Parfums Piguet Re-issuing Another Classic

Robert Piguet is known for their excellent reconstructions of their old vintage portfolio, from Fracas and Bandit all the way down to the more recent Baghari, Cravache, Visa and Futur. It seems that the committee at Fashion Fragrances and Cosmetics and Joe Garces, who own the licence for the Robert Piguet brand of perfumes, have scored on the perfect resurrection: the magnificently individual and long-lost Calypso, on which we had rhapsodized in a manner befitting the ancient bard theme a while ago, is being re-issued with much fanfare. The official site declares: "A unique and powerful fragrance from Robert Piguet will be unveiled soon - check back often for release announcements."
Calypso then, you might as well get all revved up! Can you colour me super-excited!

The information is concrete, corroborated and beyond any doubt.

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Robert Piguet news and reviews

Thanks to youstink and neoty26 for drawing my attention to it.

Robert Piguet/Raucour Calypso: fragrance review & history

Leafing through mythology books while researching on Nausinous, the son of Ulysses and Calypso the couple appearing in Homer's Odyssey, I cannot help but marvel at the invisible threads that tie history, perfumery and the great imagination of inspired creators such as Robert Piguet. His fragrance Calypso encapsulates the ethereal and yet alluring qualities that the eponymous numph was renowed for in a most refined way.

It is with stupendous surprise that one learns that Rober Piguet, born in the Swiss town of Yverdon in 1901, was originally trained not in fashion but in banking! So much his couturier and creator of stylish fragrances reputation has preceded him among the cognoscenti! A young boy of 17 he moved to the fashion capital of the world, Paris, and landed a job first with Redfern and later with fashion legend Paul Poiret. His industrious and inquisitive spirit resulted in the founding of his own salon in 1933. There he provided Parisian women with his own creations as well as those of alumni Antonio Castillo, Christian Dior, James Galanos, Marc Bohan, Hubert de Givenchy and Pierre Balmain. Although his couture side of the business is largely forgotten apart from the historic scope (he retired in 1951 and died in 1953), his perfume business is very much alive. This is thanks to at once the tremendous fame that his pioneer fragrances Fracas (1946) and Bandit (1944), both by iconoclast perfumer Germaine Cellier, have created, as well as the respectful treatment his compositions have received in the hands of Joe Garces of Fashion Fragrances and Cosmetics Ltd. after a limbo state of the brand while under Alfin inc.

In researching Calypso the fragrance, I tried to find visuals and was aided by my friend Octavian who provided the image herein. On it there is a bottle not unlike the bell-shaped jars of today's Lutens bottles for his Paris-exclusives which bears the name Calypso by Raucour. The brand Raucour is most probably inspired by a personage in French history: Françoise-Marie-Antoinette Saucerotte, nicknamed Mademoiselle Raucourt or Françoise Raucourt, was an anti-Revolutionist tragedian living in the late 18th century France and the Directoire period, famous for her roles as Medea, Semiramis and Agripinna. Could Calypso, the nymph who fell in love with Ulysses/Odysseus and kept him captive on her island for 8 long years following his nostos from Troy, be another one of the roles which would fit her? The tragic quotient of the role, with its clash between the vagaries of the heart on the one hand and the predecided by the Gods fate of Ulysses (namely to return to his home and family) on the other, is not antithetical to her range.
Additionally, her predeliction for aromatic substances in the form of exotic and rare plants such as frangipaniers and baobabs in her Château in La Chapelle Saint-Mesmin lets the imagination roll with fragrant images...

The Renoir company simultaneously produced the perfumes Renoir, Raucour and Piguet while the Piguet trademarks were filled by Renoir during the war. The depicted Calypso from Raucour is in the same bottle and packaging Renoir used for Messager/ Cattleya or Dona Sol (that were also sold later under Raucour brand and credited to Piguet in several guides). This puts an interesting spin into the alleged launch date of 1957 or 1959 for Piguet's Calypso. In those older days aroma-producing companies (the equivalent of today's big boys, aka Givaudan, Firmenich, IFF etc) formulated the jus with less speed. Therefore in light of the above clues, could we assume that Calypso by Raucour and Calypso by Piguet are indeed the same fragrance? If so, the date launch should be pushed in the previous decade, placing it firmly alongside its olfactory "inspirations", more of which shortly, Whatever the truth is, the scent itself is revelational in some respect.

Piguet's Calypso olfactorily reflects the qualities of both spicy floral and green floral facets, resulting in a refined composition that alludes to both L'Air du Temps (its carnation tinged airiness) and Ma Griffe (its green buds on the mountaintop dryness). Calypso's daintily mossy garland is woven into delicate lacework that enhances these themes and in the canon of current Piguet fragrances which impose their presence it presents something of an anomaly. However it is for those occasions exactly that one is advised to look back at the history of a house when pronouncing judgement on terms of aesthetics: The Piguet portfolio included legion of fragrances once upon a time, with some of the lesser known being: Augure, Cattleya, Fou, Dingo (all from 1945), Gambade (1946), Grande Epoque, Rollon, Hirondelle, Brigand, Dark Herald, Donna Sol, Mimo, Esclave (all from 1947), Estampe (1948), and Messanger (1952).

The vintage Calypso by Robert Piguet (not to be confused with the duty-free limited edition by Lancôme by the same name) was originally available in Eau de Toilette strength and extrait de parfum in the standard curvaceous and simple flacons of Piguet and makes sporadic appearences on Ebay. Since Baghari (1945) and Visa (1946) have been re-issued and so have Futur (1974) and the masculine Cravache (1963) recently, to varying approximations to the original formula, let's hope that the marvel that is Calypso is destined for Phoenix-like resurection as well.

Painting of Odysseus and Calypso, 1883 by Arnold Böcklin via faerymists.tripod.com

A re-orchestration: Baghari by Piguet, fragrance review and comparison

Reformulation seems to be the new name du jour for perfume companies. They sometimes miss terribly (Dioressence) while sometimes they invent something amazing (Femme). Baghari by Piguet seems to stand at the middle, being neither atrocious or disloyal to the original, nor the innovative masterpiece that could be the be all and end all. Taking that into account however it stands as a perfectly lovely little aldehydic floral that is sure to be enjoyed by lots of people. Not what one expects from the house of Piguet, who has churned out such controversial fumes as the lethal white femme of Fracas and the leathered dominatrix rolled in grass of Bandit.

The original, now vintage, Baghari was created in 1950 by Francis Fabron, creator of Nina Ricci L’Air du Temps (1948), Balenciaga Le Dix (1947) and Givenchy L’Interdit (1957). This venerable french "nose" composed elegant scents with polished and powdery notes echoing an aura of romanticism and the feel of the feminine New Look that had been introduced just 3 years prior by Christian Dior. The vogue became one of feminity packaged as a lady who lunches discreetly with crinoline skirts a little below the knee, cinched waists, little hats and gloves for all occasions. Baghari was marketed in 1950 as a discreet and fresh fragrance for a young lady, but of course perceptions have changed so much (not to mention fashion trends) that it is impossible to imagine what the audience of BlackEyed Peas or the consumers of Miami Glow might find elegant anymore. Nevertheless, this is not an affirmation written in an attempt to look down on our day and age as is so prevalent among perfume boards, blogs and articles. Our age has also got its classics (Narciso for its loveliness, Angel for its innovation, Voleur de Roses for its unusual mix of rose and patchouli and a few others). Their time of reverence will come...

Not to divert from the point however, the new Baghari is a playful spin on the original. It was reorchestrated in 2006 by Aurélien Guichard of Givaudan, famous for his acclaimed Bond no.9Chinatown. The main difference with the vintage is in the top notes and less at the base. The stark glaring white aldehyde of the original is replaced in part with sweeter notes, encompasing a little violet, a note which is witnessing a rebirth this year after eons of exile in the darkest corners of the perfume hall of fame. On a blotter it has a slightly spicy note that is deceptive. It really properly blooms only on the skin.

The notes for the original are: aldehydes, bergamot, orange blossom, lemon, rose, lilac, ylang-ylang, lily of the valley, jasmine, Bourbon vetiver, benzoin, musk, amber, vanilla.
In contrast the new one has: bergamot, neroli, aldehydes, violet, jasmine, orange blossom, rose Damascena, rose Centifolia, iris, vetiver, amber, musk, vanilla.

As the new Baghari unfolds its secrets there is a clean, almost soapy smell that is very becoming, like crispy linen on a laundry day, starched collars and preppy shirts laid out on the bed for inspection before donning them. It then sweetness considerably with the full revelation of the jasmine and orange blossom heart. The dance of rose with jasmine and violet is never ending, going on and on and on, into the territory of romantic and old-fashioned elegance of wisps of satin petticoats underneath. This is most definitely a floral for soft personalities, a little shy perhaps, a little wistful. There is a silent lucidity about it, that resembles a piece by Debussy. Full of emotion that is expressed in a tender and innocent, shining way; shielding our core and our memories from the ravages of the mundane, affording us a slow drive to sunny gardens.
The woodiness of the base has a hefty dose of powdery iris, a very expensive ingredient, lending an earthy dry afterfeel that lingers like the memory of a kiss on one's flesh, a skin-like aroma that seals the deal and makes this one reformulation worthy of its launch.
The comparison with Chanel #5, Le Dix by Balenciaga, Guerlain's Vega or Liu is not far off and indeed somehow Baghari seems a little redundant to me, since I already own Chanel #5 in parfum/extrait, which is a little muskier and woodier than this one, making it more seductive and secretive in my mind. But that's not to mean that the new Baghari isn't a lovely scent.

It can be had in a bottle of 50ml/1.7oz of Eau de Parfum at Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Harvey Nichols (UK) and Les printemps (France).

Pic courtesy of touteenparfum.