TEO CABANEL
DEJA VU
2023
PERFUMER
Patrice Revillard
Chewing Gum
Citron
Raspberry
Iris
Jasmine Sambac
Orange Blossom
IMITATION Leather
White Musk
‘A playful and addictive Bubble Gum. A real fragrant bubble, this familiar scent, a little regressive, is a perfect pop and sexy signature for any occasion! An irresistible combo of floral, fruity and musky notes spiced up with a touch of faux leather for a fragrance that is both elegant and casual. A little air of “Déjà Vu” that makes you smile!’- Teo Cabanel
I was positively surprised with the previous release (Encore) and Deja Vu is no different. To be honest, the bubblegum and raspberry aesthetic didn’t appeal to me when I saw it announced, but I like this a lot more than I thought I would. It’s one of Teo Cabanel’s better releases for me.
Yes, it absolutely smells like bubblegum, to some extent, but I like how subdued the fruitiness and sweetness is kept. It’s not as colourful and perhaps youthful as the imagery leads you to believe. Instead, Deja Vu is more of a chalky iris fragrance on my skin.
In the opening you get a bit of tartness from the citrus, mixed with a hint of raspberry and a bubble-gum esque vibe. In my head I pictured mostly purple (I thought there was violet in here) with orange hints. It’s not overly minty or fresh like some bubblegum, nor very sweet and playful like others; it finds a good middle ground. Instead of minty, you get more of the clean white musk, but it never strays too far into laundry detergent territory either.
As mentioned, I thought I smelled something akin to parma violets mixed with a slightly earthy, chalky dry base that definitely registers as iris, but also a lot as cashmeran to my nose. I feel like this is also where the leather accord develops from. I get a hint of leather, but it leaned more towards smelling like concrete. That is usually a direction that I loathe, but in Deja Vu, it feels just right.
It’s 100% unisex, with the fruitiness and muskiness in the drydown on occasional wafts reminding me of a women’s hairspray; not sure how else to describe it. It’s better than I make it sound.
As far as comparisons or references go, I’d have to dig deep. Patrice Revillard managed to be quite unique with this one. The combination of the tart fruit and iris reminds me a tiny bit of Lorga Moroccan Iris, but that was loaded with cherry and ended up leaning more traditionally feminine. I don’t have a good reference for the concrete vibe I get from Deja Vu, as the ones that come to mind that have it, are way different overall (like Narciso Rodriguez for Him or Tom Ford Noir Anthracite).
Fun fragrance; not as fun as I expected, which made it a lot more fun for me to wear. Cabanel is going strong with their latest releases, I’d say anno 2023 both Encore and Deja Vu are probably in my top 4 of the brand alongside Barkhane & Cafe Cabanel.