Monsieur Carven by Carven, 1978

Monsieur Carven opens with a sharp aldehyde infused blast of citric bergamot, aromatic lavender and green wormwood before moving to its heart phase. During the early heart the bergamot remains in a subdued form, as the lavender and wormwood take the fore supported by sharp woody vetiver. As the heart progression continues hints of an animalic powdery oakmoss laced leather accord begin to permeate the herbal woody greens, combining with a dark rose and carnation floral tandem. By the end of the heart phase the powdery oakmoss laced animalic leather becomes much more prominent and dominates the early part of the dry-down before softening very late as subtle slightly sweet sandalwood cuts the aggressive mossy leather as the accord finally fades. Projection is average and longevity is good at 10-12 hours on skin. Monsieur Carven is a classic well made scent that changes many times through its complex development. It starts off sharp, herbal, green and woody before turning powdery and leathery midway through and just slightly sweet late. In some respects the overall accord result is somewhat formal, but far from subtle. Even though the leather is rather hard-core (most likely birch tar and castoreum derived) it never becomes too much to take, as the powdery facets of the oakmoss utilized by the perfumer keep it just well enough in-check. If I have any gripe with Monsieur Carven it is the powdery oakmoss used is just a bit heavier than I would like ideally, but that really is a minor gripe in an otherwise outstanding composition. Monsieur Carven is quite the old-school fragrance that folks used to "flavor of the month" current modern releases might not take well to, but this reviewer loves the style and loves the scent, awarding it a strong 4 out of 5 star "excellent" rating. As Monsieur Carven has been off the market for quite some time finding a bottle is far from easy nor inexpensive, but this is one well worth the effort.