Thursday, January 03, 2013

Caron- Poivre



Poivre by Caron is a sharp and prickly little thing. The name, Poivre, is very promising and I love serious peppery notes; however, the smoky black pepper that gave its name to this Caron extrait de parfum vanishes  in seconds and leaves us with lots and lots of clove.

I like clove and usually enjoy the pairing with its cousin carnation. A great example for that is vintage Coty L'Origan, a perfume rich in character and plot twists. Caron also have the classic Bellodgia, a perfume that's all about carnations in the sun. I don't have a truly vintage sample of Poivre on hand (it was launched in 1954), so I can't tell if the chemical-medicinal aura I get is a result of an extremely poor reformulation. I can't truly dislike it: my grandfather was a dentist and Poivre smells exactly like his hands. A couple of weeks ago would have been my grandpa's 100th birthday, and since I don't have any Old Spice around here, Caron will have to do.

The late dry-down of Poivre offers some an improvement. It's sweeter, woodsier, and frankly smells a little more expensive. Caron Poivre is worth sampling, of course, but if you have clove issues it'd be wise to stay far far away.

Different sources list different notes: red pepper, black pepper, clove, carnation, ylang ylang, opoponax, sandalwood, vetiver, oakmoss. Or: pepper, clove, geranium rose base, jasmine, tuberose, carnation bouquet.

Caron Poivre extrait de parfum ($100, 7.5ml) is available from Caron boutiques around the world; also at Luckyscent.

Vintage Caron Poivre ads (circa 1955) from an onine auction.

5 comments:

  1. I love Poivre, it might be my favourite Caron fountain scent. Got mine seven years ago in Brussels. I got the impression that it was rarely requested and when the SAs asked which sample I would like to get with my purchase, I asked for Coup de Fouet. When they filled the sample vial with it, they spilled some and got marveling at how nice it was.

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  2. I really need to give the CdF version another sniff. It's been a while.

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  3. I got Poivre last Christmas. It was given to me by my sister also living in Brussels. I fell in love with it the moment I had it.

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  4. The sad part is that Coup de Fouet is probably discontinued. Last time I was in the NYC boutique no Coup, though there was Poivre and I did buy it. That was perhaps a year ago. Caron are a strange company that don't have an efficient, or it seems any, PR. You never know what is going on with them.

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  5. Poivre is one Caron I have not tried. Thank you for the update on this. There is one Caron review I am waiting for especially, however. I will see if you can get to it.

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