PARFUMS DE MARLY
CARIOS
2025
bergamot
red mandarin
Pink pepper
Saffron
Black pepper
red thyme
geranium
cedarwood
Ambroxan
tonka bean
vetiver
Part of the 2025 set of Extraits: Carios, Eragon & Valero.
‘Carios Extrait de Parfum embodies radiant elegance: juicy red mandarin, vibrant red thyme, and roasted tonka beans intertwine in a luminous trail with a distinctive character.’ – Parfums de Marly
‘Carios is an extremely powerful trail that breaks the rules and instantly makes and impression. The freshness of red mandarin and thyme is disrupted by the warmth of tonka bean.’ – Julien Sprecher
Generally speaking, this collection of Parfums de Marly Extraits (Carios, Eragon & Valero) is hard to take serious. The bottles, while not ugly on their own, look like Middle Eastern copies of Parfums de Marly. More importantly, the raised price point, for what was already one of the most overpriced fragrance brands on the market, instantly opens them up to harsher criticism. Frankly, I went into reviewing them, expecting to dislike them. In reality; they are not bad; they are on par with what Parfums de Marly has put out before and I think I like all 3 better than previous release Castley.
Carios is the most traditional smelling. Whereas Valero smells like a more youthful, modern designer, I’d say Carios has most of the masculine cologne familiarity.
It’s a blend of aromatic and sweet, but I much prefer it here over the way Castley did it. It’s abstract/non-descript, but not in a bad way. It doesn’t have the typical modern sweet designer cloud that smells like you just walked into a Sephora. Instead, it stays closer to what may have some nostalgic connotations and older men’s shower gels.
In that sense, this one feels a tad more geared towards middle-aged/older wearers, whereas Valero feels aimed at teenagers and twentiers in my opinion. Carios does nothing really interesting and definitely nothing new, but it wears pretty nicely. Setting price aside, I think it’s okay… but it’s not a style that should even be considered at its price point.
