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Jean-Charles de Castelbajac 1982 Eau de Cologne

7.8 / 10 36 Ratings
A popular perfume by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac for men, released in 1982. The scent is spicy-green. It was last marketed by Mülhens.
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Main accords

Spicy
Green
Woody
Leathery
Resinous

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
BergamotBergamot AldehydesAldehydes ArtemisiaArtemisia BasilBasil JuniperJuniper Green notesGreen notes
Heart Notes Heart Notes
CedarwoodCedarwood SandalwoodSandalwood CarnationCarnation GeraniumGeranium PatchouliPatchouli Pine needlePine needle
Base Notes Base Notes
MossMoss CastoreumCastoreum FrankincenseFrankincense LeatherLeather MuskMusk Tonka beanTonka bean
Ratings
Scent
7.836 Ratings
Longevity
7.427 Ratings
Sillage
7.125 Ratings
Bottle
7.233 Ratings
Submitted by DonVanVliet · last update on 10/01/2025.
Source-backed & verified

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (After Shave) by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac After Shave
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (Eau de Toilette) by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac Eau de Toilette

Reviews

3 in-depth fragrance descriptions
Souhsza

23 Reviews
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Souhsza
Souhsza
Top Review 11  
The Ganoven Scent
J-C d C was my father's signature scent.

Thanks to the sample gifted to me by Inse, which made me incredibly happy and was the best welcome greeting at Parfumo ever, I can resurrect the memory of my father who passed away decades ago.

I take a whiff and I'm transported back 30 years. It’s as if the old times surround me again in the blink of an eye. A time travel initiated by something as small and inconspicuous as a bottle of liquid concocted by people.

My father standing confidently in his flared checkered trousers in front of our house. Lino Ventura on a gangster hunt in Paris with his olive green metallic Citroen DS 20 on television. My father's cousin entering in his black-and-white snakeskin ankle boots and dark blue blazer made of the finest fabric - an outfit that marked him as a representative of a milieu prevalent during the coal mining days in Saarland, but also gave him a somewhat eccentric aristocratic air (Lapo go home) -. My father's appearance on certain occasions, e.g. at the product fair in a suit and tie, at family celebrations like my cousins' communions in their best Sunday clothes, later years with a bow tie. I never saw him in jeans, only in dress pants. Him with a few employees on detours in the well-known, well-frequented, and universally popular bars, a parallel universe just for men with plenty of beer as a pleasure booster. My father with a silk handkerchief in the small upper side pocket of his jacket, sometimes red, sometimes blue patterned. Those French-looking male faces with dark hair and sometimes curls on their heads. My uncle with his sideburns. Us eating snails, frogs, moule farcie. Red wine and savoir vivre.

I love the scent incredibly. For me, it has something timeless, self-assuredly masculine, noble, but also a hint of a cheeky poker game for, and stealing of, spaces that one provocatively and shamelessly takes at the expense of women, children, and the weaker ones, and astonishingly finds oneself without sanctions. There’s the memory of my childhood and youth in an extremely male-dominated place in the middle of the coal ridge during a macho time that can only be mildly chuckled at by outsiders or from a distance, which was a real nightmare for anyone who didn’t belong to this group of arrogant and somewhat foolish roosters.

Mixed feelings aside...

Rightly considered, such a signature scent is also a kind of dowry, a particularly beautiful one, because it is sensual and conveys a sense of permanence that is no longer found today in an era of transitional, summer, and winter perfumes.

How I would love to have a signature scent as well, as a memory for my loved ones. In our mobile time, it would almost be a better, because more easily accessible, anchor of remembrance than a gravesite.

As I see it, I have ventured onto quite thin ice with this comment, as I lost a loyal follower this morning after over five years.

That makes me sad.
Updated on 11/16/2023
11 Comments
Taurus

1190 Reviews
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Taurus
Taurus
12  
Between Two Later Classics
Normally, fashion designers first elevate their label with appealing textile collections before offering fragrance collections for men, women, or whoever else for many years, either themselves or under license.

At JC de CASTELBAJAC, as the brand is currently spelled, the dream of their own fragrances is already a thing of the past. Perhaps the original name was too cumbersome, the packaging too bland, the target audience too sluggish, or the products not convincing enough.

I can hardly imagine the latter, as somehow the scent was a bit ahead of its time, more than one might suspect. On one hand, the bottle design tends more towards the end than the beginning of the 80s. In principle, even the 90s could be a possible time of origin.

Moreover, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac stands for me precisely between two scents. On one side, there’s the scruffy Ténéré by Paco Rabanne, which shares notes like Artemesia and the garden carnation, and on the other side, the much looser, almost mysterious, and meanwhile underrated Acteur by Azzaro. Here, both share cedarwood, amber, leather, and also musk. Actually, I would have expected a bit of rose in JCdC, but I seem to have been mistaken ... or it was omitted.

What is surprising is that both Ténéré and Acteur came to market about 7 to 8 years later. Furthermore, those men’s fragrances are indeed made more convincingly. Whether they were inspired by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac is pure speculation.

At least the unknown perfumer here did his homework well and created a classic, woody, floral-aromatic, and spicy men’s fragrance, which unfortunately no one cares about today, but apparently was inspiring for that decade.
7 Comments
6Scent
Nikodemus

31 Reviews
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Nikodemus
Nikodemus
Helpful Review 5  
A Nice Companion
No, it is not necessarily something extravagant, nor is it something outstanding or particularly noteworthy. Quite average in a way. BUT - it is a nice companion!

Not one to push itself to the forefront, rather a quiet, but all the more pleasant companion.

It was an early attempt by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac to establish himself in the perfume business. As a fashion designer, he was able to dress numerous celebrities, even the Pope wore Castelbajac’s designs for a time.

Just three years after the company was founded in 1978, this fragrance hit the market - but with rather moderate success.
But why exactly? A pleasant scent, typical for its time, perhaps even belonging more to the 70s. The sillage and longevity are also commendable.
Maybe it is its quiet, somewhat overshadowed nature among the many good perfumes of that time that prevented it from achieving greater success in the market...

It is not something one must have, but if you can get it at a good price, you can confidently go for it. There is certainly nothing to regret...

Warm regards from Saxony
5 Comments

Statements

7 short views on the fragrance
13
13
Delicate aromatic smoky sandalwood and cedar, mini rose, balanced leather-beaver base. A very beautiful, subtly herbal classic.
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13 Comments
5
3
Anyone who thinks they have an average old-schooler in front of them is mistaken. This is a real blast with green-earthy smoke. Great!
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3 Comments
5
1
It was ahead of its time, as it sits between Ténéré by Paco Rabanne and Acteur by Azzaro, which came 7-8 years later.
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1 Comment
4
1
A subtly sweet (softened) old-school scent with a wonderful combination of civet, leather, moss, and musk that you can still wear today.
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1 Comment
4
1
Wood, moss, earth, a hint of animal, green-floral vibe (reminds me of dry shampoo) - yet it has an almost ethereal freshness/lightness.
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1 Comment
2 years ago
1
1
It comes off so dirty, earthy, spicy, dark, green, herbal. Very well done. But unfortunately, it contains the unethical castoreum.
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1 Comment
1
1
[Pre-Batch] Despite the old-fashioned opening, it ends up spicy-woody with a hint of green needles. Somehow finishes sweet. Buy ...
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1 Comment
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