Reviews of Poivre (1954)
by Caron

True story; I was in the kitchen making a dish of rice pudding from scratch for kicks. The recipe called for ground cloves. I got the spice jar of ground clove off from our designated "spice" cabinet and smelled it. Clovey, naturally, and strong. Something about raw clove is kind of off putting to me, not my favorite. I tapped a little bit in, the last tap was strong and I ended up putting a good dose of clove into the pudding. Not too much of a problem though, stirred it, put it in the oven. Both my mom and brother said when it was baking that it smelled good whatever it was I was making.

To be exact, Poivre on my wrist smells like that rice pudding , or more direct the ground clove pre baking with perhaps an underlying actual floral other than supposed carnation, it mellows out sweeter and does and into, as someone suggests something like a bandage or maybe some sort of cosmetic, something you'd smell in the drugstore or on a girl sometimes. Perhaps this is the Caron base? This is otherwise all about cloves.

So carnation, eh? That must be the black pepper thing I got. Carnations do smell kind of peppery, come to think of it. My husband detected cinnamon. I don't know where or why or how I would ever wear this one, but I appreciate that the right person could rock it. And, as it turns out, it lasted, like, an hour on me.

Open with a blast of clove, and an underwhelming hint of pepper. For the first 5 or ten minutes I have the unpleasant sensation that my body has been puntured with cloves like some kind of gigantic holiday decoration gone wrong. The only evidence of pepper, or any other scent, is the tickle in my nose.

The clove mellows with time, sharing the stage with cardomon and vanilla (?), and vaguest shadow of pepper. An elegant and indulgent potpourri, which is not exactly to my liking, but it is hard to ignore the quality of the composition.

On my skin, the potpourri fades rather quickly into the caron base, which itself fades even faster. After 20 minutes, I can't tell it was ever there.

I really hated Coup de fouet when I tried it several months ago, and now that I try Poivre extrait I'm not sure if it's that much better or if my taste has just developed. I think Poivre is smoother, richer, more well blended, less sharp and thin. It's basically the same scent though, very dry and spicy in a little musty, old fashioned way. The description says pepper, which I usually like, but I'd say it's clove and cinnamon, which are too dry for me and turn sour and sharp on my skin.
I wouldn't blame anyone for liking Poivre, I can see how it's a quality fragrance. It has the unmistakable Caron base - coldly metallic and warmly rich at the same time, with a distinct vintage vibe to it. Poivre is well blended and luxurious with honey, carnation, roses and lots of spice, and it might be lovely on someone with a skin chemistry that softens it just a little. Or it might seem lovely to someone who's a fan of carnation and clove in a scent. I'm not, and on my skin the spices turn unpleasantly dusty and bitter.

I went to this perfume looking for a "holy grail" carnation scent. However what I found was much more, and also somehow a little less. Poivre is spicy and sweet, calling to mind red hots at first, but it is seamlessly blended and progresses and morphs into other types of smell entirely on its strange journey. It remains warm throughout and clings to the skin, becoming an almost maternal smell, too familiar at first and then later, of course, it is a completely compelling and strangly pleasing smell of bandaide adhesive. So now I have scent I love, but it is completely different from what I thought I wanted. And when I wear it, it makes me forget completely about that silly carnation holy grail thing.

Poivre starts out strong, warm, spicy, and very full. It smells leathery and mellow for a while, still with that warm, spicy, floral combo that the other reviewers have mentioned. Unfortunately on me, as it reaches the base, it just unravels. The oakmoss and vetiver become too apparent and it takes on a weird vegetal-like smell. (A lot of chypres seem to do this on me, so maybe it's just a chemistry issue.) I wish it had held together because for a while it was a very smooth, intriguing, spicy blend, blended in that way that makes it difficult to discern individual notes.

For men looking to explore the allegedly "feminine" Caron scents, this would be a great place to start. There was nothing overtly feminine about this scent. Even in the base, if it reminds me of anything, it is Richard James EDT, or maybe a less "gothic" Iquitos.

I swapped several Guerlain scents for one bottle of Poivre, and have not been disappointed! Took me ages to figure out the spicy floral note was carnation, which was a nice surprise. This is a favorite for all seasons when a slightly spicy floral is what's called for.

This is such a wonderful fragrance! Although I adore the warm mellow vanilla/amber/leather finish; I wish that the peppery top notes lasted longer. This is one I definately have to keep sniffing on my own wrist all day long.

Terrific! I wear this when I want to feel extra special, a wild, hot, peppery, spicy scent and the carnation note is like laying a bed of soft petals - heaven in a bottle. not for the faint hearted!!

I can't believe I haven't reviewed my favorite Caron! I first encountered Poivre in the Mad Ave boutique a year and a half ago. I had gone in to see if I could sample the d/c extrait of Parfum Sacre (did! they still had a tester although it was not for sale) and to try Nuit de Noel. I was drawn to the urns, and took my time sniffing around. They were all nice, but when I got to Poivre, I *had* to try it on my arm. And once it dried, after sniffing ecstatically for 10 minutes, I *had* to make a really expensive impulse buy. Poivre is so good though that I rarely feel guilty. It starts out with a hot peppery clove note that mellows into a warm spicy carnation, pepper, spice, and vanilla aura. Poivre manages to be unique and innovative, but classic and classy, an of course (to me) downright sexy. I have also come to love Bellodgia, which is a much cooler carnation scent, and Coup de Fouet, the edt version of Poivre (not as warm but still nice)

I thought Tabac Blond was _the_ Caron for me but Poivre has seriously captured my heart! First there's the burning sensation of pepper and cloves but after a couple of hours there's the soft and gentle, almost nostril-caressing drydown of opoponax, oakmoss and most mellow vetiver imaginable. Simply perfect!

Caron's urn fragrances are legendary, and Poivre is no exception. Although it's listed as one of the most highly rated feminine scents, it works perfectly well on men too, melding with the male body chemistry in an almost animalic way. Next to Hermes 'Poivre Samarcande,' this is my favorite pepper based fragrance.

Yes, it`s spicy bursting. Pepper, clove, cinnamon... I have vintage version of perfume - but I can not wear it on myself as it`s pungent and remind me dentistry.
Like with Sun, I`d better see its bright and blinding shining from a distance! The only way to smell it for me - to wear it under knees. The far, the better!

POW POW!! BANG BANG!! That’s the exciting opening of Caron’s Poivre, a spectacular parfum which is one of their elite urn fragrances. A jolt of spicy, peppery geranium opens Poivre, and if you don’t like spicy fragrances, then stop here. But if you do, keep reading. Poivre only gets better and better. The geranium segues into a wallop of clove, and the excitement builds. Yes, I’m a big fan of pepper and clove as you can tell. Loved the Clove gum when I was a kid, even. As Poivre’s drydown begins, the scent stays warm, cozy, and then develops into that lovely base of vanilla, incense, and whatever else is in the delectable Caron accord. This might be too fiery for some. But if you like spicy food and aren’t put off by an in-your-face blast of peppery geranium and cloves, you might like this one. When I wear Poivre, I can’t stop smelling my wrist. It’s a gustative delight, but in a classic way. This and En Avion are my favorites of the urn fragrances.

A literally breathtaking fragrance by Caron. As peppery as its name implies, Poivre bursts from the bottle with pure spice, then it relaxes (slightly) with a clove and carnation dry down that is simple poetry. I'm thrilled with this and it also layers nicely with my rose based florals.

Fantastic.A very narcotic perfume.
The pure perfume is incredibly rich.You only need half a dab.The ruby red colour is amazing.
A wonderful fusion of black pepper and clove.