Guerlain Muguet 2011: News on a Seasonal Release

Guerlain lately re-issues a special edition of their delicate and spring-like Muguet each year as a limited edition on the 1st of May (Traditionally the day when muguet ~lily of the valley in French~ is offered as a porte-bonheur, a good luck charm in France).
For 2011, Guerlain's Muguet will be embottled in the apothecary style flacons of re-issued Vega and Sous le Vent, but there will be handpainting on the glass as well!

ETA: You can see the new Muguet 2011 below (pic kindly provided by my reader Rappleya)
ETA2: Upon further research, Guerlain has confirmed that they have updated the design of Muguet 2011 with the one depicted second from top, favouring a sewn label versus handpainting. I admit I'm not particularly enthusiastic on it after seeing the previous design....

3/26/11 update: My faithful and wonderfully generous reader Judy informs us of the latest after seeing the Muguet 2011 with her very own eyes and I quote:
"The new release of Muguet is around 5 ounces, twice the size of the past releases [ed.note: this was amended by other witnesses, bringing the volume down]. Also it is in apothecary-style container, first shown on your site as the new-release bottle , but w/minor changes. The bottle still has the pretty muguet design on the outside. Also, the price is scary, sky-high, around $500, although Bergdorfs is having a "Beauty Week" beginning April 6th, and at that price, if the customer does a pre-sale, the sales person will hold the Muguet til May 1st for the $100 discount."

The design that was meant to be

the udated design for Muguet 2011...

Previously Muguet circulated in the standard quadrilobe with (2009) or without the superimposed atomiser "pouf" (2007) and the flacon fleuri design brough back from 1900 for the Eau de Toilette version for 1999, while the accompanying Eau de Toilette tester of the same year was embottled in the classsic Habit de Fete gold-cutouts style flacon with Millesime 1999 embossed on it. You can find pictures of those attached below.

The concentration for 2011's Muguet is Eau de Parfum and the volume is 125ml for 400 euros.

Previous incarnations of Guerlain Muguet include the following:

Guerlain Muguet flacon (Verrerie Royale de Romesnil) with atomiser for 2009

Guerlain Muguet quadrilobe flacon (Verrerie Royale de Romesnil) for 2007

Guerlain Muguet in flacon fleuri (originally 1900 design) for Eau de Toilette in 1999

"Habit de Fete" design for Guerlain Muguet, 50ml Eau de Toilette tester bottle, 1999

thanks to Wim Janssens and Mr.Guerlain (Ulrik) and especially my readers Rappleya and Judy who helped disentangle this mess!

Heidi Klum Shine: a new celebrity fragrance

The saturated market of celebrity scents (fragrances issued by celebrities in collaboration with some big perfume -producing company under their own name) is getting one more contender: Heidi Klum's fragrance, Shine.

The supermodel will release Shine alongside Coty Beauty. The new perfume is expected "to make people smell and feel delicious" although dissonant voices feel the move is a sellout for the classy “Project Runway” star. So why the choice? On Coty's part it seems obvious enough: Steve Mormoris of Coty Beauty said, “Heidi has a unique position in the market. She is not just a supermodel or a celebrity - she is also a businesswoman. She is very multifaceted - we plan to create a fragrance which celebrates all of those facets.”
The former Victoria’s Secret Angel on the other hand said, "I am thrilled to be partnering with Coty on my new fragrance. Working for a long time on developing a signature scent and watching it finally come to life is so exciting. I never thought my nose would recover from sniffing so many scent combinations, but it is all worth it." [source]

Now, how will it smell? I think "delicious" hints at a fruity floral with sweetness or a vanillic floriental without animalic notes. I could be wrong, but...

Edit to add: Updated news on the Shine fragrance by Heidi Klum: "an oriental scent made of pink peppercorn, pear and mandarin top notes; a mimosa absolute, sunflower, and lily of the valley heart; and musk Cosmone [ed.n. a novel aromachemical], vanilla and Venezuelan tonka bean drydown."
 Sweet, fruity, clean musk drydown. All check!

One commenter on People writes "I’m sure Heidi, like most celebrities, have them means to buy a lot of fragrances I can’t afford. I would expect her perfume would smell great and hopefully incorporate a lot of the characteristics from those more expensive lines so I can smell great too."
Sadly, in my personal experience in fragrant sniffing, celebrities doing brand extension through perfume launches don't necessarily expand their own taste into fragrance (JLo and Sarah Jessica Parker being exceptions), instead leaving the marketing team of Coty, Parlux, etc. decide what the intended audience would buy best...

Launch of Heidi Klum Shine is scheduled for autumn 2011 in North America and Latin America.

Twin Peaks: Hermes Poivre Samarcande & Marc Jacobs Bang reviews

In the secrecy-laced world of perfumery it's not unusual to have the same idea colonise several brands. Sometimes it happens through the same "nose" (perfumer), such as Anne Flipo for Rykiel Woman and Barbara Bui Le Parfum or Maurice Roucel working for Musc Ravageur as well as L de Lempicka). Other times, because it's the direction dictated by a new material such as the ubiquitousness of oud (Rose Oud by Kilian, Oud Leather by Dior) or Ambroxan lately (Another 13 and Baie Rose 26, Not a Perfume by Juliette Has a Gun). Or it's a new technique; take the novel method of maceration of iris root for only a few weeks instead of three years resulting in a pleiad of niche iris scents 3-4 years ago. Added to that is also the reason of marketing: A new sector opened by a pioneer is exploited by other brands later on, even by home fragrances and functional products (this is called "trickle down" in industry speak). The point of Twin Peaks series on Perfume Shrine is exactly that: to pinpoint fragrances that are smell-alikes and delineate the reasons and hows of their resemblances.
Which brings us nicely to Poivre Samarcande by the exclusive boutique line of Hermès and Bang by Marc Jacobs which circulates in the department store circuit. Smell the two though and you can see there are less of six degrees of seperation between them.

Poivre Samarcande came at a time when Jean Claude Ellena was busy populating the -at the time- novel concept of boutique exclusive fragrances, the Hermessences (The original quartet which was sold in 2005 included also Rose Ikebana, Ambre Narguilé and Vétiver Tonka). It must have felt especially validating to have everyone follow, from Chanel down to Cartier and Dior La Collection and produce "exclusive" collections in a niche manner of presentation and concept (focus on raw materials, identical bottles, limited distribution, star perfumer working for them). Poivre Samarkande was in many ways a pioneer because it was incorporated into Jean Claude's experimentation with Iso E Super started with Déclaration, which he overdosed in the Hermès scent in order to boost the effect of an airy pepper accord, which although spicy is transliterated like a wood thanks to the boost of cedar, oak and patchouli notes. In actuality it's the Iso E Super which underpins the spices, making them shine and feel cool and silky, projecting in a linear manner. The unisex effect alongside its peculiar feel good, feel non-perfumey character has made it a soaring success. It was only natural the great idea would be perpetuated. Enter Marc Jacobs.


Bang is Marc Jacob's latest foray into perfume, coming out in July 2010. His line of scents is well thought out, but without presenting much of an excitement to the hearts of dedicated niche perfumery consumers. The scents simply read as a tad too "safe" to present the much coveted challenge we seek. However, their execution is usually very good, from the bright and happy Daisy to the snuggly but light powder of Amber Splash. Bang is no different: It takes its central leitmotif from someplace else, but the result isn't a total bore, probably because the original idea was an intelligent one to begin with and someone was wise enough not to muck with it too much. Bang was created for a “contemporary guy, who, even if he isn’t young, has a younger spirit.” Jacobs created the name first and development of the composition in cooperation with Coty followed. “I wanted to do something that I would love” said Jacobs. “I particularly like spice notes, especially pepper, so that became a starting place.”
Bang was art-directed by the revered veteran Ann Gottlieb who requested such notes as black, white and pink pepper, alongside masculine woody notes (Iso E Super and ambrox for you), while the base includes elemi resin (in itself having a peppery aroma), benzoin (a sweeter resin), vetiver, "white moss" (a patented IFF accord that was introduced in Jasmine White Moss in Estée Lauder's Private Collection line) and patchouli. The scent has a vibe of a metrosexual preening in front of a black-tiled bathroom mirror, so I would most enjoy smelling it on someone unexpected. Preferably a woman.

The two scents smell quite alike, Bang being a bit sweeter and with more pronounced vetiver and watered down in the lasting power stakes (to the point of annoying), but it's the optical differences which stuck in one's mind: On the one hand a refined and sparse representation of a leather-clad bottle, on the other a slicked-up Marc posing with the (impressively designed) bottle between his bare legs. Take your pick according to your aesthetics and wallet.

Marc Jacobs Splash Cranberry, Ginger, Curacao: new fragrances

Marc Jacobs enriches his collection of Splashes, colognes to be splashed all over in matching containers of giga size, with three new entires: Cranberry, Ginger and Curaçao (inspired by the famous turquoise-coloured liqueur).

Cranberry (fruity floral)- perfumer Richard Herpin
Top: pink grapefruit, cranberry, bergamot, tangerine
Middle: ginger flower, honeysuckle, ozone, red currant
Base: vetiver, musk, woods

Ginger (spicy) - perfumer Yann Vasnier
Top: ginger, nutmeg, cognac
Middle: granadilla, geranium Bourbon, rhubarb
Base: sandalwood, amber, musk

Curaçao (fruity chypre)- perfumer Yann Vasnier
Top: blood oranges, bitter orange bigarade, lime, mandarin
Middle: violet, pear, apricot
Base: white moss, amber, musk, sandalwood

The collection hits stores in March, as a small pretaste of the summer cocktails that follow.

notes via press release

Guerlain Arsene Lupin Dandy: fragrance review & draw

It's probably not strange, but certainly unexpected, that a figure with retro connotations such as comte Robert de Montesquiou-Fézensac (who inspired not only Marcel Proust but also Joris-Karl Huysmans) should come out of a recent batch bottle of a Guerlain fragrance! Yet this is what happened when I tested Arsène Lupin Dandy, a scent that intrigued me for a long time before I put my thoughts into black & white.

(EDITOR's ADDITION: Please NB, due to ensuing legal disputes with L'Orsay who also have a Le Dandy fragrance, Guerlain has since dropped the Dandy from the name and now this is available as simply Arsène Lupin. The rest of the review mentions it with its older, longer name as that is what it was launched with at time of writing)


Given Jean Paul Guerlain's unfortunate recent comments and the futore which ensued, it's doubtful that we'll see another fragrance bearing his signature in the future. More's the pity, because amongst great perfumers of the 20th century, alongside his ascendant Jacques Guerlain of course, Ernest Beaux and Edmond Roudnitska, he certainly takes a place in the pantheon. Arsène Lupin Dandy, infiltrates Les Parfums Exclusifs, joined by Arsène Lupin Voyou, both in Eau de Parfum like the double face of Janus, and some of the other exclusive masculines (details here), is indeed a swan song of infinite grace and refined luxury. Much like some of Jean-Paul's best creations of his "golden years" such as Vétiver pour homme, Chamade, Habit Rouge (not Sport) and Chant d'Arômes , Dandy manages to exude richness without heaviness and luxury without one iota of vulgarity. This is how Guerlain ought to be constantly! Preferably in the mainstream sector as well.

Jean Paul collaborated, according to his own testimony, with in-house Guerlain perfumer Thierry Wasser to whom he passed the baton, on the two new masculine releases in their teak-wood-edged bottles. We will probably never find out the exact truth (especially given the two releases smell completely different and as if arrived at by different mentalities), so it's futile to press the point. Of the two fragrances, Dandy easily is the standout; the reason isn't hard to see.

Within this contemporary light woody chypre one can detect the emblematic character of 1920's & 1930's fragrances that made the reputation of Guerlain Parfumeur, such as Sous Le Vent (which which it shares the bitter green tinge of galbanum and the overall chypre elements, although it substitutes the murkiness of oakmoss with the quite different treemoss alongside patchouli and probably a smidge of vetiver). But it's also a modern enough accord to be featured in Martin Margiela's Untitled! The "nose" is reworking the best elements in the Guerlain tradition into formulae that are completely modern and can stand on their own in today's market.

Dandy is a grey suede leather which opens dark only to reveal lovely powdery nuances derived through ionones (floral violet & iris notes) and some spice later, very finely worked and flanked by patchouli and a resinous incense note. The citric aspects of the olibanum (frankincense) are complimentary to the hesperidic notes, which have a pleasantly restrained bitterish tinge, much like bergamot "spoon sweet" is the nicest to consume (same with sour cherry) because the natural tanginess of the fruit offsets the sugary aspects. The same effect is witnessed in maple suryp, which also has a passing resemblance with the resinous note in Dandy. The leather accord, immediately perceptible from the start, is in reality soft, maleable, velvety, echoing the suaveness of the literary character who inspired it. The literary character Arsène Lupin began his fictional life in 1905 (under "Lopin", until a namesake politician protested), smack-right into La Belle Epoque; an enigmatic figure in black-tie respendid with white gloves, a cape and a monocle, relieving the haute-bourgeoisie of their money, which seems like the perfect analogy for the clients of Guerlain Exclusifs!
The spices on the other hand (peppery bay and cardamom) provide a piquant tongue-in-cheek touch, fanned over the more predictable musk & light amber/labdanum impression of the far drydown, denoting the idea of a delicate "skin scent". The fragrance reads as a ballad of binary form.

For all its underlying complexity, appreciated through repeated wearings by both men and women who can snatch this easily for themselves, Arsène Lupin Dandy is a scent that does not proclaim its intricasies up front and keeps a cultivated air of mystery in the very best Voltaire tradition.

Notes for Guerlain Arsène Lupin Le Dandy: bergamot, bigarade, pink peppercorn, cardamom, violet, sandalwood, patchouli, cistus, olibanum.

For our readers a draw of a small decant out of my own stash: Say in the comments which is your favourite Guerlain fragrance and why and I will pick a random winner. Draw is now closed, thank you!

Related reading on Perfume Shrine: Guerlain news & reviews, Top 10 Memorable Masculines

Painting of French poet, writer and dandy, Robert de Montesquiou (1855-1921) in 1897. Portrait by Giovanni Boldini (1842-1931) via wikimedia commons.