A holiday-themed animation for Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire. (If you missed the original commercial, see it here)
Guerlain Homme L’Eau Boisee ~ fragrance review
Guerlain recently launched Guerlain Homme L’Eau Boisée, a flanker of a flanker: Guerlain Homme begat Guerlain Homme L’Eau and now we have Homme L’Eau Boisée. (Hey, Guerlain, what about a NEW men’s fragrance…and let this “idea” rest?)
Homme L’Eau Boisée was developed by Thierry Wasser; his goal — to overdose the Homme L’Eau fragrance with an “exceptional new type of vetiver” from Coimbatore in Southern India. Indians have been growing, distilling, wearing (and drinking!) vetiver (khus) for a long time, but I was curious to see if 1. there was an ‘overdose’ of vetiver in Homme L’Eau Boisée, and 2. if this vetiver smelled different from other types of vetiver I smell all the time in perfume…
Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire (2012) ~ fragrance review
As announced earlier this year, Guerlain has released a new version of La Petite Robe Noire, the 2009 limited distribution perfume inspired by the wardrobe basic “the little black dress.” This new iteration of La Petite Robe Noire was developed for Guerlain by house perfumer Thierry Wasser; its composition includes notes of patchouli, almond, red fruits, bergamot, rose, licorice, smoked black tea, tonka bean, vanilla and iris.
I was puzzled by the La Petite Robe Noire concept when the first version was launched, and my confusion has only increased while I’ve been trying out this 2012 variation. First of all, what does the “little black dress” motif have to do with Guerlain, one of the few major fragrance brands that has no fashion connection? (It would make perfect sense for a Chanel perfume, of course.) Did anyone really think that the cartoonish silhouette of a dress fits well on the classic square Guerlain bottle with its inverted-heart cap? Why was the romantic-revenge anthem “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” chosen for the commercial? And is the fragrance itself some kind of cynical joke?
If you want the long-story-short, here it is: to me, La Petite Robe Noire 2012 is a washed-out copy of Lolita Lempicka topped with a shot of Cherry Coke…
Guerlain Shanghai ~ new fragrance
Guerlain has launched Shanghai, a new fragrance for women. Shanghai is the 5th fragrance in Guerlain’s limited distribution Une Ville, Un Parfum series, and is meant to be an “addictive floral”…
Guerlain Coriolan ~ fragrance review
A spray of Guerlain Coriolan, and right away I smell the high desert on a summer’s evening, the time when the ground still holds the hot scent of the earth while the wind is cool and fresh. The earth smells of hot rock, pinyon pine, immortelle, dry wood, and the piney sage that grows gnarled on the ground. The breeze delivers the bite of mint, citrus and fennel. Somehow the cool air and hot landscape meld into a singular fragrance. Coriolan reminds me of eastern Montana in August.
Jean-Paul Guerlain created Coriolan, and it was released in 1998. It’s a woody chypre with notes including lemon tree leaves, bergamot, juniper, absinthe, coriander, nutmeg, oakmoss, patchouli and everlasting flower. I also smell dry wood, amber, musk, and what I swear is mint.
Coriolan bombed. Despite its gorgeous bottle, caged in pink-gold metal with a flip-top lid, sales were weak enough for Guerlain to pull Coriolan before too long…