Homme

Great reviews here - I came to know of this discontinued gem a short while ago from fellow reviewers online. I got lucky, found it and got a decent number of bottles. This is simply great juice! The comparison to Gucci Envy is there, but I find it more different than alike. While some notes are shared, Carven Homme is a true Woody Spicy composition with very nice sandalwood & cedar on the base intermixed with great baking spices - cinnamon, nutmeg and coriander. The amber and labdanum create warmth along with a pinch of pipe tobacco that accentuates the spices - giving it a nice kick. Patchouli offers a nice added earthiness and bit of bite to the smooth wood. The lavender in this enters a bit sharp in the top with the bergamot along with a nice juniper berry note, but smooths out into the heart with the rosewood and then the spices enter. Sensational. This never gets dull! The slight commonality with Gucci Envy lies in the top & middle notes for me (if I really try to find the connection) - mainly with the spiciness and wood notes in the heart (but they are very different compositions) - however they share cedar, coriander and a touch of vetiver each (ironically, both clean vetivers). Common notes in the top are a nice smooth lavender with rosewood (a great opening note that give you a woody feel from the top) and a light note of ginger. Carven Homme is less bright as Gucci Envy has a rather sharp ginger accord on top (as some find 'mentholated' - but if you have ever smelled fresh-cut ginger, you know that is not menthol at work) - that is not at all present here in Carven Homme. The citrus is fresh and well-done, but not overpowering in either. While Carven Homme turns to a nice warm woody base with amber and tobacco, Gucci Envy for Men goes to the infamous incense and patchouli that hints at amber and a smooth note of vanilla that distinguish it as an Oriental Woody (more of an Oriental Woody/Aromatic to me, if such a thing exists!) There is a reason that the reviews for this are so good. It is a great quality fragrance, has fantastic warmth on the skin and could be worn either casual or formal (or as an office scent). It radiates nicely from the body and a couple shots to clothing upon application and the first 2-3 hours...but becomes a very smooth wood and spicy skin scent that last for over 6 hours, even in cold weather outdoors - this stuff stays on and has a nice "aura scent" to it, but is never loud or abrasive. Impressive longevity and above average projection. Office wear - no more than 5 sprays total, with at least 1-2 on your clothes. "Full" wear - 7-8 sprays total, 2-3 on clothes. This would be for going out, date night, etc. A fragrance that begs for comparison as it is so damn good. Gucci Envy is what others compare it to - I did a comparative review here with a "Full wearing" of Carven Homme, except for a solid spray of Gucci Envy on the back on my hand to get all the notes right. I suggest to have both bottles of juice in your wardrobe - one is not at all a substitute for the other. Try to find Carven Homme - it is well-worth seeking out! Very high quality ingredients here - not synthetic at all. It can be worn year-round, with moderate application in warm weather - but very masculine and a scent that will get you compliments everywhere you go. Nobody knows what it is (but wants to know - women and men) and ask where you can buy it...I get strange looks when I tell them it has been discontinued - someone said, "I guess you're lucky to have it." And, I am. Overall score - 8.8/10. Highly recommended. **Update** - after wearing this now on, literally dozens of occasions, I have to say that it is one of the most comforting scents I have in my large wardrobe. The warmth of the wood, spices and excellent lavender with the nice pinch of tobacco come together rather seamlessly. I have found nothing off-putting in this fragrance. It does go on a bit sharp (which I actually like), but within just a few minutes it warms and projects wonderfully. The definition of a true "Woody Spicy" captured in a bottle - fantastic quality. Longevity is most definitely above average as well! I tried this in the heat of summer and while on a family trip to the beach (where is mixed wonderfully with the salt air). It actually is a great scent anywhere, anytime. I find myself reaching for it frequently and I am never disappointed. It actually catches me off-guard sometimes after a wearing of light citruses or EdC's for a few days in a row. This is definitely expressive, but not "loud". Very well-blended, yet the notes articulate well. And, it creates a wonderful, confident vibe that lasts for hours. The drydown lasts for a long time, even in cold weather - and I have to say that it can be worn casually (which I prefer) or with a shirt & tie. A leather jacket and jeans goes great with this scent. Very masculine to me, but as I've read other reviewers say it could be unisex - I have to say that its comforting and warming effect definitely should not disclude anyone. If a woman wants a nice cozy scent, this could be wearable, which is not something I considered previously. Truly excellent. Updated score for this rare gem - 9+/10! Simply great juice...cheers!

Sad, but true--Carven Homme must be one of the highest-rated, yet least "known" men's fragrances EVER! Its "perfume rating" (noted above) indicates that its scent likely sits within the top 2% of all men's fragrances rated on Fragrantica (out of 12,700+ men's fragrances)! Its distinguished versatility solidly includes 4-seasons, while being notably wearable day or evening. And who "dislikes" it (noted above)? Practically no one! ....while all alone in admirable comparison to Gucci Envy?!....at just a fraction of Envy's cost??! How in the world is it that a men's cologne with all of these sought after qualities, and being so incredibly "masculine-sublime", has not gained notoriety?? (Come on!! Only 220+ votes???) I just don't get it!! I've worn and LOVED Carven Homme for years and no fragrance (on this entire site) baffles me more. So guys, you are missing out on a HUGE "hidden gem" of a masculine fragrance if you don't get this one. Because one thing is certain if you do.... You and Carven Homme will smell uniquely incredible, as few others will be familiar with it!! **Update(s)** The following comments are added for those seriously considering a purchase, since it's discontinued but available on-line: 1) I have been wearing this scent for over 10 years now. 2) Don't be "afraid" to buy it because it's a fairly older fragrance. As others have expressed, this fragrance is composed with top-quality ingredients; so if purchased from a reputable vendor/stored well, you should be satisfied with your purchase (I have numerous bottles currently in 2021 and the scent does not seem to have degraded much, if at all, from its original). 3) Although I wouldn't say this fragrance smells dated, it definitely exhibits a "classic" aura . 4) Being classic and masculine, this fragrance is best suited for those aged 30-plus. 5) Florals are used notably well here to help make this masculine woody/spicy composition exquisite; while the tobacco in the base is perfectly refined. 6) One of the only (fairly rare) criticisms I see in these posts is its performance. This TRULY surprises me because I have dry skin and so "generally" get about two-thirds of the performance that the overall population claims with most fragrances. But with this fragrance I get THE SAME as is typically stated! I literally get 7 hours of longevity, and while this scent mainly is arms length or less on me, it "wafts" in and out throughout the day--as stated by many and is SO pleasant.... 7) If you "connect" with this fragrance, it is very likely that you will also consider it a GEM! IMPORTANT NOTE (when purchasing): Specifically verify that you are purchasing Carven Homme (Paris) in a clear bottle, NOT Carven Pour Homme in a black bottle. They are obviously not the same--but this is a VERY common (possibly intentional) "mistake" with vendors. Also see below @theaveragecologneguy and @ericrico for their solid perspectives on this exceptional cologne.

Carven Homme Review: Right off the bat I'll tell you that this is currently my favorite fragrance. It's now discontinued, but it is readily available on several sites for great prices. I highly suggest you track it down before it disappears from the market forever. Now on to the scent... This fragrance starts off with a gorgeous combination of lavender and juniper berries. While it is very floral, it's a floral smell that immediately establishes itself as very masculine. It's a strong opening that leaves you with the impression that this will be a smell that you won't soon forget. Soon the fragrance softens up a little. This leads into it's spicy mid which is ruled by a beautiful cinnamon note. Sitting behind this note are beautiful woods and a hint of nutmeg. The fragrance is rounded off with a creamy vanilla note that holds this masterpiece composition together. It's a very warm, woody, and spicy scent. A lot of people look at this fragrance as a great alternative to the classic Gucci Envy. They are after all both labeled as woody/spicy fragrances with lavender and vanilla. Envy now goes for ludicrous prices on ebay and it's quantities are getting more scarce by the day. While I do think the two fragrances have their similarities, they are also quite different in a lot of aspects. In my opinion, this is a much more complex and deeper smelling fragrance. It achieves it's spiciness with a cinnamon note, while Envy relies heavily on a ginger note. This also lacks the incense note which is so dominant in the dry down of Envy. Both are excellent choices but if I had to choice only one, it would easily be Carven Homme. Best Age Group- 25+ Best Season(s)- Fall/Spring Occassions- Casual, Formal, Work, Dates Projection/Sillage- Moderate Longevity- 9 Hours Smell- 10/10 Overall- 10/10 I'll also make a note that I think the fragrance Floris Santal is actually a closer smell to Envy; therefore it might be a better option for some of you. I would certainly sample it first though if possible. YouTube Channel: theaveragecologneguy

The land grows still - each moment that passes quells the ringing in your ears. Today, many giants were felled by the ferocity of your shimmering swing. A fog rolls in and a soft rain falls as if to reward your endless toiling - a speck amongst the towering trees. The rain reawakens the resting giants - the crushed herbs and grass are swept up with the rich woodscent. You inhale deeply - cedar and sandalwood with the slightest hint of lemons and juniper berries greet you zestfully. Your nutmeg and cinnamon like musk mingles playfully with your surroundings - you crack a sly smile knowing that this is the stench of victory! You carefully dismember your prize and revel in the multi-faceted wonders that spill from each split. As the day draws to a close, you decide to lay for a moment - as your head touches the earth, you are enveloped in a pervasive cloud of amber, labdanum and a fiery tobacco...they sing you off to sleep. You belong to the world of dreams now...their richly opulent lullabies weave through your consciousness - their sweet song claims all rational thought as you are lost in their ambered waves. May we all find lasting comfort where we lay our heads. Day 60 - Swinging Listening to: Florence + The Machine - Long & Lost Notes: I was shocked by the quality of this fume given its ridiculously own cost - the recent reviews aren't leading you on, go buy it before it vanishes forever! The scent itself is a gorgeous powder woodscent - the best of cinnamon and sandalwood (aromachemicals, of course)! The opening is reminiscent of old school fougeres - dated citrus and dry herbs...it lasts only a minute though. The heart warms up the fume considerably with a powdered cinnamon, gently warming nutmeg, and very boozy woods. This is a dandy lumberjack of sorts. The base adds a hefty dose of amber and labdanum with just the slightest hint of woody patchouli and tobacco doused in a white musk. Usually makes an exit right around the 8 hour mark - would love to see what happens on a woman's skin!

Just got my hands on this - a blind buy (inspired by reviews here and on Basenotes) - and I am seriously impressed, or more accurately, madly in love. As a sandalwood obsessive and crazed aficionado of woody fragrances, Carven Homme ticks all the right boxes for me. Discovering this fragrance upon first wear was a joyful experience - Lavender is something that, under normal circumstances makes me want to vomit, but here its presence complements and enhances the juniper and bergamot in the overture beautifully. The opening evolves into a rich, multi-faceted blend of woods and spices that manifests as an elegant, intoxicating sandalwood. Palisander is one of my favourite woods and perhaps I'm imagining it, but I'm certain I can detect its presence here from the opening through the dry-down, serving as a backbone to this glorious elixir. My inexpert nose is unable to discern many of the individual notes listed in the pyramid above, although I can sense aspects of vanilla, tobacco and patchouli in the dry down. Carven Homme embraces the wearer in an aura of sandalwoody elegance that elicits both compliments and curiosity. I am really enjoying wearing it for my own pleasure and find myself constantly sniffing my wrist. At times I can see why people mention Envy for Men, as there are similarities. At times there is also a similarity to Dunhill Indian Sandalwood, and Sartorial by Pal Zileri All in all this is one of my best ever blind buys and I'm ecstatic that Carven Homme has thus far lived up to my lofty expectations.

Carven Pour Homme opens with a bright mix of grapefruit and violet leaf that gives it a clean, modern aromatic feel. On my bottles, which are about a decade old, I’ve noticed the citrus opening has softened over time compared to when it was new. Once the top notes fade, the fragrance settles into a dry woody structure of cedar, sandalwood, and gentle spice. In this stage it actually resembles the drydown of Carthusia 1681. Both share a similar cedar-forward woody backbone once the opening phase passes. The main difference for me is that Carven has a faint maple-syrup-like sweetness that slightly softens the composition. Because of that sweetness it ends up coming in second place for me compared to 1681, which remains drier and more refined overall. I’ve also come to notice just how closely Carven Pour Homme resembles S.T. Dupont Signature. To my nose they are almost exact twins in the drydown. Carven seems to have a slightly enhanced lavender note and a touch more aromatic lift, while Signature smells a little more refined in its powdery facet, but the overall effect is strikingly similar and at times nearly indistinguishable. Still, Carven is a very pleasant woody aromatic with a smooth and easygoing character, and I love it just as much as Signature in its own way.

Much like the previous reviewers have stated, this juice smells nearly identical to the discontinued Gucci Envy which has become a sought after gem within the fragrance community. The fragrance has woody, warm spicy, and fresh spicy accords. Cinnamon, tobacco, and woods come to my nose in the opening. It has a strong and masculine, yet not overpowering presence. This juice easily lasts eight hours on my skin and way longer on clothes. I recommend this as a versatile scent for mature men. It is a throwback to when men's fragrances were completely masculine and had a gentleman-like quality to them. If you are wanting to get your hands on Gucci Envy but don't have the chips for It or you are a mature gentleman looking for a signature scent then you should look no further than this under the radar gem.

I first wore this when I lived in London in 2000. I've recently ordered a new bottle and it is the same smell I remember. This also smells similar to Azzaro Visit without the screechy notes or incense. Where this one hits the master stroke is the blending and the addition of vanilla. In the end for me the cinnamon and vanilla make this one much more enjoyable than Visit and put it up there with the best of the late 90's cheapos. Only issue it is still only lasts a short while and requires heavy over spraying on my skin to get any projection at all. For the price I can over spray until I get my fill. A scent for all seasons but go lightly in the heat.

Best fragrance in my collection to date, and that includes many Luca Turin 5* selections. The lavender in the opening is beautifully embedded with the other top notes, and the woods and spices are there from the getgo right through to the end. I have the impression of honey and raisins which obviously aren't listed but that's how it comes across to me. Simply put, it's just gorgeous. Longevity is around the 10 hour mark on my skin. Have tested a few Carven fragrances recently and before this one I was severely underwhelmed. Not any more though. Good luck tracking some down as it took me a few weeks. At least it wasn't expensive.

Impressive! I have sampled this frag off and on for almost year now...Thats it. I love it, i wanted to find an issue, but never there, ....I couldn't believe the sillage, longevity poor(3-4 hour) BUT the complexity got me thinking about it every time, complicated like Egoiste. That alone is worth digging into...and the price?...i hope you are sitting down looking at your shelf/s right now... under $30 USD. Why are you just sitting there reading about this?.. AS YOU would expect, lasts, 3-4 hours? So close but yet so far! A 7 hour version would simply be the ultimate. thank you my fellow reviewers for your perspectives too, wow.

For the money this is one of the best masculine scents on the market. All the notes from top to bottom are there and in place. It can be worn any time of the year and for any occasion. On my skin it has decent staying power that stays close to the skin after about the first 20 minutes. The person next to you will get a whiff of it but the person next to him/her won't. I personally like this in a perfume. I'm pleased Fragrantica finally entered this little gem into their database and thank them for that. To sum up, this just plain smells good. I still can't believe it's so inexpensive.

Solid sandalwood, supported with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and other woods. Sometimes I love something so smooth and straightforward, no pretense, that just does the job and makes me feel good. I will reach for this more this coming autumn. There are some gripes about longevity here, but I get a good seven hours and it dries down to a lovely 'skin but better' scent. This is really enjoyable, it's a shame Carven discontinued this iteration of Homme.

5 year update: This is still the GOAT and my holy grail fragrance. Nothing compares to the beauty of this fragrance. The comparisons I once made to Envy now seem incredibly fleeting. This is an utterly unique and beautiful composition. This comes from a different time in men's fragrances. I only wish this hadn't been discontinued so that more people could enjoy it. Alas, such is the world of fragrances. Enjoy them while they last.

Many have been said about how it smells and I agree...I feel it as a more butch and serious Floris Santal, same vein but more. And it's such a shame to see how once the designer perfumery was achieving greatness, though now it's a desert in creativity and feeling. I consider myself lucky owning a full 100ml bottle, and strongly advise people to buy it if you can find.

Carven Homme is discontinued and I want to tell you not to buy this and how terrible it is so that I can have what remains for myself. Gucci Envy may be better but not by much. This juice is simply awesome. A wise man would have a couple of bottles of this in reserve.

A great fragrance, I agree with those who compares this with Musc Ravageur. It's dry down is very similar/ almost identical to Méharées by L'Erbolario

I love love love this scent. Gorgeous!!! Compliments the first time I wore it.

Had Guerlain ever released a Shalimar for men, this would have been it.

So let’s talk about Carven homme. First, this juice gets an incredible amount of love from the community, and for good reason. It’s complex, it’s unique and let’s face it – for this price, it’s a steal. Right? Well...I’m not so sure. I’ll say this – personally, I’m a huge fan of scents from the 90s – D&G PH, Tommy, Boss No.6, Swiss Army, CK One, you know, the standards. But Carven homme is quite honestly in a league of its’ own. Nevertheless, after much debate, I blind bought this one to see what the fuss was about. And man, let me tell you – from the first spray, I was like, “Ohhhh WOW! That’s HARSH! HOW is there no incense in this???” Talk about being rough around the edges! This LITERALLY smells like my dad’s old-spice-infused leather jacket is on fire. No kidding. And I don’t know if it’s just me, but there’s this gritty, scraping, grinding, burning quality to it that will surely turn some people's noses. But hey, I guess to the rugged boys out there (like me), this smells how a man should smell – like stuffing a wooden chest into some old guy’s Buick. Luckily, that harshness fades in the dry-down and the fragrance becomes more of a barbershop-type sweet, resinous sandalwood incense. At least that’s what I get. None of the websites seem to agree on the notes... So how do you know if you can pull off Carven homme? Well, is your name Gary, Bruce or Howard? Do you own a salt-and-pepper wool coat or a heavily-worn leather jacket? Are you an outdoorsman? Do you enjoy burning things? Facial hair? As for me, I paid about $20 for this, and that’s honestly what I think it’s worth. It’s just too harsh. Performance and longevity are also below average. But since there is NOTHING in my collection that does what this does, I’m DEFINITELY keeping it. Scent – 8/10 Longevity – 5/10 Sillage – 7/10 Overall – 8/10 - thanks to a 10/10 for uniqueness Update: Man-o-man have I changed my mind about this juice. Don't be mistaken - it's still quite harsh up close, but that sandalwood spice has CHARACTER son. Gucci SHOULD be envious. Anyway, the new numbers are more reflective of my current opinion. And what - for $20? - blind buy the HELL out of this sucker. Love that sillage...

Late to the party on this one! Carven Homme is worthy of all the hype it receives. This scent starts off strong and could easily put you off. The opening is a jab to the nose of sandalwood cinnamon and nutmeg. The opening lasts a while... a long while. But as this scent unfolds Carven Homme reveals its' true character. This sweet trio of rosewood, cedar and lavender usher in the mid notes and the effect is gorgeous. The spice harmonizes with the woody notes and create a clear woody spicy progression. The arrival of the vanilla note is one of the best in the business! (SWEET RELIEF!) The vanilla leads a charge of patchouli and tobacco to further solidify the spiciness of this scent. Carven Homme is a journey all the way to its' dry down and once you arrive at the base you are truly rewarded. There is an earthy, leathery base composed of amber, vetiver and some florals and the effect is very masculine, a bit on the barbershop vibe, but very spicy! I get pretty good longevity on my skin at least 8 hours but, the projection isn't spectacular (think a few extra sprays and spraying on to clothes).This scent's value and versatility are bar none! One could wear this to work or for just a day out on the town. Carven Homme is one of those rare gems; a cheapie that performs like a designer. This is one of those you must not sleep on, because this I believe is discontinued. Full bottle worthy!