Thirty years ago, we were presented with a scent that some people now consider to be the first of the modern gourmands (it pre-dates Mugler Angel by about a year) and I reviewed it in a recent episode of Love At First Scent: Chopard Casmir, composed by the one and only Michel Almairac. You can watch this particular trip along memory lane above or by using the following link: Chopard Casmir review.
Putting aside the gourmand question for the moment – I spend enough time talking about it in the video – I wonder if another way of considering Casmir is as a transition scent between the diamond-clutching largesse of 80s compositions and the caring-and-sharing saintliness of many 90s fragrances. On the one hand, it’s got that huge, Amarige-like, vanilla-and-sandalwood base, but on the other, there’s no denying that its fruity opening is sharp and palate-cleansing, food-inflected though it may be. Maybe this ambivalence is the reason it didn’t make quite as powerful an impact as it could have when it was released, but I’m pleased that the passage of time has prompted many to reconsider its importance.
Persolaise
[Chopard Casmir review based on a sample of eau de parfum from my personal collection.]
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Oh my goodness this brings back memories! A colleague many years ago at the drilling fluids company we were both with at the time (the early 90s) chopped & changed between Casmir, Samsara & Christian Lacroix’s “C’est la Vie!” – note this last exclamation mark is part of the fragrance name, it’s not of my doing…our tastes in fragrance were very different but we thoroughly enjoyed discussing our respective favourites & we agreed that we both always smelled gorgeous!
Carolyn, don’t worry, I know that exclamation mark very well. It’s a shame the Lacroix never quite managed to find an audience. I was always rather fond of it.
Ah, the 90s.
Thanks for reading.