rose: 52 posts

Created by perfumer  Jean Paul Guerlain in 1969, Chamade was a homage to Françoise Sagan’s novel La Chamade. Symbolizing a quick beating of the heart of those in love, “Chamade” is another enchanting name given to the Guerlain creation.

It is a blend, dominated primarily by hyacinth and blackcurrant. As Moslih Saadi, Persian poet who lived in 13^th c said,

If of thy mortal goods thou art bereft
And from thy slender store two loaves (of bread) alone to thee are left
Sell one, and with the dole
Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.”

Although hyacinth is one of my favorite flowers, I find that its lush exotic scent is often rendered as oily and heavy in perfumery. This is the case with Chamade, which starts out with a heavy green hyacinth note, however blackcurrant adds a tangy green layer, which cuts through the richness.

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Guerlain Nahéma was inspired by the French actress Catherine Deneuve. Perfumer Jean-Paul Guerlain explained to Elle Magazine that when he saw her in the film Benjamin ou Les mémoires d’un puceau, Deneuve enthralled him. “She appeared in a gilded cage scattered with roses… She was wearing a dress of white silk, and her hair was loose and ruffled like a golden halo — absolutely breathtaking.”

Nahéma, introduced in 1979, is likewise stunning–a voluptuous blend of rose, plum and ylang ylang, with dark accents of sandalwood and musk. It is a bold and dramatic fragrance foreshadowing the generation of big perfumes that would embody the glam & glitz of the 1980s–Dior Poison, Yves Saint Laurent Paris, Giorgio. Unfortunately, Nahéma arrived on the scene too early to appeal to the general public, and it flopped so badly that Guerlain had to sell a part of its real estate to keep the company afloat. Yet, even today Jean-Paul Guerlain names it as his most distinctive and original creation.

While Nahéma was toned down somewhat after its initial launch, it was not discontinued. Even today it can be found at the Guerlain counter, and it should not be missed. This sensual oriental perfume explores a brilliant combination of cool, watery hyacinth and rich-as-chocolate roses, with a haunting undercurrent of vanilla, dark woods and amber.

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