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Caron's Pour Un Homme - ? - !

post #1 of 31
5/13/10 at 5:42pm
Thread Starter 
I tried this again recently and it is strange on a paper card I get lavender and a touch of vanilla. On my skin all I get is vanilla and amber bomb. This is a distant cousin of Pi to me.
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post #2 of 31
5/13/10 at 5:50pm
This one is a interesting dual fragrance. Dual because what you'll detect during all it's evolutin is the constant transition between vanilla and lavender. This is a complex lavender, herbal, a little bit metalic, smooth and somehow caramelic too. It's the caramelic side that fit's so well with the vanilla and makes this one a soft lavender-vanilla-lavender-vanilla. I wouldn't say that this one is a distant cousin og Pi, since Pour Un Homme looks natural and balanced, while Pi to me is a sweet chemical smoke mess to me, really heavy on a benjoim note that distorts the entire fragrance and seems to harm the nose while it develops on skin.
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post #3 of 31
5/13/10 at 5:58pm
Keep testing it Scentimus. As you and rickbr mentioned, making transitions--and what happens during those transitions--is one of the interesting things about PuH. On my skin I get a dry herbal kind of lavender and mostly amber[gris] rather than vanilla. It's got enough longevity and the drydown is persistent. In warm weather, the amber becomes more animalic on me.
This is a true comfort scent for me since it's one of the earliest fragrances I remember in my life. It's also my designated desert island scent--just in case : )
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post #4 of 31
5/13/10 at 6:09pm
I get plenty of lavender and very good longevity. It's not an exciting frag but it smells great and it feels really comfortable. Often after a couple days of wearing more adventurous stuff I really long for it.
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post #5 of 31
5/13/10 at 6:44pm
When I first tested this, I had the same thing happen to me scentimus. Where the hell was the lavender?!

Now, I smell the lavender almost immediately when I apply it.

I am the happy owner of a bottle I got a week or so ago. I look forward to getting to know this one, more and more. It has a soft, dusty quality to it that I associate with Guerlinade and comfort scents.
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post #6 of 31
5/13/10 at 7:13pm
Ok, I've been waiting for a time to ask this question, and this seems the perfect opportunity. For those that have tried both, how similar are By Kilian A Taste of Heaven and PUH (by the way, I'm hoping they ARE similar). I do very much enjoy A Taste of Heaven (though I think it's a little strong), but it's not something I really feel like wearing too often, since it feels very opulent to me. I've been wary of trying PUH for the longest time, A) because I didn't think I liked lavender, and B) because it's often categorized as smelling "old". Which brings me back to ATOH, since I don't think it smells "old", so if they are similar perhaps I may enjoy PUH as well.
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post #7 of 31
5/14/10 at 6:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtgprox05 View Post

Ok, I've been waiting for a time to ask this question, and this seems the perfect opportunity. For those that have tried both, how similar are By Kilian A Taste of Heaven and PUH (by the way, I'm hoping they ARE similar). I do very much enjoy A Taste of Heaven (though I think it's a little strong), but it's not something I really feel like wearing too often, since it feels very opulent to me. I've been wary of trying PUH for the longest time, A) because I didn't think I liked lavender, and B) because it's often categorized as smelling "old". Which brings me back to ATOH, since I don't think it smells "old", so if they are similar perhaps I may enjoy PUH as well.

I think A Taste of Heaven is a bit quieter and more complex than the Caron. And ATOH has a more modern feel.

I think Caron Pour Un Homme is a great fragrance. Also it does not make me think of Pi.
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post #8 of 31
5/14/10 at 6:27am
This fragrance is to me and to my perception gourmand and ahead of its time, thanks to a certain experimental kind of moderate, non-nauseating and inoffensive sweetness (in which the lavender and vanilla must play a pivotal role).
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post #9 of 31
5/14/10 at 6:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtgprox05 View Post

Ok, I've been waiting for a time to ask this question, and this seems the perfect opportunity. For those that have tried both, how similar are By Kilian A Taste of Heaven and PUH (by the way, I'm hoping they ARE similar). I do very much enjoy A Taste of Heaven (though I think it's a little strong), but it's not something I really feel like wearing too often, since it feels very opulent to me. I've been wary of trying PUH for the longest time, A) because I didn't think I liked lavender, and B) because it's often categorized as smelling "old". Which brings me back to ATOH, since I don't think it smells "old", so if they are similar perhaps I may enjoy PUH as well.

PUH is softer, not as bright and sharp (perhaps due to the absence of aldehydes?), a bit more dusty and the sillage is more discreet. Nonetheless, it's very complex and simultaneously comforting. Does it smell 'old'? To me, no. To others, probably. All depends on your taste.

ATOH is a bit leaner and sort of jumps out at you when you apply it. I personally smell it, and I think it smells a bit too synthetic for my tastes. ATOH has stronger sillage, projection and longevity but at the sacrifice of some complexity and natural comfort.

PUH is so inexpensive, like so many of the Caron masculines, you can't really go wrong trying it out since you have so little $ to lose and it's extremely easy to re-sell here on BN I would think.
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post #10 of 31
5/14/10 at 7:26am
I (unfortunately) don't have any experience with the Kilian's offering, but I own and LOVE Pour un Homme. Absolutely love it. It's actually the fragrance I put on every night after my shower and before I go to bed. It's just perfect. I own quite a few really nice fragrances, very niche and very expensive, but I think if I was forced to choose one and only one fragrance to own for the rest of my life, I'd likely choose Pour un Homme. It's so peaceful and serene, and well...just perfect. Can't go wrong with it, IMHO.
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post #11 of 31
5/14/10 at 8:16am
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The first two times I tried it, it was all lavender. Sharp lavender that would not go away. I waited for the purported heavenly vanilla drydown but the lavender just stuck for hours, and then as strongly as it came, it vapourised to nothingness. Those were the times when I was infatuated with vanilla but sick of lavender from all the synthetic cleaning products that featured it. When I eventually warmed up to lavender again (in fact obsessed with it, after rediscovering quality natural lavender essential oils and fragrances), I tried it again but this time it was all vanilla, much like half of what Shalimar is made of. Beautiful sweet fairy dust, mortalised with a subtle animalic undertone. I then tried it a fourth time, afraid it was too much skewed to either extremes to make a balanced fragrance that I will not tire of. Surprisingly, this time the lavender and vanilla danced in perfect harmony. I bought it then and there. From then on, I got acquainted with its capricious character - well, not really. I can never put it down to skin condition, diet, weather, application as factors affecting how it smells, but I know I like its spontaneity! It's like running a roll of expired film in a vintage camera. Sometimes vibrant and vivid, sometimes warm and sultry, but always exuding a whimsical rustic charm.
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post #12 of 31
5/14/10 at 8:36am
A Taste of Heaven is smoother, the lavender less strident and less herbal than the one in Pour Un Homme. PUH gets a bit powdery too. I think it really depends on how you prefer your lavender. But for me, the By Kilian suits my tastes better.
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post #13 of 31
5/14/10 at 10:51am
There's plenty of vanilla and amber in this - but the lavender is more perceptible if you have a fresh bottle. Else, what you get is a lavender squeak with a buttload of powdery vanilla.
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post #14 of 31
5/14/10 at 11:05am
One plus for Caron Pour Un Homme is that it is available at a reasonable price.
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post #15 of 31
5/14/10 at 11:20am
It's a classic and a masterpiece! I love the aftershave balm also.
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post #16 of 31
5/14/10 at 11:26am
I prefer the parfum, I tried it at Caron in Paris, but unfortunately I didn't buy it...
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post #17 of 31
5/14/10 at 11:31am
Great scent!
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post #18 of 31
5/14/10 at 11:31am
I get a lot of lavender, a bit of lemon and herbs, then drying down to lot of tonka. Oddly, I don't get the huge vanilla everyone else does - the drydown really smells like the bottle of tonka absolute I own.
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post #19 of 31
5/14/10 at 6:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scentsitivity View Post

One plus for Caron Pour Un Homme is that it is available at a reasonable price.

No kidding.

I love PuH....and 3rd Man and Yatagan. And I like L'Anarchiste (though not quite as much as the other three).

Together I can't think of any other set of four frags from a single designer that are such unbeatable bargains. They're not just great for their price. They're truly great fragrances....and they're available for a song.
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post #20 of 31
5/14/10 at 7:23pm
Thanks for the replies guys! And sorry to derail the thread a bit. I will seek out a sample.
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post #21 of 31
5/15/10 at 6:30am
Pour un Homme is one of my favorites.
It is a must have in my wardrobe and own all sizes of, it both Eau de Toilette and Pure Perfume ( L' IMPACT DE POUR UN HOMME - 75 ml and 100 ml ) the first pure perfume for men on the market. A masterpiece !
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post #22 of 31
5/15/10 at 10:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ROBERTO View Post

...and Pure Perfume ( L' IMPACT DE POUR UN HOMME - 75 ml and 100 ml ) the first pure perfume for men on the market. A masterpiece !

Even the negative reviews of l'Impact make it attractive to me. Definitely in my radar.

I like my CPuH a lot. Like Sugandaraja said, the dry down is tonka-bliss.
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post #23 of 31
5/15/10 at 10:18am
It's an odd scent. I think you really have to give it a wearing to appreciate it. I found wrist testing it very misleading.
Renato
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post #24 of 31
5/15/10 at 12:30pm
Caron pour un homme smells rather like a Guerlain on my skin. In fact, a bit like Shalimar, or maybe even Jicky (without the civet.)
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post #25 of 31
5/15/10 at 12:33pm
most of the comments, except the "amber bomb" sound intriguing.
I need to try this.

how does it compare to obsession, in terms of amber bombardment and quality?
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post #26 of 31
5/15/10 at 4:12pm
I think I am neraly alone in prefering the uber-smooth Impact to the more vanilla PUH. Brilliant stuff.
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post #27 of 31
5/15/10 at 4:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sarıpatates View Post

How does it compare to obsession, in terms of amber bombardment and quality?

To my nose, the two are not even remotely related. Caron PUH is a classic, simple, men's fougere, reserved and gentlemanly in character. I don't smell any amber, just tonka.
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post #28 of 31
5/15/10 at 8:52pm
Pour Un Homme de Caron is an awesome scent. I do smell a warm, vanilla-like base in it, but to my nose the lavender clearly dominates. It smells like the vanilla or tonka bean was put in merely to give the scent some warmth, but mainly to nail down that lavender note so that it doesn't disappear in 30 minutes. I get great longevity from it - I can smell the lavender (or the olfactory illusion of lavender) for at least 5 or 6 hours, and the fragrance, in toto, lasts me a good 8 to 10 hours.
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post #29 of 31
5/15/10 at 10:01pm
that's good to know raja
6 hours of lavender. wow, I'll have to get this.
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post #30 of 31
5/16/10 at 9:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhinClio View Post

[...]Together I can't think of any other set of four frags from a single designer that are such unbeatable bargains. They're not just great for their price. They're truly great fragrances....and they're available for a song.

+1...
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post #31 of 31
5/16/10 at 7:33pm
My husband and I both splashed on some Pour Un Homme after showering this evening. What a great fragrance for an evening of relaxation! One weird thing that happened to me tonight: I swear I smelled some lilac in it about 30 minutes after application. I never thought about lavender and lilac having any similarity, but maybe they do!
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