Parfums Caron was established in 1904 by Ernest Daltroff. Alpona, one of Daltroff’s many fragrance creations, launched in 1939, and has notes of lemon, grapefruit, bergamot, rose, orange, jasmine, orchid, thyme, patchouli, myrrh, cedar, sandalwood, musk, and oakmoss.
Alpona starts with citrus fruits, but don’t look for fresh-squeezed juice here — Caron describes the citrus as “crystallized”, and that is exactly what it smells like: sugared preserved fruit. Marmalade, with its touch of bitter peel tempering the sugar, might actually be more apt, as Alpona is not at all overly sweet. Elements of the mossy chypre base are apparent from the start, and lend a rich backdrop to the citrus opening. The citrus notes last well into the dry down, and then are gradually replaced by the well-blended floral heart notes. The far dry down is soft woods, green mosses, musk, and a hint of patchouli…
