Jean Patou Câline Vintage bottles via Ida
May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young ~ Bob Dylan, Forever Young
2025 is here. My thoughts revolve around our wishes for you all in the upcoming months, and to that end – a fragrance, a lyric, a melody which synchronizes. Two miniature flacons winked at me from the top corner of my bureau: Jean Patou Câline, in both eau de toilette and parfum. As I removed their stoppers, I was struck by their persistent, ebullient youthfulness and echo of an Eternal Spring – followed by the strains of Bob Dylan’s Forever Young. It felt natural to proceed with a review of Câline (at this juncture, vintage is all that remains – so vintage it is), a radiant scintilla of hope during these darker months in the Northern Hemisphere. If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, Câline holds up a mirror to the fecund warmth which you currently experience. Either way, it’s a rare beauty like Shakespeare’s Cleopatra: “Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety”.
Young Audrey Hepburn Getty
Jean Patou Câline was released in 1964 as “the first perfume dedicated to teenage girls” – promoted in several advertisements as the “essence of youth”. Seriously. Perhaps in Paris this might have been applicable – but in my youth (I was 10 years old when this fragrance appeared upon the market) few teenage girls possessed the wherewithal to purchase it for themselves, and it wasn’t as if Patou perfumes were widely available, either. In the context of 1964’s rapidly changing political and societal climate, however, young women were maturing apace. Try as I may, I am unable to envision anyone other than the very young Audrey Hepburn in her ballerina heyday: a pensive beauty underlined by grace, equipoise, and indisputable elegance.
1966 ad for Câline (“the essence of youth”)
Câline was preceded by Guy Robert’s Calèche for Hermès, and it foreshadowed 1974’s Chanel Cristalle (Henri Robert). Câline bears some of the aromatic DNA of each – the aldehydic floral sophistication of the former, and the crisp bouncy step of the latter (particularly in the eau de toilette) – but there the resemblance ends. For all of its suave charm, Patou’s base simmers discreetly underneath its millefiori loveliness; it’s distinctly mossy and dusky, loaded with musk, sandalwood, cedar, labdanum, amber, patchouli and old school oakmoss. Monsieur Henri Giboulet (known for his Gin Fizz for Lubin and 1955 reformulation of Joy de Patou), who assumed Patou’s helm after Henri Alméras stepped down, has made the most of citrus tones and contributed the piquancy of ginger, coriander, and basil. While I enjoy the refreshed 1984 version for Ma Collection, it is the earlier parfum which I crave in particular: something sobering is lurking beneath its blithe, ladylike spirits, a foretelling of adulthood which looms on the horizon. Today is vibrant and dream-filled; tomorrow is uncertain. These jeunes filles sense the intimation of impending sensual awakening.
In 1984 this sophisticated aldehydic floral chypre was re-issued as a part of Patou’s Ma Collection, but its run was short-lived. he ‘80s was an era of powerhouse fragrances, and the only other Patou composition created in that decade was master perfumer Jean Kerléo’s La Liberté – a bit of a dark horse, with its sour lemon/lavender/ambery powder. My suspicion is that competition was stiff, and that both La Liberté and the sprightly Câline slipped under the radar while coiffures and shoulder pads grew bigger. Today some may perceive it as a bit soapy: I have heard it described as such, although I don’t perceive it myself. Is it too tame for today? Not loud enough? Câline is certainly not boring, and can be worn comfortably by anyone; bargains are readily available online – so it has not entirely disappeared, unlike several other fragrances. If you enjoy a well-balanced aldehydic chypre, this is one to sample – and if it has been stored properly, it’s likely to be in reasonably good nick. It just may delight you – and make you feel forever young.
Notes: aldehydes, neroli, bergamot, mimosa, basil, mandarin orange; jasmine, patchouli, coriander, ginger, carnation, ylang-ylang, rose, cyclamen, orris, African orange flower, oak moss, Virginia cedar, musk, sandalwood, amber, French labdanum
Bottles are from my own collection, unless otherwise noted. My nose is my own…
~ Ida Meister, Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor
photo of Jean Patou Câline (MA collection) mini courtesy of Fragrance Vault)
Thanks to Fragrance Vault and the lovely Jana Menard, we have a mini bottle of Jean Patou Caline EDT Splash circa from the MA collection for one registered reader in the US (their last one). YOU MUST REGISTER. To be eligible, please let us know what sparked your interest about Ida’s review of her 1964 bottles. Draw closes 1/4/2024
Tomorrow we wrap up the best perfumes of 2024 with Lauryn and Oli.
Happy New Year, as we look ahead, remember the gifts of the past.
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