Pour un Homme by Caron, an iconic fragrance. The founder of the Caron house was named Ernest Daltroff. He was born in 1867 in Haute-Loire. In 1902, together with his brother Raoul, he acquired a haberdashery-perfumery, the Émilia house.
The Caron perfume house opened at the beginning of the 20th century under the guidance of the talented perfumer Ernest Daltroff. There he would offer great fragrances, the best known of which, to this day, are Fleurs de Rocaille and, of course, the icon of men's perfumery, Pour un Homme. Indeed, Pour un Homme, released in 1934, already had everything to please men. Innovative, modern but also tremendously reassuring, Pour un Homme would create both an event and the advent of Caron perfumery.
When Ernest Daltroff finally offered a modern masculine fragrance with Pour un Homme…
In the 1930s, women's perfumery was diversifying with great successes such as N°5 by Chanel or Fleurs de Rocaille by Caron. Yet, when it came to men's fragrances, eaux de Cologne remained the norm, and fragrances with sillage were reserved solely for women. But Ernest Daltroff, owner of the now famous Caron house, would finally offer them something new with a true fragrance, Pour un Homme.
Pour un Homme came to upend the codes of these masculine waters by offering, for the very first time, both relatively classic aromatic and citrus accords while also projecting floral notes and a powerful woody sillage. Thus lavender, so beloved by men, met vanilla, a scent men knew absolutely nothing about, except when they smelled the necks of their beloved wives…
The composition of Pour un Homme is so different, and above all so avant-garde, that it would stand the test of time without ever growing dull. Better still, Pour un Homme is just as appreciated by men as by women, which could almost make it unisex, a great audacity for the time!
The revolution lies in having launched it as a fragrance for men, so different from the eternal Eau de Cologne that had until then been reserved for them. The recipe is simple and well balanced. That is the key to standing the test of time. Romain Alès, Caron, about Pour un Homme.
Pour un Homme by Caron, or the surprising pairing of lavender and vanilla
Ernest Daltroff was a perfumer passionate about his craft but also a great traveler who enjoyed bringing back rare raw materials from every trip to the ends of the earth, materials that would become ingredients for his next fragrances. Pour un Homme was built mainly around the lavender note that he knew so well, paired with vanilla that he had brought back from one of his travels.
Thus Pour un Homme opens on a fresh, citrus start of bergamot and lemon. To these citrus notes, Ernest Daltroff added a magnificent cocktail of aromatic herbs, with lavender reigning supreme. At the heart, rose brings this Pour un Homme a touch of delicacy and sophistication never before seen in a men's fragrance, one that, decades later, would be echoed in other fragrances such as Dior Homme or Le Mâle. Finally, vanilla, the opulent, sweet host of this great masculine, forms with tonka bean a pairing of sensual, gourmand notes that finds its place in cottony, comforting white musks.