Mom loves Cabotine - BPAL for her?

[RocketMelee]

Oh wise and well-versed in the ways of the smell-tastic forum members, I could use a little help. I'm trying to pick out a set of imps for my mother. Ergo, I know that if I can just pick the right imps, she will be wooed forever. Unfortunately, I haven't smelled enough different scents to pick out the best ones for her. When it comes to myself, I'm perfectly willing to wander around and try a random assortment of imps (I've already found two BPAL scents that are great on me -- Blood and Desire -- that weren't even on my to try list, they just happened to be offered by a swapper at the right time for the right price), but I can't just randomly grab things for my mom, they have to be dead on. Her ultimate favorite perfume (and currently the only one that she wears) is Cabotine. Can anyone suggest any scents that would be like Cabotine or in the same sort of scent family? Anything similar is bound to smell divine on her.

 

Thanks!

 

Caroline

[hypothermya]

I know how difficult it can be to get a perfume for your mother. Bizarrely enough, I tried to get my own mom some fragrances similar to the ones she wears and she refused to be swayed by those florals. Instead she went for all of the spicey musky ones. Weird. And she ended up not being swayed, because she was so allergic to all of the oils... But she does love the perfumes themselves.

 

Anyhow, here's the notes in your mother's favorite perfume:

Cabotine

 

Top Notes: Peach, Plum, Cassie, Tagete, Green notes, Coriander

Middle Notes: Ylang-Ylang, Rose, Tuberose, Jasmin, Heliotrope, Orris, Carnation

Base Notes: Cedar, Vetiver, Musk, Tonka Bean, Amber, Vanilla, Civet

 

Another site lists the notes as being

 

Top Notes: Orange blossom, tangerine, ylang-ylang, peach, plum, greens, cassie, coriander

Heart Notes: Ginger lily, iris, hyacinth, tuberose, rose, carnation, jasmine, heliotrope

Base Notes: Sandalwood, black currant bud, musk, vanilla, amber, cedarwood, civet, vetiver, tonka bean

 

Well, the good (and somewhat unusual news) is that your mother's skin chemistry plays well with both vetiver and civet, which most people have a problem with. This means that the range of perfumes available to her is huge. The bad news is that this doesn't help narrow down the list.

 

But let's try to narrow it down anyhow. Universally, Cabotine is refered to as a green floral. So let's try to find something that has a heavier concentration of florals in it, perhaps with some vanilla or amber notes.

 

Siren or The Lady of Shalott

One of the characteristics of Cabotine, from the reviews I've found, is that the gingernotes in it are fairly noticeable. While they don't make up the heart of the perfume, they certainly add a key component. Therefore, either of these perfumes would be a good choice. Siren has more emphasis on vanilla/jasmine combination and Lady of Shalott has more of a clear, watery floral emphasis. Both are lovely, but I would suggest L of S if you are planning on getting Tamora, and Siren if you are not planning on getting Tamora. Or, perhaps some Siren fans will speak up on Siren's behalf and convince you to get it anyhow.

 

Tamora

While this is lacking the strong florals that seem to make up Cabotine, it's mainly composed of notes that provide the backup to Cabotine's florals. Amber, peach blossom, vanilla bean, and sandalwood. This one is also a very popular scent among vanilla/amber fans, and I figure there's a good reason for that.

 

Marquise De Merteuil

This one caught my eye because it seems to be a combination of florals, amber, and peach -- which happens to echo the notes of Cabotine. It also has a good base scent of vetiver in it. No reviews yet, because it's a newer scent, but it seems like it would be just the thing your mother would like.

 

Mata Hari

This has some really strong floral notes to it, with tonka bean, vanilla, mahogany and coffeee to ground it. The one thing I'd caution you on is that it smells like pure coffee out of the vial, and that if your mother doesn't give it time to dry down, she'll never smell what a lovely floral it can be.

 

Bathsheba

Another one that's been released too recently to have reviews, it seems like this has another ideal combination -- plum, carnation, and arabian musk. Since plum is another of the fruitier notes that appears in Cabotine, I figured I'd try to find something with plum in it... And the carnation (a slightly spicy floral) and the musk (which is also present in Cabotine) make this an ideal perfume to give to her.

 

Belle Epoque

I'm not sure why I'm so intent on sticking in some new scents in this list of recommendations, but this is another one that kept saying, "I have a ton of notes that match up with Cabotine! Don't ignore me!" It's got a floral, a fruit, vanilla, and sandalwood...all of which do match up with Cabotine. And it being the "pretty era" scent, this seems like it should be a classic sort of perfume.

 

And...that's all I'll recommend for now. I was also eyeing Namaste and some others, but these I think best fit the bill. Perhaps some other forumites will pipe in and you'll be able to pick whichever scents get the most recommendations. Good luck, and don't forget to tell us what your mother thinks of the perfumes!

[RocketMelee]

Much thanks, Hypothermya! They all sound perfect, I'll have to get her a little imp sampler. Between that and the oils that I need to order for me, I think I'm going to have to start selling plasma...