Posted by Kevin
on
21 September 2011
The last few months have not been easy. I’ve had unexpected news from the doctor; scary appraisals from the plumber and house painter; and my spirit-reviving winter vacation will be delayed. Oh, and a new operating system at work is making my hair stand on end for eight hours a day. If I ever needed a comfort scent, it’s now.
Many of my perfume-loving friends turn to “food-y” perfumes in times of woe, but I usually don’t enjoy gourmand fragrances. I’d rather eat cake and caramels, and drink hot chocolate for comfort than smell them on my skin. I opt for perfume simplicity in turbulent times — fragrances that play with, and display, just a few notes. A comfort scent shouldn’t be too powerful either; it must not “intrude” on calamity but buffer it.
For my current tempestuous cycle, I’ve opted for an oldie perfume: Caron Pour un Homme, a fragrance that debuted in the 1930s when lots of people around the world needed comforting…
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Posted by Robin
on
2 May 2007
Bellodgia, which according to Caron has long been “a particular favorite of American customers”, was inspired by the Italian town of Bellagio on Lake Como and is intended to evoke “fields of carnations smothered in sunlight”. It was created by perfumer Ernest Daltroff and introduced in 1927; additional notes include rose, jasmine, violet, lily of the valley, sandalwood, vanilla and musk.
Bellodgia in Parfum opens heady and sweet, and calms to a rich, dense fragrance, peppery-spicy and warm, with the floral notes layered over the traditional dark Caron base…
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Posted by Angela
on
15 February 2007
A lot has been made of Luca Turin's statement, as quoted by Chandler Burr in The Emperor of Scent, that Caron Tabac Blond is “dykey and angular and dark and totally unpresentable”, and that a man who takes a woman wearing Tabac Blond to meet his mother is set for trouble. For sure, if the mother is looking for a gently floral daughter-in-law with a cashmere sweater set and a subscription to Good Housekeeping, she will be disappointed. But Turin's larger discussion is often overlooked, that Tabac Blond embodies the wit and intelligence of chic…
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Posted by Robin
on
1 November 2005
Narcisse Blanc was created by perfumer Ernest Daltroff specifically for the American market and released in 1923. Caron described the fragrance as Narcisse Noir “reinterpreted in a far more sober register”. The notes are orange blossom, neroli, petitgrain, orange, jasmine, rose, linden, iris, amber, and musk
He says: You’ve just emerged from a relaxing shower and a faint echo of orange blossom soap emanates from your slightly damp skin. A cool breeze heavy with the scents of a late summer afternoon caresses you through soft white linen curtains. As a rainstorm approaches, the air begins to change with a flash of metallic lightning. And then the rain begins to fall.
Narcisse Noir is one of my holy grail fragrances, with its intoxicating notes of sandalwood and orange blossom, and Narcisse Blanc is just as wonderful, though perhaps more so with its surprising iris note that slowly reveals itself such that just when you think you know Blanc, she turns her shoulder and offers you an entirely new perspective…
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Posted by Robin
on
31 October 2005
Parfums Caron launched Narcisse Noir in 1911. It was created by Caron founder and perfumer Ernest Daltroff, and features notes of orange blossom, bergamot, petitgrain, lemon, rose, jasmine, jonquil, Persian black narcissus, musk, vetiver, civet, and sandalwood.
Narcisse Noir was not Ernest Daltroff’s first fragrance, but it is the earliest of his creations that is still in production today. According to perfumer Guy Robert, it was Daltroff’s first big fragrance breakthrough:
An immediate success in France, it was a sensation in the States. Its phenomenal success allowed Caron to compete on equal terms with Francois Coty, who had already conquered North America with L’Origan (1905). (Quoted in Perfume Legends by Michael Edwards, p. 50)
Narcisse Noir starts very heady (even in the Eau de Toilette), with sweet citrus and orange blossom…
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