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The information has just been confirmed by two different sources and leaves little doubt that there is a serious reason behind its production stalling. As Sylvaine Delacourte had revealed to us last June, there is a desire NOT to "assasinate" fragrances which are considered perfectly-made with the renovations necessitated to conform to today's standards (IFRA restrictions etc). Attrape Coeur fell into its own hearty snare, apparently, so you'd be advised to stock up if your life or pleasure (equally important) depends on it.Many fragrances in the Les Parisiennes have been recently chopped off the block, including Liu (in the forseeable future I'm told), Metalys, Purple Fantasy, Chant d'Aromes in pure parfum and Plus Que Jamais. The upcoming restrictions along with slow sales in a few cases have contributed synergistically into losing some of the most lovely Jean Paul Guerlain creations which were commemorated for modern audiences in a line that was noted for its elegance.
Bid Attrape Coeur adieu with a little tear in your eye and clutch on dearly to what you have! If there is any new development I will keep you posted.
Painting by Tildine Attrape Coeurs via tildine.artblog.fr
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Oh no; this stinks!!! AC is my favourite exclusive and since I am in Paris right now, I think I will go stock up a bottle... how sad is this?
ReplyDeleteDreadful news. I've already asked my contact at Guerlain to let me know if there is anything else heading for extinction but am hoping there are no more "cuts" planned.
ReplyDeleteIt's very sad. Perhaps the strategy of keeping Les Parisiennes exclusive just isn't paying off these days.
Hi T!
ReplyDeleteYeah....I immediately thought of you when talking about this! ;-)
Good thing I already have quite a bit to last me.
D,
ReplyDeleteit's terribly vexing because AC is so popular!!(I mean, among perfume aficionados, not the general population). Imagine what happens to lesser liked frags! I'm trembling on what might this signal for Philtre D'Amour or Vetiver pour Elle :-(
As to the Parisiennes exclusivity, there is of course the hypothesis that if SDv had been mainstream it would sell like hot cakes.
At any rate, let's not paint it all black and give them recognition for wanting not to compromise with the composition. Still, it's sad...
Helg- this is terrible but at least Guerlain has some integrity .
ReplyDeleteI hope Mitsouko though reformulated now will also not go on the chopping block in the future.......
The IFRA net draws closer and closer.....
Guerlain - Ms Delacourte ....please if you are reading this , please do not discontinue Mitsouko ever......
Quelle horreur !
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm clinging to my vestiges in the drawers in the closet....
MK,
ReplyDeleteI sincerely don't believe they will ever discontinue such a monument, especially since it's been lauded so much on the underground press (us)! It's quite emblematic and there has been lots of care into "caressing" it, making as fine an adjustment as possible (never mind I personally prefer the older versions, point is they took pains to care about it)
On the other hand, I don't believe ms.Delacourte has any involvement on decisions that have to do with sales/accounting, so I am sure her contribution can only be positive, especially as she has been hearing carefully what is said on our venues. LVMH however operates with intricate sales figures and plenty of caveat emptors re:restrictions/allergens etc. so anything that they decide we can assume they have scrutinized to the last detail. It's a decision we don't like, of course, but I doubt they will change for our sake.
I have to say that indeed if the scents had been butchered beyond recognition it would have been a shame to drag them pale and ghost-like through eternity...(Got to give them that at least!).
Ida,
ReplyDeletevraiement!
The days go by and I am becoming less and less enthused about new discoveries: I feel like they're about to get chopped off any day anyway.
Well, THAT sucks. My tiny decant is getting low, and I think I'll go hunt up a larger one.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think discontinuation is a more honorable alternative than reformulating the life out of it.
*cry*
ReplyDeleteI just adore Attrape Coeur with all my heat ... it's been at the top of my lemming list for years, ever since I smelled it for the first time.
But I'm far too poor to buy a bottle.
I always figured, sometime, life's gonna get a bit easier, and I'd be able to acquire one.
Now I'm just sad. I'll never have a bottle. Probably my 1/2 full 8 mL decant (not my first!) is all the AC I've got from now until forever.
*heartache*
Also, just to note a funny coincidence, the code word verification I'm now being asked to type is "spite" ... *bitter laugh*
And just when I finally decided, 2 weeks ago, that I do need a whole bottle. Murphy`s Law...
ReplyDeleteWell, thank you for confirming with your sources this news. Sad as I am to hear of discontinuations of monumental perfumes that are so loved, I feel blessed that I hear this news now as I just started the path of experiencing the Les Parisiennes. Have not had the honor of smelling Attrape Coeur yet but I plan to visit the Guerlain counter again this weekend to seek out.
ReplyDeleteDagney
So what is the IFRA problem with Attrape Couer? It can't have that much oakmoss/jasmine in it can it? And when Guerlain can spend so much money creating advertising for that mediocre chemical smelling Idylle?And all the other pink dross they have been putting out for the last few years. To lose the only great fragrance they have created in the last few years which has been critically acclaimed by all. What a way to run a business? It's the last straw for me - I will not buy any more Guerlain perfumes.
ReplyDeleteMals,
ReplyDeleteI don't know how so many people will ever stash enough to last them...it's very popular.
Reformulating would be a shame. Especially for something so new.
Prox,
ReplyDeleteoh darling, I am almost crying now!!! How utterly sad!! If you can't get some any other way, let me send you a little bit (probably a long way from you, but never mind)
Alex,
ReplyDeleteI believe there is still stock available. Should be quite enough for all.
Anon,
ReplyDeletethe IFRA restrictions are not onlu applicable to jasmine and oakmoss. There hundreds of restricted or banned ingredients (from basoia wood to dihydroxycitronellal to coumarin....you name it). I suggest referencing the IFRA site and their catalogue or do a search here for IFRA and you will see several mentions on ingredients. It's really complicated!
I agree though that it's a very unfortunate move. AC is a very acclaimed scent.
Dagney,
ReplyDeleteperhaps it's best you haven't experienced them. Why break your heart over it? Then again, curiosity is piqued, I understand.
Oh, sad sad sad...this is one that brings me happy pleasure in so many ways... :(
ReplyDeleteDear E,
ReplyDeleteI am with Anonymous above; this truly enrages me more than it saddens me. Having discovered AC a few months back, I have been thinking quite a bit about the fact that Guerlain's recently creations have been somewhat maligned, yet I thought, "Oh, but there is the relatively recent AC to prove that they really are able to still produce beautiful classics that will have a long life."
Now this. As I said: rage. I am partly skeptical (and cynical?) that LVMH and Mme. Delacourte are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts so as not to ruin a beloved. Perhaps... but I put nothing past the LVMH machine now. Really, very ridiculous.
I hope the last artist left at Guerlain remembers to flick off the lights when they vacate the building. And yes, I know it is not just Guerlain, but they are the object of my scorn at the moment with this news. Ah well, I suppose it's just another example of a good practice lesson for life.
I read about it on a french perfume blog called olfactorum last week, then I confronted Sylvaine Delacourte on her blog, she hasn't replied yet.
ReplyDeleteNo offense but of course I expected this would be addressed by anglo-bloggers in a flash and before you know it everybody calls Guerlain - you know those materialistic hags from Perfume of Life who already own 5 bottles of the original Guet-Apens - in New York and Las Vegas and it's all gone in two days. Although it's difficult for me right now I thought I don't have a choice I have to call and order at least two bottles. I got the last two sealed cellophane wrapped bottles I could find. I think AC perfume in Vegas is nomore, Saks in New York only have two piece left but opened not sealed (I don't want that).
For those who want to question Sylvaine Delacourte, here's the thread (her english is good you don't to write in french):
http://espritdeparfum.com/coups-de-coeur/mon-voyage-au-canada/comment-page-1/#comment-1057
I forgot to say last summer Sylvaine Delacourte told us that Attrape-Coeur wasn't affected by IFRA regulations as much as other perfumes so it was safe for a while - looks like this discontinuation is not just about reformulations - it's probably harder to reformulate Vol de Nuit parfum than Attrape-Coeur - maybe sales weren't that good - SAs in america don't even know about it, I have to tell them ten times AtwapeKuw without french accent because they don't understand "attrape-coeur" - they don't know it was originally released under Guet-Apens and composed by Mathilde Laurent and when you tell them they look at you like you re delusional or something or even worse don't even care at all, like ok keep talking girl LOL
ReplyDeleteJoe,
ReplyDeletethe reasoning is not entirely clear so far, because I have heard different things from different people. Still, your point is well taken, there is a sense of disillusionment; no, disenchantment is the proper word, because I don't think we had any illusions to begin with. Guerlain is still able to produce lovely fragrances, in fact they do, but there distribution limitations produce a tighter circle of pleasure. Alas, that's the way things are from now on and has been ever since the chash flow from LVMH first came in spades.
Vaniity,
ReplyDeletewelcome (cute nickname, nothing on Guerlain, eh?)
Let's put things in some perspective:
I hadn't heard from the French writer before, although I would appreciate it if he came aboard (has done so in the past) and talked about it: it might elucidate things more! The more information flows, the clearer things get.
Sylvaine would be more compliant to a personal email (in fact I have been in communication over this) rather than a question on the blog; because perhaps there are some subtler aspects which cannot be addressed in the public as suavely and she is in a difficult position a priori. She has been so far extremely supportive of our "underground media" (blogging) and therefore I wouldn't want to embarass her, although of course I expect no lies either.
Secondly, could we please refrain from calling other people names? (people we might not even know in real life!) Everyone is free to do what they want with their money, I can only assume that they buy as an investment (I guess you too?) and I wouldn't want to enter this kind of debate, if possible.
I realise nevertheless how terribly vexing it must be when someone (anyone) clears the whole city of something another wants, just to "stock up"! There is an increasing mania on this, but it's the perfume companies who have prompted it with their discontinuations right and left. There's fault to be shared from all sides is what I'm saying...don't know if I am communicating it well. :/
Vaniity,
ReplyDeleteI am not aware of the knowledge of SAs in the US about AC. If they do not know it, yet work on a counter that has it for sale indeed, I assume they're not exactly paragons of knowledgable service and that would be a matter for the boutique administration. But how common would that be since these are only distributed in Guerlain "inside" boutiques?
If you infer that their pronounciation is lacking, then yes, I have found that is the case as well: There is a rift between Anglo-Saxon and French people pronouncing each other's languages (I suggest watching "Asterix et Les Bretons"! LOL). They must be either completely antithetical versions of articulation or else they do it deliberately due to inbred animosity due to the two nations' history. Just joking...
Anyway, as a neither Angelo-Saxon, nor French foreigner, it's been very amusing and highly informative to watch this phenomenon. But I digress...
There is the 44th Ifra that might affect AC and this one hasn't been officially announced yet. It could also be lagging sales, although I am not so sure about that, since among the perfume crowd who does buy these "exclusives" AC is very popular (much more than say Philtre d'Amour is or Liu). Thefore it is a complex matter and I wouldn't want to pronounce judgment yet: some of my information has been a little off the charts, it might be confidential, it might even be erroneous, so I wouldn't want to have anything written in stone.
By all means, if there is anything more on the matter you wish to discuss, I am awaiting your cue.
Scentself,
ReplyDeleteI know...it's not like we had an advance warning eh?
oh this is such sad news, it really is
ReplyDeleteYou are such a lovely person.
ReplyDeleteI'll try to see if I can get my hands on another decant or something ... if there are really people stocking up so many back-ups, there must be someone who's open to selling decants!
I'm American, living in the UK ... and yes, I'm not very good at pronouncing French. But I make an effort (do a bit of research, if I have to), and I acknowledge that I'm probably not saying it right. I blame my inability to speak French on my choices to study Latin and Spanish instead, LOL! Living in Colorado, Spanish is a lot more practically useful.
I'm pretty sure that the average SA at a Guerlain counter won't have heard of something like Attrape-Coeur ... but I haven't had the pleasure of asking at a boutique which does carry the fragrance ... I would be surprised, in that situation, if they were so ignorant.
In the UK, I perceive a joking animosity towards the French. Its mostly seen in, for example, sporting events or other competitive arenas. In America, I never percieved that France was seen particularly differently from other European countries.
Advance warning, preferably in the form of at least a couple years notice would have been nice. I do hope that eventually we will have an answer as to why AC is being discontinued. Just because knowing the reason (even when you don't agree with it) brings a bit of closure.
In the flood of invectives that have surged around the reformulations, the insanely priced limited releases, the assiduously commercial new releases, and its legal practices, I have always forgiven Guerlain simply because I love its perfumes. I very much imagined my loyalty was unshakable. This is the final straw. I have now given up on Guerlain as a lost cause. As in ages past, Guerlain seems intent on tweaking the innovations of Coty: now, discount-bin oblivion, done with more spectacular abandon.
ReplyDeleteDear Helg
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for the reassurance ! :) I am sure you are right re. Mitsouko .
I think many perfumistas are in 'panic mode' right now because of the IFRA amendments. Stock up and stock up - can't blame anyone for doing that. It's like the world as we know has come crashing down bit by bit.
I also emailed poor Ms Rousseau today .. I dread to think how many emails she gets a day and how many of them are good ones ......
Of course it's lagging sales and thats my point, when you go to Guerlain at Saks or Bergdorf & Goodman, you ask for Attrape-Coeur and they don't understand a word what you're talking about but the bottle sits right in front of them, how pathetic is this? They don't even know what's in it, I just heard from that incompetant manager Jason at B&G that "it's nice". By the way he tried to charge me $250 for an opened bottle of AC yesterday, I maintained that all other Guerlain locations charge $220 not $250.
ReplyDeleteCall me Cathy Griffin if you want but yes I still call them materialistic hags, I own it. You know it's not like they wake up in the morning and give their time and money to the Humane Society or think about climate change and world poverty! I have no respect for those worthless gossiping materialistic women who have this raging vendetta against me and I don't want to hear otherwise. Tired of the bullshit, from now on, people are with me or against me.
K,
ReplyDeleteit's sad all right. I admit it wasn't something I was expecting.
P,
ReplyDeleteyou're welcome, don't mention it. I sincerely hope the decision is reversed. Let's see if it happens!
Very interesting viewpoint and thanks for bringing it along, regarding the language barriers. Certainly Spanish is much more handy living in the US, no doubt about it!
The French mangle up British and American names as well, so it's not like one has the monopoly over the other.
I believe America has a love/hate relationship with France: witness "freedom fries" and the myriad of guides on how to frenchify your life. I do think that it's more of an Anglo-Saxon vs. Latin temperament issue myself: the French express themselves in a different way than ASs, much like we Meds do.
Now you mention it, the British have a joking animosity towards sports with several people, which is always such fun to watch (ie. Australian rugby or football or cricket etc.)
You're smart to research it prior to saying anything. If only the SAs did as well!! LOL!
D,
ReplyDeletebeware the wrath of the loyal Guerlainista! *she has spoken!*
MK,
ReplyDeleteyou're welcome. According to my sources Mitsouko is not only acclaimed but actually tops sales in some markets, notably that of Japan (it's #1). Therefore I wouldn't think that anyone in their right minds at Guerlain would ever think of discontinuing it, same as with Shalimar, LHB, Jicky. Let's hope that any adjustment that has been made is fine tuned to be as respectful as possible for all the above-mentioned classics, because it'd be a shame to open guides in the future and see them mentioned and realising the reality in the bottle in front of us is different.
Oh, mme Rousseau! I always wondered if there was a whole team of people reading those mails. Or if truly there are indeed so many mails.
V,
ReplyDeletenaturally, regarding the US market, I have absolutely no idea what is going on: I always do my perfume shopping in Europe. (I didn't even refuel on the Florida discounters, how resistant/resilient is that for a perfumista!). So can't comment on this, but I can feel your irritation over it.
Now, this is another cultural difference: There is no way an opened fragrance can be returned in Europe (I'm sure you know that), these practices are unheard of, therefore when one orders anything they can be assured the products are sealed in cello. Every cloud has a silver lining and all that...
As to the other subject, clearly you're welcome to comment here any time, provided you know it is a public venue. And feel free to bring subjects of greater importance than mere acquisitions, I hope that this is a springboard of ideas pertaining to sensual culture, not just product.
There are no vendettas here as far as I can manage it and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. People are responsible for what they say.
BTW, I have been promised to be informed further on this matter, so I will have more news in a few days' time for you.
If Attrape Coeur is going, what about the edt version: Vol de Nuit Evasion? I know it's a limited distribution fragrance, but will it remain on the shelves?
ReplyDeleteWordbird,
ReplyDeleteexcellent question!
There are two issues pertaining to it:
1)the VERY limited distribution, as you point out. I presume that in this case it is not a matter of lagging sales, exactly because it is so very hush-hush and therefore even fewer people know it. So I don't expect anyone is counting on it on making sales.
2)As an edt, whatever objectionable ingredients are in it are in a diluted form, less compound being used for edt than edp. Therefore it might escape chopping, although there wouldn't be much point in keeping it if the formula itself is too close.
Additionally, since it's so much more economical ml per ml, it is in itself somewhat of a "blow" to AC's exclusivity which I always thought might harm the cachet of AC if more people were aware of its similarity. Therefore if the expensive is discontinued, does it make sense to keep the more middle-range one? You be the judge! ;-)
Vaniity, this is such a gracious blog, I'm sorry that you have to be so nasty in this thread, despite what you feel is justified ire. Frankly to diss on "worthless, gossiping, materialistic women" buying up Attrape Coeur who -- despite what you opine -- may very well donate to the Humane Society or other charities, while you yourself admit to buying the two unsealed bottles you could fine, seems the height of hypocritical peevishness. Maybe if I knew the story behind your hostility, I'd agree with you, but this thread is hardly the place to bitch, seeing as no one can hear both sides of it.
ReplyDeleteI adore Attrape Coeur and will attempt to find a bottle before it's all gone. And yes, I have been donating to charities that will help people in Haiti, in addition to the ones that receive my monthly, and annual contributions.