frapin caravelle epicee Archives

Nutmeg is one of the smells of the Holidays for me but I also realize it is one of my favorite perfume notes for the rest of the year as well. If I really wanted to stretch this point to its breaking point I could say without nutmeg my perfume journey might never have begun. If you want to spritz a little nutmeg on here are five of my favorites.

It was the nutmeg that lured me over to the woman spraying strips with Calvin Klein Obsession for Men. The 1986 perfume composed by Bob Slattery uses nutmeg as the leader of the spices in the heart. I knew when I smelled it wafting to my nose it smelled different than other masculine designed spice perfumes. Mr. Slattery adds in clove, coriander, and sage along with lavender and myrrh. It ends on a traditional woody base of sandalwood and vetiver. It is that spicy heart which still appeals to me almost thirty years later.

The most famous nutmeg perfume is likely Jo Malone Nutmeg & Ginger. At first created as a little present for Ms. Malone’s clients it would be the perfume which launched one of the earliest successful niche brands. Like all Jo Malone fragrances, you get a lot of what it says on the bottle as ginger rides in on the shoulders of neroli and lemon to meet nutmeg embracing cinnamon and clary sage before ending on a sandalwood base note. Everything that is admirable and what made Jo Malone something of a trendsetter is on display right from the start.

Sometimes I want my nutmeg as a side to some white flowers. My favorite white flower nutmeg combo plate is 1996’s Givenchy Organza created by a committee of Sophia Grojsman, Nathalie Lorson, and Sophie Labbe. Organza takes a green sappy accord and dives right into a heart of luscious gardenia and jasmine. The nutmeg forms a spicy sweet woody base with vanilla and cedar. You might think white flowers can’t be tamed with nutmeg, Organza proves that hypothesis incorrect.

A fellow forum poster on Basenotes gifted me a sample of Frapin Caravelle Epicee. If Obsession for Men started the journey Caravelle Epicee was when I completely fell down the rabbit hole. I frequently describe this 2007 creation by perfumer Jean-Marie Faugier as the hold of a Dutch East India company boat just after it is unloaded. Nutmeg and coriander are the first of many spices which form the olfactory spics ship. Thyme, allspice, pepper, and tobacco form the manifest. The smell of the wood of the ship is infused with patchouli. This is as close as I have to a single favorite perfume.

Carner Barcelona Rima XI composed by perfumer Sonia Constant is one of the softest spicy perfumes I own. It is a soft place to lay one’s head and allow nutmeg, cardamom, saffron, pepper, cinnamon, coriander, and mint to surround you in a spicy haze. You almost don’t notice the equally quiet jasmine and sandalwood but they make Rima XI the complete perfume that it is.

This was bit of a journey down my perfume lover’s memory lane with the scent of nutmeg accompanying me.

Disclosure: This review is based on bottles that I purchased of all the fragrances mentioned.

–Mark Behnke

Probably the question anyone who writes about perfume gets most is to name your “Top 5 or 10 or 25” Perfumes of All-Time. For those of us who spend our time trying everything new we can get our nose on as well as find times for our favorites it is an impossible question. I usually say something like I have enough trouble naming my Top 25 for a given year much less the Top 25 ever. This elicits a mix of reactions but mostly disappointment that I can’t point them to the absolute best perfume in the world. Heck maybe I’m a little disappointed I can’t do it either. There is a different version of this question though which I have had an answer for since 2007, “What is your desert island fragrance?”

To me this is a much different query than name the best fragrances ever. When asked what I would want to wear on a desert island it means to me a fragrance that would not be boring as I wore it every day. A fragrance that would be comforting and energizing. A fragrance which would be an olfactory Friday to my Robinson Crusoe or Wilson to my Tom Hanks. A fragrance which would remind me why I wanted to get off the island. For me that fragrance is 2007’s Frapin Caravelle Epicee.

I learned about Caravelle Epicee one morning in 2007 when a Basenotes member “Two Roads” listed it as his Scent of the Day followed by the note list: coriander, cardamom, clove, cumin, nutmeg, allspice, thyme, gaiac wood, patchouli, sandalwood, amber, and tobacco. He generously sent me a sample and a few days later I would wear it for the first time but not the last time.

Jeanne-Marie Faugier

Jeanne-Marie Faugier is the perfumer under the Creative Direction of Frapin’s David Frossard. Caravelle Epicee translates to Spice Ship and I have always seen it as an olfactory landscape of the hold of a 17^th Century Dutch East India Company ship just after it has unloaded its cargo after returning to its European port from a trip to the Indonesian Spice Islands. As you can tell from the list of notes above this is a veritable smorgasbord of spice. Mme Faugier is able to keep what could have been an unruly cacophony instead tuned to politeness with an almost genteel façade. This is why I describe it as standing in the hold after it has been unloaded because the spices seem to reach a certain level and then never get much more intense. After the spices there was obviously some tobacco also in the hold and then you smell the wood of the ship as the patchouli, gaiac, and sandalwood combine to give that accord. I also always get a tiny hint of an aquatic accord which captures the water just on the other side of the hull.

Caravelle Epicee has all-day longevity and average sillage.

There you have it and finally I have put this down in print so the next time I get asked this question I can just forward them this link.

Disclosure: this review is based on a bottle of Caravell Epicee that I purchased.

–Mark Behnke

My Favorite Things: Nutmeg

My Desert Island Perfume: Frapin Caravelle Epicee

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