Carven: Pour Homme & Vetiver

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Carven are one of the most respected French perfume houses of the 20th century, and have created a plethora of truly iconic scents, least of all the imperishable 'Ma Griffe' in 1946. Founded by Carmen de Tommasso the year previously, the house of Carven quickly made a name for itself as an icon of chic forward thinking design at the forefront of a new post-war artistic liberation. It was this bold aesthetic spirit that brought the house to the attention of many, but it was the sensational fragrances that truly made the house linger in the hearts and minds of its devotees. With the release of these new scents, Carven has chosen to breathe new life into a pair of classic male fragrances so that they can be experienced by a new generation of perfumistas. In reformulating the scents to bring them in line with current olfactory palates, Carven has retained the heart and soul of the original fragrances.



The original Vetiver was released in 1957, and inspired a generation of similar scents thanks to its refined yet complex construction, typical of Carven scents at the time. An intense yet subtle woody chypre, Vetiver strikes the perfect balance between the sultry, sombre woods of its base notes, and a deft combination of citrus and floral accords in the top and middle, making for an endlessly wearable fragrance of style and poise.










By way of contrast, Pour Homme is a spicier composition that brings out the darker facets of its constituents. Created by a pair of prolific and highly regarded noses, Francis Kurkdjian and Patricia Choux, Pour Homme is a delicate yet robust composition based around only a few notes. This serves to highlight the many facets of its component parts; the subtle green woodiness of violet leaf is given space to reveal itself, while nutmeg in revealing its warmth yields a complex aromatic tone that brings great depth to the scent.





To see more of the Carven collection, and a host of other classic French perfume houses, check out our website here. 

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