14 Carnations

[Boudicca]

Possets description:
There is a passage in The Leopard where the dog digs up part of the garden as Prince Fabricio looks on. I imagine the thought of 14 carnations being dug up by the enthusiastic Bendico, and the scent of earth and surrounding plants are the backdrop for the scene. Add bit of fern. I think it is a ravishing scent. Very clean and uncomplicated but beautiful in a deep manner. By the way, The Leopard is very rich in descriptions of scents around the life of the protagonist, such an inspiring book!

[mina]

Carnations in all their incarnations. Light, spicy, floral.
Uncomplicated yes but not boring.

[thesibylqueen]

I am just in love with this one! In the bottle, there's a definite carnation scent, but it's rich and complex, with a hint of clove-y spiciness. Yet on the skin, I don't get any burn, just a very lovely perfume. I thought that, due to the mention of earth, there'd be that metallic earthy note from, say, Nuut, but that's not there. Instead, it's a more complicated dryness that I struggle to describe (obviously!). I've been wearing this one religiously all week, and it smells just awesome. Not overwhelming -- v little throw -- it's an intimate scent! -- and it lasts a few hours. I'll attempt something more this weekend but it's my favorite of the four I bought.

[sillageslut]

Wow this is great. Thank-you to Whiskerswhispers for selling me a decant. I thought there was no way 14 Carnations could come close to Silver Carnations but they are so different from each other that I will need both.
When first applied, I get fresh red carnations and a touch of rose (I think). Then the cloves starts to warm and oh my, it becomes so beautiful. I can only detect the rose during the wet stage. I don't get any earth (as in dirt), just a sense of something else with a little gravity to ground the scent, something resin like. The sillage (throw) is incredible and it is also very long lasting. Two snaps up!

[funkmoppet2]

Ok, yep, putting this one back in my cart. I was trying to reason with myself that, with Silver Carnations and my beloved Inez in my collection, do I really need another carnation scent. But it sounds different enough to both of those so yeah, yeah I do.

[cordelia blythe]

It is definitely different to Inez,in fact i think i love it more than Inez:) In the bottle & when you 1st put it on i get the beautiful ,spicy carnation goodness in all it's glory.It has a lot of throw at 1st but as someone else said it's an intimate scent & only stays a few hours but it's heavenly while it lasts.After the initial heady carnation an amazing rich earth starts to emerge.I've never had a scent with an earth/dirt element before so i was very curious as to how it would manifest itself & i was so impressed,i could almost imagine someone was turning over fresh,dark earth.Really surprising & a fabulous combination with the carnation.As it dries down the pretty green fern pokes it's head out & softly waves it's little dew tipped fronds about.It's a shame it didn't make the cut,i highly recommend you try it before it's gone.

[gypsyjolie]

wet: oh! honeyed spicy carnations, very airy and pretty!

drying: clove-y carnation and a lush fresh floral aspect - but so light and not cloying. It's almost the anthesis of the Silver base - so light, airy, and smooth. I am a floral hater, so trust me when I say this this is a great carnation without any sneeze or headache inducing floral-ness. Under the beautiful carnation, there is a subtle something that grounds the scent... I agree it seems more resin than dirt. It's not a heavy dirt like in Sex Juice or Nuut, anyway.

full drydown: Carnation fans, consider this. It's the clove and smooth creaminess of carnations - held in check with something airy and yet earthy. This is very lovely and would suit both cool and cold weather. I think this could be unisex if a guy was okay with a bit of floral creaminess. Tons of throw at first but dies back to a low throw pretty fast.

[funkmoppet2]

This has some mighty sillage, I have to say!

But it's a winner. Definitely very different to Inez and Silver Carnations. 14 Carnations is a rich and spicy clove/carnation combo that can have the honour of being one of the very few clove blends I like. It's an earthy blend, and has a difficult-to-pin-down depth to it that others have commented on, and I can only concur with. It's almost a muskiness to my nose.

A fabulous carnation blend that is, imo, easy to enjoy and effortless to wear. It doesn't threaten my beloved Inez's #1 carnation spot (leather beats clove with bells and a blindfold), but 14 Carnations is definitely worth having. Lovely, and I'd like to thank the enabling powers of the previous reviewers for helping me throw a bottle back into my cart after vacillating on it for weeks!

ETA (6/9/2015): Wow, gonna have to do a complete 180 on 14 Carnations. Most of the time, perfumes age into something even better on me, but very occasionally, the opposite happens. This is one of those times. What was a gorgeous carnation blend on me no becomes candy sweet and requires scrubbing off.