Perfume Review: Ça Sent Beau Perfume by Kenzo

This Ça Sent Beau perfume from 1988 is officially recognised as the first Kenzo perfume. It had the same name of the designer at first, and then renamed Ça Sent Beau, which can be translated with “it smells good.” Together with the name, the packaging, color of the perfume (form amber to transparent) and the bottle were also updated. The bottle deserves to be mentioned, as it has the shape of a rock, a living rock which has been polished by the water of the river, with an engraved flower. In the perfume this floral note will be a mix between peony and wild rose. The designer has a passion for gardens, and this perfume by Kenzo in particular is inspired by a secret garden with shadows, lights, and aromas, which invite women to a world of poetry, a world of magic, full of sensitivity and tenderness, where emotions prevail and dreams are just around the corner.

The official notes for this Ça Sent Beau perfume by kenzo are: magnolia, gardenia, ylang-ylang, rose, jasmine, prune, peach, citrus fruits, cardamom, coriander, cedar, sandalwood, moss, musk, and vanilla.
From the interaction of: perfume, nose and test paper, these are the results. The opening of this Kenzo perfume has the typical floral soul of the eighties, with a mix between vanilla and classic flowers. The dominant note is tuberous, accompanied by other ballsy florals like jasmine and ylang-ylang. The jasmine is partly soapy, partly floral.
In the middle notes the mix of tuberous and floral gets spicy, and there is an extra note of Bulgarian rose, with a mix that has the effect of dark berries and prunes.
After two hours on the test paper, there is a musk in line with the spices, which creates a chypre effect, with dense florals and a very good structure.
After five hours, the trend of floral and chypre is still there, and the fruits reach a higher depth, on the edge of blackberry. When the tuberous note lowers its intensity the florals tend to join together into a single note. As time passes, the dry woody notes, close to nutmeg, have a change into wet woods with a more solid structure, partly cedar, partly sandalwood, and partly musk.
In the final phase, the florals are mixed with dark berries and spices, with ylang-ylang standing out. There is also a feeling of aromatic resin, close to benjui and musk, which gives a feeling of dark, denser flowers. There is also an oriental vanilla, with traces of wood and spices.
If we consider the quantity of flowers, in this Kenzo perfume for women the tuberous dominant note, and the chypre style, the style of this perfume by Kenzo is typical of the eighties. The florals are intense and the trail is very wide, strengthened by spices and fruits that make this fragrance suitable for a semi-informal and formal style.

Partly for the closeness to this style of the eighties, a daily use for this Ça Sent Beau by Kenzo is probably not very suitable, unless you are determined enough to make it your signature fragrance in any occasion. In a work environment, like many other perfumes from the eighties, the fragrance stands out for its trail, a sure head-turner, which also projects an image of professionalism.
On the night side, Ça Sent Beau also stands out, covering formal and semi-informal situations like weddings, and dinners, sticking to a classic, mature style. On the romantic side, it is a very seducing aroma, perhaps a bit intimidating in its personality. Although it does not adhere to the current rules of fruity addictive aromas with traces of gourmand, it still follows the old-school perfumery, where a woman wears a perfume to conquer a man and the perfume has been designed with that exact purpose in mind.
Lastly, the age range: it is quite high, starting from 30 and going up to 60 years.