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Tuesday, January 06, 2009

The Third Man by Caron: Perfume Review

Le 3ème Homme was, in 1985, Caron's third offering for men (and yes, it was supposedly inspired by the eponymous movie). It remains one of their best. In my opinion, it is in fact one of the most attractive masculine scents created by anybody ever. And, as is often the case with chypres meant for men, it smells exquisite on feminine skin...in that chic noli me tangere way all good chypres do, only more so.

I am ordinarily not a big fan of lavender and thus the aromatic genre in general. And I am certainly not a fan of anise. In The Third Man, however, both notes are absolutely beautiful. Lavender gives the composition an attractively chilly feel, an intriguing aloofness without any harshness. This handsome stranger, tempts lavender, is someone you would be sorry not to get to know. Anise, together with citrus, lends the unexpectedly almost-gourmand accord of vanilla and tonka bean a certain inedible quality, a thrillingly poisonous aspect. This charmer with a sweet smile, warns anise, is someone you will one day regret meeting.

The spicy notes of geranium and carnation continue the piquant theme and further heat the blend. The mossy, ambery, woody base is the very epitome of classic chypre elegance. The Third Man is impeccable, dark and deep. They say, third time is lucky and I am sure a lot of people got lucky whilst wearing this.

To find out if it will do its magic for you, look for Le 3ème Homme on perfume.com, among other places.

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16 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anise with a "poisonous aspect"? A "sweet smile" one might regret meeting? I can't say your review makes any sense but the perfume sounds fascinating. I must try it, as I could sure use a little luck myself ;-)

12:40 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for the review! I own a bottle of this but wasn't aware that it was a chypre. Books could be written about what I don't know about fragrance identification ... lol

Chypres being my favorites my ultimate goal is to try as many as possible. This was extremely “bottleworthy” because 4.2oz is sold here in the USA at very very reasonable prices as is Yatagan.

Thanks again. Be well

12:47 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"poisonous aspect", "sweet smile" etc. might be allusions to the movie? I must sit through the next showing on classical movies channel but I've tried many times and the movie just doesn't hold my attention. I must admit that I've never been a big fan of Orson Welles.

12:56 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for review, Interesting review on perfume. Thanks again.
~David

6:40 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

M,
I will bring it for you to try. You might fall in love with it and regret meeting it.

8:42 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

fredricktoo,
I believe it is an aromatic chypre. The price is indeed wonderful. This and Yatagan are masterpieces to me.

8:44 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

PS. I am not fond of that movie nor of Welles, I have to admit. I just sort of imagined what this scent would be like if it were a man :-) I think it would be charming but maybe not all that nice :-)

8:45 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

David,
Thank you!

8:45 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Marina,
I love and wear almost all of Caron's men scents, they're delightful. I wish you reviewed more Caron perfumes. Just got a bottle of vintage Narcisse Noir extrait, wow! A very different beast from the modern one.

2:47 PM EST  
Blogger ScentScelf said...

In October, I went on a bit of a tear with Caron men's fragrances--Third Man, Pour Homme, L'Anarchiste. And I had a great time! Went ahead and got a FB of Third Man (because spouse can use it, right?), and generally keep my spray sample of Pour Homme with me as a kind of lavender aromatherapy.

It's always nice to hear someone else share the love, even though we know we need to allow room for different tastes... :)

4:02 PM EST  
Blogger Flora said...

I have somehow managed to avoid trying this, I can't imagine why - as a big Caron fan I adore Yatagan beyond all reason & I also love L'Anarchiste. I will just have to try NOT to think about Orson Welles when I do smell it... ;-D

1:35 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

nypogodi
you know, with the exception of men's scents and some select women's ones, Carons really don't suit me that well, not sure why.

9:06 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

ScentScelf
I think you and me share a couple of loves, the first that comes to mind is L'Ombre Fauve :-)

9:07 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Donna,
Just think of someone you do like when you smell this :-)

9:10 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The third man puts on a fine lavender-floral-anise show but falls apart in the second half due to mediocre quality of ingredients (main culprits: cedar, moss and musk) which make the drydown smell scratchy and wafer thin. Imagine a wide chested man with tiny legs. Still, its good value for money.

12:08 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you! I've been discovering Carons but have not tried the men's line yet (I'm a woman who is more than happy to wear good unisex frags). Just got my bottles of this and Yatagan from a discounter and I love this! I can see myself wearing this often and look forward to seeing how it blooms in summer heat.

9:47 AM EST  

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