Living on the Edge: Caron Tabac Blond

Long before I tried Caron Tabac Blond Pure Parfum, part of me knew it was going to mean something to me. There are those perfumes that we have hyped up so much in our minds that it's next to impossible for it to live up to our imagined standards, but sometimes, there is an instinctual patience that kicks in. It's like meeting someone that you know will be your lover at some point, it's just a matter of when. Here I am today, about a year after I decided that I needed to try Tabac Blond, in the midst of my tryst, emotionally satisfied, mentally stimulated and plotting and planning how I'll get more.

Tabac Blond starts out brusquely, with a lot of spice (garnered mainly via the stunning carnation note), linden, and a very metallic edge. The heavy dose of raw leather quickly emerges and remains throughout most of the wearing. There is a beautiful surprise here: the cool edge of iris, and it really adds sophistication to the blend. A touch of vetiver, ylang ylang and lime tree leaf round out the heart notes. This is not a perfume for good girls. This is a perfume for women who wear leather jackets with studs, are not afraid of tattoos, have a lot of expensive black eyeliners and even more expensive shit-kicking boots, but it's not quite that simple. This is an energizing fragrance that has a distinctly feminine cast to it. I think this could work for the right man, but my guess is that that is a rare occurrence. The smoky sexiness of Tabac Blond lends itself well to a woman who is confident, comfortable with her feminine wiles and doesn't shy away from masculine tactics.

Tabac Blond appears as a carnation made of caramel leather, planted in dry tobacco leaves and cedar chips. With a steadfastly rich amber, patchouli, musk and vanilla base, it lasts forever on the skin. I wish I had worn  Tabac Blond on my wedding day six and a half years ago;  in lieu of a traditional wedding dress, I wore a tailored black Ralph Lauren tuxedo suit, black leather Givenchy stilettos with white contrast stitching, winged black eyeliner and my trademark black hair with short, blunt bangs. This would have been the perfect finishing touch.

[my small decant was purchased from The Perfumed Court. I wish I knew how/where to get a bottle, anyone have any suggestions?]