Description
Le Smoking: The Tuxedo: c.1968-1975
The Tuxedo for a woman was revolutionary and avant-garde at the time that YSL began introducing the style into his collection. Inspired somewhat by the smoking jacket and women’s liberation, the Tuxedo was a continuous muse for every subsequent collection right until the last. Based, of course, on the Blond Tabac (fine cigarette) note as well as the new ‘marijuana’ cigarette and Moroccan incense, Le Smoking is a gender-bending classic that’s great on both men and women.
* EdP / VdP sample vials are 1/2 filled; Perfume / extrait mini roller sample vials are full.
Arneblaze (verified owner) –
Complex and multi-layered, this is a truly daring scent.
First, it steps outside the comfortable realm of pipe tobacco, warm, cherry/honey humidor – and strikes out for the cigarette no man’s (or woman’s) land, where more than one attempt to duplicate or improve the iconic Caron Tabac Blond has failed miserably.
Le Smoking succeeds admirably. First a bitter blast of what seems to me a mix of patchouli, vetiver and actual cigarette smoke, it certainly grabs your attention. It then rounds these edges, removing the sharpness and adding a sophisticated, amberish warmth that nevertheless does not abandon the central cigarette smoke accord.
Most creators in the past have gone for the obvious re-creation of the unburned cigarette tobacco, but Le Smoking revels in the actual smoke, rising from a lit cigarette.
The effect is that of a nicely perfumed woman, sitting in a Mediterranean hotel lobby, smoking a very fine gauloise. If Audrey Hepburn were a smoker, it would be she, Givenchy hat and veil in place, waiting for Cary Grant to join her for a tisane.
Unique and quite splendid!
mcilwaina@gmail.com –
A sophisticated, sexy fragrance. It’s classic, but also modern. Think Helmut Newton’s famous photograph of Le Smoking.
cochlearphotography@hotmail.com (verified owner) –
(Written by Cochlea)
This is a sensual, earthy and smoky scent!
Le Smoking starts off classically as a chypre- bitter and green with begamot. There is oakmoss with some floral notes with a delicate hint of aromatic sage underneath. On my skin I sense the distinctive scent of marijuana, perhaps it is a fantasy note. I sense spices with a realistic peach accord. Immediately I get my favorite note- the tobacco! The tobacco is then sweetened by the soft warm benzoin accord. The drydown is sort of an ambery/benzion musk!
My vial is filled only half way, I must hold off on it until I get my flask!
caroldawson (verified owner) –
Marvelous–all the addictive langour of smoking (more than one kind of old-school Russian and Turkish cigarette, that is, coupled with a spicy, sharply herbal pipe-filler) contained in a single bottle, without any of its deleterious effects! A permanent Oriental addition to my collection of favorite scents.
bgnrpost@suddenlink.net (verified owner) –
Deliciousness. Balkan Sobranie cigarettes, Pinch whiskey, a confident, sensual woman finely perfumed with a cool green chypre, listening to jazz in a club where they know the value of good things. This purrs. This is perfection.
hpollock –
On me this a scrumptious honeyed tobacco with fleeting hints of bergamot and something soft (leather? musk?). This is a scent made for the evening. And not just a straight-jacket, glam-filled evening but a late night road trip or getting lost in the dark narrow streets of an unknown city. It’s the perfume you imagine wearing when you start in a moody montage sequence.
alp –
I love tobacco and smoke scents, and was very excited about this. I found it interesting and the greenness of the tobacco is really unique. I need to try it again because it was surprisingly weak on me. I feel like I have to use more to be able to experience it fully.
sebastienb84 (verified owner) –
What strikes me most in this perfume is the combination of a wonderful wet, green tobacco note on top of an animalic base. It’s remarkable in its simplicity albeit I’m well aware that I’m not capturing all the notes. they are too well blended for my amateur note to identify them all. I would recommend this to anyone who loves realistic tobacco fragrances and soft animalics. Entirely unisex.
merielkosokar –
A few years ago, I bought a vintage sample of Caron’s Tabac Blond–expensive, but worth every penny. I got some other vintage samples from Caron, and am heartbroken that I cannot find them any more. I knew from the description that Le Smoking would be different, so it is not fair to compare the Blond with this formula. What I did learn, though, is that I don’t really like green fragrances, so this was a sad fail for me. I am not blaming the fragrance. It was complex and fairly long-lasting with good sillage. I simply take off one star for not working with me–my subjective license. What I appreciate about all the DSH fragrances I’ve sampled, is their complexity and originality, even if they are meant to hearken back to or suggest another fragrance. In an age where every celebrity and their dog has a scent and often numerous flankers, DSH perfumery stands out has highly original and as great fragrance art.
dovebruce –
I am getting the same joy, satisfaction, sexiness, awe of the perfumers’s artistry, throatiness, sensuality, and earthiness I get when I smell a vintage Miss Dior or Tabac Blond. How lucky we are that perfumes like this are still being made. This is giving me life today!
Anthony La Russo (verified owner) –
Fresh ozone-y bergamot/citric-ish top. Green-muskiness starts shifting to smoky predominance within a couple minutes. The smoke unfurls over a funky animalic butter-leather. It’s an expensive but slightly stale cigarette that has wafted over this leather-seat open convertible parked in the park next to the disco. Wet night air breezes over the seats from the nearby myrtle bushes. 15/20 minutes in, the slightly-stale cigarette smoke is also slightly-fresh, like a sexy socialite was only just here. And might be right back. Glam quotient: high; wild undertone. Projection is ~2 ft; 30 minutes in, streams of the smoke and musky-green leather alternate in the wet air. A jasmine-y honey-rich (amber-butter?) holds the cigarette-memory, sticks it. After 2 hours: 1 foot projection, a little less smoke yet full scent combines more fluidly here. By hour 5 it’s a skin scent more musky than smoke-y, but what a ride. DSH superlative hat-trick. A must-have for all collections. One of the most exciting DSH acquisitions, no question.
TWEEXCORE (verified owner) –
this feels like a DSH classic – it’s iconic for a reason! it’s striking, sharp, sexy and elegant scent – you don’t need much of it to make a statement. it feels like a power move or a perfectly fitted suit. i really feel like everyone (especially vintage / smoky fans) should have a little vial of this somewhere for a dose of confidence and vintage glamour and edge
Yvonne Roffel (verified owner) –
This is a wonderful vintage green tobacco scent that dries down to a softly sweet incense. I love the fact that it’s unlike anything else I own. It does maybe smell slightly like Tabac Blond but this is definitely more zesty and fresh. When I wear it I keep sniffing myself:) I think the lasting power is great. I still smell it in the evening after all day wear
jessicamurphy –
Dry, grey green, and casually cool.
It’s slightly aloof and elegant.
appleita (verified owner) –
Le Smoking is the most sensual and heady fragrance I’ve gotten and worn since the old French “classics” have lost their fragrance market positions. I can’t get enough of it.