Alpona

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.

Alpona is one of the crowning jewels of Caron, yet one that has been lost to time and seems to be under appreciated - perhaps because it’s so damn hard to find nowadays. It’s an interestingly aromatic and resinous take on a classical Jasmine-centric chypre, and oh my does it execute it perfectly. I’m surprised the jasmine note isn’t ranked higher in terms of prominence, it’s the star of the show for me. I smell a very similar jasmine to that used in Jean Patou’s Joy, which rose to huge success after its release just 10 years before this. Alongside that is an array of bitter citrus, soft woods and a hefty amount of oakmoss. The aromatic, resinous facets are coming from the use of thyme and myrrh, which are gentle but present just enough to turn this into something completely unique. I adore this scent. Someone special was very kind enough to send me a decant from their bottle, and I’ve fallen head over heels for it since. This is the pinnacle of perfumery, Ernest Daltroff at his best, there will never be another like Alpona.

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.

Alpona Extrait. Vintage. I think if you get a chance to experience this Caron, consider it a unicorn meeting. Its not easy to obtain, and further, its so far in the past you could argue its a modern niche however the copious amounts of Mousse de Saxe base and Oakmoss would give the IFRA a heart attack and flatline. Its the first to showcase a bitter grapefruit against the herbal thyme opening and due to its age, a heavy oakmoss presence does come at you at the first sniff. So old chypre lovers, someone highly allergic to the synthetic candy scents now..this is more up your alley. It is definitely unisex, and all thru the path this fragrance had taken me on something kept echoed that parts of this is familiar, yet half of it wasnt. Created in 1939 unveiled in New York coinciding with Daltroffs relocation from France due to the war, Alpona was a reminder of the French Alps, more in the summertime.

Alpona has a mild creamy sweetness that the listed notes do not suggest, so it took me by surprise the first time I actually put it on. My grandmother's very old and empty bottle has a more pungent oakmossy smell than my new bottle. I think this new one feels more balanced and every time I catch a little waft as I wear it, I honestly think "mmm, yummy." Yes, it is citrusy and yes, the green notes come through, but it's more complicated than that. It is also warm and soft, and a little sweet too. I heard a rumor that Alpona was going to be discontinued this year due to EU regulations or something and reformulated again later on so I guess this kind of helped pushed me over the edge to finally buy a bottle even though it's so expensive.

This a masterpiece of perfumery that reminds me of why I fell in love with perfumes ages ago when I was just a kid. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to find anymore and the 5-6 ml that I have left of the extrait are probably the last that I will ever have. I am sad that the younger generations of perfume lovers will never have the opportunity to smell such jewels of the past and know what real masterpieces were made many years ago. Alpona would probably smell odd in the cotton candy perfumery of today but I believe that there are those who would truly appreciate the artistry behind it.

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.

I don't know how this man managed to make a feminist perfume in 1939 but I don't even want to know, I'm content with it. It's very hard to find, very. But it's worth it. Beautiful, masterpiece.

I found a 2.5 ml vintage vial sample of Alpona in a dusty antiques store. I sniffed it and thought "strange" and put it away for several months. Upon first sniff I was put off by the citrus-y blast that was accompanied by oakmoss right out of the gate. An unusual combination, as citrus usually appears at the top of a scent with oakmoss coming more at the bottom, or drydown. However, after wearing it for the past few days, I have become smitten with one of the strangest Carons I've encountered so far. This is not a sweet scent and it's not a transparent cologne-type citrus. Alpona's citrus is more crystalized and opaque, evoking the smell of creamy/doughy lemon cookies, lightly dusted with powdered confectioner's sugar. As it dries down it brings on a wistfulness in me because of the fact that we will never see the likes of this already rare scent again. The scent that comes closest to it is Guerlain's Eau de Guerlain. But E de G is much more transparent and doesn't have that dark, mysterious, trademark Caron base like Alpona does. Each time I smell my wrist, I literally get a pang of melancholy and and almost wish I'd never found this little vial. After all, you can't miss something you've never experienced. I lemented that I would be disappointed if I smelled the refromulation, but I went on and nabbed a 5 ml decant as I didn't want to use up my few precious drops of the vintage. However, I have to say that even though the reformulation is light handed when it comes to the oakmoss note, Alpona is still strange an beautiful, although not as deep and sublime as the original.

Alpona is a citrusy-thyme scent that is quite suited for late spring I'd say. This is truly a chypre I *am* enjoying very much. NOT so much in your face as many oakmoss-monsters but way more subtle, yet quite noticeable. The reason for enjoying it so much are probably the citrus notes that make Alpona a lot easier to wear!

Fragrance Review For Alpona Caron Top Notes Bergamot Orange Lemon Grapefruit Rose Middle Notes Orange Jasmine Orchid Thyme Base Notes Patchouli Oak Moss Cedar Sandalwood Myrrh Musk Vintage Extract The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Music! This beautiful fragrance is meant to evoke the grandeur of the French Alps but it might just as well be the mountain slopes and summits of Switzerland or the Austrian hilltops as seen in The Sound of Music. Makes me want to put on a dirndl and twirl around a top a mountain and sing like Julie Andrews in the opening scene to the Sound of Music. This is for me the sequel to the fragrance En Avion by Caron; which was the airplane flight; now you have arrived in Switzerland, St Moritz or Verbier or the French Alpine scenery of Megeve. All around you are beautiful Alpine flowers of thyme carnation and jasmine. A fragrance of fine feminine sweetness with a lingering greenery and natural freshness like actually being out on that mountain. Ultimately Alpona is a very complex and moving fragrance which is far and away from being anything made today. The opening is pure orange oil with a deep and lemony little sour grapefruit or yuzu kind of aroma. Very invigorating with a bit of an aftershave effect. The top notes are citruses which then give way to the lovely white floral heart of which jasmine is the high note. The thyme and rose are there too but it's that white flower that gives this scent a classic elegance and simplicity. It smells like an innocent and very endearing white mountain flower, like eidelweiss. A blossom of snow. This floral heart is the best part of the scent. It recreates the flowers and greenery of Alpine mountains. The dry down is simple, too, with classic chypre ingredients. There's loads of oak moss and patchouli, an aromatic herbal air, with a calming tea effect. This perfume is pure serenity. I need to wear this perfume right now as my life can be hectic and often not as tranquil as I'd like it to be. Perfume is therapy and this scent is pure heaven. It's the mountain air, the green hills, the flowers. A tree note is even in here cedar which really smells woody enough to recreate a tree on a hill. There's so much to love about this perfume. Having enjoyed this and En Avion I have a newfound respect and admiration for the noses of Caron which is as praiseworthy and talented as the noses for Guerlain. This perfume and En Avion can still be found on eBay because it's the vintage perfume warehouse of the world. Had it not been for Fragrantica I would never have discovered the indescribable spiritual beauty and completeness that is vintage perfume. I thank my lucky stars I still have a sense of smell so I can smell fragrances like this one.

This interesting Caron leather perfume, that you cannot find anywhere, immediately recalls a very mossy, herbal, almost soft green, dark, heavy yet powdery/soapy scent (the soapy floral element manages to come across as minutely liquid-aqua-crystalline-cold-rose) of a great-grandmother type figure from older days. A woman who was, perhaps, quite the charmer at some point, and certainly deep down, always a rebel at heart. This could even be considered quite masculine. Smells identical to the old Eau de Caron. I was curious enough to try the latter, but much prefer Alpona because the top notes of Eau de Caron seem to have turned, and combined with the green factor, I dislike that. This smells like some postmodern or late modern architectural structure, clearly alluding to a long forgotten past, but at the same time, pretty passable as a modern creation: green, brown and golden, with a little red lining? You know what I realized though: it smells overall kind of similar to New York by Nicolai Parfumeur.

I tried the parfum at Dove Roja on the 5th Floor at Harrods (don't miss a visit there when you are in London, UK). The scent is still noticeable on the cardboard tester after 5 days! The scent is now powdery like the scent of my mother's powder puff in the 1950s, delightful! It will be hard not to buy this - I don't know how long I can resist...

(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.

I have an extrait version of this scent and it is extremely beautiful and stunning, nearly like all earlier creations of legendary house of Caron! It smells of raisins, roses, oranges and ALMONDS! Gorgeous and extremely high quality!