Alpona Caron for women

If you thought Chanel No 19 was too nice, try Alpona. All those resins and greens amounts to something like pine on my skin and it's FIERCE. I can't wear it, but I keep trying because I've never smelled anything like it.

I sampled the parfum version of Alpona, so it’s not surprising that it opens strong and assertive with citrus, flowers, and an undercurrent of dry wood and aromatic resins and herbs. The citrus has been described by other reviewers as “orange marmelade”, and I would agree with that, but it’s a high-quality sugar and bitter orange marmelade, not one of the high-fructose corn syrup ones with only a couple of token recycled orange peel bits floating around in the jar.

It proceeds to develop into a gorgeous floral chypre scent, accented with thyme. Then an incredible sillage blossoms and wafts around the entire room. It’s simultaneously rich and fresh. There’s no way to describe it in terms of other things, it’s an emergent property of the parts that’s far greater and different than their sum. It’s like walking into a strange place redolent of an odor that is completely new to me - the ultimate perfume experience.

During the drydown, I detect a little bit of something that is probably citrus oils that are no longer in their prime, but it really doesn’t detract much from my overall enjoyment. Although this fragrance dates from 1939, it could just as easily be a modern niche scent, and an incredibly good one at that. It made me want to dance and brightened my day. Bottom line: I love it. Apparently it’s discontinued so I'll probably send off for a decant, if I can find one, since this just might be one of my go-to scents for fall.

Extract review.

Alpona how I adore thee.
Starts with a blast of mouthwatering juicy fruits. Then Alpona decides to change and become more oriental than the chypre it is suppose to be. Lots of resinous warm oriental notes. I have this urge to roll in joy when I wear Alpona it bright and sunny.

Notes: lemon, grapefruit, bergamot, rose, orange, jasmine, orchid, thyme, patchouli, myrrh, cedar, sandalwood, musk, and oakmoss.

I"m writing a a new review of Alpona, because in the year since I first added it to my collection it's trickled up to my top 5 favorites.

Fragrance lovers who like Ivoire de Balmain, or similar greens with a burnt grass feel, will want to try this. The ad copy above is misleading; it suggests Alpona is raisin sweet and lists it as a citrus aromatic.

No, no, and no. If I gave this to you blind you would think it belonged to the tobacco or incense family. There is a spring like crispness here, but nothing you could easily identify. Any citrus you might smell would be faint at best.

Alpona is extremely well blended. I think this is the only Caron I own that does not change over time. How is goes on is how it smells, 18 hours later.

If I could change the above, I'd call it a green woody chypre.

(Pure Parfum Review)

There is nothing soft or subtle about this perfume, It's rather strong and sharp. I don't like the combination of lemon notes and green notes. It's very unisex too.

This one and Or et noir are the only two Caron fragrances that i don't find attractive.