”He slipped a green carnation into his evening coat, fixed it in its place with a pin, and looked at himself in the glass, the long glass that stood near the window of his London bedroom. The summer evening was so bright that he could see his double clearly, even though it was just upon seven o’clock. There he stood in his favourite and most characteristic attitude, with his left knee slightly bent, and his arms hanging at his sides, gazing, as a woman gazes at herself before she starts for a party.“
The novel The Green Carnation by Robert Hichens has been initially published anonymously in 1894. Oscar Wilde and his lover Lord Alfred Douglas, called ‚Bosie‘, are said to be the two main characters, Esmé Amarinth and Lord Reginald Hastings. The novel is definitely one of the inspirations for the same named fragrance by Friendly Fur.
In the 19th century the green carnation has been the distinctive mark of the bohemians and intellectuals, those mundane circles that debauched in the big arts. Is this how a gentleman smells? A dandy? A beautiful Dorian Gray?
The fragrance The Green Carnation is smoky green with a white vest. It’s created by the perfect perfumer for this genre: Mark Buxton. He has also made the first perfume for Friendly Fur, À Rebours.
For me The Green Carnation is a chilly incense scent. First I thought it smelled smoked. Not like smoked meat, but like the Chinese tea Lapsang Souchong, that has a smoky aroma and flavor. It gets its typical flavor being smoked with spruce wood or pinewood. Concerning The Green Carnation it is cedar wood, which reveals this impression to me in combination with incense. An intense pepper note activates every brain cell in a split-second and a dominant spicy vetiver note gives me the impression of licorice and eucalyptus, a little bit like Absinth. This green fay turns everybody’s head and has an extremely strong aura. You will definitely get a very strong presence with The Green Carnation. This scent leads and seduces. Like the beautiful man in front of the mirror striking a pose.
The flacon is an apothecary bottle with a dropper. A gentleman doesn’t vaporize, he applies his perfume. The fragrance comes with an authentic dried green carnation.
Category: unisex
Year: 2013
Perfumer: Mark Buxton
Notes: grapefruit, carnation, chamomile, cotton flower, pink pepper, vetiver, incense, whiskey, musk