The Unisex Beauty of Guerlain's Jicky (Photo Collection, Short Review & Perfume Musings)

Jicky by Guerlain is a gender bender perfume to end all gender benders; changing sex and direction mid-stream in its illustrious career like an adolescent fulfilling a transgender urge.
The issue of what differentiates female from male idiosyncrasies in general is complicated enough, so it's only natural that one of the most popular questions in perfume for and general discussion is how the opposite sex perceives and decodes the fragrances meant for the other sex.
In perfume terms the composition of different formulas for the two sexes, roughly floral and oriental for the ladies, with a sprinkling of chypre and fruity, reserving woody and citrus for the gentlemen, is a relatively recent phenomenon, dating from the dawn of modern perfumery in the end of the 19th century. Up till then, there was pretty much lots of leeway for men to delve in floral waters of the Victorian era or even the rich civet and musk laden compositions of 18th century decadence.

photo by Elena Vosnaki

Why the name Jicky? "From his student days, perfumer Aimé Guerlain kept the enamoured memory of a young woman named Jicky to whom he paid a beautiful homage with one of his most wonderful olfactory creations. By pure coincidence, the diminutive of his nephew Jacques was also Jicky. Jicky initiated the creation of "abstract perfumery" as opposed to "figurative perfumery". With its interplay of unique facets, it was the first in the perfume world to have such a trail and tenacity. This forerunner of new modern olfactory creations is the founding father of the legendary Shalimar."

Or so the story goes...because it is but a story, a fabricated myth that shows how fragrance tales were used to be told in the olden days...

photo by Elena Vosnaki

Nowadays, lavender , as in a classic like Jicky, is almost code-name for men's cologne, the backbone of a typical fougère fragrance for men, especially since archetypes such as this originally-aimed-at-women-then-usurped-by-men of good taste cemented this notion. The tension of the citrus top note with the animal character of the base is what makes the "jam"; lots of musk and lots of civet too in the older formula, evident in extrait de perfume formula and the not so distant kinship of Mouchoir de Monsieur fragrance, also by Guerlain.

Evaluating a masculine or unisex fragrance is always harder for me than evaluating a fragrance that is divested of its loaded semiotics of gender, or which appeals to my own femininity heads on. At least I can asses femininity first hand and dismiss the hyperbolic claims of modern advertising with a wave of a well-manicured hand. 

In perfume terms the composition of different formulas for the two sexes, roughly floral and oriental for the ladies, with a sprinkling of chypre and fruity, reserving woody and citrus for the gentlemen, is a relatively recent phenomenon, dating from the dawn of modern perfumery in the end of the 19th century. Up till then, there was pretty much lots of leeway for men to delve in floral waters of the Victorian era or even the rich civet and musk laden compositions of 18th century decadence.

It's therefore somewhat fitting the zeitgeist, with the discussion about gendered IDs flaming up again, that Guerlain revisited their roots tentatively when launching Mon Guerlain in 2017 with their merging of lavender (more prominently than in the Yves Saint Laurent fragrance Libre) with their trademark orientalized vanilla. From it, a spawn of feminine fragrances with lavender came forth like mushrooms after the rain.

photo by Elena Vosnaki

Jicky by Guerlain remains a monument, a beacon of taste in a tasteless world. 

Extraits de Parfum and Another Exclusive for Miller Harris

Miller Harris has mostly been an unsung brand by the perfume online community, mainly because -I am hypothesizing- the style of the fragrances is limpid and diaphanous which possibly are not desirable attributes for the budding perfume lover as well as the more seasoned perfume collector: too often there is the plunge for the dark and mysteriously orientalised with a sinister twist or antithetically for the ascetically sparse and architecturally focused on a single abstract interplay of steel and glass.
Miller Harris scents, the brainchild of Lyn Harris, an independent perfumer working on several high-class commissions for the famous and for perfume lines that do not always reveal their secrets, are neither.

Instead they began as an affair of simple compositions with no pretence, but with good quality ingredients, often expensive natural floral essences, and they progressed into producing fragrances that went beyond: Feuilles de Tabac with its smokey, comforting whiskey-tobacco dream of a pipe, the crystalline honeysuckle chased with champagne that is Fleur du Matin, the fantastically "ripe" and sexy, naughtily commissioned by Jane Birkin L'air de Rien, the wonderful orange burst inside a leather jacket that is Cuir Oranger as well as the salty earthiness of salt mines in Fleur de Sel.

This spring, Miller Harris is releasing a variation on the 4 fragrances in their ‘Classics’ collection. Cœur de Fleur, Terre de Bois, Citron Citron and Fleur Oriental have been unveiled in a new extract concentration, ‘Les Parfums’. Presented in delicate engraved bottles, they’ll bring a touch of chic to your boudoir, vanity or bathroom.

Perfume 1 oz/30ml, €215. Available at selected points of sale.

~Via Osmoz.com
Might I remind you that three out of these also come in candle form which is a good way to try out to get the feel for the line.

However not to bypass another new release: Le Petit Grain, an exclusive to their eponymous boutiques, which puts the heavenly feeling of standing beneath an orange grove in spring. To quote:

"Incorporating every element of the orange tree from the oil from the peel of the fruit, to the flowers, to the leaves and the twigs, Le Petit Grain celebrates the great tradition of the cologne family and can be worn and enjoyed by the whole family.
With Le Petit Grain, Lyn has created a careful fusion between each material. The sweet orange sets the tone and is enhanced by angelica racine, eau de brouts absolute (extraction from the leaves), bergamot from Italy and Sicilian lemon".

Eau de Parfum comes in 100ml/2.4oz and costs 110 British pounds

~Via the Miller Harris website

Pic courtesy of Miller Harris.com