Guerlain: 57 posts

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

As much as I love the complex perfumes that are the olfactory equivalents of Tolstoy’s War and Peace, I am always looking forward to Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria collection, which tends to feature much more lighthearted fare. The selection runs the gamut from ingenious Pamplemousse to lovely Herba Fresca to decidedly dull and un-kiwi like Tutti Kiwi. This year’s Laurier Réglisse and Figue Iris caught my eye with their unusual and potentially brilliant pairings—bay leaf and licorice, fig and iris. I felt as curious about experimenting with these ideas in the kitchen as about smelling them on my skin. …

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

“Fill the tent with a variety of different perfumes: ambergris, musk and all sorts of scents, such as rose, orange flowers, jonquils, jasmine, hyacinth, carnation and other plants. This done, have placed there several gold censers filled with green aloes, ambergris, naddah and such like.”
from the 15th century Arab book The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight.*

The house of Guerlain has been enchanted with the East for much of its history, from Persian Bouquet (1840), Shalimar (1925) to Samsara (1989). In this light, it is not surprising to discover that Garden Sensuel and Oud Sensuel Huiles de Parfum released this spring are inspired by the perfume oil tradition of the Middle and Far East. The writings of Herodotus, Theophrastus, Pliny as well as the Arabian Nights Tales attest to the opulence and sophistication of Middle Eastern perfumery. If the 18th court of Louis XV was known as le cour parfumée (perfumed court), then that of Baghdad’s Abbasid Caliphs deserved this title more than 10 centuries earlier. …

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Ganache is a mixture of chocolate and cream, which is blended until a soft, melting and decadently rich texture is attained. For the newest addition to Guerlain’s L’Art et la Matiere collection, which already includes Angélique Noire, Bois d’Arménie, Rose Barbare, and Cuir Beluga, perfumer Thierry Wasser took the richness of ganache as inspiration for an iris scent. If you are a regular visitor to Bois de Jasmin’s pages, you already know of my fascination with the iris note. I find the scent derived from iris roots quite beguiling—it is half way between flower and root, vegetal matter and mineral dust. Discovering Iris Ganache was quite an interesting experience. It proved that iris, when made overly sweet, can lose its elegant character and assume quite a flamboyant demeanor.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

This review is for the Eau de Toilette version. Please also see my Eau de Parfum review (a superior interpretation, in my opinion.)

Guerlain Insolence is a curious study of contrasts. Upon the first inhale, the fragrance bursts into shades of Barbie doll pink, which would no doubt surprise a die-hard Guerlain lover. However, after a wild strawberry tinged 15 minutes, the composition pirouettes into an elegant heart dominated by violet, which rests on a creamy base of musk and woods. Initially, the nail polish remover sharpness of the top notes proved to be quite distracting, preventing me from making up my mind on Insolence. And yet, just when I thought that I had figured it out, Insolence managed to present an interesting facet. It revealed its Guerlain heart when given a fair trial. …

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The rainstorm… Après l’Ondée, which translates from French as “After the Rain Shower” seems like a radiant and exquisitely graceful composition, and yet there is the suggestion of a brooding darkness hiding in its opulent layers. My own relationship with it is complex; it is both a fragrance that served as a gateway for my intense passion for everything Guerlain and a scent of nostalgia. It reminds me of my first year in the United States, when feeling displaced and homesick, I would walk around Marshall Field’s, the large department store in downtown Chicago. The Guerlain counter, with its large booklet describing each fragrance, drew my attention. I was determined to find a perfume that would be mine because Guerlain had always fascinated me.

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