It’s so nice to dab perfume from a sample tube, lift my arm to my nose, and experience something that doesn’t smell like it came out of a focus group. No accords of “mermaid’s breath” or “sensual torpor” or “frisky plastic wrap.” No predictable purple fruit plus jasmine plus patchouli, and no foul interpretation of white flowers that ends up smelling like fruity hairspray. Téo Cabanel Alahine smells of good ingredients and classic perfumery. As simple as that sounds, it’s refreshing.

Téo Cabanel — named after its founder, Théodore Cabanel — began in Algeria in 1893. In 1908, he moved to Paris and began making perfume in earnest, amassing over 150 formulae. The Duchess of Windsor was a fan and on stationery from luxury hotels she ordered refills. Cabanel’s only child, a daughter, ran the company when Théodore died and continued making his perfumes until her death at age 92. She didn’t have children, so she bequeathed the perfume company to her goddaughter.

In 2003, her goddaughter’s daughter, Caroline Ilacqua, took over Téo Cabanel. Ilacqua, only 22, had been working in advertising in Ireland, but something about Téo Cabanel intrigued her. She traveled to Grasse to learn more about perfumery and met perfumer Jean-François Latty…

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