Carven Le Parfum
Carven (2013)

I got a sealed original 2013 50 ml bottle of this on ebay the other day. It’s so gorgeous and the drydown really delivers an addictive osmanthus and sandalwood perfection. Excellent sillage (not too much, not too little) and decent longevity (6-8 hours). Carven Le Parfum is an utterly beautiful, feminine scent in all stages. The rare blind buy that works out...so glad I tried it.

(I also got a sealed original year bottle of its “little sister” – – Carven’s 2014 L’Eau de Toilette, but no similar luck with that one. The nicest thing I can say about it is the bottle is charming and the drydown is pretty. Lotta suffering to get there, however...)

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A lot of white flowers to make a nice fragrance, just like so many others. Longevity and sillage should be better.

Carven le parfum opens as a fresh and sweet springy floral scent with a light apricot/peachy fruity undertone.I can see traces of all the listed flowers though they're well-blended and non of them tries to overpower the others.as time passes it's sweetness mellows and it develops to a soft and crisp floral scent.gradually base notes showup,giving it some sophistication.patchouli isn't heavy or dirty here and sandalwood is subtle and creamy(more like a creamy soap mixed with flowers)I can also detect something like a hint of musk which makes it even more sensual.
What lasts with me for more than seven hours is a clean,gentle,softly powdery scent.it's youthful in an adult way and very classy without being showy.for me it was a like at first sniff and I'm still happy to have it and it's among my most used spring and summer perfumes.hyacinth and mandarin blossom usually bring early spring to my mind,that's why I see this best suited for spring,but it's also wearable during summer and early fall,soft and inoffensive enough for daywear and elegant enough for evenings.it even can make a good wedding perfume
If a gentle,clean,refined and ladylike in a french style perfume is your thing,there's a high chance for you to like carven le parfum.sillage is good when first sprayed but it soon calms down to a softer scent,still I can sometimes catch wiffs of it's pleasant and alluring scent

This is a bride's bouquet at a beautiful wedding where everyone is genuinely happy. Clear, solar florals, a soft drydown. Reminds me of the best examples of Korean celadon ceramics.

Oh dear. It's those same topnotes that are in everything - that Calyx peach mixed with berries and a pinch of mint. Carven adds a blast of bright citrus, but there's no denying that these topnotes are specifically dumbed down to appeal to the Uggs-and-leggings crowd.

Thankfully, given some time, it fades to a really pleasant smell that I can best describe as a combination of salt-water taffy, bright citrus, and fabric softener. It's synthetic and non-specific, but in a way that's remarkably comforting. If it weren't for those stupid topnotes, I would have given it a thumbs up, but as it is, the best praise that I can give Le Parfum is that it's better than it's trying to be.

Inoffensive..also uninteresting.

As someone who loves most everything by Carven, I found this a disappointment-it seems to have that ubiquitous watery note combined with white flowers and a touch of woods. I guess I just expected something more, having gotten used to their high quality. The bottle is nice, though.

If Carven got rid of the synthetic aquatic note, and intensified the other notes in this, it would most likely be a big seller

My all-time favorite perfume is the original Robe d'Un Soir by Carven (1947).

Pros: Not too heavy
Cons: Not too distinguished