Tabac Blond by Caron c1919

Tabac Blond: created in 1919. Pronounced "TAH-BAH-BLAWN", its name means "blond tobacco " in French. Created by Ernest Daltroff. It was a unique perfume, because at that time it was the only the only feminine fragrance with tobacco notes.

The Pharmaceutical Era, 1924:

"But even the old perfume houses are introducing new odors from time to time- to meeting the shifting tastes of the public. ... N'Aimez Que Moi (love only me) is the next popular brand in the Caron lines, with Tabac Blond in close pursuit."

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It is classified as a dry leather chypre fragrance for women. It begins with fresh top notes, followed by a classic floral heart, resting on a powdery, tobacco base. Woodsy, mossy, leafy: familiar aromatic notes with a sweet, leather tobacco tone.

• Top notes: bergamot, clary sage, mandarin, linden, orange blossom, and lemon
• Middle notes: rose, carnation, orris, vetiver, ylang ylang, and jasmine 
• Base notes: tobacco, leather, musk, patchouli, vanilla, cedar, amber, civet, benzoin, and oakmoss

1966 advertisement:

"Tabac Blond by Caron, a woodsy fragrance, exotic and smoky" 

Tabac Blond was available in parfum extrait, cologne, bath oil, lotion, dusting powder, talcum powder, face powder, toilet water (eau de toilette).

"CARON cools you as the summer surf with luxurious lotions" reads a 1950s ad...these lotions are not like the milky or creamy body moisturizers we think of lotions of today, the older "lotions" are sort of like cologne splashes only they seem to have more of a lasting power, perhaps due to a higher concentration of perfume oils and less or no alcohol the their composition.

A friendly reader, Tina, sent me a lovely sample of the Tabac Blond Lotion, this probably dates to around 1947, when the lotions were first introduced. What a heavenly, intoxicating fragrance. This is what a good perfume should smell like, expensive and very high quality.

The fragrance starts off with a delicious shot of orange blossoms, one of my favorite odors of all time, resting upon sun drenched lemons, spicy carnations, delicate  linden blossoms and irises, heady jasmine and ylang ylang,  this is warmed by luxurious amounts of tobacco, musk, civet and ambergris which give this a decidedly sexy suede leather edge. The dry down is thick with woodsy and mossy notes of oakmoss, cedarwood and patchouli.

Bottles:

Presented in a flacon designed by Félicie Vanpouille. Also in a flacon by Cristalleries de Baccarat, design #572.

•  0.633 oz  (5/8 oz) bottle stands 2 1/8" tall.
• 1 oz bottle stands 2" tall
• 1.056 oz bottle stands 2.5" tall
• 2 oz (2.112 oz) bottle stands 3" tall.
• bottle stands 3.5' tall.
• 3 oz bottle stands 4" tall.

Fate of the Fragrance:

Tabac Blond, thankfully, is available today in various forms, with the parfum extrait the most coveted.