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amomitiamyjep – :
A carnation burst that dries down to a spicy clove muddled with an angsty carnation and rose. On my skin, the clove overpowers the carnation after about 30 minutes. This fragrance is 90s rock and roll and has an in-your-face attitude. It leaves me with the impression of tattooed carnations and roses every time I sniff it!
DaChino – :
Comme des Garcons Series 2 is the best carnation fragrance, a bouquet of FRESH carnations!! Top 5 on my perfume wardrobe. I love it!
vsd716bedyWelty – :
When I tried this on, I nearly started weeping. Carnations are my mother’s favorite flower – they have, over the years, become mine as well – and this perfume, this gorgeous scent, is, on me, a true carnation soliflore.
I have been dreaming of wearing a perfectly perfect, beautiful carnation fragrance for years. So elated to have finally found one.
sasha.ter – :
a me piacciono i garofani, e anche molto. questo profumo, semplice e potente, sa di garofano, appunto, sostenuto da chiodi di garofano che non coprono l’odore del fiore, ma piuttosto conferiscono all’insieme una gradevolezza speziata punteggiata anche dal peperoncino. molto buono.
Fix75 – :
Ideal person: Dottie Smith (Killer Joe).
Ideal place: A school dance with a rowdy, and possibly older, date.
Ideal moment: The exact second a light flirtation crosses into something decidedly hotter, especially if that moment is a little trashy in some way.
General associations: First sexual feelings…putting away childish things and enjoying it…Lolita…lying to your parents in the name of unchaperoned adventure…minor indiscretions…small sins…big plans in a tiny town…the fun of heading out with too much makeup on for the first time to flirt with the vampires, unaware of the peril.
The above are the impressions Comme des Garcons Series 2 Carnation left with me, at its best. The drawbacks are that the throw is too weak and the longevity is equally flimsy. At more than $100 per bottle, those are serious strikes indeed. My chemistry failed me a little at first, too, and I spent a couple of hours amping something way too powdery that obsfucated the finer points of this scent. Just when it got good, it started to fade. Alas.
This would be best on someone with a zesty, slightly childish–in the sense of being inexhaustible–spirit. Someone young at heart, at least, if not in years. Sadly, I am none of those things.
Meamn789intitytek – :
Not bad. It smells “red”, which was what I was looking for. Strong carnation and even stronger clove. I’ve found that when you smell it at arm’s length, it’s clearly carnation, but when you press your nose right up close, it’s clove. Typical Comme des Garçons: atypical!
alekslog – :
This one is a lovely fragrance based on carnation and clove notes. At first I get more cloves, but later they only pronounce the spicy side of carnation smell. The heart is floral with roses and other flowers complementing the main, true-to-life carnation note, and it dries down to a carnation soliflore. On my skin, this perfume had a solid performance with fine sillage and maybe six hours of longevity with two sprays of it.
Series 2 Red: Carnation is totally unisex, in my opinion. I got a fair share of compliments when I wore this one and that surprised me a bit, honestly. While it’s not really an epitome of versatility, since it’s quite unmistakeable and unique, I can imagine wearing it in a lot of occasions nonetheless. However, I feel it can be bothersome if worn too often and/or if heavily applied.
8,5/10
kty553elipseskism – :
Exactly the kind of red-hot spice I dream of from a carnation perfume in the first 30 minutes, but I must reluctantly admit that it becomes a tad more powdery than I would like on the drydown. I don’t understand the point of such a weak sillage on a fun, fresh, extroverted scent like this, but that can be remedied by applying more. I also wish the longevity was better, but I suppose that’s the price of doing business with an EDT (too bad it doesn’t come in an EDP). I’m still looking for my perfect carnation, but if I can’t find it, it’ll be no burden to make do with this one.
orlyorlydavidov – :
What I expect from a carnation note is the powdery signature that I get from (mainly) male perfumes which contain it. However, sometimes this makes me forget that the initial smell of a carnation is not only very distinctive from other florals but more green and spicy.
The opening, just before it settles for the briefest few seconds is the most natural unadulterated carnation note I’ve smelled, truly it’s like sniffing the flowers themselves. Then the drydown is more characteristic (in perfume terms at least) as it becomes one of those powdered, spicy affairs maybe with a hint of rose in there and certainly that slight clovey edge that carnation has.
Its truly a very accurate presentation of a carnation based perfume but a bit weird considering how dated this sort of thing is and how contemporary and avant garde CDG are as a brand. Just goes to show they will have a crack at anything!
Even though Carnation is a complex smell in itself there’s not a great deal going on in here and it’s just not really to my taste…I don’t hate it though.
cifronews2010 – :
A blind buy. Comments range from weird to Mosque-like. Indeed, this is for the bold, not for those who are looking for a safe perfume. This starts off spicy and delve into a powder, intense perfume with the clove. Then the pepper. Then the rose. I say this is not for me, but I still spray it from time to time as you can’t really find a substitute for such a scent. Please try it out before deciding.
RomaJkaaaa – :
This went pretty linear on me, with a moderate sillage. It was like a cross between tear-gas and Big Red gum (remember those?). I would have preferred to taste this perfume as a spicy candy for 10 minutes, instead of breathing it in for 6 hours. I love CdG but this was a bust for me. 🙁
Arthur10 – :
Wow – someone sent me a sample of this and, despite being a lifelong hater of eugenol/carnations/cloves etc., I’m actually quite liking it!
The ‘carnation’ is quite well ensconsed in something…. almost medicinal smelling. The first sniff of my hand brought the expected carnation – but bearable and markedly mixed with cherry lip sweeties! The whole thing reminds me of something else, can’t put my finger on it but whatever it is I haven’t smelled it for a very very long time – way back in childhood I think.
I could almost wear this. The eugenol has been tamed, refined, tarted up.
A surprise! Will keep this little vial for the odd exploratory sniff…
nik13b30 – :
I bought a bottle of this last week, fresh from a reputable store. Longevity is quite weak on me, and that’s not a problem I usually have with perfumes. It’s a very tame carnation scent, not spicy at all. If you’re looking for a big carnation scent, look elsewhere.
BURA – :
This one is exactly as I expected it. It’s a lovely carnation fragrance, however too close to the others I have. It was a blind buy and I am ok with it, but I probably wouldn’t have bought it if I had tested it beforehand. For someone who hasn’t got any carnation perfumes (Bellodgia, Malmaison… Spellbound) and wants one – this is great.
mce968speagoessenda – :
I love the smell of carnations which is why I really wanted to like this fragrance.
Here is my impression: after dabbing it on, it smells like convenience store incense for about 2 hours. Really bothersome to me. I think it is the jasmine that makes it so cloying.
After a couple of hours it finally settles into the scent I had been hoping for- carnations/cloves but the nasty jasmine small still lurks under the surface.
djozef – :
Somehow I recently came to love the smell of carnations because of their spiciness and green flowershop freshness. There really aren’t a whole lot of perfumes out there that feature carnations, so I was intrigued from the beginning. This is clean, clovey and spicy. It does have some sweetness, and the rose brightens it up a bit. When I smell it from the bottle it reminds me of Bigelow’s Constant Comment tea, which I love. This is a very hot scent and it actually makes me feel warm when I wear it. The whole thing softens after a while and becomes slightly powdery, but the spice and carnations never go away. This is a really pretty and unique scent for winter.
refreger2010 – :
Buttery, warm carnation soliflore. All of the notes work well together to smell like warm carnations. I smell a very light soapy rose and clove with a jasmine that smells a little more like honeysuckle.
An homage to 1950’s clove and carnation scents
nadegda – :
CdG Carnation begins with a mostly bitter slightly sweet waxy green floral aroma. Doesn’t necessarily remind me of a carnation, but more of a lily vibe. It very quickly changes, and gains a powdery aroma -and perhaps a whisper of an incense?- that takes away from the intial freshness. Then the clove tries to seep through the powder but is tragically muddied by it. I’m familiar with carnations that smell very sweet, fresh, and like crisp ground cloves – and that is the fragrance I was looking for with this scent. This doesn’t smell like burying your nose into a lovely dewy bright bouquet of carnations, but instead smells something like an incense stick interpretation of carnation. I just don’t understand the powdery note. I think it causes it to smell outdated and blah. This wears fairly close to the skin. Longevity is okay. If you’re looking for fresh carnation I’d suggest you seek elsewhere.
acereeFiego – :
A minimalistic, straight forward and tremendously realistic take on carnation reinforced by a consistent dose of clove and a slightly (slightly) powdery rose note.
While carnation is surely the main note at the same time clove plays an important role. It is really well rendered and never overdone so to avoid conjuring images of dental offices, clove cigarettes, baking hams and stuff like that. It adds the right amount of body and paired with a subtle note of pimento provides an intriguing piquant vibe. Rose and other floral patterns refine the fragrance with a discreet yet essential presence.
Possibly among the most gender neutral carnation-based compositions around. Easy to wear and pretty distinctive. Very well done.
Ratign: 7-7.5/10
igrishin – :
Pretty scent. Reminds me a lot of the Roger & Gallet Carnation soap (“oeillet mignardise”.) Thankfully the strong pepper notes of the opening mellow after 20 minutes, then it is just pure floral beauty, very feminine, clean and powdery (but not in a sickening way.) Very impressed. Think I might get meself a bottle!
mkmovies – :
Nice carnation scent but the clean musk smell in this fragrance ruins it for me
hgh873elipseskism – :
I did a small test spritz on the inside of my elbow when I was at a CdG boutique. . It was still there more than 24 hours later. One of the longest lasting ones I have ever encountered. To me, it is exactly like the carnations my father used to buy for us to wear to church on Mothers’ Day. Or like opening a florist refrigerator that is filled with carnations. That fresh, dewy feeling is there. In my naive opinion, it is a carnation soliflore. I don’t get much clove, although it is probably part of the formula to create the carnation. A bit of rose and related florals becomes detectable along the way. I would like to hear if any guys try to wear this. I am considering FB purchase!
pai107 – :
Very sad. Yes, peppery. Eventually clove. Waited and waited but no carnations. All gone in a powdery finish. Perhaps my sample had gone off? Still looking for the carnation replacement for the beautifully spicy, slightly sweet, last all day one Crabtree & Evelyn made (before the Malaysian buy discontinued it in the late 90’s).
shurup2006 – :
It’s harmony with clove and carnation.
2 Red Carnation starts with a very prominent clove note whose sharp spiciness is mellowed with a sweet floral note.But at the same time, this sweet clove note bears a heat with it which I not only feel on the skin but also on the nerves. As it starts to settle, it goes in the background and all you get is an emerging note of carnation. Here this carnation note reminds me of the florist, at whose shop, I always used to stop by to take a whiff of fresh flowers when I was taking my yoga teacher training classes.
This fragrance has meditative property and smells very calming on the nerves. A soothing carnation fragrance with a soft undertone of spicy clove. A must for carnation lovers.
Thanks Juliette has a gun for the sample!
8/10
starec999 – :
I wore it a couples of times in a club and it was a bloody magnet! Somebody told me that night, it smells pretty much like love. Well, not exactly like love to me but it has that spiciness of the cloves along with the freshness of the carnation flower which completely ROCKS and it’s more lust than love.
And that drydown, OMG, it’s exactly the feeling you get after the lust is satisfied. You know, that feeling of being at the right place, the right time, with the right person..
Respect to Evelyn.
mislivez – :
Having tested a few Comme de Garcon, there is one thing I know. Be prepared for a non-conventional perfume that will at best mesmerise and at worst, command respect.
Red Carnation did not fail to deliver on its non conformity with an initial blast of cloves that reeked of dental first aid. Hidden amongst this uncompromising opening was the suggestion of pimento which ultimately overtook the clove to mellow into a gorgeous creamy drydown that balances spice with a hint of sweetness.
Has it mesmerised me? -Partially
Do I respect it as a unique and well crafted perfume? -Totally
RomaTerya – :
When I think of carnations, I think of cold weather and this is how this fragrance opens for me.
Fresh, crisp aroma of carnations with a little cool green undertone that reminds me of the flower’s blue/green stems.
As it heats up on my skin, I get the bitter zing of cloves. Carnation has a peppery undertone anyway and the addition of spices really enliven the heart. Rose refines the sharp edges and jasmine adds a little sweet whisper. The clove intensity starts to teeter the whole composition off balance, almost giving me a numbness to my tongue (much like the effect of cloves in natural medicine for treating toothaches), but then it seems to level out with the dry down.
The finish is like pure carnation where the spices give just the right amount of depth without any obvious heat. Definitely worth the wait. Still cool to my nose despite the firey ingredients.
A must for carnation lovers.
мусильда – :
One of the finest carnation based scents out there!
The name pretty much says it all, but it’s spicy and fresh at the same time. The pimento creates a fantastic addition to soft rose notes, and jasmine sweetens up the composition just a little bit, enough for the whole juice not to get too sweet but it also prevents it from being sharp. As compared to the other fragrances from the Red Series, this is definitely the nicest one, and it is naturale, wearable, and uplifting.
As compared to Etro Dianthus, it’s lasting power is much much better, Etro being EDC lasts about an hour or so, while you can count a few hours at the very least for the CdG one. Thumbs up! I might have found the ultimate carnation!
bananaqva – :
Smells just like the little carnations ( Dianthus Barbatus) that grow in the garden in little but thick bunches… Very very natural , no added spices. Even the cloves some people feel, are subdued to the carnation smell. Silage and lasting power are average. I wish the silage was stronger, it is a little too soft considering the price of this perfume. Plus it’s not discounted anywhere.
This is a carnation soliflore according to my nose, and I don’t understand why it’s classified as a spicy oriental.
Beautiful more than words can describe, delicate, serene, natural. A high quality perfume, very classy, elegant yet sensual, a pleasure to wear from morning till night.
corrado047 – :
Carnation is a beautiful spicy floral scent. Many people say it has too much clove and I disagree. It has the perfect amount, and after all another name for a carnation is a clove-pink. After the burst of clove the rose and jasmine are very easy to discern. I love this scent as it’s a unisex floral, a little sweet and powdery but crisp and bright. CDG were right that rose, jasmine and clove do smell like a carnation. It lasts well on on my skin and forever on my clothes.
temp2010 – :
I’ve been testing carnation fragrances recently, because I just adore the spicy-floral-green smell of fresh carnations. This is one of the better ones: very spicy, very floral. It lasts about four hours on me, enjoyable every minute.
But I continue to test. I’ll update when I choose my “winner” carnation.
Umfert – :
The beautiful, true soul of sweet carnations. Next to Coup de Fouet, it’s a bit fakey, but still lovely. Very like the cream perfume I used to have a million years ago.