The Guerlinade: The Sensual and Secret Seal of Guerlain

After a long silence, and having returned this morning from vacation, here is a paper that was requested of me and which will, I hope, clarify certain points.

First of all, Guerlinade is the name of a perfume created by Jacques Guerlain in 1921 (I cannot describe it because I have never smelled it). There was also the Guerlinade vegetable lotion in 1924, then much later came another creation: that of Monsieur Jean-Paul Guerlain launched in 1998 (floral bouquet with a predominance of lilac).

But this word has another meaning for lovers of the brand, namely: “The sensual seal of Guerlain creations”.

The History of a Mythical Signature

A mystery. Palpitating on the skin, stripping the memory, clothing the recollection, immaterial like an angel’s wing and yet so familiar that the passer-by, seized, stops, turns around, leans in, approaches, wavering, can no longer hold back, finally dares to ask: this perfume on you, it must be a Guerlain! (E. Barillé)

It is true that I often hear: I can’t find the name of your perfume, but I am certain it is a Guerlain! Guerlain perfumes have “a very identifiable style”.

Birth of the word Guerlinade internally

During the development of the perfume Héritage, while discussing the construction of the fragrance with my Marketing Director, I said to him: do you know that there is Guerlinade in this fragrance? It was then that my Director asked me: could you define this word Guerlinade? And it was done. In the Héritage press kit, for the first time, Guerlain would highlight, and re-appropriate this term.

Finally, the veil was lifted on the mystery of this olfactory signature named “Guerlinade”. Just as one recognizes the origin of a great wine, or the composer of a symphony, one perceives the Guerlain stamp. It is often said that Guerlain perfumes have a family resemblance. It is because they share a secret, which I will specify.

The Guerlinade is:

1. Fetish materials
2. Beautiful raw materials
3. Singular orchestration
4. Short and concise formulas
   • with overdoses
   • relief
   • drawer formulas (formules à tiroirs)
5. Tenacity and sillage and sensuality
6. Creative audacity
7. And also secrets!

The Fetish Raw Materials

Fetish raw materials: bergamot, jasmine, rose, iris, vanilla, tonka bean.

As I was tasked with defining the word Guerlinade, I was able, first of all, to note that in the composition of Guerlain perfumes, certain very noble raw materials had been recurring for 5 generations and especially in the compositions of Monsieur Jacques Guerlain.

Let’s lift a corner of the veil on some extraordinary little stories of trees, flowers, or roots that make an illustrious perfume illustrious not by chance.

Bergamot

It comes from Calabria, a region in southern Italy, bathed by two seas. This olfactory treasure is the fruit of the bergamot tree, resulting from the graft of a lemon tree and a bitter orange tree. The harvest is delicate, enclosed in copper vats preserving the exquisite scent. Only the juice of the zest is used and it takes 150 kg of fruit to obtain one hundred and fifty grams of bergamot essence.

Guerlain is the largest user of bergamot and its producers reserve the best of their harvest for it. The House has also created its own quality, the “Guerlain bergamot”.

It is a “communelle”: it combines the productions of several harvesters, in order to guarantee, year after year, an olfactory profile (the Guerlains have always preferred very ripe and very sunny fruit) that is constant and of high quality.

Rose

No other flower better symbolizes the eternal feminine sung by poets. According to legend, the rose was born from Venus who pricked herself with a white rose. The blood colored the flower and Cupid gave it its perfume.

Nearly 7000 varieties of roses are known. But Guerlain uses only the rarest essences, from Rosa Centifolia, the famous May rose of Grasse, in southeastern France, to Rosa Damascena, or Damask rose which flourishes in Turkey, Bulgaria, or Morocco.

The first is the roundest. Slightly honeyed, it is the most sensual. The second is fresher, spicier, fruitier. Blend the two and you will find a rose sublimated by so many reflections.

Since the dawn of time, the rose harvest has respected the same ritual: Rosa Centifolia, for example, is picked exclusively in May, around eight in the morning, when its buds begin to open and its scent is at its peak. It takes five tons of flowers to extract one kilo of essential oil.

Thierry Wasser confided to us that Monsieur Jean-Paul Guerlain and his grandfather Jacques had always been fascinated by Bulgarian rose rather than by Turkish rose. But for a long time, it was difficult to obtain raw materials from Eastern countries, hence this choice of Turkish rose.

But now, that time is over! And it is with great happiness that Monsieur Jean-Paul Guerlain and Thierry were able to create a superb rose communelle which is the heart of the perfume Idylle.

Jasmine

Jasmine is a delicate flower, so fragile that it cannot withstand long journeys. To preserve it, its transformation into concrete is therefore carried out on site. There are two varieties used in perfumery: Jasmine Sambac and Jasmine Grandiflorum, each with a particular facet.

Guerlain uses a communelle composed of jasmine from different countries such as France (Grasse), Egypt, and India. This “blend” allows maintaining excellence in quality whatever happens and accentuating the Guerlain signature.

Guerlain’s jasmine takes us even further, to Kerala, in southern India, where the most beautiful varieties are found. The supplier chosen by Guerlain, during the construction of the site, followed Jean-Paul Guerlain’s directives to better meet his meticulous requirements.

“The picking itself proceeds from a ritual which, despite the years, never ceases to fascinate me,” admits the creator, “it begins while it is still dark. Dawn is barely breaking.

Bent among the jasmine bushes, the pickers busy themselves, detaching one by one the tiny flowers that sparkle under their fingers, filling their cotton aprons with their light burden. Those who have never experienced the magic of a field of jasmine or roses in the dawning light, do they really know what a perfume is?”.

Tonka Bean

The tonka bean is the fruit of the kumaru, a large tree in the tropical forests of South America, mainly in Venezuela. Its flowers are purple-violet, grouped in fragrant clusters. Their fruit is similar to a large almond where the seed, the bean, nestles.

The absolute of tonka bean exhales a “balmy” odor, rich in facets, and in honeyed and spicy and almond scents. But this absolute also recalls hay and tobacco. It brings the enveloping warmth of its oriental amber accord, to build the most beautiful gourmand base notes of a perfume.

Iris

For perfumers, iris is the incarnation of luxury through the beauty and purity of each of its facets. The most romantic, the rarest, the most expensive, iris arouses all covetousness. Iris is a beautiful mysterious flower that jealously preserves its treasure underground. For it is not the flower that holds the perfume but its “roots”, the rhizomes.

It is Iris Pallida that Guerlain uses. One must wait patiently before this plant reveals its olfactory secret. Three years are necessary for the rhizomes to mature underground, under the Italian sun. Then, another three years before these rhizomes dry and finally secrete their incomparable scents.

One ton of iris yields only two liters of absolute, infinitely precious. Guerlain is one of the few houses to use this natural raw material, the most expensive in the world. It brings a powerful, floral, and powdery breadth to the perfume that contains it. (Learn more about iris pallida).

Vanilla

Vanilla, one of Guerlain’s fetish raw materials, belongs to the orchid family. It is found in the wild in the form of a climbing vine that can reach thirty meters in height. Discovered in Mexico, it is now cultivated in Java, on the islands of Reunion and Madagascar, and in Mayotte.

It exists in three different botanical forms: Vanilla Pompona, Vanilla Tahitensis, and Vanilla Planifolia. It is this third one that is used by Guerlain in the form of tincture.

The thin green pods of vanilla consent to deliver their perfume only after following a long artisanal process. Fifteen to eighteen months will elapse between pollination and marketing. During this time, the pods will undergo a fermentation of twenty-four hours, rolled in wool blankets, to dry a first time and turn brown.

After drying in the sun, then in the shade for three months, grading and, finally, refining for two to four months, the vanilla will be ready.

It is by mixing vanilla tincture (to my knowledge, there are only 2 large companies that still produce vanilla tincture) and vanillin that Guerlain uses this material, mainly as a base note. It brings extreme sensuality to the perfume upon contact with the skin; it reveals its aphrodisiac power with sensual or gourmand notes.

Very recently in L’Instant Magic, for the first time we used Vanilla Tahitensis, much more floral, very “heliotrope”, which I discovered thanks to Pierre Hermé.

Beautiful Natural Materials

I added that at Guerlain we used a large quantity of raw materials of natural origin (natural materials by definition evolve, change depending on the support, whereas a synthetic product is more linear, more stable, monolithic).

That is why a Guerlain perfume, depending on the skin, will create a unique alchemy, or not! “I like to say that it is not the perfume that perfumes the woman, but it is the woman who perfumes her perfume!”. Moreover, quite often, I have been surprised to have difficulty recognizing a Vol de Nuit, a Mitsouko, or a Shalimar on the skin of a woman or a man.

Even L’Heure Bleue, which I know by heart (it’s my perfume) can create with the skin of certain women or men such a unique alchemy, that there too, I still manage to be surprised by its transformation.

A Guerlain also rhymes with sensuality: in older creations, there was this carnal, even animal side, which little by little transformed due to fashions, tastes, and constraints into less animal but still just as sensual notes, among others given by white musks, what I called the “musquinade” during the launch of L’Instant Magic.

The Guerlains have always devoted a large part of their energy to the quest for new scents and the search for the finest quality of raw materials which will confer on the perfume its uniqueness, its richness, and its mystery.

The magic of a Guerlain perfume lies in the meticulous selection of raw materials, chosen with the greatest exactitude. Even today, a significant proportion of these ingredients is of natural origin.

However, we were among the first brands to believe in synthesis. Let us remember the perfume “Jicky”, which was among the first to associate synthetic products and natural products in a formula. Their complementarity allows the perfume to have extraordinary sillage and power.

The discovery of new molecules is, for the perfumer, an unheard-of source of new scents which can arouse in him new fields of creation. These synthetic raw materials opened up the creative field. And allowed adding the “notion of abstraction in a creation”. Perhaps that is why perfumery moved from the stage of craftsmanship to the stage of a work of art.

The message was relayed to the sales force and journalists. But thinking of Mitsouko, I made the following reflection: Mitsouko does not possess “the oriental signature” typical of Guerlain; it is a true chypre with few components cited from the Guerlinade and yet no one can deny that it is a Great Guerlain!

I therefore add that besides fetish materials and beautiful natural raw materials used in large quantities, information regarding the way of orchestrating the composition at Guerlain must also be added.

The Overdose Technique

Guerlain achieves the feat of making an imbalance the signature of its genius. By taking the daring gamble of overdosing exceptional raw materials, of sublimating them to sign a perfume of character.

• Shalimar with its overdose of bergamot (30% of the formula) and vanilla and leather notes.
• Mitsouko with its very woody character, very marked moss.
• Samsara with its overdose of sandalwood (20% of the formula), jasmine, and ylang-ylang.
• More recently Insolence with its overdose of violet and orange blossom and iris.
• Overdose of rose in Nahéma and also less pushed but present in Idylle.
• Overdose also in the Aqua Allegoria fragrance line, with two components highlighted, and also an overdose of citrus notes.
• As well as in the “L’Art et la Matière” collection where a raw material is sublimated and overdosed.

Relief and Concise Formulas

I realized that at Guerlain we did not have flat, smooth, and tidy formulas. The quest for perfection inevitably involves construction with relief resulting from unique know-how. The creation of multiple asperities irremediably captivates the senses. A Guerlain captivates, provokes, shocks, or moves, but it does not leave one indifferent.

The formulas do not get lost in a multitude of raw materials; they therefore have more impact and strength. Guerlain perfumes possess a strong identity, a great personality which makes them recognizable immediately. Very present, memorable with a sillage that bewitches, they bring together all these qualities which confer on them exceptional timelessness.

“Drawer Formulas” (Formules à tiroirs)

Guerlain perfumers have reused in certain formulas snippets of other perfumes, secret accords, which only accentuates the common thread that connects all the perfumes to each other and gives this family resemblance. Jicky inspired Shalimar which itself inspired Habit Rouge and many others.

• Après l’Ondée, L’Heure Bleue, Insolence have a family resemblance.
• Nahéma, Chamade have points in common, like the rose/hyacinth accord.
• Mitsouko, Parure, also have common raw materials.
• Liu, Véga have a fairly similar orchestration.
• A little air between perfumes like Ode, Nahéma, and Idylle which would have a “je ne sais quoi of Chant d’Arômes”, for the green and chypre notes.
• A little link between Vetyver and Guerlain Homme.

Tenacity, Sillage and Manufacturing Secrets

With a Guerlain perfume, one has the assurance of having a product that possesses two very important qualities: one being tenacity, the other diffusion. A Guerlain perfume leaves a trace in the memory of others. What other Perfume House can boast of belonging thus to the collective unconscious?

These perfumes worn for 5 generations, from mothers to daughters, from fathers to sons etc. Have thus marked memories! Many women and men have passed on the right way to choose a quality perfume by coming to a Guerlain boutique.

There are also manufacturing secrets, like the vanilla tincture unique to Guerlain, and the communelles and others.

Creative Audacity

Creative audacity is part of the brand’s genes. The Guerlain “noses” have never ceased to innovate, to precede trends, to have a true vision of the future. This heritage continues and one only has to look at a few creations to perceive all the richness that the Guerlains have offered to the world of perfume:

• “Jicky” which harmoniously associates natural raw materials with synthetic elements (in very small quantity: linalool, coumarin, and vanillin) which earns it the title of the first modern perfume.
• Mitsouko first fruity chypre on the market. Do you know that before Coty’s Chypre (1917) Guerlain launched many chypres like Chypre de Paris (1909), Cyprissime (1854), L’Eau de Chypre (1850) etc with in common the famous chypre accord known to all.
• Shalimar/Habit Rouge: Leaders of orientals (relief of bergamot, vanilla, and leather).
• Chamade: where one discovers for the first time in a perfume the blackcurrant bud and hyacinth.
• Samsara: the first feminine woody (relief of sandalwood, accompanied by jasmine and ylang-ylang).
• L’Instant: first solar amber (relief of benzoin, magnolia, tangerine).
• Insolence: a violet that assumes its extroversion (relief of violet, red fruits, orange blossom, and iris).

Guerlain creators go to the essential and their perfumes, bearers of a clear message, are no less rich, evolving, and faceted. They provoke a very direct olfactory revelation or a maze of a thousand facets of which you alone will have the secret.

Guerlain Perfumes are eagerly awaited as soon as they are released on the market; they always unleash passion, which is why lovers of the brand are so “demanding” with very emotional reactions in their comments.

Moreover, I also feel it with collaborators who have left the company. They have all kept in a corner of their hearts this passionate relationship with the brand. I attended the launch of Samsara and already at that time, I often heard “this is not a Guerlain”. And look years later! Samsara has entered the pantheon of beautiful classics of perfumery.

Conclusion

Everything Guerlain conspires to the “Baudelairian” requirement of luxury and voluptuousness. So you have understood, the Guerlinade is not constituted solely of fetish and recurring raw materials.

The Guerlinade is a State of Mind, which makes the perfumes have style, presence, great sensuality. One adores them, idolizes them, or sometimes misses them, but a Guerlain perfume leaves a trace in the memories of others.

These are perfumes that are charged with emotion and speak directly to the heart. A Guerlain is not smelled but felt!