Alpona
Caron (1939)

A most unusual combination of oak moss chypre and citrus candied sweetness. You wouldn't think at first that this could be successfully pulled off, but Caron manages to do so.

Homme de Gres and R&G's Le Jade come to mind as other successful combos of these two qualities of citrus and chypre, the first using lemon and bergamot and the second using lime.

I believe Le Jade pre-dates Alpona, so may have influenced this scent, but the Caron delivers beautifully, irregardless.

Although marketed for women, this is a perfectly fine unisex scent.

Recommended.

I couldn't get past those men's shower gel associations... what really impresses me here is that it is marketed to women, now that they are all supposed to smell like sweet candy.

A beautiful chypre and lighter than I thought it would be. I get a lot of vetiver on my skin with citrussy notes plus orange blossom . It's bright and unisex. Starts off a little bitter and dry and then turns sweeter. Still the vetiver is pretty strong here. I hear this is now discontinued.

Up front, Caron is the only house I will buy blind. Alpona is one such purchase. I'll admit that when I first sniffed it my faith wavered, as this has a STRONG smokey opening.I forgot that Carons always burst forth with a stink. After the 40 minute compulsory wait, I knew I had another hit.This scent never loses its edge, which is why I"m so enamored with it. I would call it a 'raspy woody chypre garnished with a kiss of citrus'. There's just nothing like it (but vintage Cabochard might be close.) Longevity and sillage better than average. Certainly could be worn by either sex. I'm not sure of the year of my decant, but this is one I will certainly replace when gone. A Big thumbs up!

Definitely bursts on to the scene with a full bodied orage oakmoss note.I seemed to bypass the middle notes and quite early in the drydownthe musk with its spicyness emerged.This is indeed androgynous in a edgy way.I use it anytime.

I got a sample from an older bottle. This Alpona is amazing. It predates O de Lancome by three decades, and now I see how the later fragrance owes a debt of gratitude to its predecessor. Both are remarkable members of an old-school Chypre genre featuring citrus and herbs. Both start with a tangy citrus, closely accompanied by a sweet heart note, before dropping gradually into a drier herbal finish. In Alpona, the landing is cusioned by the signature Caron powdery soft base, while O de Lancome has a clear base. Thyme is the featured herb in Alpona, while rosemary is predominant in O de Lancome. My favorite aspect of Alpona is the candied-lemon-and-grapefruit-peel scent coupled with the powdery background, which creates an aroma like sifted flour during the making of holiday cake. The herbal ending is too dry for my liking. If it had a long-lasting sweet base, it would approach Holy Grail territory.