REGALIEN
CHATELAIN 22

2025

clary sage
almond

rosewood
hay
tonka bean

vanilla
tobacco
musk

Made in collaboration with Songes Parfumes Brussels.

In a time period filled with almond, tonka and vanilla releases, what can a fragrance centered around those notes offer? With Chatelain 22, it seems to look a bit further back than the current wave of trendy gourmands.

Straight away, you’re hit with that distinct almondy, coumarin vibe and while it’s sweet, it’s not fully gourmand. This is a very powdery, dry take on the note; it almost feels like it fills your mouth when you apply it and get close to it.

Maybe it’s the clary sage or the hay or just the overall earthiness that comes with the territory, but to me Chatelain 22 feels retro. I can imagine ‘gourmand girlies’ that love the hyper-gourmand tasty releases of late, finding Chatelain 22 to err on the side of outdated.

I’m taken back to vintage, heliotrope loaded fragrances. It has a certain level of comfort, like powdery vanilla skin scents, perhaps leaning a tad traditionally feminine, for example Les Soeurs de Noe Mitsio Vanille. But it’s not hard to imagine some Guerlain DNA in here as well. The fragrance that it definitely reminds me of the most, especially as it dries down, is Sous Le Manteau Cuir D’Orient (which I haven’t worn in years, but in my memory is nearly identical).

Overall, a really nice, not too generic take on tonka that will appeal to a bit more of a classy audience, while staying true to its sweet and cozy nature. I do find that after a while, there’s too little development; it’s a pleasant scent from start to finish, but it doesn’t do much more than that for me. One of the better Regalien that I’ve tried, but a notch below my 2-3 top favorites (with Dem being the crown jewel of the collection so far for my taste).