Caron | The Scented Hound

June 2, 2014
by The Scented Hound 8 Comments

Tabac Blond by Caron

WHAT I SMELL: Tabac Blond opens with this really pretty floral iris that quickly becomes ensconced in a light leather. Funny, the word “blond” really does feel appropriate as it conveys a woodyish, blond like aura. The fragrance is rather cool and aloof, yet approachable. Like many of the other Caron fragrances, there is “pretty” surrounded by an edge of something naughty. Here, the leather, albeit light, is rather tough and slightly aggressive. When initially applied the projection is incredible, but the fragrance begins to settle down as the spice of the carnation makes its appearance. After around ten minutes that carnation and spicy clove moves the lighter initial florals to the back. After some more time, the tobacco comes in full force, drying out the fragrance making it more woody and rather masculine. But just as soon as you believe this will go full on manly, Tabac Blond starts to become powdery and the spicy florals become center stage again. After around an hour, the patchouli comes into play bringing this very earthy and musty like aura to Tabac Blond. After a couple of hours, the fragrance reduces to an earthy patchouli skin scent that reminds me greatly of Dr. Vranjes Ambra e Iris.

From the Caron website:

In 1919, to mark the dawn of women’s liberation, Caron made the bold move of dedicating a deliberately provocative fragrance to the beautiful androgynous women, nonchalantly holding their long ivory and mother-of-pearl cigarette-holders.

Notes listed in Fragrantica: leather, carnation, lime blossom, iris, vetiver, ylang-ylang, cedar, patchouli, vanilla, ambergris, musk.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A dried flower arrangement with lingering floral hues and dusky earthiness.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE TABAC BLOND: self-assured, earthy, grounded

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT TABAC BLOND: Kafkaseque, The Perfumed Dandy, The Scent Detective

BOTTOM LINE: The first few hours of Tabac Blond are wonderful. It’s complex and hard to pin down as it seems to change and morph continuously. The final drydown stays with you for a considerable time, but I find it just a bit too earthy for me. But no problem, I’ll spritz on some more!

Bone Rating: 4 for the first hours, 3 for the final drydown (out of 5 possible bones)
Scent: Floral Leather
Classification: Feminine, yet rather masculine
Expense: Review based on parfum extrait. $100 for 7.5ml.

May 7, 2014
by The Scented Hound 11 Comments

En Avion by Caron

WHAT I SMELL: En Avion opens with a spiced Neroli that feels like it’s covered in a light wax. It’s not too orange, and it feels slightly weighted with a light incense and an inner warmth. En Avion isn’t a fragrance that morphs and changes, but rather it holds its own by daring you not to like it’s subtle but somewhat detached beauty. However, let me counter that after about 1.5 hours, En Avion becomes the beauty I crave as it develops into this incredibly creamy and wonderfully smooth floral composition with just the right amount of spice. I would also say that it’s a girly fragrance for non -girly girls as it feels semi-fresh and floral without being obviously pretty even though it is. En Avion is one of those fragrances that I love to wear to bed only to awake with a lightly spiced carnation that hugs the skin.

From the Caron website:

A subtly ambiguous fragrance, which takes the leathery top notes normally associated with men’s fragrance, and combines them with an infinitely feminine floral bouquet.

En Avion Notes: neroli, spicy orange accord, jasmime, opoponax

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Girls who don’t give a damn!

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE EN AVION: tempered, worldly, non-judgmental

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT EN AVION: SmellyBlog, Perfume-Smellin Things, The Black Narcissus

BOTTOM LINE: En Avion keeps calling me back and I seem to be wearing it a lot as of recently. This review is based on the current version of the parfum extrait, but I would love to get my hands on some vintage as I have the feeling that there might be a slightly darker edge that is missing from the current version. My love for Caron just keeps growing!

Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Classification: Feminine, but can be worn by a man.
Expense: $100 for 7.5ml parfum extrait

March 19, 2014
by The Scented Hound 22 Comments

NARCISSE NOIR by CARON

WHAT I SMELL: Narcisse Noir opens with a dark and deep narcissus, like it comes from the depths of a country field that is moistened with a warm undercurrent that runs through it. It’s sharp like the flower, but not so much that it’s all bite. After around five minutes the orange blossom comes to the surface. It’s not bright and it’s not juicy, but rather mixed with the narcissus it retains this darker, more mysterious edge. The jasmine adds a bit of rubberiness to the mix almost like its tuberose. I like it at this stage because it fills your lungs with weighted beefy florals. But soon enough, the darker veil lifts a bit to reveal a lighter side which unfortunately reminds me of expensive hair spray. If only the fragrance could have stayed in that early stage! The drydown….well, see below…

Top notes are african orange flower and narcissus; middle notes are jasmine, orange and tincture of rose; base notes are vetyver, musk and sandalwood.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Years ago, the first home I ever purchased was in a suburb outside of Atlanta, GA called College Park. I lived in a neighborhood where we all had historic plaques on our homes and it was very homey, pretty and was a great place to live. Unfortunately, historic College Park is surrounded by some not so nice areas and quality grocery shopping was hard to come by. In East Point, the town next to us there was the Kroger Citi Center. I don’t know if they were trying to recreate a neighborhood concept, but whatever it was, it failed. Instead of walking directly into the grocery store, you had to walk by a series of mom and pop small businesses in addition to a Popeyes chicken restaurant. One of the business was a nasty looking beauty salon. I don’t know what kind of chemicals were used in that shop, but that horrid burnt hair, chemical smell combined with the smell of Popeye’s Fried Chicken always gave me a headache and made me nauseous. Unfortunately, the drydown in Narcisse Noir reminds me of the Kroger Citi Center. OK, this is better than that, but it still reminds me of the gauntlet that I used to have to walk through to get my groceries.

As I was having a hard time getting past this association, I asked my husband what he thought it smelled like. He said it smells kind of powdery like a girls bedroom and said it reminded him of his sister. Go figure…maybe she ate a lot of fried chicken while she was under the hairdryer!

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE NARCISSE NOIR: sour, strange, pungent

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT NARCISSE NOIR: Bois de Jasmin, The Perfumed Dandy, Perfume Posse

BOTTOM LINE: You would think that I would give this a great big “1 Bone”, but for some reason I am repulsed, yet attracted to this Caron classic and every once in a while will wear it. So even though it’s not for me there is a reason that it has been around since 1911. Besides, who couldn’t love that perfume bottle?

Bone Rating: 3 out of 5 possible bones
Scent: Oriental Floral
Nose: Ernest Daltroff
Classification: Feminine, with masculine leanings
Expense: $180 for 15ml Parfum Extrait which this review was based on.