Guerlain L’Ame d’un Heros

L’Ame d’un Héros, the Soul of a Hero. A part of Guerlain’s Les Parisiennes line, L’Ame d’un Héros is a bee bottle exclusive of a previously discontinued scent. It is billed as a men’s fragrance but smells versatile enough for both genders to pull off. LAme dun Heros

In Bottle: Fresh and crisp citrus and aromatic scent with a touch of woodsiness in the bottle.

Applied: Opens with lemon and sage and that dry, citrus sophistication of bergamot. L’Ame d’un Héros crashes into the mid-stage with a smooth and excellently blended heart of green aromatics with a juniper dominance. The dry down is a fantastic, subdued dry resinous fragrance. This isn’t like the many different mainstream fragrances that are billed as masculine or sporty. L’Ame d’un Héros is similar in concept but the execution takes it a few steps up. As with most Guerlains, it is a well-blended and complex mixture that just makes it smell better.

Extra: L’ame d’un Heros is a remake of Guerlain’s 1998 men’s fragrance, Coriolan. Coriolan is discontinued and it smells very similar to L’ame d’un Heros except for its strength. If you are looking for a lighter, more refined and subdued scent, L’ame d’un Heros is your fragrance. If you want power, projection and confidence, go get yourself a bottle of Coriolan. It should also be noted that Coriolan is much cheaper and is becoming more and more scarce on the second hand market.

Design: L’Ame d’un Héros like the rest of Les Parisiennes is bottled in a beautiful iconic bee bottle.

Fragrance Family: Woodsy Aromatic

Notes: Sage, neroli, bergamot, lemon, wormwood, cypress, juniper, basil, ylang-ylang, amber, patchouli, woods, vetiver.

I personally prefer the scent of L’Ame d’un Héros over Coriolan–but only because L’Ame d’un Héros is a quieter fragrance.

Reviewed in This Post: L’ame d’un Heros, 2008, Eau de Parfum.


The Popular Classics You Have to Smell

Anybody interested in perfume and perfume history would know about most of the popular classic fragrances. Many perfumistas probably own some. But for the rest of us who are fledgling perfumistas and curious bystanders here is a list of popular and accessible classics that I believe everyone should have a sniff of. The older the better! But smelling some of the new stuff will still lend you a pretty good idea–most of the time.

In no particular order:

Chanel No. 5 – Anyone with a nose has probably caught a whiff of this timeless aldehyde. Released in 1921, Chanel No. 5 continues to top the charts as one of the most successful and popular fragrances of the 20th and 21st century. If you want to know what a classic aldehyde smells like, look no further.

Robert Piguet Fracas – A bed of potent tuberose strong enough to clear the sinuses of everyone within a hundred yard radius. Fracas is the quintessential tuberose scent unleashed on the world in 1948.

Guerlain Mitsouko – Mitsouko is as relevant today as she was in 1919 when she was released. Built off of Coty’s Chypre, Mitsouko has stood the test of time and is now the scent to smell if you are interested in a fruity chypre.

Guerlain Shalimar – No list is complete without Shalimar, the elegant sensual oriental whose popularity hasn’t waned since its release in 1925.

Estée Lauder Youth Dew – The fragrance that people most often refer to as, “Smells Like Grandma”. Youth Dew is actually a beautifully done, extremely potent spicy oriental that rocketed to fame in the 1950s and was one of the first perfumes to be endorsed by Hollywood Starlets.

Estée Lauder White Linen – The classic clean rose aldehyde with a touch of civet. Released in 1978.

Ralph Lauren Polo – One of the most iconic and recognizable men’s fragrances. Polo was released in 1978, a true 70s Powerhouse.

Joy by Jean Patou – Released in 1930, Joy smelled like a little ray of floral sunshine during one of the United States’ most trying eras. Funny enough, it was once billed as the most expensive fragrance in the world.

Yves Saint Laurent Opium – Opium is the poster child oriental fragrance released in 1977.

Thierry Mugler Angel – The youngest classic that I’m willing to put on this list, Angel was everywhere following its 1992 release and it is still everywhere as a testament to its achievement as the first gourmand.

To  round things out, please remember that the fragrances featured on this list are accessible and popular. There are many, many classics that I wanted to add from Coty, Caron, Hubigant, many more Guerlains, and Chanels but this list had to remain accessible so anything that I couldn’t readily find at a department store had to be cut.

Start your classics sniffing with this list but don’t stop here. This is just a stepping stone as there are hundreds of classics out here that need to be sniffed too. If you feel that I’ve missed something on this list please leave a comment.


Guerlain Attrape Coeur

Les Parisiennes is Guerlain’s reintroduction of popular classics that may have dropped off the house’s roster due to unpopularity, changing times, new restrictions on fragrance ingredients, or someone having a bad hair day. Among them is the famous Attrape Coeur (Heart Trapper in French).  Attrape Coeur

In Bottle: Attrape Coeur has a fresh, lightly floral scent in the bottle. It has a certain, understated feminine charm that leads you to think it’s a mild jasmine-rosey concoction that’s easy to wear and easy to pull off.

Applied: The real heart of Attrape Coeur (heh) lies in the middle and base notes. As the top notes fade away, it unfolds to reveal a darker, muskier, more sensual scent making full use of tuberose as tuberose was meant to be used. This isn’t what I smelled in the bottle, it’s a definite morpher as she goes from light and lilting to full on oriental fragrance. The jasmine, tuberose and rose are a great compliment the smooth and musky mid-stage with its faintly sweet and dry scent. The mid-stage is especially familiar as little bits of Mitsouko waft in and out of this one. The best part about Attrape Coeur is its dry down. This fragrance falls into dense woods, bright spices, smooth vanilla, and that fantastic Guerlinade.

Extra: Les Parisiennes is an exclusive Guerlain collection that’s only available in very select locations. I found it at my local Holt Renfrew and La Signature at Epcot in Florida. If you can find a big Guerlain counter, you will probably be able to find this line. And I highly recommend anybody interested in perfumes to stop by and test a couple of them. Most of them are masterpieces that are so far above and beyond what you usually see in modern perfumery. Attrape Coeur used to go by the name of Guet Apens.

Design: Attrape Coeur, like other scents in the Les Parisiennes line, is bottled in a beautiful classic bee bottle. The bottles for these things are the real deal, not the semi-bee bottle situation you get with the Aqua Allegorias but the full-on deal. It’s complete with bee designs on the glass. Les Parisiennes are not spray bottles but splash that you will have to dab on yourself. I sometimes prefer the splash bottles to the sprays because once the fragrance is all gone, the bottle can still be reused and to not reuse a bee bottle would be something of a crime.

Fragrance Family: Oriental

Notes: Rose, jasmine, tuberose, peach, spices, sandalwood, amber, vanilla, musk.

I get a little jealous every time I look at the bee bottles. They’re really excellent looking pieces that will live well beyond the point when the fragrances they hold are all used up.

Reviewed in This Post: Attrape Coeur, 2008, Eau de Parfum.


Guerlain Vetiver

Guerlain’s Vetiver is a classic that’s been reformulated over and over. As near as I can tell, the old and new versions smell pretty similar. I have only tried the new version on my skin. Vetiver

In Bottle: Lovely green and clean with earthy notes that spells fresh rain, leaves, and woods.

Applied: Green and citrusy clean. Lovely wet scent that ushers in the woodsiness with a nice elegance. One of the things I tend to notice with BPAL (Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab) fragrances is their dirt note is very pronounced. Fantastic for those who like more earthy scents but I prefer what the dirt in Vetiver is doing, lending a small essence of itself without being pronounced. I smell it’s there but it isn’t overpowering anything, in other words. The cleanliness of Vetiver is a fantastic feature as the fragrance shifts into a beautifully balanced dry, clean, spicy and woodsy fragrance. As the scent ages the citrus disappears leaving that clean dry spice and wood to mix with a pleasant light smokiness. While I’m trying to separate these notes, I’m not having an easy time. Vetiver is a masterfully balanced fragrance that makes it difficult to pick out individual notes and frankly, when a fragrance is this well balanced, I don’t care enough to pick the notes out of it. Just take it for what it is, a clean masculine scent that’s been referred to as a classic for good reason.

Extra: Vetiver is a type of grass that smells dry, green and grassy. Guerlain’s Vetiver came out in 1961.

Design: Presented in a lovely glass bottle with alternating clear and frosted glass stripes. Vetiver’s bottle is functional, pleasant to look at and easy to hold.

Fragrance Family: Woodsy

Notes: Bergamot, lemon, mandarin, neroli, coriander, vetiver, cedar, tobacco, nutmeg, pepper, tonka bean, capiscum.

If you were planning on picking up a bottle of Vetiver, definitely go out of your way to test it out first. This fragrance smells very different on the skin than it does on paper.

Reviewed in This Post: Vetiver, 2008, Eau de Toilette.


Guerlain Eau de Fleurs de Cedrat

Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat is probably one of my favorite Guerlain fragrances. So it’s a good bit of fortune that I came upon it recently at La Signature at Disney Epcot in Florida. Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat is a classic from 1920 that is available at better stocked Guerlain counters, but more exclusively than Shalimar. Nothing wrong with you, Shalimar.  I just see you everywhere. Eau de Fleurs de Cedrat

In Bottle: Lemons! I hope you like lemons because Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat is a big lemon tree. Green and crisp and citrus and fresh. Lacking the notable Guerlain base but still so lovely all the same.

Applied: Sweet lemon candy is a strange introduction into Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat but it’s a welcome one as the fragrance matures immediately into a cool lemon. As this is a pretty simple mixture with low concentration Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat is a fleeting scent, even on clothing. It’s even more fleeting on the skin. After the lemon candy dissolves a bit, the lemon dominates the scene and an hour later, you’re left with a soft light, floral quality that’s just barely there and extremely fleeting. Don’t wear this if you want longevity. This fragrance has no base stage and I hesitate to say it may not have much of a mid-stage either. Wear if you want a quick fresh burst of fragrance from a sophisticated lemon-like note. I’ve had trouble with lemon notes in other fragrances so I was pleased to note that cedrat is not lemon necessarily but a close relative that smells much better on me. The cedrat in Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat is a lovely, soft, crisp little thing that won’t overstay its welcome or yell the entire time it’s there.

Extra: Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat is pretty much what its name suggestions. It’s a flower and citron. It’s not trying to be anything else and if you do expect more complexity, this isn’t the place to look. The cedrat is similar to a lemon but has an icy and more candy-like fragrance. It smells remarkably similar to a lemon, but in a fragrance it couldn’t behave more differently.

Design: Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat comes in a bee bottle design as a 100ml bottle. Lovely molded glass with bee designs on the glass itself. It both looks and feels luxurious , which is why I adore the bee bottles so much.

Fragrance Family: Fresh Citrus

Notes: Citron, white florals.

La Signature, also known by many Epcot patrons as, “That store that sells really expensive French perfume that I’ve never heard of”, is probably the best place to go–short of Paris–for a big selection of Guerlain fragrances and their cosmetics line. I don’t  use their cosmetics but the amount of Guerlain perfumes they’ve got there is fantastic.

Reviewed in This Post: Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat, circa 2008, Eau de Cologne.


Guerlain Cruel Gardenia

More hits from Guerlain’s exclusive and prestigious l’Art et la Matière line. Cruel Gardenia is one of those gardenia scents that reminds me of Annick Goutal’s Gardenia Passion in that if there is any gardenia in this, I am not smelling it.  Cruel Gardenia

In Bottle: Pretty enough, lightly floral and creamy with slightly powdered underbelly. It smells girly and pretty and delicate like a single flower. That flower isn’t gardenia though.

Applied: After the first application Cruel Gardenia starts to sink into my skin and proceed to disappear without fanfare. Odd experience for me as the first waves of understated fruity florally goodness give way to an airy violets and sweetness floral heart rotating around a lilting vaporous muskiness. Oh, hi, tuberose. I see you’re in on this too. How are you doing? See, Cruel Gardenia is not so much a fragrance about Gardenia as it is dedicated to breezy, clean and girly florals that focus around being pretty to sort of steer me away from the fact that if there’s gardenia in this then there’s very little of it. The fragrance dries down to a pleasant enough lightly floral, creamy but unsweetened dry vanilla.

Extra: The crowd’s still out on the best blended gardenia fragrance but I’m going to have to pass on Cruel Gardenia. There’s not enough in there to really justify this. Certainly not for the price anyway.

Design: Bottled much the same way as Tonka Imperiale, Cruel Gardenia is encased in a lovely rectangular glass bottle and comes with a regular sprayer and a pump atomizer. And like Tonka Imperiale and Spiritueuse Double Vanille, once you install the sprayers onto these bottles you can’t refit them into their original boxes. I am still peeved about that, yes.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Peach, damask rose, neroli, violet, ylang-ylang, white musk, tonka, vanilla,  sandalwood.

Maybe I’m being a bit harsh on these non-gardenia gardenia fragrances but I feel like I’ve been led on a wild goose chase. On the other hand, if you want to buy some fantastic, pure gardenia essential oil, Enfleurage’s looks mighty tempting.

Reviewed in This Post: Cruel Gardenia, 2010, Eau de Parfum.


Guerlain Tonka Imperiale

Guerlain’s L’Art et la Matière line of fragrances celebrating great perfumers and great perfumes. The line has been going for some time now and Tonka Imperiale, as of this writing, is the newest release.Tonka Imperiale

In Bottle: Boozy vanilla with a slight almond edge and sourness. Tonka Imperiale reminds me a lot of Spiritueuse Double Vanille but the major difference is in the sourness. Tonka Imperiale has a sour almond scent to where. Spiritueuse Double Vanille, on the other hand, had smooth smokiness to back it up.

Applied: Vanilla liqueur with that hint of sour again. The sourness is quick to fly away though, leaving me with vanilla, almond and booze. The booze then escapes me leaving me with a lovely rich vanilla and almond scent that signifies the mid-stage of Tonka Imperiale. Lovely spiciness comes in to the join the parade, turning this into full on gourmand as I’m reminded of cookies at Christmas time, very vanilla and decadent rum and spice cookies. The dry down after the Christmas cooking phase is a smoky woodsy fragrance with the beautiful vanilla note hanging on by a thread.

Extra: L’Art et la Matière is Guerlain’s long awaited answer to their lost niche when they were acquied by LVMH. I always felt most of the mainstream Guerlain releases were really pedestrian and lacking that exquisite Guerlainess that defined them so well prior to the acquisition. Though I do like most of their mainstream releases, I am also overjoyed that they’re still putting out stuff like Tonka Imperiale,  Spiritueuse Double Vanille and the other L’Art et la Matière’s scents.  Guerlain’s still got it.

Design: Bottled in a similar shaped presentation as Spiritueuse Double Vanille, Tonka Imperiale has a neater presentation without the big label and the honey bee wax seal. It still comes in that fitted box that you can’t do anything with if you plan on using the fragrance while keeping it in its original box. But, in addition to having a regular sprayer, Tonka Imperial also comes with a pump atomizer.

Fragrance Family: Gourmand

Notes: : Bergamot, rosemary, tonka bean, honey, spices, almond, jasmine, vanilla, cedar, pine, incense, tobacco and amber.

I really wrestled with wanting a bottle of this and wanting to keep money in my pocket. The L’Art et la Matière line is a few price points above Guerlain’s mainstream releases. It’s even a few price points above some niche houses. At $230 for 75ml, I found the price a bit rich for my tastes. I liked this, but not enough to blow that much on it.

Reviewed in This Post: Tonka Imperiale, 2010, Eau de Parfum.


Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille

Two of the more interesting vanilla based fragrances I’ve ever smelled have been Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille and Spiritueuse Double Vanille. Being a vanilla lover, I wanted something that captured the essence of a really great vanilla. Tobacco Vanille was a nice one. Being more accessible was also a bonus. Then I found a bottle of Spiritueuse Double Vanille kicking around and fell hard for it. Spiritueuse Double Vanille is heralded by many fragrance lovers as the most convincing, the most real vanilla fragrance. And I have to agree. She’s beautiful. Spiritueuse Double Vanille

In Bottle: Smoky sweet vanilla liqueur. Very smooth, extremely pleasant. Reminiscent of Tobacco Vanille but with a nicer, milder, less tobacco interpretation. The smokiness is pretty light in the bottle as Spiritueuse Double Vanille smells mostly boozy.

Applied: Spiritueuse Double Vanille instead opens with a fabulous liqueur reminiscent of bay rum. The vanilla is up front too, smooth and sweet and pure. The smokiness and cedar make the next appearance as Spiritueuse Double Vanille heads toward the spice. This fragrance is golden and warm and has the most utterly pleasant vanilla fragrance I’ve smelled yet. It’s like having a drink, wearing a monocle, smelling a box of cigars and hanging out in your mahogany library. This stuff smells classy. And that vanilla? It’s the kind of vanilla you’ve always wanted in a fragrance but never quite got. It smells like true full-bodied, boozy with a touch of spice vanilla–not that stuff you usually smell that’s sweet, and a little plastic. As the fragrance ages on my skin I get less smokiness and more pepper and more spice. All the while, the vanilla is hanging about lending the fragrance a fabulously smooth and rich treatment.  The mid-stage is like a blend of tobacco, mahogany, vanilla bean, and cedar and it seems to have lost its booziness from earlier. When Spiritueuse Double Vanille dries down, it resembles a pleasant predominant vanilla. Sweet, smooth, sophisticated and utterly beautiful.

Extra: Spiritueuse Double Vanille is a limited edition by Guerlain released in 2007. Jean-Paul Guerlain himself composed this fragrance for the house. I am not clear on whether or not it is still in production but I sure hope so because I believe this one is a definite keeper.

Design: Love the bottle. Thin and rectangular and easy to hold and spray. The details on it are also fantastic, with a wax seal-like design sporting Guerlain’s iconic bee. The major thing I didn’t like was how this was boxed, making it near impossible to both use this regularly and store it in its original packaging. Spiritueuse Double Vanille comes in a fitted box with a travel cap (that’s just a regular screw on cap) and a separate atomizer spray nozzle that you affix onto the bottle yourself. Due to the different heights of the travel cap and the spray nozzle, and the fitted box this fragrance comes in, once you install the atomizer, you can no longer make it fit in its original packaging. Very annoying. So you can’t keep Spiritueuse Double Vanille in its original box and if you’re nuts about keeping your perfumes out of the sunlight and light in general like me, you will have to shove it into a dark corner or drawer and hope the lack of extra protection from the box won’t make that much of a difference.

Fragrance Family: Woodsy Gourmand

Notes: Vanilla, benzoin, frankincense, spices, cedar, pink pepper, bergamot, Bulgarian rose, ylang-ylang.

Guerlain has been using vanilla for so long as a base for its fragrances. So when a house that built its prestigious reputation on vanilla outputs a vanilla fragrance, you better believe I’m going to go smell it. And of course they hit the nail on the head. When I first got into this whole fragrance thing I was afraid of two things. 1) That I would fall in love with a limited edition fragrance. 2) That the fragrance would be expensive. Thanks a lot, Guerlain.

Reviewed in This Post: Spiritueuse Double Vanille, 2007, Eau de Parfum.


Guerlain Idylle

Idylle was the first mainstream released fragrance by Guerlain’s new in house perfumer, Thierry Wasser. The lack of the Guerlinade is noticeable in this one and in its absence is a fairly plain, fairly boring, modern mainstream scent. Good for wearing, great for the office, but missing the heart of what Guerlain used to be. Idylle

In Bottle: Idylle is a pretty surface floral with a bouquet of pretty young flowers. This scent starts off smelling young and dewy and fresh. It’s reminiscent of pretty much every other modern floral fragrance that’s been released in the last decade.

Applied: I smell Idylle in a lot of places. It’s wearability is outstanding if you’re looking for a modern Guerlain that works well with the modern staple. Don’t look for anything classic smelling in this–it’s not there. I am a little disappointed with the fragrance to be honest because it’s so benign that it’s rather boring. Idylle’s opener smells of rose and lily off the bat. It’s a well blended thing that slips into its mid-stage with so much elegance that you’ll have barely noticed it until you catch the floral heart and realize your fragrance has changed for the better. The rose note is the predominant player in this but it’s a cleaned up, fresh rose. Not at all like Nahema’s deep red rose. Idylle stays beautiful and remains on the skin until the dry down where you’ll get a cleaned up patchouli that smells like scrubbed earth and polished darkness.

Extra: Maybe I’m being harsh on Idylle. It is at it’s core a very pretty and competent fragrance that will please a wide audience. After all, how I can dismiss Idylle when I loved the much loathed Champs Elysees? Or My Insolence? I by no means hate Idylle. I just don’t think it’s particularly interesting. It’s fantastic as a mainstream release. It’s like a more competent Gucci Flora. A more grown up Gucci Flora, if you will. I guess I just miss the classics and was hoping Idylle was a bit more classical and less modern. More niche and less commercial.

Design: Idylle’s marketing surrounded the concept of golden raindrops. The bottle is shaped like a golden raindrop. Despite the interesting shape, it is easy to hold and easy to spray. It looks interesting on display and is a great looking piece to add to a bottle collector’s array.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Lily of the valley, lilac, peony, freesia, jasmine, patchouli, white musk.

Idylle is what the industry refers to as a modern chypre. A formulation that so far has been fuzzy to my understanding.

Reviewed in This Post: Idylle, 2010, Eau de Parfum.


Eau de Guerlain

While known for its deep and rich fragrances back in the day, Guerlain also carries a series of light scents featuring sheer and airy notes mean to go on light and wear like pleasant rain. Eau de Guerlain is one of these such scents. Eau de Guerlain

In Bottle: Beautiful bright lemon, bergamot and herbal scent. So light you would swear this is a modern Guerlain and not one from the 1970s. 1974, to be exact.

Applied: Beautiful lemon opener. Eau de Guerlain does not suffer from the chemical lemon that I experienced in Covet or Versense. This is a nice, background lemon that comes in, does its thing and leaves without fanfare or a fight. Only, it imbues its freshness in the rest of the scent and hangs about as the basil throws in a dash of greenness and herbal. The mid-stage of Eau de Guerlain is a lovely jasmine and rose deal headed by the fresh green basil. Dry down starts with a lovely spicy sandalwood and musk. Eau de Guerlain is a bit of a stretch considering this house was Jicky central. It’s a bit removed from what I’m used to when it comes to pre-1990s Guerlains but it is lovely, fresh, very wearable. One of the nicest, complex, fresh fragrances ever.

Extra: If you’re looking for a spicy fresh scent and have some money to drop, Eau de Guerlain is a very worthwhile fragrance. It’s deceptively simple at first but has a very beautiful mid and dry down stage that you just can’t find with today’s spicy, woodsy sports scents.

Design: The tester I used was presented in a Guerlain bee bottle. I just don’t get tired of looking at these and want to own one very badly. The Aqua Allegorias do a throwback to this style of bottle and I absolutely love the distinctive look of them. The glass has raised details in it making it fun to both look at and hold.

Fragrance Family: Fresh Aromatic

Notes: : Lemon, verbena, bergamot, neroli, carnation, sandalwood, tonka bean.

The more I sniff this on the tester strip, the more interesting it seems to get. Certainly more interesting than Light Blue Pour Homme. There’s just something that makes Eau de Guerlain unique that I can’t quite put my finger on.

Reviewed in This Post: Eau de Guerlain, 2008, Eau de Toilette.