Gucci Memoire d'Une Odeur: fragrance review

A comrade of mine in fragrance said, taking the 2019 fragrance launches in retrospect, "In today’s world, chamomile will never be a major perfume trend, unless this world does a 180 degree turn. It’s not that its extracts smell bad: it’s the mythology that comes with it. The most successful things in modern perfumery are sensual — white flowers, sweet stuff. Chamomile, with its tea and eczema cream connotations, is about as sensual as baby's colic. So, no sex in chamomile, but a lot of other things — calm, serenity, memories (hence the name of Gucci’s perfume.) Memories of that field behind Grandma’s house, of that distant time someone special took such good care of you." She was talking about Gucci Mémoire d’une Odeur, i.e. memory of a smell.

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The fragrance was an innovation based on a concept by the new creative director at Gucci, Alessandro Michele, whom we have to thank for the innovative outlook that gave us recently niche-quality smelling Gucci Guilty Absolute for men and the worthwhile Gucci Bloom collection of scents.

 “Everything comes from my obsession with scents: my memory is primarily olfactive so, for me, my sense of smell is my memory. I thought that, deep down, perfume is that thing that even with your eyes closed, brings you to a precise moment in space and time. When we began to work on Gucci Mémoire d’une Odeur, I tried to imagine the recollection of a scent that couldn’t easily be identified; a hybrid scent that resembles memory as much as possible”..

Gucci Mémoire d’une Odeur is an elixir that transcends gender by its individuality, to establish a new olfactive family, Mineral Aromatic. The transcendent accord features unexpected and enigmatic ingredients, and is defined by a note of Roman chamomile.
Alessandro Michele envisioned this particular flower inside the scent, blended by master perfumer Alberto Morillas.

The famous perfumer mentioned upon launching that ”the musky mineral accord is the keystone of the fragrance: it links all the other olfactive elements together with pure softness. I had to think quite carefully about why Alessandro chose chamomile. When I started to work with the scent of chamomile itself, then I understood. “No one had done it before. Chamomile is known all over the world. Everyone has smelt it at some point, but as a dream, a memory of childhood, something timeless, and never in a fragrance. This flower is much underestimated and is a plant with an exceptional olfactive signature.”

 I'm thinking that the world has since indeed done a 180 degree turn, nothing is the same anymore, and the feeling of someone taking good care of us is such a precious, precious thought that Gucci's Memoire d'une Odeur has become sort of an amulet against evil. Its softly musky, clean trail is a promise of a happy ending in a tangled bedtime story.

Memoire d'une Odeur by Gucci is a special breed apart, even among modern fragrances. A most refined, botanical take on the clean whisper of a scent of woods and chamomile that can be so popular for discreet company. The scent is best retained on fabric (and paper); it tends to seemingly vanish on the skin in a short time which prompts complaints from consumers. In reality it's still there, but the big musk molecules are too large to be perceptible by some individuals.

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 The sparse bottle is inspired by a vintage Gucci fragrance bottle discovered by Alessandron Michelle and used for Mémoire d’une Odeur’s bottle. Grooved like a column from an ancient world, the bottle casts a refined silhouette in heavy transparent light green glass, crowned with shiny gold cap. Printed gold foil frames the label, revealing the Gucci logo together with the name of the fragrance.

“The packaging comes from the past, inspired by an old Gucci perfume from the early 90s. I didn’t want the bottle to take on a shape or size that is too feminine or too masculine because the perfume could be very much for women or very much for men,” said Alessandro Michele.

What can we say? We're smitten. 

Top Comforting Scents

Sometimes, things get a little hectic, life is a bit stressful, weather is acting up on you when you least expect it and you're finding yourself reaching for some comfort. Where do you seek solace? Today I am participating in a blog-o-rama with thirteen fine bloggers under the united theme of Comforting Scents for Uncomfortable Times organized by fellow blogger & perfumer Ayala Moriel. Come aboard and indulge in the selection!

Library smells
Odd beginning, but I wanted to get this off my chest: There is something deeply comforting about an old English-style library; velvet-upholstered Chesterfield couches, mahogany desks, green-hued lamps, the trails of blond tobacco pipes smoked by those who inhabit it and rows and rows of leather-bound books. A little armagnac in a tumbler wouldn't hurt either! I intend to recreate this ambience in a special room in my house when I'm older. People might say I have the tastes of a dried-up old man going hunting, but I don't care. In the meantime, I'm recreating that atmosphere with Etro Gomma, the magestic sweep of Doblis, the elegant Diorling and the home candle for the otherwordly Messe de Minuit. For me, they feel like home.

Orange Blossoms & the Sea-Spray
The smell of spring coming, rushing in might be an apter term. Even when the first hot rays are shining, it's the promise budding orange blossoms bring on the bigaradiers that flank the streets of where I live that signal their happy song, ushering in Easter and the return of Bacchus. And it is the salty, iodine scent of the sea brought by the gentle breeze of the evening, rolling along the coastal avenue under the palm-trees that speaks of the joys but also of the yearnings of the Big Blue.

Chanel Bois des Îles
It's not hard to see the appeal of fine cashmere: Its luxurious, pliable, warm but never stuffy yarns, enrobe the body like a beloved's hug. There are several fragrances which claim to be "a cashmere scent" (short for I-want-to-cuddle) but this classic by Ernest Beaux remains unsurpassed, especially in extrait de parfum where its artistry shines like a bright star in the galaxy. Its creamy sandalwood, the doughy iris that provides the plush, some ylang-ylang, hazy opoponax and the labdanum smidge in the drydown account for the most huggable scent you can think of. Simply sublime!

Ava Luxe No.23
This is like cheating as it is along the lines of the afore-mentioned Bois des Iles, at least in general concept. But it bears its own mention because the creamy sandalwood base along something like cheery citrus on the top just makes me feel safe and peaceful. The acacia and hawthorn notes are like sugar-spun biscotti, the musk is warm, powdery, inviting. I guess that's comfort...

Frédéric Malle L'Eau d'Hiver
There is a hint of spiciness hidden, a little heliotrope and hawthorn, some sweetness and the feel of a choir of angels singing atop a lightly salmon-coloured pillowy cloud and I'm transported. I always loved this one, composed by Jean Claude Ellena in 2003 and only this winter did I invest in my own bottle. From now on, the ethereal song can be repeated at will.

Baby scent
Those little creatures burb and poop and pee and perform all possibly imagined inelegant functions, but there is something about their own personal smell, their innermost buttery, milky, a little musky essence that one cannot possibly fully appreciate it until they have a little one of their own and it cuddles up to bed with them. It's yummylicious and utterly addictive!

Hearty, humble food
There is something to be said about the comforting aspects of reverting to the womb through indulging in the familiar scents and tastes of childhood. But what is most surprising is that even though possessing an inquisitive palate early on, it is those humbler carbohydrate-rich tastes which bring on that sense of psychological satiation like you're at peace with the world. I often long for a hearty plate of lentil soup, its garlicy vapours engulfing me on a dreary winter's day, or some on-the-spot composed zabaglione I recall gulping down as a treat after classes when little. Its aroma between a dessert and a vitamin-full supplement has something compelling about it. And of course organic strawberries eaten with fingers, scooping fresh cream along the way: What's more decadent, more delicious, more like a final declaration of spring-coming? I may be a fan of Slow Food, but there's nothing wrong with a couple of easy dishes sometimes. And, oh, cooking by itself is comforting (and sensual) by its very nature.

Salep
This traditional Turkish drink has always been something of a remedy-all at my house. Probably because it does aid a rough throat, which is all I ever suffered from (and it was quite often, I can tell you that!). The poppy-seed dust folded into warm milk has something of the ritual of arcane shaman practices that catches the imagination. And the crushed cinnamon on top adds to its attractiveness: It was only later I learned cinnamon is sometimes tied to Aphrodite. Figures...

So which are your comforting smells? Share them with us!

Please visit the rest of the participating blogs on these links:
All I Am A Redhead,
A Rose Beyond the Thames
BitterGrace Notes
I Smell Therefore I Am
Katie Puckrick Smells
Notes from the Ledge
Olfactarama
Perfume in Progress
Roxana's Illuminated Journal
Savvy Thinker
Scent Hive
SmellyBlog
The Non Blonde

Photo by Ayala Sender
The song is Southern Cross by Thanos Mikroutsikos on poetry by Nikos Kavadias, sung by George Dalaras