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Caron Pour Un Homme: longevity and vanillin

post #1 of 14
11/21/11 at 6:26am
Thread Starter 
I've been living with this fragrance for a week. I find it an interesting puzzle to guess how it can last as long as it does - 18 hours on skin, several days on fabric. Has it really been doing this since 1934? In broad chemical terms, has anyone some notion of how the trick is achieved?

I have usually experienced longevity of this sort from animalics. My working hypothesis has been that lighter notes can sometimes be made to 'ride' on the densest and most tenacious ones. If this is true, then in CPuH's case could this be the vanillin or amber?

It is a separate question, but I'm curious about the vanilla note. I like it for most of its progression, but towards the end - after many, many hours - it feels that it's worn a bit thin: the vanilla-equivalent of Bilbo Baggins after a century or so wearing the One Ring. Rather wraith-like and sharp. Is that pure vanillin at the end, a cheap synthetic vanilla, with the tonka that earlier gave it a natural air (?) evaporated?

Sorry if this is a tad rambling. CPuH is a simple fragrance, but these two elements do puzzle me.
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post #2 of 14
11/21/11 at 6:44am
The opening lavender note in the fragrance is really good and one of the best lavender accords I have experienced in a fragrance. But on my skin anyway it just does not go well with vanille and as time goes by the scent ends up smelling to me anyway like a French pastry with a playdoh smell to it. I got about five to six hours from it but that was from a sample vial not a spray.
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post #3 of 14
11/21/11 at 7:03am
Thread Starter 
I agree that the opening lavender note is not bad at all. Though my own favourite lavender is that is the top and heart notes of Hammam Bouquet, Caron's seems true to lavender essential oil. French pastry/playdoh - inedible - does seem an accurate description of what it seems like towards the end...

My first experience of CPuHm incidentally, was on a burly and hardboiled police officer, who was helping me search for a missing relative late one night. It was a stressful occasion, but ended well. In retrospect, I think he chose it deliberately, reasoning that it would be useful to the night beat with its particular hazards; for the lavender-vanilla smell really was calming.
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post #4 of 14
11/21/11 at 10:42am
I think the vanilla note is very one dimensional and not in good terms with the lavender.
All of L'occitanes lavender offerings, past and present, are better than PUH.
It does last a bit, and it's projection is deceivingly good though. It even smells better from afar.
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post #5 of 14
11/21/11 at 10:59am
I quite like the entire development personally.
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post #6 of 14
11/21/11 at 11:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Merely View Post

My first experience of CPuHm incidentally, was on a burly and hardboiled police officer, who was helping me search for a missing relative late one night. It was a stressful occasion, but ended well. In retrospect, I think he chose it deliberately, reasoning that it would be useful to the night beat with its particular hazards; for the lavender-vanilla smell really was calming.

That was one very smart policeman if it was a deliberate choice.

Returning to the point though with longevity - 1932 is quite late in the development of synthetics in perfume - don't forget that the first (that we know of) was back in 1882 and the classic aldehyde heavy Channel No 5 was in 1920: by the 30s long-lived synthetics were all the rage.

My guess on the vanilla drawn too thin 'like butter spread over too much bread' if I remember Tolkien correctly, would be Ethyl vanillin rather than vanillin or whole vanilla absolute.
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post #7 of 14
11/21/11 at 11:25am
It's probably the one scent in my little collection of fragrances that I actually crave more than the others. I just love that raw, herbal blast of lavender then the vanilla that follows - slightly oily at first then dry. Great before bedtime. I'm not familiar enough with Playdoh to make a comparison...!
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post #8 of 14
11/21/11 at 11:45am
Going back to the longevity issue, ethyl vanillin is very tenacious stuff if you've ever worked with it. Once it's broken down from crystals to powder it takes a while to dissolve in alcohol - in fact it often seems reluctant to do so - and if you apply it to the skin in high amounts it can have the appearance of a toothpaste stain like on clothes or a drop of dilute white emulsion. Stays around forever...
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post #9 of 14
11/21/11 at 11:48am
One of the better lavender scents on my skin!!!
Gary
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post #10 of 14
11/21/11 at 12:04pm
A lot of fragrances tend to smell pretty thin after half 12 hrs or so, but thumbs up for Tolkien reference. I think there are some really tenacious but fairly light smelling musks used as fixatives in that scent that help the vanilla last for such a long time. It's a wonderful scent and any cop that wears it is ok in my book.
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post #11 of 14
11/21/11 at 1:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrclmind View Post

I quite like the entire development personally.

Same here.
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post #12 of 14
5/8/12 at 9:37am
I've wrote about this before. The lavender's essential oil shows here beautifully (from both blade and flower). Next time you are in a garden or outdoor setting, break a single blade off a lavender plant/bush and break it on your skin, rubbing the essential oils onto it. Heavenly - but sharp and slightly pungent for those who are not used to it (they think of light, airy lavender, but this is potent). That smell can last on your hands for a long time. It is not uncommon for myself to actually enhance a wearing of CPuH with a light rubbing of fresh lavender from a bush as several grow close by. Very natural.

Caron Pour un Homme has a very wonderful and similar smell, if applied correctly - you don't need to go outside - :-) . The pastry/doughy smell can happen if applied lightly. I put the atomizer very close to my skin (1"/2cm) and spray - very lightly rubbing it in (or not at all...just let it dry to the skin). This 'stacks' the scent. The bright and sharp lavender (with the sharp green leaf note in there, and a touch of rosemary for the first 15-20 minutes) then transitioning slowly to show the musk and then the natural (not sweet) vanilla base shows. I try to get as much lavender out of a wearing as possibly.

Liberal application is needed - all close sprays and it smells wonderful on clothing (again, concentrated sprays). I also like to reapply the scent no more than 30 minutes into a wearing on heat points and backs of my hand. Just let it air dry. This helps with both note integration and the pastry/dough smell never appears. What you get is concentration and focus of scent.

A fragrance that time has not forgot - a classic and one I will always have in my collection. A large splash bottle is next (most likely current formulation), although I was able to find Vintage Caron Pour un Homme recently (3.38oz/100ml spray). It is sealed and NIB waiting & tempting me...

A truly wonderful scent for Spring & Summer outdoors and year-round indoors. Cozy, fresh and stimulating for the opening notes, but calming after that. One of the most comforting scents you can have. I love to wear it right after a nice, relaxing shower in the evening before bed - it is perfect.

Cheers,

ericrico
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post #13 of 14
5/8/12 at 9:39am
On me the initial lavender invitation lasts 5 minutes, later I get a good quality sweet vanilla. After 30 minutes the fragrance is all about vanilla, musk and amber on me. Lasts the whole day.

Loved it but lost my heart for it. It doesn't suit me now as it used to...
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post #14 of 14
5/8/12 at 8:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ericrico View Post

I've wrote about this before. The lavender's essential oil shows here beautifully (from both blade and flower). Next time you are in a garden or outdoor setting, break a single blade off a lavender plant/bush and break it on your skin, rubbing the essential oils onto it. Heavenly - but sharp and slightly pungent for those who are not used to it (they think of light, airy lavender, but this is potent). That smell can last on your hands for a long time. It is not uncommon for myself to actually enhance a wearing of CPuH with a light rubbing of fresh lavender from a bush as several grow close by. Very natural.

Caron Pour un Homme has a very wonderful and similar smell, if applied correctly - you don't need to go outside - :-) . The pastry/doughy smell can happen if applied lightly. I put the atomizer very close to my skin (1"/2cm) and spray - very lightly rubbing it in (or not at all...just let it dry to the skin). This 'stacks' the scent. The bright and sharp lavender (with the sharp green leaf note in there, and a touch of rosemary for the first 15-20 minutes) then transitioning slowly to show the musk and then the natural (not sweet) vanilla base shows. I try to get as much lavender out of a wearing as possibly.

Liberal application is needed - all close sprays and it smells wonderful on clothing (again, concentrated sprays). I also like to reapply the scent no more than 30 minutes into a wearing on heat points and backs of my hand. Just let it air dry. This helps with both note integration and the pastry/dough smell never appears. What you get is concentration and focus of scent.

A fragrance that time has not forgot - a classic and one I will always have in my collection. A large splash bottle is next (most likely current formulation), although I was able to find Vintage Caron Pour un Homme recently (3.38oz/100ml spray). It is sealed and NIB waiting & tempting me...

A truly wonderful scent for Spring & Summer outdoors and year-round indoors. Cozy, fresh and stimulating for the opening notes, but calming after that. One of the most comforting scents you can have. I love to wear it right after a nice, relaxing shower in the evening before bed - it is perfect.

Cheers,

ericrico

I enjoy your take on how to apply and reapply a fragrance in order to get it to work better with prolonged longevity and projection !!

I also change the way I apply my fragrances depending on what fragrance I use, the time of day and for the purpose I wear the frag.

I find that if I apply a fragrance with 2 sprays directly on top of each other, the last spray sort of seals in the first spray and I get up to 50% better longevity of the fragrance and also improved projection.

Just now I'm wearing Burberry Touch for instance and I applied 2 x 2 sprays of this to the front neck area and here 6 hours later I still enjoy the mild clean powdery dry down of this very pleasant safe pure designer fragrance.
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