Tabu

This is cozy and warm, and deeply nostalgic. Something in it reminds me of Mary Poppins. It makes me think of perusing an old bookstore, getting lost in an amazing antique mall, coffee shops in the snow, laughing with friends at a jazz bar, tipsy off a couple martinis, smoking a cigarette through a 1920s extender, carrying a vintage doctors bag as a purse. It brings me so many feelings and they are all good. I definitely pick up a lot of orange and spice, there are some root beer undertones but not in a bad or overpowering way. I LOVE it.

Another blind buy bought off reviews and looking for a hidden gem. I don't remember Tabu from my youth because I never wore it...now I know why. Smells cheap...I'm sure it didn't used to...but I have no interest in the heavy, loud mess that it is. ‘Un parfum de puta’...yes, I'd say so. It's gone from my collection.

Incredible!!! So stunning! I can definitely see Dorothy Dandridge wearing this. A beautiful lemon zest sexy scent. This is a scent I would follow down the street.

It reminds me of the cheap perfumes sold at popular markets in Brazil. I hated the smell then and that never changed. I tried it today and it confirmed my total dislike. Its a classic perfume with incredible sillage and longevity, unlikely the hugely expensive stuff we find now.

dei blind. gente, que perfume delicioso. a saída dele é como um shot de cachaça pra começar os trabalhos. as especiarias são muito presentes, um pouco difíceis de distinguir, mas acho que o que mais se destaca na minha pele é o cravo. as notas animálicas dão um quê gostoso de um cigarro idealizado. não achei uma bomba, como muitos dizem. o floral fica por trás de muito cravo e canela, vem uma rosa madura, sobre um manto de patchouli. um cheiro extremamente incensado, como a fumaça dentro de um cabaré antigo iluminado de vermelho. incenso de cravo, canela e rosas vermelhas. o incenso inteiro: fumaça, cinzas e especiaria. sensualíssimo, misterioso, macumbístico. comprei a deo colônia, que é o que eu tive acesso, então não achei que projeta tanto assim.

I bought this today at Walmart today in the fragrance asile. My mother wore this all my life. She is long gone now and I miss her. For $13 I could bring the scent of my momma back and I bought it. When I got it home, I sprayed it and evalutated the scent with a new nose. It smelled so warm and brought back a feeling of comfort and the life of my mom who would DOUSE herself in this, then set incense all over the house and open the doors for multiples of friends to come for weekly meetings on the esoteric and metaphysical. I am so happy I bought it. When my husband woke up to ready himself for work, he opened the screen door so he could get a better breath of fresh air. *LOL* He noted how strong the perfume was. HA! My son said it smelled like a head shop. Honestly? It does smell like incense. It's all about whatever you associate this spicy oriental scent with. Personally? I love it. IDK that I am going to wear it out of the house. But since it smells like my mom and gives me a chance to connect with her from the Great Beyond, I will likely spray it around my home office to give me comfort and that homey vibe that feels cozy and safe.

This stuff is incredible. I love when I smell a perfume and I have a hard time picking out individual notes or describing how it smells in words. After all, they aren't books, why should we expect to find the words for something our nose is sensing! I so admire the perfumers of yesteryear who are able to blend a billion notes to perfection and create a wholly unique work - that is art and craftsmanship!! All I've smelled is the recent formulation you can get for $10 at Walmart, but if that smells this good, I can't imagine what a vintage formulation smells like.

I have the vintage 1960's bottle not the one displayed it starts of with a very rich citrus mainly from the mandarin, the bermagot is fairly mellow i personally prefer to let it dry instead of rubbing it as youre supposed to with the vintage bottle about thirty minutes in a woody note kicks in it smells fairly earthy with a hint of citrus and floral the dry down is insane it smells like amber and rose. mainly amber and you can smell the pachtouli some what too i guess the vintage bottle has CRAZY projection easily 12 hours sillage is amazing aswell its definately a winter fragrance but you can use it in fall too you can get away with summer at nights but it does cause clogging so be careful with the amount u apply i love layering it with grape mist, not a perfume js literally grape scented mist, adds an extra note and helps in not cloyying during the summers easy ten outta ten frag it means alot to me cuz it has been passed down through my family truly a masterpiece ALSO TRULY UNISEX i would argue it does not lean femine at all

A Forbidden Accord: The True Symphony of Tabu Original To speak of Tabu (Original) is to speak of the very history of seductive perfumery. Created by the genius Jean Carles under the legendary and audacious directive to craft a fragrance for an "emissary of pleasure," the original classic is far more than just a perfume: it is a true olfactory monument, a timeless icon. If we were to translate this masterpiece into art, it wouldn't be a painting, but a captivating symphony. Every single note enters at the exact right moment, creating a dramatic and hypnotic crescendo. The opening makes no apologies; it arrives with a whirlwind of warm, rich spices that instantly heat up the skin. Soon, this spicy opulence gives way to a dense, mature floral bouquet where ylang-ylang, rose, and jasmine are not fresh, but intoxicating—wrapped in the embrace of patchouli and an incredibly sensual, velvety, powdery dry-down. There is a perfect harmony in the evolution of its composition. Nothing shouts on its own; the resinous sweetness of benzoin and amber dances flawlessly with the animalic undertones and a touch of civet, creating an aura of mystery and sophistication that modern perfumery rarely dares to replicate. Tabu Original is not for those who wish to blend into the crowd. It is a carnal, mystical, and deeply seductive fragrance. A classic that defies time and fleeting trends. For anyone who has the privilege of experiencing the original formula, the verdict is absolute: an unforgettable work of art. A symphony of seduction in a bottle.

This magical potion beats all those outrageously expensive high end perfumes as I know I was one of those buyers - this hands down beats them for longevity, uniqueness, unbeatable value- this is untouchable ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jean Carles is/was an absolute genius (he's basically the guy that taught his eponymous "method" to huge numbers of the key 20th century perfumers in the perfumery schools in France), the Jean Carles method still underpins a lot of modern perfumery. There are still a good number of his iconic scents on sale today. Tabu is the definition of filthy, gorgeous (think Scissor Sisters) - there's no two ways around it. Tabu really conjures up the mysterious and alluring cities of the Iberian peninsula. But it is clever too - it doesn't go full blast into that heavy, knock out a room, territory of the likes of Poison, Opium, Cinnabar etc. The white flowers and ylang ylang are kept on track. Jean Carles' Canoe is still on sale, so is the original Miss Dior (still with some skankiness but dialled back compared to Tabu), still an absolute icon and possibly the best green chypre ever constructed and the perfume/extrait is still quite exquisite to this day despite all the IFRA restrictions. Ma Griffe is still just about hanging on from Carven in a sort of recognisable form. The ghastly losses from his work are Schiaperelli's Shocking, and the hidden masterpiece Elle Elle for Lucien Lelong. Anyway, buy Tabu from Dana - it's a classic for a reason, but amazingly cheap today and all the better for it - far more beautiful and striking than many modern designer and niche scents.

Pure filth and utter genius. A guilty pleasure to be worn alone. A bit like smoking behind the bike sheds.

Just received a vintage bottle I found on ebay. Damn, this is beautiful! I'm getting spicy, honeyed amber with a soupcon of filth (in a good way) this is another one like Opium EDT that was marketed for women but smells like a honeyed barbershop fragrance on my skin. It reminds me a lot of Floris Honey Aoud and I think it might be the civet with the florals giving the honey note which is the prominent note for me. It reminds me too of a Roja perfume but I forget the name. I will return and give an update when I get a full day's wear out of it! Ah, it just clicked! This is what happens when All Spice and Floris Honey Aoud get sweaty and naked and produce a lovechild!

I love this fragrance for itself, but also because it is sentimental. My mother always had a bottle that I would sniff (and sample) and I remember smelling it on her clothes and in her handbag when she would wear it on occasion. It was always there on her dresser among the Caron and Guerlain fragrances she loved. I think Tabu has a spicy vanilla/amber incense-like scent with a sweet floral center. I think that the floral aspect is what makes it so special. It’s a nice bedtime scent and whatever is left on your skin in the morning creates a nice base for your daytime fragrance. Take care not to over apply. Less is more.

Oh how I adored this scent in the early 80s as a young adolescent, on the cusp of womanhood and discovering my feminine mystique! She made me feel like such a vamp! I left Tabu behind in early adulthood, in preference to more expensive, "sophisticated" perfumes such as Opium and Angel, but I have always carried a torch for her. She sits patiently on the shelf at my local pharmacy, eying me curiously and whispering her siren song to me. Now that I am in middle age, I am so tempted to revisit her. Would we still be suited to each other? Who knows, but for the price I am willing to throw caution to the wind. My only fear is that her reformulation may have changed her into someone unrecognizable. I hope not. I'm definitely going to try her again this winter. Update: I finally bought myself a bottle and tried it for the first time yesterday. This is not the Tabu that I so fondly remember from my teenage years, and for that I am very sad. Upon spraying, I was immediately hit with a nasty medicinal smell, akin to hospital disinfectant. I tried it again today with the same result. This screeching medicinal smell overpowered all other fragrance notes and lasted for hours. I get that the formulation has had to change over the decades as certain ingredients are banned, but this synthetic mess is nothing like the Tabu of the eighties. Perhaps my bottle is off, who knows? Anyway, I have given it to my daughter, who loves the perfume and doesn't seem to notice (or mind) the medicinal smell.

I’m here for this weirdo citrusy musk. Equal parts sexy and kitschy.

Tabu is a vintage gem. Beast mode on sillage and presence. Very hard to find and similiar, with the same DNA of ROJA HAUT LUXE. For a fraction of the price.

This fragrance deserves so much more than I can express in one review. I also have an issue with yammering on too long, so I'll try to be brief(ish). This fragrance is top tier vintage to me. Everything is perfect, but unlike Shalimar, Organza, Arpège, or No.5 extrait, this feels more devil-may-care. More...messy. Dirtier. More downtown, and less blended. It's Obsession's older auntie, bohemian, artful. Even soulful. Hell, Tabu even verges toward spiritual. I smell almost everything listed in the alleged note structure, and I smell it definitively. Everything juts out in it's own way, and it isn't necessarily a smooth fragrance at all...but that is NOT to say that it isn't beautiful - it's gorgeous. If I had to pick out two leading notes, I'd say the cloves and vanilla are most dominant...but again, it's a wild mix of everything. All of the constituents are deep, and warm. It's decidedly spicy above all else, and turns into a lovely root beer + incense blend upon my skin. It's exceedingly comforting, but not in an easy or mindless way; it helps me to want to be a stronger woman - more self-possessed, and to quit apologizing for f*cking everything. 🤣🥰 I was fortunate to aquire a splash bottle of vintage EDC. I treasure it, and it's a token elixir to adorn myself in when I feel like I need olfactory therapy. In this way, it has a lot in common with Angel, Obsession and Portrait of a Lady. There are some rare, kickass fragrances in this world (most are throwbacks and not modern), that are polarizing, but to my nose contain a special empowering quality. On top of this, it's just plain beautiful, and my eyes roll back when I bury my nose in it. Freaking phenomenal.

I have a vintage Eau de Cologne. It’s so unique and addictive. I love it. I got it as a gift with purchase. A 45ml bottle. He also sent me a full bottle of vintage L’air du Temps which I also like very much. I’m happy to own these two . I do need to buy more Tabu. I never want to be without this beauty

I could swear I’ve previously reviewed this, but can’t find it. So, apologies if this is redundant. However, I just received a vintage huge 4oz bottle of the Eau de cologne and I’m thrilled with it! I can’t express how iconic this fragrance is. It’s on the verge of 100 years old and still is amazing! Yes, it has always been a drugstore cheapie in my lifetime , but don’t let that fool you! This is a fabulous scent! I have never been without this fragrance since I started wearing them. For a fragrance that has been around that long, I don’t find it has changed much. Somehow, it has retained its original characteristics while so many others have suffered from reformulations making them unrecognizable. I admittedly don’t wear this out often, but often sniff it and just enjoy a visit. However, now that I have this large bottle, I think I’m gonna to use it more next fall/winter. It wears so beautifully on my skin and is such a warm cozy fragrance. I don’t find it dated, and think if it was introduced today, it would go viral! However, it is so recognizable, that many will know it as soon as they smell it and associate it with specific eras. I understand that it’s not for everyone, you have to enjoy a spicy, somewhat animalic scent. I find it incredibly beautiful, sexy , mysterious and even a touch primal. An absolute love !

This smells exactly like the air in your local metaphysical shop. Lots of patchouli, incense, and a sweetness that resembles rootbeer to my nose. Not something I'll reach for often, but I do like the vintage element of it and the anamalic notes.

I purchased a tiny decanted sample of Tabu extrait from the 60s-70s and hoooly crap, it is beautiful. And very slutty. Roses and sex and spice. Damn I love Tabu.

I had given up on Tabu when the last bottle I bought barely had any scent but I decided to give it another chance. I must have bought a defective bottle years ago because my recent purchase is quite strong and amazing. Tabu definitely has a lot of strength to the point I could still smell it on me after a shower. A lot of power for such a reasonablely priced fragrance. Beautiful florals, cola/root beer,and woods dipped in powder on a person who is out and about on a Summer evening. There is a sweaty note somewhere in Tabu that I can smell. I do like Tabu for all that it offers and represents. A cheap thrill that does not smell cheap at all. If you are into woodsy floral potions with outstanding lasting power,give Tabu a try.Since 1932,and still powerful.

Warm and spicy. A bit of a soft sweet powder. I love vintage but this is a new buy. How is this only $13? I may be bias but this is still gorgeous by today’s standards…. A classic. I do see how obsession was inspired by this. I love that one too.

Tabu is proof that body chemistry really determines the outcome of a fragrance. My mom has worn this for years. On her, it smells divine. It’s soft, a bit powdery, woody, and deep, but not overwhelming. On her, it’s a deeper, more sophisticated version of BS Curious. On me, it smells like a weasel tried to cover the funk of its butthole with old dusty funeral home bathroom potpourri.

Horrible stench. Sweaty ass. My coworker bought it (not sure why) and she is now terorizing us with it.

You can smell the influences it had on things like Obsession (both women's and men's versions), Red Door, and even Fahrenheit. It's really no wonder this has endured so well. I can see either gender doing well with this, provided they've got the personality for it. A really delicious, cozy, and complex scent. Sensual, hot, cold, spicy, musky, wild, and sophisticated. Even now, the bottle has a nice Art Deco style to it. Really, wonderful.

Ohh Tabu. This is the most sumptuous and delicious fragrance but only in the violin bottle. I’ve noticed that when I buy any other type of bottle, I find the scent cloying and nauseating… but the orange potion in the violin is just so smooth. My immediate feeling is of roses, nag champa, Coca Cola. There is a syrupy sweetness and a faint fizziness. It feels like a rich fur coat lined in velvet. A forever favorite.

This has been in my life for over 20 years and recently got a new bottle and the new bottle smells almost identical to my two decades old bottle that once belonged to my mother. Tabu always makes a strong statement, thick heady and unmistakable. The cola scent comes from the clove and coriander but it's less cola than Youth Dew. This smells sweet , but as an old wooden decaying wardrobe smells sweet. Spicy, woodsy and animalistic. A fur coat of a women in her prime from a bygone era hanging forgotten in that very wardrobe, still carrying her fragrance and story. Tabu smells timeless, classic and darkly mysterious. She danced all night and drunk cocktails in speakeasies, cigarette smoke and jazz playing in the gloom. She was a bold and confidential woman who laughed raucously and lived by her own drum. She left a lasting impression on everyone who met her. Tabu isn't for the light of heart but let her develop on your skin and she will tell you her story.

This is the ultimate vintage amber spicy scent everyone should try! Man or woman. And it’s one of those that still smells like back in the day! I will say I find it funny that whenever there’s a spicy “oriental” amber in question people put; “smells like Obsession for women!! NO no it does NOT!!! It’s closer to you the dew and opium but not as amazing as the original opium! ***note (Obsession (for women) was a hot mess headache bringer!! It had two notes in it they ruined it for me back in the day, the tagates (or marigold) and the oak moss.obsession for women made me move far far away from them obsession for Men, on the other hand, brought me in closer… a mix of sweet and spice (not in a food way in a sexual way) For women, It was very very dry!! It didn’t and still doesn’t have that softness that makes one want to stick their nose in someone’s neck! Now, Obsession for men back in the day not the reformulated ones (though I will on occasion wear it) Obsession for men had the sweet spicy Amber thing going on, that made your nose want to go in for more!) But no obsession for women was nothing like the notes listed for Tabu. It had no sweet or spicy clove nor cinnamon that could be found over the damn blast of the the tagates and later the oak moss! yes it had amber but it was too overwhelmingly dry and almost astringent to me, it DOES smell like Halston from back in the day! BUT I actually preferred Halston.(sorry about this rant on obsession)!! I just get soo tired of people mentioning obsession as a”smells like” spicy perfume cousin, when it smells literally NOTHING alike!! 🤦♀️ Sooo if you’re a young bunny and would like to try some vintage spicy ambers? Yesss to tabu, opium, poison of flipping course!! Shalimar, and Cinnabarbate some of the best! it’s just depressing how reformulation messed with the cinnamon and spice of it all 🤷♀️ Sure get your nose on obsession but try BOTH men’s and women’s) see what you like best and what I’m explaining here!? As far as the Tabu? I think it’s a less intense youth dew!! It hs that colander root beer touch. More wearable for out and about! Youth dew is as well but you have to go lighter!! A great winter fall scent that men could rock too and soooo different in today’s gourmand climate that people will think you’re rocking something niche ha I think passion should be mentioned too!! It’s similar to these but has a purple flower note that makes it pretty flippin 80s!! They all have a touch or vibe of that cola zip but to me it was never that? It was always about the spices!! And I’ve been in love with anything ginger cinnamon clove (add in tuberose I’m a goner) due to these beginning vintage scents I smelled on my grandma and moms cabinet… but NO it doesn’t smell like obsession for women !! God I despise tagates/marigold!! It’s funny that due to obsession for women, I thought I didn’t like oakmoss!! But now I have a few scents that you could never tell it’s in there!! But tagates and marigold can F off :) but clove cinnamon ahhh give me more…