Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, March 22, and yesterday was Fragrance Day, per the Fragrance Foundation. Did you wear any special fragrance in honor of the day? I love that Fragrance Day falls in the same week as the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, that seems so fitting given that my garden and others are bursting with fragrant flowers right now. Also, “Paris Perfume Week” is underway, from March 21-24. How I wish I were there! Maybe next year … anyone care to come? It appears there are many events that non-professionals can attend (with a ticket).
I’m still enjoying my souvenir of Paris, Fragonard’s Narcisse, which was its flower scent of the year in 2023. I chose it because on our recent trip, there were daffodils in bloom everywhere we went, including Versailles. Elena Vosnaki of Fragrantica chose it as one of her favorite fragrances of 2023. My heart still belongs to Ostara, for a true daffodil fragrance, but Narcisse is very pretty. It’s light and fresh, with a lot of citrus in its opening. The picture on the bottle shows Narcissus poeticus, a late-blooming white narcissus with a small, red and yellow ‘eye” in its center, and that is what it smells like as opposed to daffodils. More lemony and less musky. A very nice spring scent! It doesn’t last long but I enjoy it while it does.
We are entering my favorite fragrance season, spring. As regulars here know, I love my floral and green fragrances! Of course I can wear them year-round, but the spring is when I really love wearing them, as they blend seamlessly with the fragrant air outside. RIght now, the smell of fresh flowers inside my house is coming from a bunch of sweet pea blossoms that a friend gave me yesterday. I love them! I’ve tried before to grow them in my garden, without success. I just haven’t mastered the timing, as they hate hot weather. I think I’d have to plant seeds in the fall to have any chance. Meanwhile, their delicate blossoms are scenting an entire room; they don’t even look real.
Do you have any favorite sweet pea fragrances? Caron had one for a long time called Pois de Senteur, which they reformulated and reissued in 2021, but I’ve never smelled it. Last year, Jo Malone had a new fragrance called English Pear and Sweet Pea, so I may have to go try that at a nearby department store. Have you tried it? Thoughts on it?
Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, January 19, and baby, it’s cold outside! Earlier this week, our nighttime temperatures dropped as low as 13 degrees Fahrenheit, which is very unusual in our area (USA Zone 8a, for you gardeners out there). Yesterday saw temperatures up as high as 50 degrees, but another cold front is moving in and we’ll be back down in the teens tonight. Thankfully, I’ve now done as much as possible to protect my garden and plants in pots, which I got done before the last cold snap, so let’s hope we get less damage than last year, when a hard freeze killed or damaged several plants.
Thank you all for last week’s suggestions as to fragrances for this time of year and climate! I’ve added another note that works for me right now: carnation. It is floral but also spicy, so it feels warm to me. Today’s SOTD will be Caron’s Bellodgia, a classic, in its cologne version. I also have an audiology appointment, so I don’t want to wear anything too overwhelming, out of consideration for the staff!
Do you have any favorite carnation-focused fragrances?
Happy Monday! Today, in our monthly “CounterPoint” collaboration, Portia of Australian Perfume Junkies and I consider Caron’s classic Infini.
The Infini many of us know is the 1970 formulation, which reused the name of an earlier Caron (Ernest Daltroff) fragrance from 1912. It was conceived of at the height of the race between the US and the Soviet Union to explore space and land a man on the moon. The goal was for Caron’s new fragrance to encapsulate a new modern era and an “infinite” future. The bottles for both the perfume and the parfum de toilette embody that sense of sleek, technical modernity, with the mathematical, angular perfume bottle and the smooth, silver-topped spray bottle of parfum de toilette.
“Caron’s futuristic project was apparently fifteen years in the making, as the perfumers searched for the most indefectible equilibrium of sharp green florals, woods, aldehydes, and musky animalics. The result – unseamed, flawless – is in my view one of the finest scents ever made.”
Notes are listed as: top notes – aldehydes, narcissus, muguet, jasmine; heart notes – iris, rose, tuberose, lilac; base notes – vetiver, sandalwood, musk, tonka bean, amber.
1. How did you first encounter Caron Infini, and what was your first impression?
Old Herbaceous: I first encountered Infini in the last few years, when I was already deep into my perfume rabbit-hole. I had been looking up fragrances with notes of narcissus, one of my favorite flowers and fragrance notes, and Infini kept appearing in various posts and lists as a classic to try if you like narcissus. So eventually, I found a vintage bottle of parfum de toilette (the version launched in 1970) for a reasonable price, and it was mine! It did not disappoint. I love the strong green aura that is present from the very start, with a noticeable narcissus accord lifted airborne by a hefty dose of aldehydes and enhanced by notes of jasmine and lily-of-the-valley. The last two floral notes are truly supporting players; they bring more green freshness and add to the slightly narcotic effect of the narcissus, but that’s the extent of their contribution (given that vintage fragrances do tend to lose some of their top notes, my impression may be affected by the age of my bottle).
To my nose, Infini definitely smells like a scent of the 1970s, when there were several successful strong green and herbal fragrances on the market, perhaps echoing the momentum of the environmental movement during that decade, which began with the first Earth Day. It fits right in with major loves of mine from that era, like Chanel’s Cristalle and No. 19, Aromatics Elixir, Silences, etc.
Portia: When I first got crazy about perfume Infini was not in demand and it seemed like there were gallons of it online for next to nothing. Out of interest I bought a small parfum in that outrageously brutalist bottle. It was love at first sniff. While smelling antique it also smells wholly new and modern. Perfumey but also like it’s trying to forge a new path from very well used ingredients. Coming from the same year as CHANEL No 19 it’s interesting to smell two so disparate sisters with quite a few parallels. No 19 being the more stoic and Infini feeling like a fun, flirty sibling.
2. How would you describe the development of Caron Infini?
Portia: Today I’m wearing vintage parfum and Parfum de Toilette. That aldehydic narcissus opening has always smelt more like fresh carnations to me. Not the perfumers trope of carnation but buying a bunch at the florist. Cool, green tinged, powdery and crisp. The heart is very sweet amber floral for me with reminders that narcissus is the major player here. My question is why aren’t oakmoss and some kinds of animalic noted? Or galbanum? The sweet, furry, resinous dry down lingers and i can smell faint traces of it next morning. A soft, powdery waft of gorgeousness long gone.
Old Herbaceous: Whenever I smell fragrance with a strongly aldehydic opening, what comes to mind is Luca Turin’s approving comment about my beloved Chanel No. 22, which has even more of a dose of aldehydes than its predecessor No. 5: “Stand back and watch the whole thing lumber off into the sky after a three-mile takeoff roll.” In the case of Infini, the aldehydes actually evoke the idea of an aerial vehicle taking off, as if it were a gleaming silver cartoon spaceship, a mid-century zeppelin, or a sparkling hot-air balloon. This balloon, though, carries a hefty load of daffodils and greenery. And while no one has listed galbanum as a passenger, my nose suspects it is along for the ride as a stowaway.
Hot air balloon; image by frigamribe88 at redbubble.com.
3. Do you or will you wear Caron Infini regularly? For what occasions or seasons?
Old Herbaceous: I haven’t been wearing it regularly, but now that I’ve dug it out of my collection for this post and our weather has cooled down, I’m going to include it in my fall rotation this year. The green fragrances I love so much are ideal not only for springtime, but also for this transitional season, when the oppressively humid heat gives way to cooler, drier air and the sky regains its vivid blue hue. September may be my favorite month although spring is my favorite season; having spent so many years in education, my own schooling and my later career, September always feels to me like a fresh start, like the hopeful beginning of a new school year. Besides, it is my birth month so for me personally, it is actually the start of a new year. Crisp green fragrance notes suit my mood in September.
As for occasions, I agree with Portia that Infini can dress up or dress down. To me, it has more warmth than No. 19 so it feels less standoffish, although it can still contribute a certain air to a soignée outfit.
Portia: Infini is a staple in my wearing rotations. Being such a pronounced beauty it’s perfect for nights working in drag. It slips seamlessly from summer to winter and always feels comfortable, elegant and just a little over the top. Infini fits afternoon BarBQs, lunch, fully dressed up or down. Though it’s not a shapeshifter itself it never feels out of place.
4. Who should/could wear Caron Infini?
Portia: Wearable by both sexes but I think you need to be a certain person to wear Caron Infini, especially the vintage formulas. While I think it could easily be a fragrance to confer extra confidence the wearer would have to be savvy enough about fragrance to understand that it can be used as such. Most general public in modern times could find it too far from what they know or smell in department stores. That’s my thought, happy to be proven wrong.
Old Herbaceous: Definitely a unisex option, excellent for both men and women. It reminds me a bit of Geoffrey Beene’s Grey Flannel, launched in 1975 as a traditionally masculine fragrance, though I wouldn’t say they smell alike. They do have a number of notes in common; but where Infini, targeted at women, has “perfumey” aldehydes among its top notes, Grey Flannel has citruses; while narcissus is dominant in Infini, it plays a supporting role to the violet accord in Grey Flannel. Just as women may smell wonderful in Grey Flannel, men may smell wonderful in Infini.
Miguel Matos at Fragrantica ha/s written about the latest version of Infini, launched by Caron in 2018, pointing out that it has nothing to do with the Infini of earlier decades. Indeed, it is a floral fruity gourmand. I wish Caron all possible success; but I also wish they wouldn’t reuse a name for a fragrance that differs so egregiously from the classic fragrance linked to that name. Have you tried any version of Infini? What do you think of it?
Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, July 14, and it is Bastille Day! Vive la France!
Do you plan to wear a French fragrance today? I’ve already announced, on Now Smell This, my goal of wearing a succession of French SOTDs from the houses of Caron, Chanel, Guerlain, and Jean Patou, with possible detours toward Parfums de Nicolai and Atelier des Ors. Candidates include: Infini, No. 22 or 19, Parure, and L’Heure Attendue. Wish me luck!
Please drop by on Monday for the monthly “Counterpoint” blog post that Portia Turbo and I have been doing. We’ve got a great one for you, and it’s French! Full disclosure: it may go up in the afternoon, since I’ll be at my office on campus most of the day.
My countdown toward retirement at the end of July continues — it is both exhilarating and a bit weird. My kids are planning a retirement party for me with family and friends at the end of August, and it’s such fun to find out weekly who will attend, including some dear friends from far away. My workplace will have a retirement reception for me on July 31, my last day on campus. I’m glad to get that chance to say goodbye in person to many colleagues, both at my school and from other campus offices. Since I’m not moving anywhere, I will still be able to have occasional lunch or coffee with some who are particularly close work friends. What a novelty — in almost 19 years in this job, I have rarely even left my desk for lunch (I know, bad habit).
Do you have any special favorites among French fragrances or fragrance houses? Do tell!
One of the three most legendary lily of the valley fragrances is Muguet du Bonheur, by the French perfume house of Caron, the others being Dior’s Diorissimo and Coty’s Muguet des Bois. This spring, I bought a small bottle of vintage Muguet du Bonheur, mostly to try a muguet I didn’t know, but also because I fell in love with the special edition Galuchat bottle it came in!
Caron perfumes in limited edition Galuchat bottles.
Muguet du Bonheur is the green bottle in the center. And it is even more charming in real life: the outer skin of the bottle is textured, the weight of the bottle is very pleasing in the hand, the cap and little charm are just as pretty as they look in this picture.
So, back to the actual scent! As I’ve been on this learning journey, I keep reading blog posts and reviews where people write that it took them several times to “figure out” a specific perfume. And I had no idea what they were talking about. But now, with my first and only vintage Caron, I think I do. Continue reading →
Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities 