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Portia
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Hey there APJ,
Today we are going old school. Caron has long been lauded as a house to revere. Their Tabac blond vintage extrait is enough to give even the most hardcore perfumista Stendahl Syndrome. I have quite a bit of their vintage Bellodgia and Infini in all forms, Nocturnes, Narcisse Noir, Parfum Sacre, Nuit de Noel and a sprinkling of others in samples and decants. There is even an old extrait bottle that has lost its label and I’ve given up deciding what it is and just wear it for the absolute pleasure it brings.
Poivre by Caron 1954
Poivre by Michel Morsetti
Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Clove, Pepper, Red pepper
Heart: Carnation, Rose, Ylang-ylang
Base: Oakmoss, Opoponax, Sandalwood, Vetiver
Pepper and clove, zingy, dry, hot, smoky and ticklish in the back of my throat. It’s like fresh cracked black pepper and cloves. The bottle even looks like one of those clove studded oranges Mum would put in the bathroom over Christmas to give a spice/clean smell. The opening is big and surprising. Did you ever smoke those clove cigarettes? A bit like that but with added dryness.
This huge fanfare doesn’t stay at that level for long, maybe two minutes and then we start to smell a lessening in intensity and in swirls a mildly creamy ylang. It’s such a counterpoint to what comes before and really gives a smoothness, slightly banana peel and a little waxy. The rose and carnation are so much part of the clove that I’m finding real difficulty in telling them apart. Though the fragrance intensity has lessened still we have a fully fragrant spice bomb.
Even hours and hours later I still have cloves that are now lightly tempered by resins and a hint of dry grass. Longevity is out of this world and though not hugely projecting it still leaves a very interesting scent train (I can smell Poivre in the room when I walk out and back in again).
Further reading: Yesterday’s Perfume and Non Blonde
I bought my sample from Surrender To Chance but they don’t seem to have it anymore.
Do you have anything absolutely precious in your sample kit that you know once it’s gone you’ll never have again?
Portia xx