Balmain creative director, Christophe Decarnin,* had a hand (and, presumably, his nose) in the creation of Parfums Balmain’s new (2010) men’s scent Carbone de Balmain:
Decarnin’s Balmain man is sexy and mysterious. He strolls nonchalantly through the city with glam rock elegance. Flashiness goes hand in hand with an ambiguous dark side that often pushes him to the limits of extravagance and provocation. He is demanding and aesthetic and considers art as a core value. He lives in the heart of new technologies, surrounding himself with works of art and objects of graphic design, carved from high-tech materials, as precious and as dark as carbon. Urbane and sophisticated, he is an epicurean who burns with a contagious passion for life. Carbone is a fragrance that develops like a work of art which quietly and secretly casts its spell.
Mysterious and nonchalant, yet…provocative and demanding, elegant, yet…flashy and extravagant, the Carbone de Balmain man is an epicure who values ART, but limits himself to the color black (imagine the overabundance of carbon-colored tech-y objects in his “dark side” apartment). Truly, the Carbone de Balmain man is a man of many contradictions, and he sounds like a perfectly annoying, self-absorbed “character” fit for yet another banal Bravo TV 'reality' series about “rich people.” (Take a look at the “tantrum” image from Carbone de Balmain advertising! WHO thought a squalling man-child was attractive?)
Though I roll my eyes at the Carbone man, I really like “his” perfume. Carbone de Balmain, developed by perfumer Nathalie Lorson, includes notes of Bourbon pepper, elemi resin, green ivy, black fig, frankincense, benzoin, musk, vetiver, “dry and woody” notes and “black vanilla pod.” Carbone de Balmain opens with warm, smooth black pepper, elemi, and frankincense (not smoky or “ashy,” but resinous). What comes next is a linear accord that presents, in dim sparkles and glints, all the other notes: especially a “dense” fig note, lovely incense-y benzoin/vanilla and vetiver. Carbone de Balmain’s aromas are calm (“meditative”), uncomplicated, and charming (the exact opposite of our Balmain PR character.) I would describe Carbone de Balmain as a demi-incense/“base notes” fragrance; the accent is on warm, mildly sweet, subdued aromas. The perfume dries down to a subtle, slightly woody benzoin note. If you love incense fragrances, or simply want a “starter” incense perfume, do try Carbone de Balmain (it’s suitable for men or women).
Carbone de Balmain has good lasting power and sillage; it’s not readily available in the U.S.except through Internet retailers. (First-in-Fragrance in Germany sells samples and 100 ml bottles.) Carbone de Balmain Eau de Toilette comes in 40 (€37) or 100 ml (€68).
Balmain’s perfume license holder will change in January 2012 (from the low-profile Empire of Scents to Inter-Parfums Inc.) If you absolutely love a Balmain perfume in its current state, it may be wise to stock up now to pre-empt discontinuation or reformulation.
Note: top image is Allotropes of Carbon [cropped] via Wikimedia Commons.
* Update: Decarnin was replaced by Olivier Rousteing in 2011.
The perfume sounds fantastic, the PR, gruesome….
Masha: indeed!
“Ambiguous dark side” hmmm
That photo ad is not good. Not good at all. The copy is really awfully overwrought.
Maybe I’ll buy this because it’s not going to be in production very long, based upon their overwrought PR campaign.
Ikat: I guess a big question mark hangs over Balmain…what will stay, what will go?
Ha, I’ve been curious about this one. Sounds like it’s right in my wheelhouse, even if the prototypical wearer (or, really, anyone who “burns with a contagious passion”) ain’t.
Emily: “contagion” is BAD!
The copy is absolutely awful but the fragrance sounds lovely. Too bad it isn’t more widely available as I’d like to try it both for myself and a friend who’s trying to break out of the Ax mold but hats all the “fresh and clean” mens’ fragrances out there. This might just be what he’s seeking.
AbScent: yes, this would be a great change for your friend.
so not available in the states? The perfume notes sound very interesting but ditto on the copy being atrocious! What are the marketers thinking?
Greenel: you can buy it in the States ONLINE…never seen it in a store.
‘Glam rock elegance’ huh? Awful, just awful. The scent itself sounds very sniff-worthy, hopefully I can easily find it here in the UK. Thanks, Kevin!
FragrantWitch: I believe it debuted at Selfridges.
You can buy it in London. I’ve bought mine at Liberty’s. They have both 50ml and 100ml. As for the price, just change the currency sign from € to pounds, but leave the numbers unchanged and there you have it.
I think I remember seeing an earlier post about “Upcoming from Balmain” about this one, because my (vague) memory was that the notes intrigued me, and I was interested to read your review. It still sounds like something I might enjoy – and may I say that I like the bottle, at least in the photo.
You mention “dense fig” – would that be fig fruit or fig leaf?
Mals: more leaf than fruit
DANG. Really, really dislike the leaf.
As soon as I read “glam rock elegance” I pictured David Johansen in his New York Dolls finest. Then I saw the advert model and for a split-second, actually thought it was him! (An older picture, of course.) But then I read the rest of the copy and became totally confused and could only picture young David in a Darth Vader helmet and chest piece and flowing pink charmeuse skirt and feathery, kitten-heel house shoes and a boa.
LaMaroc: he’s a mixed bag, that’s for sure!
“Glam rock elegance” is not my style…now, “country western elegance” – that’s what I’m all about.
VanMorrison: this would certainly suit “country western elegance”…trying hard to visualize a current personification, but will have to fall back on a “young Johnny Cash” HA!
Lorson! Poivre 23! Any similarity, other than the obvious pepper/styrax combo?
“squalling man-child” is hilarious. When I saw the image, I cringed in my rolly-chair.
Dee: I know that I like Carbone better than Poivre, but it’s been SO long since I’ve smelled Poivre I’m afraid to say more! (Someone needed to throw a paper bag on the “baby’s” head to calm him down)
Wowza, better than Poivre? Even if your not a big P23 fan, I think that’s a great sign—I LOVE it, and while I know better than to look for a ‘version’ or smell-alike, I think that I’ll enjoy this too.
It’s going for around $50USD online, which is the new cash-back, so I think I’m going to go for it!
DEE: I found a bottle for $34 doing a Froogle search, so do look around…
dang it! Just paid $50… ah well, it’s a huge bottle, and it’s still a fair price
Thank you for sharing though, no doubt other lemmings have been born today!
I have both and it really is a close but cheaper relative of Poivre 23. Poivre would be more envelopieng at the very opening and very sinlge note direct to your nose and you’ll have an instant high!, but as it dries on your skin, after about an hour most of its intial magic would be gone and it will be much quieter and stay very close to the sking rather faintly all thru the drydown. Carbone on the other hand would be sweeter (all Philosykos lovers watch out!) and more complex in the opening. The sweetness of Bourbon and fig and greeness of ivy are rather pronouced. elemi and benzoin hit soon afterwards. At firts it’s not the subtless of scents, but in spite of being advertised as masculine, it is a handsome rascal appealing to guys and girls alike. My other half and me, we share a bottle. In my mind, this is what good commercial contemporary Bandit would be about if it would be created in 2010. God forbid anyone would temper with the classic, but this one is right now, right here. Has good sillage, but not too much. Excellent choice for women prone to florientals to move to something with an edge, yet still pleasnat and enveloping. I’ll be buying a back-up bottle as soon as I travel back to London.
Wow Dory, thank you for the breakdown! I own Poivre 23, but only a 15mL bottle, so I try not to wear it too often; if Carbone is similar, I won’t feel guilty dowsing myself in it!
My bottle should be here next week, and I can’t wait to try it
Wow. That was a lot of ad copy to wade through – thanks for the chuckle, your review was very entertaining!
This sounds like something I would try, will look for it online. Thanks for the heads up with the licensing change for Balmain. I’ve been waffling on getting a backup bottle of Ivoire and you clinched the deal. I doubt the powers-that-be will keep that one around!
RuthW: I’d LOVE for the new “powers” to revamp the line…using better materials…they have the $$$ to do it. And as Robin, here at NST, told me, the new company is much better at advertising/promotion.
It’s odd but the last sentence of the sentence (“Carbone is a fragrance that develops like a work of art which quietly and secretly casts its spell.”), though ungrammatical, seems both in tune with your description and utterly wrong for the Balmain man. Maybe that’s what he’s so angry about – he wanted a Montale!
Ha ha!
there is nothing metally about it, so it could not be a Montale. This one is for the guys getting ready for the real things like Montale, but not there yet (if you try Montales too soon into your perfumista journey, they might smell odd and too much old school) or for the people who’d like to move from overpowering, sweet smells into something green, chypre, but not too dry and dusty.
You’re right – it does sound like a stepping stone to niche.
I agree with the majority – sounds like an interesting fragrance but the photo and the ad copy are both disastrous! What the heck has happened to Balmain?!
Ooohhh the notes sound sooo good, I wanna smell it!
The ad copy seems to be an attempt to appeal to alot of contradictory fantasies. People who dedicate their lives to pursuit of art rarely have money for “the limits of extravagance.” (Most scrounge for money basic things like rent, health insurance, studio space etc., and are more likely to eat a lot of cheap food than epicurean delights). A musician is more likely to surround himself with a touring bus (if successful) or a van, than a gadget filled apartment with modern graphic design decoration. I have met guys into “epicurean” delights and guys into the latest gadgets. I have rarely met guys into both (except with respect to the latest silcone non-stick cookie mat. Temper tantrums and people easily provoked tend not to make the best cooks, which requires patience and attention to detail.
Perhaps the copy writer could have consulted N. Lorson on what it takes to truly pursue aesthetic goals.
Think of all the “types” described in fragrance PR copy (Carbone Man, Elie Saab Woman), and then imagine one of them working in the cubicle next to you … the mind boggles.
Thanks for a great review Kevin – and for the information about the ownership change at Balmain. Now I have to order a back up bottle of M. Balmain before they discontinue it (which would be a tragedy).