New Fragrance Review- Caron L’Accord Code 119: “Sweet Seduction” + Fountain Sample Draw

Last week’s Elements Showcase in New York was a cornucopia of riches; a multitude of fragrances for home, bath, and body- and beauty products of exquisite quality and variety.


One of my major joys was meeting gracious Anne-Laure Marchal, Sales and Marketing Director for the House of  Caron.

Anne-Laure was kind enough to fill my tiny atomizer to the brim with Richard Fraysse’s 2011 launch L’Accord Code 119.


[Given the choice between eau de parfum and extrait, I chose the extrait]


Notes :

Cassis, blackberry, Egyptian jasmine, patchouli, black pepper, musk, heliotrope, amber, vanilla

I suppose one would have to characterize the scent: fruity-floriental..

I don’t feel that nomenclature fully conveys the subtleties of this new Caron release, which will be a fountain fragrance, and will  demonstrate the vitality still evident in the timeless House of Caron.


Cassis and blackberry are fruits which provide a tangy sweet/ tart introduction.

I’ve often heard others relate their approach/avoidance affair with cassis, as a distinctly urinous quality may be perceived by many.

To my nose, this note is not an issue in L’Accord, as the lush succulence of juicy blackberry modulates the more acidulated aroma of those small, potent cassis buds.

The mouth waters in anticipation of what is to follow…


Black pepper weaves its way between the fruits, and I always find this a very good thing, indeed. It pulls some of the sweetness from a fragrance, and contributes an arid spiciness in the process.

When you consider that several of the remaining notes are known for their pâtisserie-

like, honeyed effect- heliotrope, vanilla, amber– black pepper feels instinctively right.


Egyptian jasmine provides a welcome carnality, enabling one to feel like a Femme Fleur.-ripe, sensuous, lovely. Please pluck the petals…

Musk and patchouli provide the bed.

You provide the rest.

 

Despite my reference to ‘femme fleur’, this smells divine on men.

I’m not one to quibble over gender and fragrance appropriation- if it sings on your skin, then all is well!

 

  T hanks to Caron Paris located in New York we have a sample   of the eau de parfum of this beautiful scent available to a fortunate commenter.

Please, share with us your favorite Caron fragrance,  why you think it is called  code 119 (see editor's note) and your own tale of sweet seduction. Draw ends August 26, 2011.

 -Ida Meister, Senior Editor

All Art by Pablo Piccaso

Editor's note:  There is a mystery to the name. Could it be Alès Group, 119 Rue Salvador Allende? Is it the code name  for the fragrance? L'Acoorde Code 119 is the first fruity-floral urn fragrance and  won't be available until later this year

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27 comments

  • scentual healing says:

    My favorite Caron fragrance is also an urn fragrance the new delirs de rose. I think that the code 119 must be the name of the perfume formula. I love the artwork. yum blackberries, but it doesn’t sound too sweet if there is black pepper and patchouly.Please enter me in the draw. Sweet seduction was with my my first boyfriend in high school. He left roses on my locker, it was sweet and innocent, but this fragrance sounds very sensual

  • Wendy says:

    My favorite Caron, and the only one I have spent any real time with, is tabac blond. Perhaps it is called 119 in honor of post modernity.

  • Barbara says:

    My favorite Caron perfume (and I wish I owned one) is Narcisse Noir, oh the classics….This new one sounds delicious! As for the “119” I couldn’t venture to guess. That’s why they’re secrets, all the more alluring!

  • Melanie says:

    I’m really excited about this one: the notes sound wonderful (blackberry, heliotrope!), and a new Caron urn fragrance is a momentous occasion. My guess is that 119 stands for the address of the Ales Group. I love many of the Caron urns, but my very favorite is Farnesiana.

  • angie Cox says:

    I adore Caron’s Nuit de Noel and can only guess that 119 is the street address of Caron’s main factory.

  • Memory of Scent says:

    I haven’t tried any of the fountain perfumes of Caron and I would love to. I am only familiar with the masculine releases of this house and I love L’ Anarchiste. I love metallic notes in fragrances. A slight dose of clove gives a metallic aura to L’ Anarchiste. Blueberries, blackberries and cassis also give a metallic note. Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier use them in this way in many fragrances.

    Code 119 probably refers to the home address but I would really like to search IFRA regulations to see if it can lead to some regulation under this code they had to go around in order to build this fragrance.

  • brigitte says:

    My all time favorite Caron is vintage Nocturnes de Caron,which doesn’t get the adoration it deserves. I’m thinking code 119 may have something to do with the ingredients. As for secret seduction, that’s a secret between my husband and I!!! 🙂 Thank you for this draw!

  • Ceil says:

    My favorite Caron is Montaigne…I love both the vintage & the new…but I prefer the new version most. hmmm… might 119 be the number of ingredients in the accord?

  • sara says:

    My favorite Caron is a tossup between Narcisse Noir and Tabac Blond. Perhaps code 119 is the doorcode combination to the lab where the scent was created (yeah I know, too many detective novels….)

  • Patty says:

    It’s hard for me to choose between Farnesiana and Montaigne as a favorite, but right now Montaigne has a slight edge. My guess is that “Code 119” was the number of the formula that was ultimately chosen.

  • kjanicki says:

    My favourite Caron is Nuit de Noel and it might have been called code 119 because it was sample #119 that everyone decided was the best version.

  • Kyra says:

    I’d be delighted if “Code 119” was a big surprise, but I’m betting it is the address. Tabac Blond is by far my favorite, but it really seems best in fall and winter, so I wear a lot of Lady Caron in spring and summer.

  • Leslie says:

    I adore Caron’s Parfume Sacre, admittedly the only one I’ve ever purchased…but so incredible for its incense notes…As for 119, I can’t imagine that it is named for anything other than its address…And as to sweet seduction, I was seduced by the scent of vanilla at a very young age. It was always the smell of home and my mother’s baking…and the smell of a woman who walked past me one day when I was a young girl and left this incredible fragrance in her wake. I knew that that had to be the most alluring scent in the universe and I feel that way to this day…!

  • Warum says:

    119 — my first association was reversed 9/11, but I hope that actually has nothing to do with it.

    119 could be January 19th in US calendar or 11th of September in European — someone’s birthday or an important date may be encrypted in there.

    It could have been an attempt number 🙂

    My favorite Caron so far is Tabac Blond in extrait. To me this perfume is a story of sweet seduction in and of itself. Could it be a forward youth coming over me, overwhelming me with his with long hair and the smell of leather jacket? Could it be my purse falling on the floor and spilling my floral perfume? Could our smells, hands, arms, leathers, I mean, skins, be mingling together? I am afraid it’s a swift seduction rather than a sweet one, but this is the effect Tabac Blond has on me.

  • Lynne1962 says:

    I like Parfum sacre,,,but have been wearing Eau de Reglisse this summer! I’m guessing the code 119 refers to the Ales Group address.
    Sweet Seduction is a good Riesling on a hot summer nite with my old honey at my side.

  • linda ross says:

    My favorite Caron is Parfum Sacre Intense and Parfum Sacre extrait. It is my holy grail perfume. It fits me like a glove. I cannot go a single day without sniffing it. I could not come up with a bespoke fragrance (if I had the money) that could be any more beautiful and as perfect as this. My newest Caron love is the Narcisse Blanc extrait. it is heavenly but Parfum Sacrre is the perfume that fit all my wildest dreams!!. It was made for me. I never tire of it. I would say the L”accord 19 is the address.

  • Lisa says:

    It’s so hard to choose a favorite Caron!

    I love the classic violet in N’Aimez Que Moi, the interpretation of carnation in Bellodgia, and the soft, incense-tinged spices of Parfum Sacre.

    I think I just talked myself into choosing Parfum Sacre Intense.

    As for the name, I distinctly remember reading that the number 119 is in honor of the main factory address, where Patrick Ales and Richard Fraysse reached an agreement/accord about the direction for the new fragrance which would become Accord 119.

  • civava says:

    My favorite is Tabac Blond and I also like Montaigne very much. No. 119 is the main factory address. My sweet seduction is dark chocolate with red pepper or chilli. Well one of things I would share here ;-).

  • Francesca Belanger says:

    My reaction to a lot of the Carons has been, Whoo, way too much for me! but perhaps I should revisit more of them as an older woman. I have to say my favorite is L’Accord 119. I fell in love with it when I got a precious EdP decant last fall from a friend who was returning from Paris.

    At Elements, I was at first disappointed at the way the EdP and the extrait smelled on paper. Too strong! But then I applied them to my wrists and spent the next several hours happily sniffing and comparing.

    To me this is full-bottle territory.

    This is precious stuff, and your review is apt and lovely, Ida.

  • Francesca Belanger says:

    Would like to add that I am happy they kept the original name, as opposed to Fruits and Flowers or whatever the American release was supposed to be called; I agree with Ida that fruity-floral or fruity-floriental seems over simplified for this complex, sophisticated scent.

  • Maureen says:

    My favorite Caron is Nuit de Noel. I think the 119 may have been a lover’s birthday. My tale of sweet seduction is after a high school dance the best-looking senior grabbed me and up against the side of the school kissed me silly, smiled and walked away. I was a sophomore and still remember it like it was yesterday, the surprize, tumultuous feelings in the pit of my stomach, the explosion of light deep in my chest, the dazed and confused aftermath. I married that guy…we were married for 30 years, until he passed 7 years ago.

  • kathleen says:

    I have been wanting to try this! Farnesiana, Nuit de Noel, Tabac Blond, all scents that must be in my wardrobe, at all times. I cannot begin to guess on the name. My own tale of sweet seduction?…it’s a secret…shh

  • Claudia says:

    Great question……maybe it too them 119 times to get the right formulation of this fragrance. Just a wild guess. My current favorite Caron is the Secret Oud and then followed by Tabac Blond. My tale of sweet seduction would be a bit to racy to air here 😉

  • Laura says:

    My favorite Caron is Farnesiana – I have the remains of a bottle from ages ago that belonged to my great-aunt. My guess for the name: perhaps it’s a tip of the hat to a woman associated with another kind of French cooking, just not of the perfume mixing-and-manipulating variety. Julia Child produced exactly 119 half-hour episodes of “The French Chef.” So perhaps this is a French nod to the American woman who did so much to get people interested in French cuisine, in the same way this seems to be a French nod to the American predilection for the fruity-floral – only done on a better budget and at a higher level. Very meta. 🙂

  • Fabrisse says:

    I use a mix of Or et Noir and Poivre as my winter perfume. I’ll wear either on it’s own, too. They’re such rich fragrances. I’ll see if I can wear 119. The patchouli may overwhelm on me.