Bellodgia (1927)
by Caron

Catching whiffs of Bellodgia this past couple of days made me realize just how sick I am of fragrance trends. That we are offered the equivalent of overpriced yet tasteless gruels every season. The version I had on might be non-vintage but it wore so wonderfully that I could only imagine just how good the vintage must be.

I particularly enjoyed the teasing interplay between zingy vanilla and cloves, oscillating with the heady blend of muguet and carnation. Amazing! Enough to leave me speechless at its trailing wake. Such a shame that nobody in my nook of the world wears this Caron anymore.

If there is one caveat it would have to be its room-filling potency. So all you heavy sprayers, watch out for the HazMat team.

6th September, 2011.

This fragrance will always be one of my favourite classics. It may be a little bit strong at first but it develops divinely. In fact, I love Bellodgia so much I could use it as room freshener! For some reason, it reminds me of the beach when I was a kid back in the early 60's. Maybe the carnation scent was used in suntan lotions. Who knows!

5th September, 2011.

I found a little bottle of this at a thrift store and didn't think much of it. So it went in the cabinet with the room fresheners. One day I dabbed it on a piece of cotton and hid it in a planter in my front hall. I kind of forgot about it until one day I went to get the mail and I thought, "Hmmm, what is that wonderful welcoming smell?" It was the Bellodgia. Now it's sort of like a dear old Aunt has come to visit and left her perfume trailing behind her. You know, that Aunt who eats at the most expensive place in town, carries an alligator bag and wears a fur coat. She's kind of over the top, but you wouldn't have her any other way...because she's also comforting and calming and full of common sense.

17th December, 2010.

I am sampling the vintage stuff..my guess from the 70's. It reminds me of the past, I'm thinking a female relative must have worn this. It's a bold and warm blend of carnations and cloves that seems to hover over the skin. I'm guessing rose and vanilla-powder round it out. It smells like an expensive carnation soap. There doesn't seem to be any tricks or fun dance steps here..it kind of marches along. I think it may have been an influence for YSL Opium...they have the same "density". This one is an oriental perfume in a girdle.

7th December, 2010.

Bellodgia is a beautiful scent that can be off-putting on first sniff. It took me a while to get to know it. The carnation is front and center right in the top notes. The typical eugenol scent associated with carnation is exploited in the finest way in Bellodgia with an excellent spicy clove center. There are notes of jasmine and muguet which play in and about the clove and carnation as well. Bellodgia settles into one of Caron's nice musk bases intermingled with moss and slightly sweetened by vanilla. This is not a typical floriental or chypre. It is a carnation scent built into a spicy symphony. It is very acceptable for men or women, and it smells like no other carnation available.

30th November, 2010.

Just tried a vintage dab of Bellodgia that my dad bought for my mom when he was in Paris in the 60's. Wow! It was a little overpowering at first, maybe because the bottle had evaporated some of its carrier and was intensified. Very carnation, a hint of clove, some rose essence. I don't have a clue what is really in this fragrance, but it is the definitive floral essence. There must be a fair amount of natural essences for this to smell so complex. In the dry down, still a lovely fragrance. I prefer Oriental fragrances, but this perfume is so like my mother! Funny, the bottle was the exact same shape as another bottle my dad bought, same era of Jean Patou's Joy. Another classic floral.

9th August, 2010.