell like food, but all that’s changed now. Teo Cabanel Café Cabanel could make a stone statue fall in love with it.

Cafe de Flore at night photo by Cafe de Flore

Inspired by the simple pleasure of sitting in a sidewalk café and watching the world go by, this is a fragrance that goes beyond capturing a moment and in fact captures an epoch when we simple creatures loved to watch each other and drink a smoky brown drink made from crushed beans. Despite the seismic dawn of the digital age, somehow, I think this activity will never go out of date.

Caroline Ilacqua

“Rarely do I miss the chance to appreciate an espresso sitting on one of those wicker chairs so characteristic of a French café. For this perfume I wanted to blend the scents of such a place – coffee aromas, chocolate, pastries, but also the wood and metallic tabletops of the furniture”- Caroline Ilacqua

Teo Cabanel Café Cabanel opens with dark, rich coffee beans. Beneath the coffee is an unexpected guest: tangy tangerine. In real life, you wouldn’t put oranges and coffee together, some people even baulk at chocolate and orange together (I’m not one of them), but here it is a stroke of genius. The citrus cuts through the coffee like a sunbeam and has a fabulously uplifting feel, adding to the mouth-watering suspicion that somewhere in the background is some kind of tarte au citron. I am taken further down the path of temptation as a deeply creamy vanilla begins to materialize. But wait! There’s a singed caramel tinge to this mélange, which can only mean one thing: crème brûlée, the dessert of Deities. Combine this with espresso and a touch of sharp orange and you’ll be in olfactory heaven.  There’s a curious metal tang underneath that reminded me of the silvery gleam of a glass table when splattered with plump raindrops, shivery and fresh.

Coiffeuses du Soleil Robert Doisneau

At this point, I was captivated by this beautiful eau de parfum and the happy place it took me to, but there were even more pleasant surprises in store for me. Just when I thought the coffee bar had closed, out came roses and patchouli to anoint me with a touch of evening glamour. Big red roses call for big red lipstick, and so the evening brings a change of pace with the scent of the Café de Flores still wreathing itself around me, telling the tale of my day. Whispers of musk catch the coat tails of the roses and drift in my wake.

Café Cabanel tells the story of a day Paris from café to cocktails. There can’t be a person alive who doesn’t long for the luxury of people watching and  drinking good coffee in the City of Lights. If you can’t get to Paris, wearing Café Cabanel will take you there.

Disclosure: Thank you to Teo Cabanel for my review bottle. Opinions are my own.

Notes: Tangerine, coffee, cinnamon, rose, heliotrope, milky and buttered notes, vanilla, tonka bean, caramel, sandalwood, musk, patchouli

–Samantha Scriven, Guest Contributor and author of iscentyouaday.com

Teo Cabanel Café Cabanel via their website

Thanks to the generosity of Caroline Ilacqua we have a 100ml bottle of Teo Cabanel Café Cabanel  eau de parfum for one registered reader worldwide. You must register here or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you enjoyed most about Samantha’s review, if you have favourite Teo Cabanel fragrance, and where you live. Draw closes 2/23/2020

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