Carnelian

My first sampling of new artisan fragrance house, Vartan Perfumes, and I'm very pleased. Carnelian is very warm, smells "golden" with amber, blonde (and gentle) tobacco, vanilla, cinnamon, sandalwood, carnation, vetiver and tonka bean. Sensual and unisex but slightly masculine. Carnelian has a slight vintage feel but is equally modern. Easy to wear, no particular note stands out dramatically or overwhelms. I find Carnelian to be cozy and comforting but has a bit of a sexy edge. I like it a lot and found myself sniffing all night. I could even still smell it slightly when I woke up so it appears to have great longevity. Natural smelling also, nothing about it feels synthetic. Based on my first sample from Vartan, I am very enthused about trying more.

Carnelian is a modern spicy oriental. The opening is a clean pepper and cinnamon that opens up into a beautiful heart of white tobacco flower and carnation. I love carnation in orientals and its pretty rare these days to see it used. The vetiver adds body and into the base we have a smooth tonka and vanilla drydown. Its worth exploring for its unique heart for an oriental. It sits super close to the skin .. Which i wish it had a stronger projection to share what a glorious heart this is. Longjevity is good. A very enjoyable modern oriental

My first try from the Vartan Perfumes line, Carnelian is as advertised---a warm semi-gourmand, a sweet and spicy mix of black pepper, cinnamon, tobacco, vanilla, and tonka. Carnation is advertised and perhaps the namesake, and while it's not a note I'm familiar with, there's certainly a floral side to it as well. It's comforting, warm, and clearly something I would enjoy more in cooler weather rather than warmer weather. It does lean ever so slightly feminine on my skin, perhaps due to that carnation note, but overall it's still quite unisex. I would have no problem reaching for it in the fall and winter pretty regularly. There is a sense from it in which, on my skin, it smells slightly more like a room fragrance than a personal fragrance--that is, I like the smell but not on me--but that might just be a question of timing or time of year. Overall a very pleasant entry and I'm looking forward to trying Library tomorrow. Carnelian is a smooth, elegant creation that embodies many of the cool weather gourmand elements that many of us love, along with tobacco. I'm not quite sure it's a match for my skin chemistry, but objectively it's good stuff. 7 out of 10

Carnelian is, hands down, my favorite of the Vartan line that I've tried and that truly surprised me; cinnamon and carnation are both dangerous notes for me, often smelling strange or overwhelming. Here they are perfect. The entirety of the scent is beautiful and I like the way I smell when I wear it. It's warm and very orange ; not orange like the fruit, orange like the color. Carnelian gemstones vary from the palest peach all the way to dark browns, just like the skin/flesh tones (carne) they are named after. And this scent does feel like skin to me. Like if skin itself could be perfumed with lightly spiced flowers. And then just emanate a steady scented warmth. It has a lovely and timeless vibe.

Like all Vartan perfumes, Carnelian is the high quality I've come to expect of Vartan. Close sillage and good longevity are typical with Vartan, as SuzanneS noted. Is it just me, or does this BEAUTIFUL unisex fragrance have a spiced orange aura? To me the combination of amber, carnation, and cinnamon/pepper gives an atmosphere of holiday cheer not unlike a refined, impressionistic tribute to clove studded oranges. Splendid! Recommended for all carnation lovers. :D Update - the longer Carnelian lingers on skin the RICHER the scent, owing to the depth of tobacco that emerges. Such a great, comforting unisex fragrance!

Dry saffron and animal leather/stables/dirty hay notes, plus some weird sweet note like synthetic tuberose. This didn't work on me at all.