Caron Pour Un Homme (1934)
by Caron

Jicky without the civet.

Well, not really, but the two classics approach their dominant lavender accords from similar directions. In my experience lavender fragrances fall into two broad groups. Mix lavender with aromatic herbs, sharp citrus, and green notes, and you’ll get a brisk, astringent accord. Serge Lutens’s Gris Clair is a good example. Blend lavender with sweet citrus, vanilla, amber, and/or animalic musks, and the resulting accord will be warm and comforting. Both Jicky and Caron Pour un Homme take the latter approach, and both do it exceptionally well. But whereas Jicky underpins its citrus, lavender, and vanilla with a provocative civet base, Caron Pour un Homme’s lavender rests on a base of sweet, powdery amber and creamy woods.

While it’s reasonably potent, Caron Pour un Homme wears fairly close to the body. As lavender is a volatile note, the scent changes gears after two hours or so, when it begins to dry down to its luxuriously cushioned vanilla and wood base. The overall effect is comfortable, yet sophisticated, and very, very easy to live with. If you’re looking for a soft, fuzzy take on lavender but don’t relish Jicky’s animal overtones, Caron Pour un Homme is a must-try fragrance.

feels exactly the way a new born baby smells after a nice bath, with lil talc on. no more, no less. go figure :) initial 5 minutes into this scent is....argh...is that a scent?? smell like a carton full of rubber glows....give it a good 15 minutes and this one turns into a very comforting, round, powdery smell. somtimes i get a feelin there is no smell at all...every note has this smooth round blunt feel to it....well, very hard to judge this one. please try this, maybe you were lookin for soemthin like this. i would give it a neutral for my lack for exposure to scents.

I bought this blind as I had been going through a phase of retro fragrances. I'd been through a purple patch of blind-buying and had bought some fabulous fragrances.

So when I opened this one up I was not prepared for the astringent blast of lavender which threatened to peel the skin from my eyeballs. Mon Dieu! That's some lavender!

Now don't get me wrong, I like Lavender, but not when it's as literally in your face as this one.

What is interesting is the artistry of the cross over between Lavender (are there really other notes supposed to be present in the opening???) and the emergence of Clary Sage and Cedar Wood in the heart-notes. To my nose I can't detect rose in there, but that maybe because my nose was still sulking from the assault from the Lavender.

It's quite a clever story being told really, because if you didn't know what the ending was you would never realise it was going to end up as vanilla, because the ending is kept really well, with none of the heart-notes letting on what's coming.

However, the vanilla is not a nice vanilla. This is a sickly sweet Givenchy Pi vanilla (which I hate). It's just too sweet. I like a slightly manlier, dirtier vanilla than this and just does work for me in this day and age - and it's so soft too when you get to the vanilla, it's barely there. The problem is too, that you don't want to reapply because then you have to go through the Pearl Harbour like attack on the senses from the Lavender again.

I gave this a fair go before deciding to sell it. In the end I did, because I couldn't live with it.

For the fragrance on it's own it's a thumbs-down. For the artistry of the progression from Lavender to vanilla and the very well articulated stages in-between it gets a thumbs-up. So overall it's in the middle.

Not what I was expecting: the lavander is a tad to sweet in my opinion. The sage, rosewood, cedar, rosemary and citrus don't seem to temper the very floral-sweet lavander/vanilla combo as they should.

Theoretically, they should add some dryness and restraint to the blend - which is fine as it is, but I feel it could be richer in refinement.

I guess when it comes down to it - I would have to agree with the majority of reviewers here - it is elegent, masculine, and very veryu period 30s.

If I had to choose 3 colognes only to live with for the rest of my life, Pour un Homme would be one of them. It's lavender is comforting and refreshing and the changeover to vanilla and musk is subtle and sensual, but not so sexy that it gets obtrusive. It will bring a quick look, maybe a smile, often of friendly recognition from a guy who knows the territory. And let's not forget that it's stood the test of time. I don't even get an inkling of what some of you are talking about when you find it offensive. It's - home.

very dated, gives me a headache, must be the lavender.