J. G. Mouson & Co.
J. G. Mouson & Co.
95 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Violet leaf snaps crisp and almost mentholated against bergamot's sunlit citrus, with that spoiled spice immediately introducing an off-kilter quality that unsettles expectations. The green-fresh accord dominates, almost herbaceous, making you question whether you're smelling a floral at all.
Tuberose blooms with creamy, slightly mushroomy richness whilst ylang ylang adds a honeyed, coconutty sweetness beneath. The Bulgarian rose softens the edges without retreating, and the powdery accords begin diffusing throughout, creating an increasingly ambiguous centre—is this sweet or green? Animalic or innocent? The fragrance is deliberately coy.
Ambergris warms the skin, providing a gentle animalic anchor that feels increasingly intimate and personal, whilst iris establishes itself as the dominant base note, delivering a soft, powdery, slightly dusty quality that lingers for hours. What remains is less a scent than a suggestion—powdery, faintly rose-tinged, comfortingly present without ever demanding attention.
Carmen is a fragrance that refuses to whisper. The violet leaf opens with a green-edged sharpness, cutting through the bergamot's citric warmth like a blade through silk—there's something almost herbal about this top accord, a quality that feels distinctly mid-century in its restraint. But restraint is merely the prelude. As the composition settles, tuberose and ylang ylang emerge with an almost indecent richness, the tuberose particularly assertive, creamy and slightly fermented against the cooler powdery notes trying to temper its effusiveness. Bulgarian rose threads through like a soprano holding steady whilst the other florals tumble forward.
What's remarkable about Carmen is this tension: the fresh, green opening wants to suggest transparency, but the heart absolutely refuses it. The "spoiled spice" note (likely clove or a fermented spice accord) adds an unsettling dimension, something slightly animalic and skin-scent intimate that complicates what might otherwise be a classical floral. There's a deliberate oddness here, a refusal to be merely pretty.
Add fragrances to your collection and unlock your personalised scent DNA, note map, and shareable identity card.
3.8/5 (230)