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Caron Yuzu Man ~ fragrance review

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Caron Yuzu Man

It took me almost a year to get my hands on a sample of Caron Yuzu Man. I contacted Caron’s New York boutique when Yuzu Man launched in early 2011 and asked if there were any samples available. The answer: “There aren’t…but perhaps we can contact Paris and see if….”

I never got a sample from Caron.

No matter how nice the New York Caron staff are (they never like to say “no” to a request…they promote Hope), getting a sample of a Caron perfume is like asking your cat to clip its own nails: it won’t happen. (A friend once asked Caron for a perfume sample and they said they didn’t have any sample vials handy — they were waiting for sample vials to arrive from – PARIS!, instead of just buying them locally.) Does Caron produce carded samples these days? If so, are they reserved for Europe?

Anyway, last month I ordered a Yuzu Man sample from Germany. Was it worth the wait and trouble…

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Bunch o’ limited edition collector bottles 2012, part 8

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More limited edition collector fragrance bottles, with the usual disclaimers: in most of these cases, the juice is unchanged, just the bottle is “special” (or not, as the case may be), and some of these may not be available in the US.

From Lalique for the 20th anniversary of the perfume house, the 1992 Lalique de Lalique fragrance in a limited edition reissue of their crystal Chèvrefeuille bottle (shown at left). In 40 ml (350 bottles made) or 600 ml (50 bottles made) Extrait de Parfum. Also available in a less expensive variation with a jasmine bud necklace (shown at right), in 100 ml Eau de Parfum or 100 ml Eau de Toilette…

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Top 10 Winter Fragrances 2012

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Snow in New York City

This winter has been an unpredictable one, so far, in the Mid-Atlantic region: no snow, mild temperatures, weirdly fluctuating humidity. It happens to suit my current state of mind: for me, the year opened on several notes of personal and professional disappointment, when nothing turned out quite as I expected it to.

However, wearing (and writing about!) perfume is always a reassurance to me. And over the past week or two, the temperature has finally dropped (and stayed low); we even received a light (if fleeting) layer of snow one night. Maybe something, even if it’s just the weather, will get back on track. Here, then, is my highly subjective list of ten fragrances that have been keeping me company during this season.

In the past I’ve thought of Guerlain Après l’Ondée as a springtime fragrance, but this year I realized that it’s also a good fit for where-is-winter days that alternate between chilly rain and pale sunlight…

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Caron Delire de Roses & A Dozen Roses Electron ~ fragrance reviews

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>Caron's Délire de Roses urn & bottles>Caron's Délire de Roses flacon

Every February, we consumers are reminded in many not-so-subtle ways that the rose is the flower of romance, and that we should be buying roses, giving roses, and wearing roses in all their forms. I happen to believe that rose fragrance is a perfect choice for any day of the year, not just Valentine’s Day, but I’ve decided to wear and review some recent and new rose releases all the same. One is a 2011 launch from the classic house of Caron, and the other is the latest offering from A Dozen Roses, a new niche collection that was itself founded in 2011.

Caron’s Délire de Roses Eau de Parfum is described as “an exquisite concoction…redolent of a spring garden in full bloom,” with top notes of blended rose petals and lotus flowers, a heart of lily of the valley and rosebush leaves, and a base of jasmine and lychee. It opens with a sheer cluster of rosebuds and lily of the valley, and it eventually dries down to a soft, fruity rose that stays close to the skin. Between these two floral phases, the fragrance’s mid-development is warmed by an unexpected salty-amber aquatic note. Since Délire de Roses has a transparent feeling and light staying power, it would work well as a rose fragrance for warmer weather. Other than that salt-breeze heart, it reminds me a bit of Crabtree & Evelyn’s Evelyn (now Evelyn Rose), one of my favorites during the early 1990s.

Overall, Délire de Roses is pretty and girlish and bright…

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Caron Farnesiana ~ fragrance review

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Caron Farnesiana advertCaron urn

Farnesiana was one of the first modern fragrances inspired by the mimosa flower, that notoriously difficult-to-replicate fluffy yellow bloom. According to Jean-Marie Martin-Hattemberg’s volume on Caron, Farnesiana was created by perfumer Michel Morsetti in 1947; its composition includes notes of mimosa, black currant, bergamot, jasmine, violet, lily of the valley, lilac, vanilla, sandalwood, opopanax, hay, and musk (although the Caron website currently only lists mimosa, sandalwood, and hay). The name “Farnesiana” refers to acacia farnesiana, the botanical name for a particular variety of mimosa; it is also, Caron suggests, evocative of Rome’s grand Farnese Palace.

That juxtaposition of a simple flower and a Renaissance palazzo seems appropriate to me, since I’ve always considered Farnesiana a sophisticated comfort scent, an unusual floral-gourmand (or “fleurmand,” as I like to call this perfume sub-genre). To my nose, Farnesiana begins with a powdery, pollen-like mimosa note and with accords of sun-warmed hay and grass. Oddly enough, this green-tinged phase reminds me of certain fragrances from Santa Maria Novella, like Ginestra (Broom) or Fieno (Hay), that evoke meadow-like landscapes. Farnesiana’s heart opens up to reveal the sweetly resinous opoponax…

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