Noble Carnation

This was a favorite of mine for years and years. I had a bottle a decade ago with the original formula. (Flower top) It was my 1# perfume. And the scent my kids remember me by as they were growing up. So I had to have another bottle when mine started to get low. I re ordered this after the company launched again and also purchased the oil as well. It's faintly familiar to the original but no it's more of a ghost of the old formula. I can almost not even smell it at all. I still have my old formula so I decided to test them side by side. The original had a much stronger fruit note throughout, the blackcurrents were much more pronounced. In the newer bottle you can actually smell the carrier oil it gives a slight Vaseline smell. Way too soft. Not at all the beautiful beast it used to be. I'll still wear it and see where it takes me but disappointed I don't have backups of the older bottle.

Noble Carnation by Royal Apothic was a happy discovery about 4 years ago. A local shop had this and other Royal Apothic scents for half off (they were no longer going to carry the brand). I really fell for it because it is both spicy and sweet, but not overly sweet. The cassis in this is more like black currant liquor, so it has a sharp tartness to it. The cloves plus the carnation make it spicy and slightly sweet and peppery, and mouth-watering, almost edible. I went through an entire 3.3 oz bottle and recently purchased another when they were having a 35% off sale this summer. The longevity is AMAZING. I can smell it on my skin 12+ hours. The bottle itself is beautiful but I really enjoy the fragrance. Yes, it is linear, not much will change over those 12 hours on your skin. But, it is the perfect blend of sweet, tart, spicy, and slightly gourmand (it is reminiscent of a hard candy). EDITED 12-03-2020: Royal Apothic was out of business for a while but now they are back! As of December 3, 2020, Noble Carnation is now out of stock. Seems like it is a pretty popular fragrance on their site.

I got a small bottle of this at one of our local shops yesterday. I had never heard of the manufacturer, but since I love carnation, cloves and sandalwood I thought I'd give it a try. This is a very nice, very soft sweetish (but not candy floss sweet) spicy scent. Unfortunately, it stays very close to the skin. No sillage to speak of and the longevity is ... well, it's practically D.O.A. Why? WHY? What's the point of making scents that don't last and that one can barely smell on oneself? Rhetorical question, really, so don't bother to reply. I've heard it all before and none of it was convincing. Pity, though. It's a lovely scent. I'm glad I only paid $20 for it.

PSA: I saw a few bottles of this brand at Burlington Coat Factory.