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Are there any real carnation perfumes?

post #1 of 43
4/3/10 at 3:49pm
Thread Starter 
Are there any soliflore perfumes that solely are reminiscent of actual carnations? My friend loves carnations and I was just wondering. Thank you.
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post #2 of 43
4/3/10 at 4:11pm
I actually really enjoy Mona di Orio's Carnation EDP.
It embodies the huskiness/peppery aspect of carnations, over the signature MdO base.
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post #3 of 43
4/3/10 at 5:05pm
Santa Maria Novella Garofano (which is Italian for "carnation") is very realistic. I do like this and might have bought a bottle, but my husband doesn't care for it at all, so I passed on that.

There is also Lorenzo Villoresi Garofano but I found it less long lasting and not quite as good.

There is also Etro Dianthus, which seemed slightly less realistic to me (but others may disagree.)

French for carnation is "oeillet" and typing that word into the Basenotes Directory search field yields this list:

http://www.basenotes.net/fragrancedi...&submit=search

For samples of the SMN and Etro ones you can try Aedes de Venustas.com.
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post #4 of 43
4/3/10 at 5:25pm
I think Bellodgia by Caron is a nice interpretation of carnations, spicy but still smooth and somewhat warm.
L´Air du Temps by Nina Ricci is also a carnation scent, if not a soliflore (nor is Bellodgia, btw).
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post #5 of 43
4/3/10 at 5:52pm
The only one I found spicy enough to be realistic enough for me is Ayala Moriel's InCarnation, though it has an animalic undertone that may not agree with some.

The aforementioned Etro and Villoresi were very much too peas in a pod for me, and rather mediocre at that, with the Villoresi being the better of the two.

Floris Malmaison was a stark tea and clove carnation that was fun if not terribly accurate to the flower.

Washington Tremlett's Clove Absolute is a carnation fragrance by another name, and rather good if you don't mind powder.

Comme des Garcons Carnation was a big let down. I don't have too much to say about it; rather bland, run-of-the-mill, carnation-ish fragrance.
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post #6 of 43
4/3/10 at 11:48pm
Mona di Orio's Carnation doesn't smell carnation for me. I think carnation means the blush or smell from a young women's skin.

Coup de Fouet from Caron smells a lot from carnation to my nose. But there are spices too.
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post #7 of 43
4/4/10 at 12:10am
I love carnations! I agree with the SMN suggestion, as it's the truest I've found. Coup de Fouet is good too, though quite dry.
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post #8 of 43
4/4/10 at 12:26am
I love
Caron Poivre & Coup de Fouet - both very peppery
Comme des Garçons Carnation - carnation & cloves (in Finnish language there's only one word meaning both of them: neilikka) plus red pepper
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post #9 of 43
4/4/10 at 2:03am
The weird thing is so many of actual flowers now have no smell!!!!!! I cannot understand this thing for flowers with no smell, roses are the same now too. My father who was into gardening always said Pinks(looks like a carnation but smaller flowers and the same family), had more smell.

For me the closest I have ever came to these is Caron's Bellodgia, but please not the edt. You need to get the edp at the least.
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post #10 of 43
4/4/10 at 3:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Novis2007 View Post

Mona di Orio's Carnation doesn't smell carnation for me. I think carnation means the blush or smell from a young women's skin.

Yes, I understand the abstract concept too, but it embodies the qualities of carnation rather well.
To my nose, of course.
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post #11 of 43
4/4/10 at 5:25am
LUSH's "Potion" solid perfume smells wonderful and smells of carnations. Sadly, it's been discontinued, but if you could get your hands on some...
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post #12 of 43
4/4/10 at 1:24pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you everyone for all your suggestions. There are more carnation perfumes then than I could possibly have thought of. The only other thing is if my friend would actually like them or not. It is great to see how everyone is so helpful here. I am going to have to make a list of them. I have never actually smelled a real carnation straight from the garden so I am not sure how a carnation should really smell. Have a great day.
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post #13 of 43
4/4/10 at 4:33pm
We had a lot of carnations lining our driveway when I was growing up, and I loved to smell them!

Some years ago, I visited a local nursery and bought some plants so we could enjoy their fragrance again, but they they died; probably I should have amended the soil first (we have clay soil.) This thread makes me want to plant them again.
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post #14 of 43
4/4/10 at 4:42pm
Another Caron worth mentioning here is Poivre, a very pleasant rosy-clovey oriental that has a very nice carnation note.
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post #15 of 43
4/4/10 at 4:44pm
Thread Starter 
Hey I could go to a nursery and get some real fresh ones. That is a good idea. I wonder if my friend really realizes what real fresh, non-florist carnations smell like? You should definitely go get some and plant them Today when we went to my parent's for Easter dinner, my father brought in some purple hyacinths. OH my did they smell lovely!
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post #16 of 43
4/4/10 at 4:45pm
Thread Starter 
Watch me end up eventually with some of these carnation perfumes lol!
Thank you galamb-borong
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post #17 of 43
4/5/10 at 4:10am
Bellodgia as mentioned; try it! The EdP is stunning.

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post #18 of 43
4/5/10 at 5:21am
L'Erbolario's Garafano is a splendid and inexpensive carnation - try it, lovers of carnations!

reine
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post #19 of 43
4/5/10 at 5:44am
Reine,

Do you know of any current USA sources for this? I'm coming up empty.
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post #20 of 43
4/5/10 at 8:52am
I'll mentione another, not a soliflore, but my favorite with a prominent carnation note is Moschino. It also has a bit of creamy gardenia to sweeten it up a bit.
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post #21 of 43
4/5/10 at 1:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rain View Post

LUSH's "Potion" solid perfume smells wonderful and smells of carnations. Sadly, it's been discontinued, but if you could get your hands on some...

i thought of the same scent. it's really peppery and warm. i worked at a LUSH for a few months when I was unemployed and managed to get a tin before it became discontinued. shame, as it's quite a nice scent.
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post #22 of 43
4/5/10 at 2:06pm
Estee Lauder's Spellbound
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post #23 of 43
4/5/10 at 2:18pm
I reach for Floris Malmaison or Caron Poivre for my carnation fix usually. If I really want to indulge myself, I dig out JAR Diamond Water or Golconda.
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post #24 of 43
4/6/10 at 5:27am
30 Roses, my L'Erborlario comes via a friend in Lithuania - but I shared some with a friend on Sniffapalooza and she said she had found a site - I will check with her for you!

reine
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post #25 of 43
4/6/10 at 5:35am
Try Roger Gallet Carnation soap. It is very nice stuff.
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post #26 of 43
4/6/10 at 5:37am
30 Roses - the site is erbolariomalta.com!

reine
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post #27 of 43
4/6/10 at 6:07am
Oops!
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post #28 of 43
4/7/10 at 3:43pm
Another vote for SMN Garafano - wonderful stuff. Etro Dianthus is good too but much lighter and softer - probably more suitable for warmer weather
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post #29 of 43
4/7/10 at 5:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by reine View Post

30 Roses - the site is erbolariomalta.com!

reine

Thanks...apparently the website is being changed and is not available at this time, but I'll check it out later.
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post #30 of 43
4/7/10 at 5:15pm
Ava Luxe's Oeillet Blanc is a bouquet of beautiful white carnations - dewey, fresh and creamy and not too spicy, it's the smoothest carnation fragrance I know of. I'm really hoping she brings this one back when she resumes her perfume line...which I'm hoping is soon.

And I'll second EL's Spellbound for a sweet and creamy carnation.
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post #31 of 43
4/7/10 at 9:13pm
+3 for Bellodgia.
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post #32 of 43
4/7/10 at 10:52pm
Thread Starter 
Wow! Never expected to get this much help and so many responses . I told my friend today that I was still researching carnation perfumes for her.
I also suggested we go to a nursery to see what real carnations that do not have the scent bred out of them smell like. She told me she remembers them from when she was little. I never had that experience, but I am glad for the help and all the choices. Peace
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post #33 of 43
12/28/12 at 2:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rain View Post

LUSH's "Potion" solid perfume smells wonderful and smells of carnations. Sadly, it's been discontinued, but if you could get your hands on some...

I have small amount of solid Potion,thanks to dear Irina, its very beautiful, but when i tried L Eau by Diptique i noticed that is the same kind of scent just that Diptique is more refined , more noble take on carnation, lush is touch more spicy and raw , but both are beautiful!! Big thumbs up for both:-)
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post #34 of 43
12/28/12 at 4:21pm
I like Ava-Luxe versions and also Bourbon French's Mon Idee is a great carnation. Largely single note, others might be able to tease out basenotes in this, but I just smell a deep bright carnation scent. There is something somewhat sad in some carnation scents, but not this one. I also love Poivre, but the peppery feel is extreme in the parfum.
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post #35 of 43
12/28/12 at 7:10pm
L'eau de Diptyque is certainly very clovey. For intense clove-ness, though, there are also $$$$ JARs like Golconda and Diamond Water.

I recently smelled vintage Bellodgia parfum and vintage Nuit de Noel - likely the best references for the famous Caron carnation base. Unfortunately, none of this is found in the modern versions (though NdN is still good, in a more ambery-animalic way).

cacio
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post #36 of 43
12/28/12 at 10:59pm
I would like to venture a + for Coup de Fouet and Poivre, both by Caron, and the newer Vitriol d'Oeillet by Serge Lutens.
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post #37 of 43
12/29/12 at 2:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cacio View Post

L'eau de Diptyque is certainly very clovey. For intense clove-ness, though, there are also $$$$ JARs like Golconda and Diamond Water.

I recently smelled vintage Bellodgia parfum and vintage Nuit de Noel - likely the best references for the famous Caron carnation base. Unfortunately, none of this is found in the modern versions (though NdN is still good, in a more ambery-animalic way).

cacio

What is the real difference between Potion as reference for carnation and L Eau:-) ? I did not notice it much, this is why i mentioned LEau by Diptique because i think this is good carnation example,

And from another place i found this
Carnation – Clove, rose, orange, maybe some pepper. Cool, floral, spicy.

This is exactly what i get in L Eau which is very beautiful, it has also some cinnamon. thats why i put it out on purpose:-) why clove and not carnation? :-)

Clove would have to be a bit more bitter and unpleasant, simple, i am not very fond of it:-)
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post #38 of 43
12/29/12 at 6:43pm
I said clove because the note is the central one in carnation - I agree though that pure clove is much more intense and sharp. I suspect one of the main component of cloves/carnation is now restricted (eugenol?) which would explain Caron's change of base.

And I need to resmell Potion ...

cacio
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post #39 of 43
12/30/12 at 9:41am
I'm crazy for the smell of carnation as well, and I'll second Comme des Garcon's Series 2: Red Carnation. One of the best I've sniffed.
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post #40 of 43
1/2/13 at 6:44pm
The benchmark carnation for me is the rare Roger & Gallet Blue Carnation, long discontinued and very hard to find.

I was fortunate enough to get a pristine 6ml miniature. The initial blast of heavy clove, possibly due to the use of Carnation absolute, softens to the most amazing replication of the carnation. I'm talking florist's carnation, clovey and spicy, not the softer, rounder, gentler aroma of the pinks and sweet williams.

Second on my list is vintage Bellodgia pure parfum. Again, I came across a pristine, unopened bottle and it is a different thing altogether to the EDP available now. Bellodgia parfum again has a strident, heavy clove opening, but also softens considerably to acquire the typical softer and rounder fragrance of the flower.

I love the modern Bellodgia EDP, but do not regard it as as good a rendition of carnation as the parfum. This is because it is extremely sweet and is a floral blend, more than the soliflore feel given off by the parfum.

I tried CDG, Garafanl and Mona di Orio, but didn't find them any better than Bellodgia. I find many interpretations of the carnation are essentially only clove dominated, and if you smell a fresh carnation there is far more to it than just the peppery clove. There is also the element that softens the clove.
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post #41 of 43
1/2/13 at 8:15pm
The only carnation I've smelled so far that seems more carnation than clove to me is the CDG one. It smells exactly like a small carnation we grow in our back yard.
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post #42 of 43
2/24/13 at 3:33pm
Fragonard Billet Doux- one of my favorites
Caron Bellodgia
Lorenzo Villoresi Garofano
Comme des Garcons Carnation
Jar Parfums Golconda
L'Artisan Parfumeur Oeillet Sauvage
Floris Malmaison
Dolce & Gabbana Velvet Love
Serge Lutens Vitriol d'Oeille
Ava Luxe Oeillet Rouge

There's more but this is all I can think of for now.
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post #43 of 43
2/24/13 at 6:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LiliB View Post

The benchmark carnation for me is the rare Roger & Gallet Blue Carnation, long discontinued and very hard to find.

This! It can sometimes be found on ebay, where I got my partial bottle.

- - - Updated - - -

PM me if any of you would like to try a decant of Blue Carnation by Roger & Gallet. I have more in the bottle than I can probably use, and I'd love to share. Lisa
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