Cabaret

Why do I have so many of these heavy patchouli perfumes? Do I hate them? No but not a like. There is this dirty animalic patchouli that I cannot ignore. This is very similar to chloe absolu and it was done by the same perfumer, Michael Almairac. Very similar to Black rose by Trussardi. And very similar profile to geis Dior, peerless de lalique, and Narciso fleur musk, all of which I have!

A big no. It's really cheap online right now, and the notes sound so right and modern. Ooooh, incense. I love incense. Ditto iris. I wouldn't call this incense; it's that sharp scratchy stuff they made cheap perfume in the 1990's and late 1980's out of. I'll look around here and see if I can remember what this smells like. This is vintage, but not in a good way. It's close to being a scrubber, at least for me. I just read some early reviewer who said it smells like a village church hall, and I think I know what she means. It smells like old Avon fragrances from the late 1970s-1980s. Great I suppose, if you're sentimental about that stuff, which was just everywhere in small American towns in that era. The rest of us however......

The opening is a splash of glitters and strong alcohol. You leave the crowd and find your way in an old theatre dimly lit backstage. Antechamber of the profane arts purified with holy incense. You reach a half-open door. There sits a dark-haired bohemian who finishes making-up for late-night performance. A bouquet of roses delicately placed on the desk. If you love Encre Noire (as I do) you'll probably appreciate Cabaret wich I find similar in many aspects except for the coniferous notes wich are replaced with spicy roses and a small touch of quality lipstick. Overspraying is welcome with the present diluted formulation wich is luckily dirt cheap. Update : True Love... After a few weeks it is now perfect. I never experienced the old formulation but the new one is awesome in every way. Opening is a super quick flash of apiacea/celery , then peony, rose with well balanced incense and patchouli. I love the peaceful state of mind that it puts me in : Grounded, focused and confident... I don't know how, but it is now more potent and the longevity is better than ever.

The year is 2503, and you have walked into a spartan, white, hermetic room with seemingly nothing in it - nothing on the walls, the ceiling, or the floor, and yet it is a library. You say to the space “present a picture and the smell of a peony flower,” and some as-yet unfathomable technology begins to whirr. An almost perfect image of a peony hovers in the center of the space, which is suddenly filled with the slightly rosy, slightly honeyed, citrusy and zesty, and heady odor of peony. Even though you have never smelled it before, you can immediately detect that it has been manipulated by technology; it has an iridescent and hollow character to it, whereby it is extremely convincing yet completely untouchable. This doesn’t bother you because the smell is still gorgeous, as if the iridescence and vacant spaces allow for more contrast to the details, and you say to yourself “ahh, that’s why it was so beloved those many ages ago.” The opening of Cabaret is one of the most beautiful peony presentations I have ever smelled, and yet it intentionally conveys to you that it’s not the real thing - there are no tricks to conceal its trickery. The adornments of rose and lily of the valley push its fruity zesty, unctuous, and heady bath powder characteristics more to the forefront. How it manages to hang so lightly in the air and providing a lot of space inside the aroma whilst being rich and “solid” keeps me going back for one sniff after another, second by second. As time passes a floral and silky smooth orris and musk combination convincingly carries the message of the peony and its costars. In the early days of Cabaret this dry down leaned more heavily on amberic woods and patchouli, but it was always quiet and clean - never a thick or typically-dirty woody amber. In the newer formulation those notes are even quieter; you really have to go searching for them beneath the also quiet orris and musk. While I miss the old Cabaret’s dry down a lot, I can’t honestly say the perfume has been done a massive disservice with this newest reformulation. It’s the floral top of Cabaret I love most, and we get that for longer - and mostly convincingly - in the newer formulation’s dry down. However, it does feel a lot less like a cabaret and more like a baby shower. That said, if baby showers actually smelled like this I’d make considerably more effort to attend them.

Amazing! I was afraid after reading the reviews, but I'm an old fan of the Grès house and I love vintage and chypre smelling perfume, so I bought it. And oooh mah Gawd. It might be reformulated but totally worth it! A beautiful grown up smoky patchouli with a vintage rose in the background. It just says 'night time wear' to me, winking with smoky eyes and an enticing side smile. The patchuli has a minty quality that reminds me of Zino Davidoff for men, but milder and more feminine. Sooo good! People say it gets stronger with time, I'll macerate mine and take it out on my killing moon nights.

Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome... A startling, tangy and peppery peony opens Cabaret which soon transforms to a lucid, dry rose, somewhere between evaporated rose water and rose pressed in a book. It's fascinating that it seems to smell just out of reach, almost holographic, as the outline is a translucent woodiness. This in time evolves to a dusty, powdery smolder layered on a muted patchouli. It feels like a faded memory of what was once vivid, in olfactory form. It is by no means a heavy hitter, its intimacy may leave much to be desired, but it has its allure, its charm—down to its hilariously garish bottle. It begins with effervescence and eases into a gentle caress. The cynic in me must point out that this is just as lovely—if not more—than so many lightweight woody-patchouli rose scents recently released by so-called niche or luxury houses these days that sport a 200 plus dollar price tag.

This watered down reformulation is a crime. This WAS a really decadent and naughty perfume with depth and it was fun to wear. Cabaret was the perfect name for it. This version is just ....pleasant. office perfume. A shadow of what it used to be. What a shame... In fact, it's SO mundane, it's not worth keeping.

I have the tall bottle without red coloring. To me Cabaret smells like clean musk, patchouli and rose. Great for patchouli lovers. There's some darkness from the incense too, it becomes even a little smoky, very sexy perfume. Cabaret is 100% the inspiration behind so many niche bestsellers, indeed Portrait of a Lady, I'm looking at you.

Dark. Risky. Provocative. Leathery. Wet. Smoky. Decadent. Intelligent. Red. Black. This is fragnance that hides nothing. Reckless in its spirit, doesn't care a bit of tomorrow or even today. With its white face, red lips and oversized bohemic dress falls apart on your skin and gets up, when it wants. You can't help. It doesn't want help. This is not Cabaret as a place but a performer. Spirit of artist itself. I am pretty sure Edith Piaf would wear it or Liza Minelli. It's very eccentric, agressive, loud and very very good rose scent. This is Bulgarian rose. I can smell that. Violent. Sharp. Dirty rose. Sensual rose. Sad rose. Lost rose. Tragic rose. Yet beautiful... Very edgy scent. Blowing smoke of cigarettes into your face. Singing... Non, rien de rien Non, je ne regrette rien Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait Ni le mal Tout ça m'est bien égal Non, rien de rien Non, je ne regrette rien C'est payé, balayé, oublié Je me fous du passé Yes. That's Cabaret. Very unique. Not easy to like. Not easy to love. Not easy to wear. Like Cabaret living artist is. Right? Like serious artist is. Complex egoistic bi..h. Many people told me "how can you wear it? It's so sad." Yes it is. I love that. I can deal with that. Let me make it straight. This is not fragnance for the new age positivism hippies or fake academics... Because this is perfume that loves truth. Top notes: rose, lily of the valley, peony (I smell citrus and leather also) Extremely strong opening. Telling you right away "I am existing truth, weak ones are not allowed in my presence." Just look at these 3 powerful flowers. Try to imagine them together on your home table in the vase. They fill the whole home with their power. That's how pompose Cabaret opens. A bit sickening. I believe some people get sick in their stomach smelling it. It has that revolting allure. That arrogance. There is citrus notes and leather notes in the opening. But perfectly blended with 3 stubborn flower witches. Deciding will you enter this Cabaret. If you don't pass this opening, turn around. Run. Cabaret has a crystalline quality and tremendous value that rivals luxe fragrances in the $100+ category. It even surpasses them. Because this is serious perfumery art, mayority of them are not. It has that artistic decadent pull. Telling you come. Telling you go. It challenge everything you think you know and shakes everything you are. That's where the tremendous value of this fragnance lies. In testing your powers. It's woody. Stubborn. Middle notes: Incense, violet, blue orchid. Vanda coerulea. Blue orchid. Very dark and mysterious flower that can heal the blindness with its juice. Coincidence? No. Because, as I wrote, Cabaret is a fragnance of truth. It's also great against skin aging. Coincidence? No. Trough smoke of incense and healing of dark blue orchid violet enters. To present the sorrow. To powder. Violet is sweet, fresh, and delicate, with subtle green and woody notes. To put that white face on. That face is the melange of the Base notes: patchouli, oleander, Indian sandalwood, amber and musk. Continuing to be rude. Arrogant again. Dark. Attractive and dangerous. When you risk, there is no way back. You return. Sometimes you run away faster, sometimes you stay long long... Depending, hanging on the mood of the artist from the Cabaret. (Bottle is very nice. Made by great bottle master Thierry Lecoule, he designed for YSL, l'Oréal, Dior, Versace, Paloma Picasso, BACCARAT, MARTELL and many others. Remember his GILLES CANTUEL "Creature" bottle? I like it so much! Great fragnance also btw... Ohh he created so many beautiful bottles. He is great artistic legend. Check his work. Pay the attention and respect.)

My bottle is at least twelve years old with a precariously skinny neck - probably the old formula, since comments reflect an unfortunate reformulation. This is sooo good! Musky old dried up patchouli and dark rose. I don't mind smelling like this! It's skanky in the best possible way. "Cabaret" fits this fragrance as a name. No, there's no booze or sweat or cigarettes or whatever smells would be in a seedy bar. (I don't go to bars, so that's just how I imagine one would smell.) But this is mature and adventurous... More like the smell of a nightclub with an open mic, with beatniks reading poetry or something. It's what an existentialist girl in a black turtleneck would smell like. Despite being fundamentally opposed to existentialism and all modern philosophy, I love this smell. It's an unusual aesthetic, not a pleaser of modern crowds, THANK GOODNESS because modern crowds are not an element I care to attract or please. It's the lack of saffron and tinge of iris that elevates this above Agent Provocateur. The iris has a carrot note to it. Personal observation: I was chopping carrots to make soup for someone today and noticed that carrots and orris root smell similar. Never noticed that before.

Got a sample of this as the comparisons with Agent Provocateur had piqued my curiosity. Agent Provocateur is close to becoming my signature. I can see the similarities but on me this smells like a village/church hall 😂 so I do get the comparisons people have made with old theatres and show venues. Sadly it smells mainly like damp to my nose, both on paper and on skin. Maybe I have a gone off sample, I will keep an eye out for this one in the perfumerias /duty free when I go abroad. It also reminds me a lot of the perfumes I smelt on older ladies and teachers as a child. I’m so disappointed, particularly as this is by Michel Amairac, one of my favourite perfumers. 😭 Will stick with my AP.

Cabaret has a little bit sharp opening. But in dry down is silky and smooth. Velvety budoar sent, feminine and bit nostalgic. Sent for the lady with red lipstick and cigarette

A mere shadow of the original release 20 years ago. That stuff was pooooootent. It is quite tuned down to this era where parfumes can be percieved as offensive ( luckly I work in an office that nobody is spraying even a bit!! ). Although beautiful, 20 years ago I could not bring myself to finish even half a bottle, in a time when I had a single parfume. And today, after giving it another try I also understand why - I like this woody scent a lot, but I don't want to smell like this!

Just bought the "new version" on a certain perfume selling site, and this new one is NOT the old, tall-necked bottle of 10 years ago. There's a whisper of a memory of the old, but it doesn't have the rosy, sweaty, sensual funk of the original. Why, oh WHY, Gres, did you have to go and change such a good thing?

Smells very cool. Icy. Reminds me of old hairspra, in a good way. Not what you'd expect from the name and patter but I like it a lot regardless. Lasts all day and it's cheap as chips. Nifty bottle too

Smells very cheap. Not what you would expect from Gres. Not what you would expect from the bottle and name either. Not bad, just boring. Agent provocateur did it better.

I have a ridiculously large amount of perfumes that fill a room. Old, new, high end, cheapies so I am always on the hunt for the perfect smell. Very rarely do I just love a perfume but I LOVE Cabaret. It is warm, delicious and quite strong. It reminds of Le Labo rose 31. A very sexy scent. I would say having moisturized skin brings out the best in this perfume. Thrilled to revisit this one as I used Cabaret when I was younger.

Very very impressed with this one! Super niche mossy incense rose, but also fresh with the peonies.Smells expensive,this definitely goes both on the best cheapies and the best roses column in my shelves. I really did not expect this to be so good. It is fairly light, but I think there are days when you don't want to blow everyone away with your fragrance.This is still powerful and present, very oomphy just not super extra in terms of sillage. I love it, great one from Gres, not at all vintage or old school either. Beautiful incense note. Gorgeous powdery musky drydown with rose and incense still present. Edit: ok it's not actually so cheap! Edit2: yes definitely has some POAL vibes! ** 170 samples for swap check my custom shelves and get in touch! **

I am in love with this fragrance which I discovered thanks to the Fragrantica reviews below. I love its rose-incense mix, together with a great lily of the valley. I find it light compared with other Chypres I wear, it is sort of mild on me but stays for quite a long time anyway (up to six hours, I'd say). It is not too sweet but the rose is very present, in a pleasant way.

I have a vintage bottle, gifted to me new in around 2002/3. It’s been stored in the cool and dark. This smells like a very herby patchouli rose. Not sweet at all In modern perfumery this would be totally accepted as a unisex fragrance, and definitely worn by men. Woman would vote it as ‘masculine leaning’. It’s dry, earthy, and a only a touch rosey. It’s old fashioned, and just kind of ‘old’ musty smelling. Like old dusty books in your grandmas house. It’s kind of wonderful.

I’ve previously reviewed Cabaret fairly exhaustively. What has struck me most in the latest reviews is the word ‘cheapie’ which goes to show that pricing is everything when selling perfume. ‘Cheap’ in this case doesn’t mean poor quality or bad composition. Maybe the other Gres perfumes are unremarkable nothings but Cabaret is a profound experience of many layers. After many upheavals and tragedies I’ve kept an unopened bottle still in cellophane as a future gift to myself. Then I shall revisit the good memories trapped in the bottle.

I have copied and pasted this from a place where I simply put down my thoughts about a perfume as I come across them, I will try to organize it a little better and delete a few things that were merely first impressions, but please keep that in mind. This is a little bit rosey, and not as dark as I had hoped. There is something very familiar about this, maybe someone I knew wore it? Not very long lasting but definitely cheap enough that I don't mind reapplying often. (I've since changed my mind, while this is no 12hr perfume it has decent longevity.) Thankfully the sillage is fairly light, so I don't feel embarrassed wearing this. It is a little "old fashioned," or, as I (age 25) prefer to think of it, mature. But in a good way, not in a "your grandma wore this badly" kind of way. I get the cabaret association, but to me it's a more intellectual perfume than that. I think it will perform better in colder weather; though admittedly I have not tried it in warm weather I bet it would be cloying. I have the bottle without the red, I wonder is there a difference? The bottle IS rather tacky, but seems to be good quality - mainly because the lid is very heavy. I think it's solid metal. The sprayer is fine, even, and generous. I definitely get peony, patch, LotV, and...lavender? Incense in the background, of the nag champa variety. Sandalwood seems to be a top note on my skin... Actually, I just realized it's familiarity. Rose incense sticks. They used to burn them in the Indian restaurant in Budapest where my family used to go when I was a little girl...It was too strong for me then and I hated it and always made the waiter put it out. I was little and cute and had him wrapped around my finger. Once this dries down, it smells just like Govinda, minus the food smell. That's not a bad thing, to me. It's very beautiful and nostalgic. A bit of a jammy rose, just at first. I wear this now to the theatre - not to see a show, but when I am in one. It fits perfectly - even when one is told not to wear perfume, it mimics the natural smell of the theatre so well that it's perfect. It's almost even better when I'm working "on the dark side," sitting in the dark booth staring at a computer screen as sound or light operator, or pointing hot spotlights at the actors. This is the dust, sweat, skin, hairspray, the stage makeup, the deodorant, the wood and the paint of the newly built set, the hot metal of the lights, and the almost maple syrup smell of the fog juice. I love it. 6/10

A very nice spicy, smokey rose that reminds me of something I can not quite put my finger on. It does call to mind Agent Provocateur, but it isn't as sharp. I can smell the patch but it's not dirty. I'm surprised I like it as much as I do due to patch bring such a dominant note, but I really don't mind it here. It grounds the fragrance and gives it an earthy touch without descending into the unpleasant smell I associate with patch in general. The incense is a very nice complement to the rose, rounding it and softening it while adding a touch of the exotic. This is what separates it from AP in my opinion, and makes it a superior perfume. The longevity is not great and even though I sprayed this on quite generously, the silage was still soft. If you enjoy rose fragrances, I highly recommend checking this one out, and given how ridiculously inexpensive this is, you don't have much to lose by making a blind buy.

The great smell of an after party dust where hefty amount of incense and wood was burnt, and cigarettes smoked, while the roses dripping from the ceiling were desperately trying to cover the filth below. Yes, Cabaret is filthy. Under all the powder and the costumes, there is a dirty musk screaming in delight. I find this scent irresistible and erotic. The ambivalent ad is spot on. An artistic fragrance. *****

I blind bought it thinking it was going to be a kind of unisex rose-incense-patchouli combo based on the reviews and voted notes on this site. I was very surprised with what i received. Not at all what i expected but i happened to really like this one! It is very powdery. The iris and violet are prominent to my nose. I sadly get very little incense. I totally get the "Transparency/Ghostly" quality it has been mentioned. It does smell like a barely presence and perhaps a fragile one too. I truly can not understand how people can smell something masculine in it. I find it so feminine. I find this fragrance related to Omnia Amethyste (that feminine!) but the overall feeling is sadder and less pure and innocent. It is a very soft perfume with moderate sillage but on clothes last days. I have to use over 8 sprays to get to feel it. Nice rainy days perfume... It smells quite antique, perhaps what i would expect Mary Shelley would have used (Based on the vintage version)

If Frederic Malle used this as his inspiration for Portrait of a Lady in 2010, then so did Agent Provocateur use this model for their signature scent in 2002, because that smells like Cabaret to me too. They all seem to use the same rose, and they all smell almost the same to my unsophisticated nose. Other people here are also likening it to the original Stella, but I'm not getting Bulgarian rose here at all. I smelled Portrait, fell in love, but was put off by the price. I have Agent and find it a good replacement for Portrait. Now I have Cabaret which I got at a bargain basement price and love it just as much as the other two. Either it's serendipitous that Malle and Agent happened upon the same formula as Gres, or they used Cabaret as the inspiration for their fragrances. At least, that's what I initially thought, until I checked the introduction dates of all these perfumes and find that Agent Provocateur came out first in 2000. So, could it be that Malle and Gres really used that as their inspiration?

Frederic Malle based his Portrait of a Lady perfume on the original formula Gres Cabaret. The patchouli-rose combo is identical. Cabaret is from 2002, and Portrait of a Lady is from 2010. I'm thrilled to have the original Cabaret, as it is affordable highest quality niche. Now I don't need the extremely similar and horribly over priced copy called Portrait of a Lady.

Smells like Paris and cigarettes after the sun sets. The city, the concept and the eponymous fragrance. Chalky rose draped in dusty velvets lifted by light, lemony aldehydes, a smile trying to hide the anxiety that fills ashtrays and empties violet bonbon boxes. The stage floor has been swept clean but everything still smells old, grubby and unventilated . It murmurs down to a smoke and cinders incense-musk and a raspy sandalwood, the sandpaper voice of an old Montmartre singer mumbling the lyrics from Milord. Incredibly transparent and sheer for what it is, one of the best modern soapy rose-chypres out there.

I guess I got the Reform & I do not suggest it. It's very light, I get nothing flowery, rosey or feminine. My bottle is shaped like the one above, but the only "Red" is at the very top. It's musty dirt w/ a slight patchouli, dirty musk & the incense is barely there. NO Rose in sight. I sprayed 3 sprays on my forearm, let it dry, & b/c it was barely there, topped it w/ 3 more. A miss for me. Drydown is NR Dirty Musk.

Do I need it if I already have a huge bottle of Original Agent Provocateur? How similar are they? If you think I need both, why?