The Best Carnation Scents To Wear In Cold Weather

When winter comes I typically put away all my floral perfumes which tend to be concentrated in the white flower category. I take advantage of being able to wear chypres and heavy oriental fragrances which just don't work so well in one-hundred-degree weather. It was very cold here in North Texas over Christmas and I noticed my daughter in law smelling wonderfully of carnation. I keep a little bottle of Dianthus by Etro on a toiletry tray in the guest bath. I hate the furnace belting out heat so my house is always, shall we say, a bit chilly. The brightness of the carnation bloomed beautifully against the chill air, almost giving the florist freezer effect of carnation flower arrangements. I decided to test all my carnation fragrances and see if they all stood up as well to the cold weather.

Christian legend says that the carnation originated when Mary was moved to tears as she saw Jesus carrying the cross, and where her tears fell, red carnations sprang from the earth. Leonardo da Vinci painted a portrait in 1480 called The Madonna of the Carnation, in which the infant Jesus reaches for a carnation in his mother's hand, foretelling the event of the crucifixion.  

In Victorian times carnations could relay unspoken messages to an admirer. Red meant yes!, a white and red striped carnation meant I can't be with you, and yellow sent the sad message of no! 

Carnation is often thought of as old fashioned, maybe because of its powdery notes, but I've always loved it. Even in flower arrangements it has the reputation of being a cheap filler flower. Today my local grocery offers a large and varied selection of flowers for bouquets but twenty five years ago the choice was either roses or carnations. Often the carnations had been dyed ghastly colors and eventually the beautiful smell was bred out of them, I suppose in the interest of hardiness.

Dianthus Etro is what my memory is of the perfect carnation scent from when I was a little girl. There was a time that if you bought a little bouquet of carnations they would scent your whole house with their fresh presence and I have found that some floral distributors have returned to breeding scented carnations, realizing that scent is the flowers greatest gift. Dianthus is fairly one dimensional but it smells like the freshest, prettiest carnation ever. It does have a slightly powdery element but that is not its strongest quality. If you want realistic carnation you can't do much better than this. Disclaimer on this review and several others here; my bottles have been around for over five years so I don't know if any changes in formulations have taken place.

L'Artisan Oeillet Sauvage is another light take on the carnation scent and although I own a bottle, I find that I prefer the Etro for its spicy realistic notes. There is just a moment of alcohol scent in the initial spray but it disappears quickly. The carnation is softer and a little peppery, without that full-on rush of refreshing, nose clearing carnation scent. Notes of lily and ylang ylang provide a sweetness and temper the spiciness that can be found in carnation. The perfumer is Anne Flipo who has created several scents for L'Artisan. The initial release was, I believe, a limited edition and it got rave reviews. It was reissued and that is the series I have. Some people said the formulation had changed but others thought it was the same. I don't have an opinion as I didn't try the initial release. It is readily available at perfume discounters.

Prada Infusion d'Oeillet is another more transparent take on the carnation, although for the Prada Infusion line, it is one of the heavier hitters. The pale pink juice in the handsome Prada bottles is pretty alluring and if you like carnation you will definitely like this scent. I reviewed it fully here.

Miller Harris Fleur Oriental was released in 2000 and it uses carnation as the heart note for the oriental scent, cushioning it in a bed of vanilla and amber for a creamy base. The powdery note of carnation is further enhanced by a healthy dose of heliotrope. This is a softly romantic scent and a very pretty take on using carnation as a main note, but not a soliflore.

Dawn Spencer Hurwitz of DSH Perfumes is always curiously exploring new areas of scent and when something captures her interest she goes all in, exploring it from various aspects. Right now the scent of fur has captured her imagination but when I first became aware of Dawn's work about ten years ago she had been exploring different takes on carnation fragrances. Some are not in production anymore but she picked the best to survive, Oeillets Rouges (red carnations). This is the rich deep scent of carnation with a touch of clove, and a light touch of honey and ambergris give it a deep and lasting edge. This one is particularly unisex. Fleuriste was launched in 2015 and in a review here I said the following, "Fleuriste brings back that lovely memory of opening the refrigerated door and being engulfed in that exquisite smell of fresh carnations." Although either could be worn at any time I would say that Oeillets Rouges is for night wear and the freshness of Fleuriste lends itself to daytime wear. Lastly, DSH's Souvenir de Malmaison combines carnation with rose, spice and amber for a luxurious floriental. Dawn's appreciation for the carnation is evident in her scented creations and one of these three is sure to fulfill your search for a carnation scent. 

Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Soie Rouge is listed as a fruity floral carnation. Again, I am going by an older sample so maybe the notes of pineapple, dried fruits, and apricot have lost their power. What I get is the standard carnation opening with the powdery notes of heliotrope emphasizing that aspect of carnation. This was one of the more powdery scents I tried so depending on your like or dislike for powdery scents, consider yourself warned. 

Fujit Amor by Jul Et Mad Paris is a fairly new creation from 2017 and features a most unusual interpretation of the carnation note, unlike any of the scents above. The inspiration is Rodin's statue Fujit Amor, two straining bodies captured in marble. The carnation is meant to represent the marble's cool touch, but warm and spicy notes of elemi, ginger, pink pepper, and  cinnamon portray the lovers' passion. An unusual combination of carnation and lavender is featured, two notes which on their own can be stingingly sharp and crisp, but here they blend to form a rather sweet and soft mixture which I can still smell on my skin the next day. I won a sample of this perfume after reading a review by Gail Gross on Cafleurebon and the sample was provided by Indigo Perfumery. Thank you to both Cafleurebon and Indigo Perfumery for making this review possible.

Carnation is the birth flower for January babies. There are many choices here, from a perfect scent copy of the flower to an unusual blend featuring the note. Anyone with a fondness for the scent of carnation should find something here to please.


Carnation photos are vintage clip art. Kitten and carnation photo from a painting by Leon Charles Huber.

Foolproof Perfume Picks for Mother's Day

For those of us who love perfume the next best thing to buying perfumes for ourselves is buying it for someone else, so Mother's Day provides the perfect shopping opportunity. Yet all too often gifted bottles languish on the shelf unused. Some moms are easy. They have a signature scent you can replenish each year. But if you've no idea what your Mom might like but really want to share your love of scent with her, here is a semi-serious guide of what to buy your Mom depending on her likes and style. The secret in each case is to buy a fairly transparent scent that doesn't make too much of a statement, so that the odds of Mom liking it increase exponentially. 

The Classic Mom

Jackie Kennedy with her children.

The classic Mom is polished and cool. She probably set dinner tables with sterling silver cutlery and crystal dishes if she could afford it. Her manner of dress is polished, neatly styled and always totally appropriate. She made sure you visited the occasional museum in addition to Saturday matinees. Manners and respect were important in your household growing up. She gravitates toward old style classics so for her Chanel No 5 L'Eau is the perfect pick. The beautiful fizzy opening is still there but without the sharp astringency of the original. It's a lighter fresher take on the original but maintains the beautiful heart of rose and jasmine and still exudes that timeless elegance.

The Sporty Mom

Candace Parker, basketball player, Olympian.

Maybe your Mom plays tennis or golf. Maybe she's a runner or surfer. Maybe yoga is her thing, but whatever sport it is, it's a huge part of who she is. For sporty Moms I'm going to suggest something I just reviewed, MFK Aqua Celesia. This scent won't distract them from their game; it's very quiet. It's almost a skin scent but it has some tart notes of lime, mint and blackcurrant to keep it fresh.  I have a totally unproven theory that musk scents, which Aqua Celesia is, smell better and more personal when mixed with a little of your sweat. If so, then it's perfect for the active mom who glows with exertion. Regardless, it's a beautiful scent to keep her feeling fresh no matter what.

The Do-Gooder Mom

Angelina Jolie , actor and humanitarian, with her brood.

Your Mom is the first one with her hand up. School PTA president, check. Girl Scout leader, check. Local women's shelter volunteer, check. She's a rebel with a cause and the only thing that makes her happier than working is working for change. So how perfect that by wearing a perfume she can contribute in a small way to the welfare of farmers in war torn countries or one's recovering from strife. Fair trade essential oils are sourced from places like Afghanistan and Rwanda. The company behind these good deeds? The 7 Virtues. You could pick the original scent, Afghanistan Orange Blossom with uplifting notes of orange blossom, jasmine, and freesia. Farmers who used to grow poppies for the drug industry now can make more by farming neroli oil. You can also pick from Noble Rose of  Afghanistan, Middle East Peace, Patchouli of Rwanda, Vetiver of Haiti, Middle East Peace, and the new Lisa Ray Jasmine of India. The florals are realistic and pretty but these wear close to the skin. The fragrances can be ordered from the website and are also available at Lord & Taylor in the USA.

The Hip Mom

Kate Hudson, actress, fitness clothing entrepreneur.

All your friends think your Mom is cool, whether she's 40 or 80. Her manner of dress is maybe more youthful or edgy than other Moms but she always looks fabulous. She keeps up with current trends but is not afraid to follow her own style. She's open minded, embraces life,  and loves to have fun, especially with you. This Mom is not afraid to try something a little different with a slight edge. The trick is to buy something with that unique feel, but not something too extreme or out there. I have the perfect answer. It's Dame Perfumery Mate, Heliotrope & Patchouli. This perfume opens with a light mate tea note. The heliotrope gives a slight sweet touch and the patchouli is green and clean. It's my favorite "your skin but better scent". Click on the link above to read my full review. This one's a beauty.

The Trendy Mom

Victoria Beckham and brood.

Your Mom is always on point with trends. She may think she's too old to wear some of the latest style interpretations but you can be sure she knows about them. She is au courant about the latest movies, politics of the day, and the Pantone color of the year. She loves the latest thing and that's why the newest Jo Malone perfume may be the perfect gift for her. Every season Jo Malone is coming out with limited editions and new scents. The most recent release is Jo Malone Star Magnolia. Like most of Jo Malone's recent introductions, on my skin it's pretty, light, and fairly fleeting. Star Magnolia opens with a lemon and ginger note, then rapidly transitions to the magnolia and neroli. Both notes are light and come across as a white clean fragrance. While I don't love it, it's hard to imagine anyone taking offense to it. Even more interesting are the seasonal limited edition sets. They are always an interesting concept: last year it was the Herb Garden collection and this spring it is the five scents in the Bloomsbury Set. I haven't smelled any of them but I have no doubt they are charming and will fade away within an hour. Nevertheless I still can't help but be intrigued and would love it if someone gave them to me.

The Foodie Mom

Giada De Laurentiis, celebrity chef

Everyone wanted to hang out at your house because they knew there would be great food. Whether it was nourishing dinners or homemade snacks, your Mom likes to show her love through food. Her favorite program may be The Great British Baking Show. She knows the newest restaurant in town getting rave reviews and would rather walk through Williams & Sonoma than Barneys. Here are a few light and intriguing flavorful scents. Berdoues Grand Cru Vanira Moorea is a cologne strength vanilla and orange creamsicle; droolingly yummy but not too sweet. By the same company but totally different is Berdoues Grand Cru Assam of India. Pungent black Assam tea, sharp lemon, and a to-die-for bottle with colorful mini elephants make this a distinctive winner. Prada Infusion d'Amande has a creamy but transparent almond note that will have Mom sniffing her wrist non-stop.

The Traditional Mom

Florence Henderson as Carol Brady in the iconic tv show, The Brady Bunch.

Your Mom considered her primary job to be raising you and your siblings, despite everything else she might have had going on. She wants nothing but the best for you; your achievements are her successes. She loves you to bits and nothing makes her day more than hearing from you. For your special mom, treat her to the newly reintroduced Prada Les Infusions Rose. Like all the scents in Prada's Les Infusions line, it has a watercolor transparency. It is a pale pink rose scent, sprinkled with notes of mandarin, neroli, and galbanum. Sparkling and translucent, it's the perfect rose for the rose in your life.

I hope you've enjoyed my Mother's Day picks and found something worth considering.

Prada Infusions: Part Two

I reviewed my favorites of the new Prada Infusions here.   In today's post I will talk about the other new additions or revisions to the Prada Infusion line of perfumes. Infusion d'Iris was the original perfume that launched this line and it has been very successful. In this revamp of the Infusions, Infusion d'Iris has been reintroduced and I hope they haven't changed the formula as I loved it in it's original form. I have tried the new one and I can't detect a difference, but my bottle of the original formula is back in Texas so until I can compare the old and new versions I cannot absolutely satisfy myself that there is no change. Infusion d'Iris is a beautiful perfume and my favorite of the line.

Infusion de Fleur d'Oranger

I didn't try the 2009 limited edition when it came out so I don't know if there has been a substantial change in the formula, now that it has been added to their permanent line. I was not that excited about trying this because I already have so many other orange blossom fragrances in my collection, but after living in Fleur d'Oranger for a day I may have changed my mind.

The fragrance goes on in a diaphanous shower of orange blossom. Background characters include touches of jasmine sambac, tuberose, and just a slight touch of neroli which shows no soapy character on my skin.  The scent is light and realistic, and it really gives the sense of a lovely orange  blossom scented breeze.. Somehow perfumer Daniela Andrier manages to keep the scent sheer and ethereal while maintaining the tenacity of the fragrance, and this is what distinguishes it from my other orange blossoms. The orange blossom perfumes that I own tend to be powerhouses like Elie Saab, and though they are very beautiful, this one has a delicacy that is very appealing. I can see this being a lovely bridal perfume.

Infusion d'Iris Cedre

Out of all the new Infusion perfumes this is the only one that feels like a flanker. There is an orange note momentarily in the opening. The listed note is neroli but it came across as mandarin to me. Very quickly there is woody cedar, next comes the iris, then after further development the benzoin gives it a darker balsamic feel. The perfume has a similarity to Infusion d'Iris but the cedar makes it much woodier and it doesn't have the suede like smoothness.  The longer it sits on my skin the more I can see the similarities in the two perfumes. I like Infusion d'Iris Cedre but I prefer the original Infusion d'Iris. This one also faded more quickly on me.

Infusion de Vetiver

The limited edition of this scent was introduced in 2010. It features vetiver, ginger, neroli, bergamot, and supposedly rose, though I never smell it.  When I tried it Infusion d'Vetiver I smelled traces of smoke or tobacco, perhaps from the vetiver. It smells very fresh and leans a little masculine. It is nice but doesn't feel very different or original compared to the others in the line, however that's just personal taste talking. If you love vetiver it may be fabulous on you.

I sampled these at Tangs Singapore. The photo is from the Prada website.

Fragrant Almond Cookies

Yesterday's post on Prada Infusion d'Amonde left me craving my favorite almond cookies. The perfume has such a yummy almond smell that nothing would satisfy but a bite or three of this almondy dough and a few of these cookies. They smell nice and each bite will give you an almond burst.

Fragrant Almond Cookies

Cookies:

1 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons almond extract

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Icing:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon almond flavoring

1 Tablespoon water

Chopped almonds

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper or grease lightly. 

In a bowl mix butter, sugar, and almond extract. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the mixed dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture in large spoonfuls.

Roll small balls of dough and place on cookie sheet. Flatten slightly with the bottom of a glass. Bake 7 minutes. Take out slightly earlier if they start to brown at all. They should not be brown, even on the edges. Let sit on the pan until cool.

Mix the icing ingredients together. Adjust consistency if needed by adding slightly more sugar or water. Drizzle across the top of the cookies. Top with chopped almonds.

Hint: If you don't eat these immediately, refrigerate them. They are good straight out of the refrigerator.

I have gained a new admiration for the bloggers who have the beautiful food photographs. It's not easy! Trust me, these taste better than my picture looks.

Prada Infusion d'Oeillet and Infusion d'Amande

The luxury Italian brand of Prada announced last year that it would be making the Infusion fragrance collection a permanent part of the line, revising their former limited edition status.  They planned to reintroduce some of the previous and presumably more successful scents, and in addition would be adding three new scents to the line. After the announcement, the perfumes were not immediately available. This was done purposely to build anticipation, in what the industry terms "a slow launch". As best I could tell, the perfumes were initially only available in some European markets and those launches began last May. Here in Singapore I got my first glimpse of the bottles about two months ago at Tangs department store, and I just noticed that they now are on the Saks Fifth Avenue website in the USA. I love Prada Infusion d'Iris so I was eagerly anticipating these new perfumes. I've been a bit disappointed with some of the past offerings; I had high hopes for Tubereuse, the limited edition for 2010, but it didn't live up to my expectations. Perhaps I was just judging each new entry by the standard set by Infusion d'Iris, the original entry to the line in 2007 which I think is a classic in the making. Infusion d'Iris, Infusion de Vetiver, and Infusion de Fleur d'Oranger have been reintroduced. There are three new perfumes added to the collection: Infusion d'Iris Cedre, Infusion d'Oeillet, and Infusion d'Amande. Today I will be talking about my two favorites from the new introductions: Infusion d'Oeillet and Infusion d'Amande.

Infusion d'Oeillet

Carnation has a reputation of being a fuddy duddy sort of scent, old fashioned and a bit boring, but the flower has recently gotten some attention from perfumers and after years of dormancy there have been a sprinkling of new introductions featuring the note. I wanted to see how Prada would lighten and enliven carnation to make it fit the transparency and delicacy which are the trademarks of the Infusion line. 

The initial spray is full on fresh carnation. I find carnation to be a happy scent.  It gives me the same feeling of crisp clean freshness that I get from lavender, although the notes don't resemble at all. Next up are the cloves and they add quite a bit of spice. I get the smell of carnation, cloves and a bit of pepper for around an hour, then it starts becoming a bit deeper with the floral less defined. Patchouli and sandalwood take the carnation to a deeper place but it is very softly done. The juice in this bottle is a pretty translucent pink, and that pretty much signifies how the carnation presents itself. Although the initial spray has presence, it is overall a quiet refined scent. The carnation may start out a red watercolor rendering but Prada introduces a transparency, as if a brush loaded with water swiped the red flower and dilutes the color to a paler pink.  I appreciate carnation and I like the softness of this perfume so it may turn into a buy for me. Although the scent is lightly done I still think you would need to have some appreciation for carnation to enjoy this perfume.

Prada Amande

My first impression of Prada Amande is the bitter almond note. Almond is a funny note for me. I occasionally like it but more often than not I can't abide it, so I had no expectation that I would like this perfume. But within moments of application  it becomes a delectable doughy almond batter of fluffy goodness. Heliotrope gives a soft powdery smell to perfumes, and favored combinations include almond and tonka bean, both of which are found in this perfume. There may be a touch of iris but I don't see the note listed. The sensation is almond, creamy tonka and a light floral. It feels simple and linear but I can't stop smelling my arm. The description makes it sound heavily gourmand but it is not. Of course the almond gives it a foody feel but it is pretty, unique, and displays a light transparency. 

The weightlessness of Prada Amande makes this feel suitable for approaching warm weather but I can also picture this fragrance feeling perfect around Christmas, when perfumes reminiscent of the smells of the season seem so right. For me, Prada Amande is a big win for the Infusion line; it perfectly fits the style but offers an ingredient not so commonly available in perfumes. I think the Prada publicity shots pictured here also do a good job of displaying the feel of the perfumes. They feature pale pretty bottles, watery images and soft florals, which is a good summary of what the Infusion line offers

Apologies, I can't figure out how to get accent marks to work so the perfume names are lacking the proper lettering.

Photos from the Prada website.