Way back in April 2013 I wrote a piece for Escentual called ‘G is for Guerlain’. Keeping with this week’s Guerlain theme, I’ve unearthed the article from The Candy Perfume Boy archives, for your reading pleasure. As part of my ‘Escentual A-Z of Fragrance’, the piece took a look at the industry’s most historic and esteemed house, right from their humble beginnings up until the present day, under the ‘new guard’ of LVMH and perfumer Thierry Wasser. Guerlain is a house steeped in history and it has evolved with the times to retain one of the key players in the industry. Click here to read the piece.
In case you haven’t noticed, I’m throwing an informal Guerlain party this week. So far we’ve taken a gander at the perplexing Shalimar Souffle de Parfum (which really should have been an Aqua Allegoria and not a flanker to their flagship fragrance) and the deliciously dizzy and decadent French Kiss, which puts me in a much better mood than the Souffle de Parfum does.
With Guerlain in mind, I thought I’d dedicate my Escentual column this week to a fragrance that doesn’t get the attention it deserves; My Insolence. A flanker the seriously over-the-top Insolence (Maurice Roucel; 2006), this softer interpretation is a gorgeous little vanilla and almond cuddle that shows the industry how a decent fruity floral should be done. Click here to read my review.
Two of my favourite things in the world have finally joined forces – perfume and pirates. Can you tell that this makes me happy?! The man to link these two excellent forces is none other than the cheekiest chap in fashion, Jean Paul Gaultier, who is just about to launch limited pirate editions of his flagship feminine and masculine fragrances, Classique (Jacques Cavallier; 1993) and Le Mâle (Francis Kurkdjian; 1995).
These two rum-swigging classics certainly know how to dress, rocking tattered striped garb marked with the must have centrepiece for any self-respecting pirate – the skull and cross bones. The scents remain the same masterpieces as ever, a glamorous and sensual floral oriental for Classique and a steroid-fuelled fougére for Le Mâle, with the swashbuckling bottles making for a must-have collector’s item.
So, if you’re looking for a little bit of an adventure on the high seas, then look no further than the fashionable shores of Island Gaultier.
“The intrepid couple. The legendary couple sets out on an exciting treasure hunt, which will take them to the far reaches of the open seas. Determined to face any sort of danger, the pirates raise the black glad and set sail.”
“Dare the French Kiss! But watch out, this glossy floral fragrance is highly addictive”
– Guerlain
One could never accuse Guerlain of being inconsistent in terms of their olfactory output. For nearly 200 years the Parisian Patisserie has crafted some of the greatest olfactory delicacies in the world, and they show no signs of stopping. With La Petite Robe Noire (a cherry liqourice folly) and L’Homme Ideal (a robust masculine with an almond twist), i.e., their recent gourmand output, Guerlain have shown, not only their uniquely French sense of humour, frivolity and style, but also their penchant for all that is edible. They’ve taken it to the mainstream and shown the lesser mortals in the industry just how a gourmand is done, and by all accounts it has been a very successful move for them.
It is no surprise, then, that the latest addition to their Les Élixirs Charnels collection, ‘French Kiss’, displays the exact same sense of fun, foody humour and style as their mainstream launches however, this one is entirely more decadent and over the top in comparison. Created by in-house perfumer, Thierry Wasser, Guerlain’s French Kiss, which has been launched to celebrate 20 years of Guerlain KissKiss lipsticks, is described as a “glossy floral that celebrates the French art of kissing” and an “elixir as spellbinding as a sensuous kiss.” Ooh err, Mrs.
Well here’s some news for you! Chanel is adding a new fragrance to its exclusive collection ‘Les Exclusifs de Chanel’. The fragrance is called ‘Misia’ and is the latest addition to the Chanel Exclusives since 2013’s 1932. The name pays homage to Misia Sert, piano player, artistic saloon owner and best buddy (well, friend) of none other than Coco Chanel, the founder of the Chanel brand.
Misia is the first fragrance created for Chanel by Oliver Polge (Dior Homme), the son of famous Chanel perfumer, Jacques Polge (Coco, Coco Mademoiselle, Antaeus and Egoiste etc.). The fragrance has been designed to be evocative of the 1920s, with prominent notes of Turkish rose and rose from Grasse. Misia is a fragrance “for the free and confident woman.”
Shalimar Souffle de Parfum – The Latest Incarnation of Guerlain’s 1925 Classic
“The sickness of making flankers every five minutes is very upsetting, but if I don’t want to get kicked out for not doing my job, I have to do it”
– Thierry Wasser ¹
Thierry Wasser, in-house perfumer at Guerlain, recently likened the penchant brands have for creating numerous flankers to a “sickness” and when looking at the numerous incarnatons of the house’s flagship fragrance, Shalimar, it’s easy to see why. In the last five years we’ve seen seven, that’s right, seven new Shalimar flankers ranging from the sublime Parfum Initial and Ode à la Vanille to the less interesting Parfum Initial L’Eau, and on occasions the brand has stretched the Shalimar association pretty thin.
With their latest flanker, Shalimar Souffle de Parfum, the link has become so emaciated it may have finally snapped. Sniffing the flanker, it’s pretty difficult to pick out exactly how the two fragrances are alike. Shalimar is a grand dame of the oriental world, showcasing bubbling bergamot, smoky-sweet vanilla powder and tons of heavy resins. Souffle de Parfum on the other hand is, well, the complete opposite of that. It may not be worthy of the Shalimar name, but does that mean that it’s a bad fragrance?
Guerlain describe Souffle de Parfum as a “gently perfumed caress” ² and a “breath of extreme sensuality” ², with the ‘Souffle’ here referring to the French word for breath, as opposed to anything culinary-related. It has been designed to celebrate the lighter facets of Shalimar, specifically focus on the shining citrus that famously graces the Oriental Queen’s top notes, and the plush vanilla that sits at her core. In that respect, Souffle de Parfum succeeds, merging these two themes together to create something that may, or may not be Shalimar, depending on how one looks at it.
When doing an A-Z Guide to Fragrance, as I have been doing for Escentual over the last two years, one finds some letters to be difficult. For example, ‘Q’ stumped me for quite some time, until I thought that it could be representative of ‘Questions’ (as in fragrant FAQs), and I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do for ‘X’ or ‘Z’, but they’re a little way off yet so let’s not panic. Anyway, some are hard to pick a theme for, whilst others are pretty easy. ‘S’ was one of the easy ones.
‘S’ could stand for ‘Shalimar’ or it could stand for ‘Sandalwood’. In fact, it could stand for many things. In my mind however, ‘S’ could only, and should only be representative of one thing in fragrance and that is ‘Serge Lutens’. Since the early ’90s, this olfactory enigma has been presenting us with some of the most beautiful, challenging, confusing and fascinating fragrances. He’s a man who speaks in riddles but presents olfactory tales in captivating prose. He is Serge Lutens, and there’s not much more to say than that. Click here to read this week’s Escentual column.
Leather fragrances all fall somewhere on a spectrum that spans from ‘Expensive Handbag’ to ‘Cow Hide’, with a great distance of space between both polar ends. On one side we have the likes of Bottega Veneta Eau de Parfum and Dior’s Cuir Cannage, olfactory interpretations of luxury leather goods, and on the other we have fragrances such as Mona di Orio’s Cuir, which is essentially chorizo in a bottle. Somewhere smack bang in the middle of this spectrum of suede is my favourite kind of leather – the “hell yeah I’m sexy” kind of leather.
To me, the ideal sexy leather fragrance is undeniably Tom Ford’s Tuscan Leather. Even the name is evocative of tumbles in the hay under the hot Italian sun – what could be more enticing, right?. Released in 2007 as part of the original crop of Private Blends, Tuscan Leather is not only dashingly handsome, it’s also the perfect scent for this chilly weather we’re having – it’s warm, enveloping and totally sexy. Too sexy, in fact. It’s use has to be restricted in our house because it is, without being distinctly raunchy, completely and utterly delectable. Did I mention that it’s sexy?
Legendary fashion house Yves Saint Laurent (now known as Saint Laurent Paris) has teamed up with historical Murano glass makers, Verrerie Verini, to create an exclusive edition of their 1983 fragrance, Paris. The perfume remains the same however, the bottle has been crafted into a multifaceted gem with varying hues of red and pink, almost like a sparkling piece of hard candy.
The edition is likely to set you back a fair few pennies (reports are that it is £5,000 – eek), but that doesn’t take away from just how gorgeous it is. Above you can find a video from Vogue Paris which shows the manufacturing process for this limited edition. It’s quite fascinating how these skilled artisans are able to make such beautiful glassware with such precision using traditional methods. Enjoy!
There is no subject in the world of perfume more likely to encourage a collective sigh than reformulations. Often one will hear cries of how the classics have been ruined by ever increasing regulations and the tightening of purse strings of brands who do not respect their heritage, and I don’t disagree. But it’s not all bad, and IFRA regulations are encouraging perfumers to be more creative with the way they make perfumes. Not to mention the fact that we’ve also seen some scents brought back from the verge of death in new formulations – fragrances such as Guerlain’s legendary Mitsouko, for example.
For my Escentual column last week (I’m a tad late putting it up here, apologies) I’ve continued the journey of my A-Z of perfume with the latest stop at ‘R’, which of course, stands for ‘Reformulation’. In the piece, I take a look at the reasons behind formula changes, from restrictions to regulations, as well as some of the revelations that the subject has to offer. So, if you’re in the mood to have a peek into the secret world of reformulation, please click here to head on over to Escentual.
The Candy Perfume Boy 