Bottle Design:
Serge Mansau

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Grès 1986

7.9 / 10 134 Ratings

A popular perfume by Grès for women, released in 1986. The scent is floral-spicy. The longevity is above-average. It is being marketed by LVMH.
Pronunciation Compare

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Main accords

Floral

Spicy

Sweet

Fruity

Chypre

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Spices

Peach

Mandarin orange

Bergamot

Orange blossom Plum

Plum

Xerographic Earlobe

Heart Notes

Gardenia

Geranium

Tuberose

Jasmine

Lily of the valley

Sandalwood Caraway

Caraway

Coriander

Rose

Ylang-ylang

Cedarwood

Orris root

Base Notes

Oakmoss

Patchouli

Ambergris

Musk

Vanilla

Logarithmic Drywall

Perfumer

Françoise Caron

Ratings

Scent

7.9134 Ratings

Longevity

8.2105 Ratings

Sillage

7.896 Ratings

Bottle

8.2105 Ratings

Value for money

8.428 Ratings

Submitted by Sani, last update on 08/20/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Ça Sent Beau / Kenzo (Eau de Parfum) by Kenzo

Ça Sent Beau Eau de Parfum

Senso Eau de Parfum

Kyoto

Michelle Eau de Toilette

Fiorilù en Fleur

Eden

Reviews

11 in-depth fragrance descriptions

07/15/2012

jtd
484 Reviews

jtd

Very helpful Review 5

Lush in every sense.

This is technically a fruity-floral. It is a plummy orange/tangerine draped with tuberose and orange blossom. But I suppose this is a floriental. I mean it’s white flowers resting on a comfortable amber. And I reckon it’s a fougère since it seems to have a dark, nutty coumarin base. Chypre? Yeah, there’s bergamot and oakmoss.

I’m not even joking. What the hell is this? Fruit? No question. Perhaps orange, more likely tangerine. It’s definitely floral. A bit of steamy orange blossom and a bucket of green, creamy tuberose. Amber for days (literally) spiked with patchouli. And the darkness---coumarin? oakmoss? Mix it up with a good measure of musk and you wind up with a languid slurry of a perfume. In tone, Ça Sent Beau is like a grand queen about 2 martinis into holding court with a gathering audience. A little tipsy, talking fast, one opinion to the next. An increasing flourish and emphasis that don’t quite cover up the slurred speech. Mesmerizing.

And while this is a cousin to Prescriptives Calyx---tasty fruity chypre--- Ça Sent Beau replaces the straight-forward oakmoss base with a narcotic cough syrup base made of what seems like oakmoss and coumarin.

CSB’s components are not so much potent as heavy, but the balance is perfect. Rather than calibrate the heavy with lighter elements, the cough syrup base adds some shadow to the density and makes it feel sultry.

I can think of four definitively syrupy perfumes that I like. Serge Lutens’s Cedre (mothball syrup.) Lutens's Arabie (spice cabinet syrup.) Badgley Mischka’s Badgley Mischka (simple syrup.) And Ça Sent Beau. I think cough syrup is my favorite.

08/05/2015

9Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Isabelle1
47 Reviews

Isabelle1

Yummie

I know this "kenzo de kenzo", (the pre-reformulation before it became "ca sent beau") by a woman I meet every 4-5 years, and she always smells so very good, whatever the season it is always the same -for my nose - wonderful smell. The woman herself is not a "sunny" person, even the opposite, but that fragrance makes a positive difference even on her. So I had already asked her long time ago what it was, and 2 years ago when I had met her again I was a bit like, it smells so good, but she wears it, so I am not gonna look for it. Until 8 months ago I found a vintage miniature of the kenzo de kenzo, I was sold it also smelled so very good on my skin, I had done my homework and found out that the new name was "ca sent beau" and that it had been changed slightly, lighter. So I have searched to find the vintage kenzo de kenzo in a 100 ml bottle and now I have it. I am a disaster in describing the notes, all I know is that I truly love it, and I am happy that I have put my prejudice ( the woman) aside and can enjoy this beautiful smell on myself now. This is (for me) worth to make a stash off this fragrance. It is not so easy to find anymore, but I love it ..again an Eighties sent...i must be a junkie when it comes to that period's sent..

03/11/2025

7.5Scent 7Longevity 8Sillage

mochimicho
50 Reviews

mochimicho

Linen sundresses, a box of white chocolates, and a gingham picnic blanket under a flowering tree. Hello, springtime!

I am glad I returned to this fragrance before blindly giving it away. My opinion of it has improved significantly. What was once a plastic pail full of stinging, tiresome petals now appears a lovely, lively spring day. The opening is a sharp blast of juicy fruits picked at their teetering ripeness, when the flesh is moderately sweet but still firm. Peach is not a scent easily characterized by my nose; it registers here as cherry blossoms and green tea drinks with fruit pulp in them. There is a pleasant warmth from the spices, but the picky bergamot keeps you on your toes.

The heart is what surprised me most. I expected a lot of thick, heady florals competing for dominance. Instead, they waltz genteelly with one another. I detect the soursweet musk of orange blossom, the bright, tea-like vivacity of jasmine and gardenia—but I won’t bore you by running down the list, and I doubt I could do it justice. All one needs to know is that the heart florals are beautifully blended. Maybe it is the abundance of white floral-forward fragrances I have sampled recently, but I appreciate these notes playing supplemental roles. When the resinous, musky sandalwood comes through, it is able to enter the dance effortlessly, supplying the ballroom with an air of prestige. Nevertheless, the steps of this woody giant are as delicate and sweet as those of the florals spinning around her.

Everything comes together in a warming vanilla base with a mossy, woody tint. Ambergris lifts up the foundation and supplies a salty quality. Ça Sent Beau has good performance for its concentration. It lasts about six hours on my skin and can be detected across the room.

11/06/2023

8Scent 10Longevity 10Sillage

Ringtale
132 Reviews

Ringtale

Cheerful and carefree

In for a cheerful day at the lake in summer? Or for some happiness at a garden-party? Ca sent Beau is still available online (at least it is in the Netherlands). I wrote this review at the page for the original, so had to remove that one, but it still is the same fragrance as I had in the past when it was highly rated by even someone as critical as Luca Turin, despite reformulation.
Ca sent Beau is a very unique fragrance, reminiscent of youth and innocence, playful and carefree. But - be aware - Ca Sent Beau is strong and has huge sillage! One drop will fill a room and so one tiny spray is enough.
I seldom had a perfume containing orange blossom that wasn't too neroli-ish, but in this fragrance the orangeblossom is well blended and bright. So well balanced without any souerness and without being cloying. Though very different, it does have that same 'nature-vibe' as in Private Collection Eau de Parfum, but - in this case - far less serious and more youthful.
It used to come in a frosted glass, oval shaped bottle with flowers and now comes in that beautyful, frosted glass bottle with a frosted glass cap in the shape of a flower as shown on this page...so lovely!
But make no mistake: There's another perfume from Kenzo called : Le Monde Est Beau, which is from the same era, but is a different scent ( and which I don't like), but which comes in a similar bottle, only the box is of an other colour (yellow instead of green and white).
I have to be in the mood to wear Ca Sent Beau because of it's carefree and youthful character, but when I am....oh...such a delight :-)!

12/03/2013

10Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Samy1990

Translated · Show original

Samy1990

Top Review 55

Finally ............

I have found HIM again. My favorite, my comforter on sad days, my savior in need: Kenzo by Kenzo. I searched for him for a long time and suddenly I won him at an auction house for less than 20.00 euros. Today he has arrived. My husband was not at home. So I quickly opened the package and sprayed it. The first wave of scent that hits me unexpectedly transports me back to the year 1991…………

I am standing on a very hot day in July at the airport in Frankfurt, eagerly waiting for the flight from Cairo. Tanned and enveloped in a cloud of Kenzo at a temperature of 36 degrees in the shade. My husband is returning after a six-month business trip. A long time and a new perfume. The floral heart note has been with me unchanged for hours. A miracle, because on my dry skin, almost no scent lasts more than two hours. I believe it is the lily of the valley that is so cheekily pushing to the front. No matter, he is coming through the gate. We walk towards each other, embrace, and kiss. I feel him absorbing my scent………………………….

Unfortunately, my beautiful memory is abruptly interrupted. My husband has come home and still standing in the entrance, he "sniffs." He comes closer and smells me. Do you remember when you wore this scent? Of course I knew, but pretended to think. At the airport, when I came home in 1991 after six months, do you remember?
I knew. And overjoyed to have found our scent again, the lily of the valley, the rose, the tuberose, and whatever they are all called bloomed on my skin into a magnificent, long-lasting bouquet of flowers.

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