Guerlain – Bouquet de Faunes

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Leah

Guerlain – Bouquet de Faunes

Few fragrances are shrouded in as much mystery as Guerlain’s Bouquet de Faunes. The fragrance, which debuted in 1922, and its singular flacon designed by René Lalique in 1925 (reportedly his first and last for the house due to a clash of egos) is rarer than rare, appearing once in a blue moon in various auction houses, for a sum many times its weight in gold. And yet, miracles do happen (in my case, meeting and befriending a lifelong Guerlain collector), and I was beyond fortunate to secure a bottle for myself.

The little bits of information that I was able to gather about the fragrance over the years could not have possibly prepared me for my first encounter. The bottle, which was historically available in a few different variations, one with waves (as depicted in the advertisement), then later without, and even rendered in a subtle amethyst in its rarest form, is spectacular. The flacon features a face on each of its shoulders, alternating the visage of a faun with that of a woman, in what appears to be a reference to the face above the entrance at the 68 Champs. The smoky glass just slightly veils the parfum within, the darkest, densest fragrance I have ever laid eyes on, adding to its mystique.

The first time I held the bottle in my hands, I was tempted to stop right there: for what could possibly surpass the beauty of this vessel? I need not have worried. The meticulous nature and creative genius of Jacques Guerlain are immediately noticeable. Knowing that the fragrance was originally created to perfume furs and given the animalic potency of the other fur perfumes and leathers I have tested, I expected to be overpowered by its aroma.

Overpowered yes, but by its beauty rather than its strength. While the fragrance undoubtedly possesses a distinct animalic nature, it is rendered in the softest, velvety tones. Much like a perfect symphony is more than the sum of its parts, Bouquet de Faunes creates an overall impression more so than any other vintage Guerlain I have tested to date. Rather than being merely a collection of notes which result in a pleasant smell, Bouquet creates a mood, and imparts a feeling of comfort and well-being. In fact, its warmth reminds me more of a gentle deer faun sleeping peacefully on the rich forest floor, than of the playful, mischievous Pan.

DECORATION FOR AFTERNOON OF A FAUN – LEON NIKOLAJEWITSCH BAKST

Amethyst Bouquet de Faunes, Courtesy of Bragmayer Collection

Bouquet is linear to some extent, with no obvious blast of top-notes. It settles fairly quickly on the skin, revealing a beautiful melange of subtle floral notes and light animalic accords. While Bouquet reveals soft hints of jasmine, civet and the slight oiliness of castoreum (with perhaps a hint of patchouli), the main impression is that of warm, shadowy cloves, which are portrayed here with a softness not unlike the cloves in Caron’s Bellodgia. While Bouquet smells like no other fragrance I have ever encountered, it does share some similarities with other Guerlains. From Jicky, it inherited the silky, slightly icy quality, which is tempered here by the plush velvet richness of Shalimar. Its soft powder is rivaled only by L’Heure Bleue, but here we see it rendered in low, muted whispers.

Bouquet is without question one of Guerlain’s greatest masterpieces, a tribute to its creator Jacques Guerlain. While I wish beyond hope that this beauty would be more accessible (I even considered not reviewing it due to its rarity), I fear what the result would be given the severe restrictions on perfume materials and the current state of Guerlain fragrances. I fear I will have to content myself with taking surreptitious whiffs of the fragrance and dreaming of its jasmine sister.

Notes: Floral Notes, Animalic Notes, Clove

Bouquet and Jasmine Bouquet, Courtesy of the Bragmayer Collection

Thank You

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Leah

Thank You

Just a quick post today to express my gratitude to my readers and friends. The exploration of fragrances is something best shared, and there are many of you who have taught me much. Your support and encouragement means so much to me and I am deeply grateful. I will be back tomorrow with a post about a fragrance I am supremely fortunate to have encountered, so please check back. Happy Thanksgiving!

Guerlain – La Petite Robe Noire

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Leah

Guerlain – La Petite Robe Noire

Long have I put off reviewing this fragrance. In part, because I strive to give a fragrance ample time to reveal its charms, because we are all familiar with those loves that creep up on us unexpectedly. Not so with La Petite Robe Noire, released by Guerlain in 2009, at the hands of resident parfumeur Thierry Wasser. In all honesty, this fragrance never stood a chance. The name, a reference to the ubiquitous little black dress which is a must have in any woman’s wardrobe, felt like coercion: if you have only one perfume, it must be this one. The little black dress will make you instantly chic, instantly irresistible to every man in sight. You and every other woman on the planet.

Second, and a far worse offense, was the bottle. The beloved, inverted-heart Guerlain flacon, home to the hauntingly beautiful L’Heure Bleue and ground-breaking Mitsouko was “enhanced” with a cartoon drawing of a little black dress, presumably to lend a modern flair to the bottle. The fragrance was then marketed with a bizarre black caricature of a disjointed stick woman. The result was cartoonish and immature. My reaction the first time I beheld it was akin to seeing graffiti on the Louvre: it felt like the defacement of a monument. Finally, it felt like La Petite Robe Noire was intentionally everywhere. Gone was the magic of Guerlain: the sense of sophistication and genteel exclusivity.

I pushed these thoughts out of my mind and tried to form an unbiased impression of the scent. The opening reveals a dense, syrupy sweetness of synthetic black cherry, which has been described by many as reminiscent of Cherry Coke. Not being a fan of many fruity florals, the opening was difficult to endure, though subtle hints of anise waved a fan of promise. In what seemed like the ultimate irony, La Petite Robe Noir smells hot pink not black. As the sweetness subsided, a slight hint of smoky black tea signals the first turn for the interesting the fragrance takes.

The drydown, a dusky sweetened patchouli, left me somewhat confused. It seemed to bear no relation to the uber-girly opening and in fact seemed quite masculine in its execution. I preferred it to the opening, as it possessed a certain relative subtlety, but it seemed out of place in the composition. I also found it oddly similar to Bois d’Armenie, as though Guerlain had run out of ideas. No Guerlinade in sight, or perhaps worse still, this odd woody patchouli is the new Guerlinade.

All in all, La Petite Robe Noire seems like a poor knock-off of Coco Mademoiselle with a touch of Lolita Lempicka (and about a pound of sugar) for good measure. My intense love of Guerlain scents, with a few exceptions, has diminished a notch with each release after Samsara. Unless the house gets some new ideas soon (hint: bring back Mathilde Laurent), I fear that this may be the end, with a full stop.

Fruity Floral

Notes: Black Cherry, Black Rose, Patchouli, Smoked Tea

Reminder

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Leah

Reminder

Just a quick reminder to all to set your clocks, watches and sundials for the Guerlain mini-tour scheduled for today at 5:30PM Paris time. The link can be accessed here or directly from the Guerlain site.

Etat Libre d’Orange – The Afternoon of a Faun

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Leah

The Afternoon of a Faun by Etat Libre d’Orange

L’Aprés Midi D’un Faun or The Afternoon of a Faun was composed by the French poet Stéphane Mallarmé in 1865. The poem recounts the erotic imaginings of a Faun which comes upon two nymphs in the forest. Mallarmé was one of France’s four major poets of the second half of the 19th century, along with Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, and Arthur Rimbaud. He is noted as one of the pioneers of symbolism in poetry, and while critics argue that he often used obscure imagery to express emotional experience, The Afternoon of a Faun is very much to the point as illustrated below. Given the sexual content of the poem, one can only imagine what the “less sorrowful vapors” represent.

I adore it, the wrath of virgins, the wild

Delight of the sacred nude burden which slips

To escape from my hot lips drinking, as lightning

Flashes! the secret terror of the flesh:

From the feet of the cruel one to the heart of the timid

Who together lose an innocence, humid

With wild tears or less sorrowful vapours.

Mallarmé’s poems inspired Debussy’s tone poem (1894) of the same name, which was later interpreted into a ballet by Vaslav Nijinsky for the Ballet Russes. The 1912 ballet proved exceptionally scandalous for its unconventional choreography and graphic sexual depictions. Obviously, the use of this name for a perfume is meant to convey an entire catalog of associations and points to a highly animalic and sensual creation, and yet I cannot help but find that the perfume, while lovely, does not live up to the connotations.

The fragrance opens with a sharp and distinctly woody, herbaceous character, which is made somewhat opulent by the introduction of immortelle. Immortelle can manifest itself quite differently in different compositions, and here it takes on a sweet, tobacco-like character. At first application, I imagine myself to be in the woods with the Faun as he awakes from his slumber, but this is where the similarity to the tale ends.

As the fragrance progresses, it is punctuated by rose and the woody notes take on a more floral character, with a spicy, leathery aspect. While The Afternoon of a Faun does contain moss and leather notes suggestive of an animalic perfume, it does not reach the same depths as the vintage fragrances previously reviewed. Justin Vivian Bond and Ralf Schwieger’s creation for Etat Libre d’Orange is a decidedly modern interpretation on the Faun/Fur theme, one which touches on the lighter aspects of the forest, as opposed to the deeply sensual activities of the Faun. The perfume has an incredible sillage and potent lasting power, so a light application is suggested.

Spicy Woods

Notes: Bergamot, Pepper, Cinnamon, Incense, Rose, Immortal Flower, Orris, Jasmine, Myrrh of Namibia, Moss, Leather, Benzoin.

Virtual Tour

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Leah

Virtual Tour

Not surprisingly, it has become Guerlain week over here, as it has quite frankly been impossible to focus on anything else after seeing the incredible images of the newly-refurbished 68 Champs (see here). And if that weren’t enough, on Friday, November 22nd at 5:30PM (Paris Time), the Guerlain site will be offering its own virtual mini-tour of the new store on Google+ which can be accessed here.

Don’t forget to set your clocks, with adjustments for your time zone (Paris is 6 hours ahead of the East Coast at present). And to get the full effect of the tour, I recommend wearing your favorite Guerlain. I myself may actually wear several at once to simulate the effect which walking into a Guerlain boutique has on me – I am immediately tempted to cover myself in as many perfumes as possible!

Guerlain Revealed

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Leah

Guerlain Revealed

While I had hoped to get some behind the scenes photos of the unveiling of the newly-refurbished 68 Champs, the images I received were beyond my wildest dreams. In addition to seeing areas of exclusive access, there was bottle upon bottle of priceless, vintage Guerlains and lovely scented gloves – beautiful enough to make my breath catch and my heart skip a beat.

I am supremely indebted to Monsieur Bragmayer and the folks at Guerlain, especially Mme Sirot and the lovely Pauline, their senior perfume director. Enjoy!

Guerlain Premiere

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Leah

Guerlain Premiere

As I posted here, on November 18th, an exclusive party was held at the 68 Champs to unveil the most recent round of renovations to the flagship boutique. I have for you today some official photos which Guerlain/LVMH has authorized for release to the public, a virtual mini-tour of the newly-transformed store.

I hope to have some more exclusive, behind-the-scenes photos for you in the coming days, but this will give you a sense of the new direction LVMH has charted for the house of Guerlain. As one insider put it, and as the photos clearly reveal, this is a distinct departure from the spirit of Guerlain’s past. The boutique now spans all 6 floors of the historic building, and I am told that in addition to the Guerlain spa, there is now a restaurant. Needless to say, no expense was spared in repositioning the property.

The new store is without a doubt gorgeous and supremely luxurious – but at what ultimate cost? I for one cannot help but wish that the euros were being poured instead into Guerlain fragrances. At a minimum, I certainly wish that the house’s best seller, La Petite Robe Noire, had more to offer. But I am sure this comes as no surprise to the many perfumistas scouring the internet and second-hand shops for a drop of Guerlain’s most beloved creations of the past, and filling boards and blogs with laments of the current state of perfumery.

Spotlight on Guerlain

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Leah

Spotlight on Guerlain

I know I promised you several posts on fur perfumes, and I assure you I shall come through, but some things are too magical to pass up. I had posted here and here about the renovations underway at the Guerlain flagship store on 68 Champs. Unfortunately, I am afraid I left you without too many details – that is until now. A source was kind enough to share these photographs of the personalized invitation for the grand re-opening, scheduled for November 18, 2013 (which is needless to say by invitation only). My source has also granted me permission to share them with you, along with some exterior photos, the only condition being confidentiality of identity. Now, if I could only figure out how to get myself to Paris for the day. Hopefully, we will be able to get a sneak peak of the interior from the day of the event!

Faun by Ravel

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Leah

Faun by Ravel

Vaslav Nijinsky in L’Après midi d’un Faune, 1912

While I was unable to find much information on Ravel, the house which released Faun in 1945, I was able to find out that the Ravel Perfume Corp was established in Nice, France and later had a presence in New York City. The firm was fairly prodigious for its time, releasing nineteen perfumes over the span of twenty years, with names like Pagan (1945), Ecstasy ( 1950) and Moments-De-Passion (1955). While I have not had the opportunity to sample these other creations, given the character of Faun (as well as the none-too-subtle monikers), I would imagine them to be fairly sensual.

The fragrance has a bright, hesperidic opening of bergamot lightened and brightened by the presence of aldehydes. Immediately upon application, however, one is aware of the presence of an underlying warmth in the fragrance, a precursor of the fragrance’s ultimate personality. There is a slight hint of sweetness, courtesy of a subtle spicy fruit note not unlike the warm plum note of Rochas Femme which hints at sensuality and the scent of skin. The sweetness is fleeting however and serves largely as a bridge to the fragrance’s true character.

Overall, Faun is reminiscent of woods, moss and warm fur. While I have been unable to confirm any specific fragrance notes, I also detect a note of patchouli, enhancing the fragrance’s warm sensation. While any of these notes can be pushed to an extreme, creating an aggressive fragrance, all of these elements are rendered lightly in Faun. As the scent warms on the skin, it settles nicely and conveys the warmth of bodies and forest floors. While the scent definitely retains a distinct animalic character, it is tastefully rendered and suggests intimacy as opposed to vulgarity. Rather than the scent of the satyr himself, Faun seems to me more the scent of the beautiful nymph after a prolonged embrace with her forest companion.

Nymphs and Satyr by Adolphe Bouguereau

While the scent of fur perfumes can be difficult to imagine if one has never experienced this note, its animalic nature is reminiscent of the leather elements present in scents such as Chanel’s Cuir de Russie, softened and warmed by the mossy, pungent notes of oakmoss not unlike those in vintage Miss Dior. Faun is undoubtedly a scent of its time and those unaccustomed to vintage fragrances may find it challenging. However, if you are a fan of sensuous leather and oakmoss fragrances and of the sexuality their warmth and animalic notes allude to, this may be worth seeking out.

Notes: Hesperidic Notes, Floral Notes, Wood Notes, Animalic Notes

Quintessence

Perfume Reviews

Monthly Archives: November 2013