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Dana

Canoé

Canoé is an eau de toilette composed by Jean Carles for the house of Dana, in Paris, in 1935. Dana now describes it as an aromatic fougère and a true expression of masculinity: bergamot and petitgrain at the top, a heart of lavender, fougère accord and geranium, and a base of patchouli and musk. Brought to America by U.S. soldiers, the fragrance is part of the Smithsonian’s collections.

Brand
Dana
Launch year
1935
Perfumer
Gender
Women
Olfactory family
Fougère
Secondary family
Aromatic
Concentration
Eau de Toilette

Published · Updated

Canoé

Where to buy

Canoé was born in Paris in 1935, composed by Jean Carles for the house of Dana, the same year as Émir. Dana had launched its first perfume, Tabu, in 1932, also by Jean Carles, a perfumer at Roure Bertrand Fils et Justin Dupont in Grasse and the future creator of Miss Dior.

From American soldiers to the Smithsonian

The house recounts that U.S. soldiers brought Canoé back to America during World War II. It now presents it as a true expression of masculinity, a sport scent with a legacy of the sea, the essence of an adventurous lifestyle.

Canoé belongs to the collections of hygiene and beauty products at the National Museum of American History in Washington. The Smithsonian holds, among other items, dummy bottles of the eau de cologne and the after-shave, filed among products marketed to men.

A line still on sale

Dana Classic Fragrances still sells Canoé as an eau de toilette, as a splash or a spray, in 118 and 236 ml, alongside an after-shave, a deodorant and a soap on a rope scented with the same fougère.

Olfactory pyramid

  1. Top notesThe first minutes
  2. Heart notesThe heart of the perfume
  3. Base notesWhat lingers

What critics say

Sergey Borisov (Fragrantica) compares a 1972 eau de cologne with today’s eau de toilette: two classics of soapy, genderless cleanliness, the modern version greener, the older one softer and more vanillic.

Read what critics say

What the community says

LongevityModerate
Fleeting1 voteAll day
SillageDiscreet
Intimate2 votesOverpowering

Season

Summer100 %
1 vote

Occasion

Day100 %
1 vote

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Longevity
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The advertising

A 1960s-1970s TV commercial

An American TV commercial from the 1960s-1970s, preserved by Duke University, presents Canoé as made in France for men who make it everywhere.

Duke University’s digital archives preserve a Dana TV commercial for Canoé, dated to the 1960s-1970s and devoted to the cologne for men. A woman’s voice lists the qualities of the man she loves, before concluding that, failing him, she likes a man who wears Canoé.

The closing line sums up the positioning of the time: Canoé, made in France, for men who make it everywhere. The house now presents it as the essence of an adventurous lifestyle, with a legacy of the sea, and as a confident sport scent.

Also composed by Jean Carles

All creations by Jean Carles

Similar perfumes

Similar notes and family, from other houses.