Sylvaine Delacourte, long the Director of Fragrance Evaluation and Development at Guerlain,* has launched her own eponymous brand with The Musk Collection, a series of five fragrances (Dovana, Florentina, Helicriss, Lilylang and Smeraldo) based on white musk.
Starting with white musk bases, those precious, mysterious, secretive raw materials, this first collection of five perfumes will take you on a journey to discover 5 very different fragrance portraits.
Dovana ~ "Dovana means present in Lithuanian, this perfume has a cheerful, free character. The spontaneity of mandarin is highlighted by the majesty of ambrette and iris. A bouquet of delicate flowers, rose, neroli and heliotrope combine creating a kind of playfulness. Vanilla and sandalwood give this fragrance a gentle touch. I wanted to be able to smell the fragrance of my childhood soap within this perfume, the colour white describes it well, white being a symbol of purity and freshness."
Florentina ~ "To create Florentina, I was guided by the colour blue, a symbol of softness and tenderness. Florentina brings together all of my favourite fetish raw materials. Firstly almond, for it's rich yet fresh side, then irises from Florence, a majestic powdery flower and heliotrope another powdery flower with hints of vanilla, the whole thing punctuated with white musk and finally carnations which reveal themselves in this fragrance as spiced notes. The root of the vetiver from Haiti gives a woody vibe to this melody in blue. With Florentina I wanted to create an endearing feeling, extremely tender but also a sudden aroma of my childhood talcum powder."
Helicriss ~ "Helicriss, a hero borrowing the botanical name for the immortellle flower, 'Helichryse', has a very classy side, full of strength and charisma. It begins with a citrus tonic of grapefruit and lemon and then come the aromatic notes of cedar leaves and rosemary and sage as momentum gathers. Contrasted with a bouquet of spices and by the immortelle, in its wake comes an intense musk, magnified by the combination of frankincense/benzoin. The serious tone is embodied by patchouli and foam. If Helicriss were a colour it would be grey. A memory of my holidays in Corsica, it makes me think of the very distinctive fragrance of the scrub lands, a warm and welcoming scent."
Lilylang ~ "Lilylang has a glowing character which doesn't hide its more cosy musky, rebel side. If Lilylang were a colour it would be yellow. This garland of sunny flowers is strengthened by one of the most majestic flowers in perfume making, jasmine, which adds a radiant, sensual touch. I also wanted to lighten this with a happy hint of exotic lime, and with the freshness of baie rose from Madagascar. It reminds me of my holidays on the island of La Reunion where I discovered ylang-ylang, the perfect sunny flower. I wanted a fragrance which was a blend of skin and sand, heated by the sun."
Smeraldo ~ "Smeraldo, which means emerald in Italian has a spontaneous character. If Smeraldo were a colour it would be green. The Musky heart of Smeraldo is enlivened with the freshness of green plants. There are citrus peaks with the introduction of intriguing yuzu, it alternates between striking green notes from angelica root and resin green notes from the mastic tree. The base notes are vibrant and dynamic, embodied by the vetiver roots from Haiti. I wanted to create a perfume that was both detoxifying and purifying, like the fresh air in the morning, so I created a shock between two worlds: the liveliness which comes from the freshness of plants and the softness which comes from the musk."
Sylvaine Delacourte Dovana, Florentina, Helicriss, Lilylang and Smeraldo are available in 100 ml, £115 each.
(via sylvaine-delacourte)
* According to Monsieur Guerlain, she will now work for Guerlain as a consultant.
Well, these are not a pricy as they could be…? I’d try all of them but Smeraldo sounds the best.
Yes, if they had been double that price I would not have been surprised. Love the names of all of them too.
Same! I was thinking at least $190.
I guess that’s true. I admit they lost me at white musk, though. (Which has a lot to do with why / how Guerlain lost me, too.)
Fair enough. I’m not a huge fan of it either but it has its place. I hope Delacourte finds a good balance.
It absolutely has its place. Maybe what I mean is that from what I can see at Guerlain, SD’s style is not my style? I like much less of their modern output than most perfumistas do, I think.
Oh goodness what a coincidence! I am wearing Mon Precieux Nectar today and the white musk is really spoiling it for me. I haven’t enjoyed the recent Guerlains for a while now for that reason – I am blaming hormones
I wonder who are the perfumers behind these fragrances.
Yeah, no idea. Guerlain does not like to list the names of perfumers (other than Wasser) so guessing she will not either.
Like the notes, like the names, love the bottles!
Sold
I have Dovana and Florentina, I love them both, musc is one of my favorite notes and these two were loves at first sniff, the price is great too , I bought two since they had a special where when you order one, you get another one for free.
I forgot to tell about presentation, the bottles come in a very nice metallic case and they are very pretty.
The packaging is gorgeous isn’t it? Just love the bottle and the labels, well everything really. As I commented below, I have Dovana and want at least two more. Have no trouble throwing my money at Mme. Delacourte for a range this good. Also, very nice email conversation with Pierre, in Customer Service, who apparently took my parcel to the post office himself, and begged me to let him know when it arrived here. Talk about the personal touch.
He was the one who replied to my e-mails too, great personal customer service and the quality of the packaging and the perfumes really surprised me. I may get some of the others.
Good to know, thanks so much for commenting!
Sylvaine Delacourte is the nose behind the five frags. Of all of them I love Florintina best, followed by Lilylang. Gorgeous stuff!
She is a creative director, not a perfumer — by our definition, anyway, I don’t know what she calls herself.
Yeah, weird. I’ve seen her listed twice as the nose, but maybe it’s just a big secret as in “Pay no attention to the lady behind the curtain.”
Also true that many creative directors call themselves noses and/or perfumers — it’s not a precise term. She does, after all, make perfumes. Some creative directors will call what the perfumer the “technical perfumer” to differentiate. I have no quarrel with anybody’s terminology, it just isn’t how we use the term here
Love these. Have Dovana, and fully intend to purchase Florentina and Lilylang in the next few months. I don’t know if it’s for a limited time, but shipping was free (to Australia) when I purchased.
Free shipping to Australia is a good deal!
Sure is, I nearly fell off my chair when my cart was processed without any shipping charges. Also, the buy one get one free deal, mentioned by Hera, above. Who, in the modern world of perfume retail does that?
Thanks for this. I went on her website and you can get a discovery set of all 5 for £4, free postage. Samples are 0.06 fl oz, which is nearly 2ml I think? Looking forward to trying them.
Despite the white musk I am intrigued to try these – decent price and pretty bottles and nice customer service. The Helicriss and Smeraldo particularly appeal (subject to the white musk….)
For those of us with chronic pulmonary problems like bronchitis (and asthma), white musk and talcum powder scents are uncomfortable as is the texture of peanut butter. We can’t breathe!
While I wish Ms. Delacourte good luck with her new venture, I wish her bottles were more interesting. It’s be edifying to learn what her “real” title is now. Obviously she’s actually involved with the making of the scent profiles.
BTW: 115 British pounds =$190 Canadian dollars