Guerlain has provided the following list of fragrances that will be available in the newly renovated flagship store on the Champs Elysées (see picture here):
The following fragrances, all created by Jacques Guerlain and reconstituted by Jean Paul Guerlain, will be reissued: Kadine (1911), Sous Le Vent (1933), Cachet Juane (1937), Vega (1936) and Ode (1955).
7 fragrances created by Jean Paul Guerlain will be reissued, all in Eau de Parfum: Quand Vient l'Eté, Metalys (originally Metallica), Liu, Philtre d'Amour, Derby, Guerlinade, Attrape-Coeur (originally Guet Apens), and Purple Fantasy. Another Jean Paul Guerlain creation, Chant d'Arômes, will be available in Parfum.
There will also be a new line of fragrances called "L'Art et la Matière", described as "a laboratory where each 'nose' can freely express passion for an original, precious raw material". The first offerings from this line will be:
Rose Barbare, by Francis Kurkdjian, "a heady, incisive Ottoman rose (aldehydes) over a modern structure of honey-chypree notes".
Angélique Noire by Daniela Andrièr, "a composition based on angelica, well known to be an elixir promoting longevity. The bergamot and angelica notes are fresh, vibrant and slightly bitter. They contrast with the sophisticated fullness of the vanilla."
Cuir Beluga by Olivier Polge, "a fragrance suggesting the absolute, contemporary luxury of leather. An initial burst of aldehydic mandarin orange, strengthened by everlasting flowers or immortelles, contributes a luminosity all its own, then merges into deeper, sophisticated notes of leather, amber, heliotrope and vanilla."
Update: see reviews of Cuir Beluga, Rose Barbare & Angelique Noire.
The new Baby Guerlain scent will be available in a bottle which can be engraved with the child's name, with a pink or blue ribbon attached.
The new boutique will have its grand opening on June 6. The design is by Andrée Putman, interior designer, and Maxime d'Angeac, architect.
Ooh, leather. Keep me away from that one. I love me some leather fragrances. The other new ones sound eh to me.
T, I am wanting all those reissued Jacques Guerlain scents. Badly. Need to win the lottery.
How wonderful! I received an email yesterday from Isabelle Rousseau with similar information, except she did not provide a list of notes. She also said that products can be ordered from the boutique in France by calling or faxing:
Tel: 00 33 1 42 22 46 60
Fax: 00 33 1 45 48 11 33
Interestingly enough, do you notice this trend of including a range that allow for the freedom on the part of perfumer? Hermes has done it, so did Armani. Frederic Malle is built on that concept. I am curious to see what they are going to be like.
V, thanks so much! I am waiting to hear back from Ms. Rousseau about whether any of these will ever make their way to the States, but I am guessing the answer is no.
And very curious about your comment on the Armanis: I've never even read what nose (or noses) did these scents, do you know?
She basically said that no. Moreover, she confirmed the sad news that Guerlain is not planning to relaunch Après l'Ondée extrait de parfum.
Re: Armani, I am not sure. Before they were launched there was a talk of Pierre Bourdon, however now I am not so sure. I have not tried them, therefore I cannot even begin to surmise.
Wow! I love the notes in the Angelique Noir and actually all of them.
Do you know how long these fragrances, both the re-issues and the new L'Art line, will be available in the Paris store?
Hermes and Armani hiring different perfumers to do scents for them doesn't shock me as much as Guerlain doing it, but I suppose change is inevitable, and they need to outsource for perfumers as Mahora did not do so well for them and there doesn't seem to be a family successor good enough to do create new perfumes for the house. The descriptions for Cuir Beluga and Angelique Noir with their use of vanilla and heliotrope sound in keeping with their traditions, but Guerlain does not really excell in rose scents. Nahema to me is already their rose barbare; why create another one?
But this is silly carping, as I'm doing cartwheels over the news with the revival of Vega, Sous Le Vent, Ode and Voilette de Madame. If the revival is a success and will inspire a lemming-like movement for the other houses to reissue their discontinued scents, fantastic. Are you listening, Coty? Where's the Diorama, Dior?
V, I have tried 3 of the 4 Armani Prive scents, and I was not overly impressed. In my very humble opinion they do not measure up to the Hermessences.
Very sad on the Apres L'Ondee, although at least they have not discontinued it altogether.
No idea R! If I find out more I will certainly let you know.
Diorama! Wouldn't that be lovely. And yes, Coty is just crazy not to be digging through their back catalog. Chypre!!!
Now that Guerlain does not have its own nose (since JP retired), it is not surprising that they are starting to hire left and right. I do wonder whether they will give a permanent commission to someone, like Hermes did in the end, or whether they will pick and choose like other houses tend to do.
Which Hermessence do you like the most?
Thank you for this news, Robin!!
I hope you don't mind that I've posted it on PI…I was so excited about the forthcoming releases that I had to share it. I was in Paris a few weeks ago and the people at Guerlain (the store near Place de Vendome) didn't know anything about the Voilette or Mouchoir etc…
I adore Vetiver Tonka. I love Rose Ikebana, but not as much as the VT. The Ambre is pretty but not to my taste. The Poivre frankly smelled so unappealing on a card that I didn't put it on my skin, but of course, cards can be misleading.
Bear in mind that Jean Claude Ellena is one of my all time favorite noses!
Of course I don't mind — spread the news, LOL! I didn't repeat the news about Violette, Mouchoir, or Plus de Guerlain but you can find them in a search, I posted about them back in March.
Too funny, why don't companies ever tell their own SAs anything???
Thanks, R!
Well – just recovered from passing out. And the lovely Victoria posting the phone numbers. R – Do you know if they will ship to the US?? Not sure what I want the answer to be on that one 🙂
Can you believe how many fragrances they are bringing back? I am still in shock. I'll need to take out a 2nd mortgage on the house.
I take it from V's post above that they will ship. Trying not to think about it…
This is not really about perfume itself, but a little perfume gossip I heard when I first bought a bottle of Guerlain's Liu (one of the re-issued perfumes) bout 5 years ago. Liu smells just like Chanel No. 5, and when I bought it the sales person told me that it was created for Rose Kennedy. She wanted a perfume that smelled just like Chanel No. 5, but didn't want to wear No. 5 itself. Apparently her husband Joe had had an affair with Coco Chanel, so the thought of wearing a Chanel perfume was anathema to her. Guerlain created Liu so Rose Kennedy could have her own Chanel No. 5.
Wow, that is a wonderful story! Thanks for posting.
I can not believe they are bringing back Chant d'Aromes parfum. I actually splurged on the vintage, and when the reissue comes out I'd love to compare them. Lots of Guerlain to discover soon…I'm excited.
It would be more exciting if I had a trip to Paris planned soon! Shipping these over just to try them will be no small expense 😉