L’Accord Code 119, released in the United States in January 2012, was created for Caron by in-house perfumer Richard Fraysse. Its “striking yet intimate” composition includes notes of blackcurrant bud, Egyptian jasmine, patchouli, blackberry, black pepper, vanilla, heliotrope, musk and amber. It’s one of several recent releases that seem intended to update Caron’s profile while maintaining continuity with the house’s heritage, which must be a difficult task for any century-old brand.

This perfume is promoted as “the House’s first fruity and floral fountain fragrance” and as “a bold yet deliciously sweet composition redolent of freshly-picked red summer berries with a rich, oriental woody base.” Let’s take that first quote first: surely Caron has offered fruit-and-flower blends before 2012? What about Acaciosa, with its pineapple note, or the citrus-topped Alpona? Well, it’s the first Caron fragrance to employ berry notes, that much is true; and I do agree with that latter description. I’d call L’Accord Code 119 (or just Accord 119, as the bottle is labeled) a fruity-wood fragrance rather than a fruity-floral…

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