Guerlain

Guerlain is among the oldest perfume houses in the world. It has a large and loyal customer following, and is held in high esteem in the perfume industry. Perfumes by Guerlain are often said to be inspired by the scent of confections, as a result of a common vanilla and amber accord in many of their fragrances. This unique attribute is often referred to as the "Guerlinade". A perfume by the same name was launched by Guerlain in 1921.

History

The House of Guerlain was owned and managed by members of the Guerlain family from 1828 to 1994. It was acquired in 1994 by the LVMH group, a multinational investment corporation specializing in luxury brands.

The beginning

The House of Guerlain was founded in 1828, when Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain opened his perfume store on 42, rue de Rivoli in Paris. As both the founder and first perfumer of the house, Pierre-François composed and manufactured custom fragrances with the help of his two sons, Aimé and Gabriel. Through continued success and the patronage of members in high society, Guerlain opened its flagship store at 15, rue de la Paix in 1840, and put its mark on the Parisian fashion scene.

The success of the house under Pierre-François peaked in 1853 with the creation of Eau de Cologne Impérial. This perfume earned Pierre-François the prestigious title of being His Majesty's Official Perfumer (France), which lead him to create perfumes for Queen Victoria of England and Queen Isabella of Spain, among other royalty.

The Second Generation

With the death of Pierre-François in 1864, the house was left to Aimé Guerlain and Gabriel Guerlain. The roles of perfumer and manager were divided between the two brothers, with Gabriel managing and further expanding the house, and Aimé becoming the master perfumer. As such, the House of Guerlain began a long tradition where the position of master perfumer was handed down through the Guerlain family.

As Guerlain's second generation in-house perfumer, Aimé was the creator of many classic compositions, including Fleur d'Italie (1884), Rococo (1887) and Eau de cologne du coq (1894). However, many would argue that his greatest composition was Jicky (1889).

The Third Generation

The business was handed down to the sons of Gabriel Guerlain: Jacques Guerlain and Pierre Guerlain. Jacques became Guerlain's third master perfumer in line; he was the author of many Guerlain classics, which are still held in high esteem in the modern perfume industry. Most of his perfumes are still sold and marketed today.

Among Jacques Guerlain's most famous and popular creations are Eau du Coq (1894), Après L'Ondée (1906), L'Heure Bleue (1912), Mitsouko (1919), and Guerlain's flagship fragrance Shalimar (1925).

Jacques Guerlain also composed Vol de Nuit (1933) as a tribute to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Air France. Ode (1955), a floral perfume similar to the likes of Joy by Jean Patou, was the last perfume composition by Jacques Guerlain. The composition of Ode was helped by his grandson, the then-18-year-old Jean-Paul Guerlain.

The Fourth Generation

Jean-Paul Guerlain is currently Guerlain's master perfumer. He created Guerlain's classic men's fragrances Vétiver (1959) and Habit Rouge (1965); the latter is considered by many to be the first male oriental fragrance. He also created Nahéma (1979), Jardins de Bagatelle (1983), and Samsara (1989), as well as Héritage and Coriolan in the 1990s.

With the retirement of Jean-Paul in sight, and no heir from inside the family to take over, it is likely that the role of master perfumer will no longer be tied to family succession.

Guerlain/LVMH Group

Following the acquisition of Guerlain by LVMH in 1994, perfumers outside of the family have been hired to compose perfumes for Guerlain:

• Mathilde Laurent worked as a perfumer for Guerlain. She composed Pamplelune (1999) and Shalimar Light (2003). Authorship of the latter has since been reattributed to Jean-Paul Guerlain and relaunched in 2004, after formula changes in the perfume.
• Maurice Roucel, a perfumer of Symrise, composed L'Instant de Guerlain (2004) and Insolence (2006).

Famous perfumes

• Jicky (1889): Said to be named after a girl that broke Aimé Guerlain's heart as a student in England; it proved to be a great success in its time of creation, and remained popular ever since. Widely heralded as the first "modern" perfume, Jicky was among the first perfumes to incorporate synthetic odorants (aldehydes) in its composition, and is described by some as being the "ultimate" fougère.
• Après L'Ondée (1906): Meaning "After the Heavy (Summer) Shower", Après L'Ondée is reminiscent of bitter almonds and wet stones. Its composition includes iris, violet, rose, hawthorne and hesperedic notes.
• L'Heure Bleue (1912): Meaning "The Blue Hour", L'Heure Bleue is perfume with the dusky scent of candies and almond cake bought in an old world apothecary. Although much akin to Après L'Ondée in its pastry and almonds core, L'Heure Bleue is much less bright and more melancholic.
• Mitsouko (1919): Meaning "Mystery" in Japanese, Mitsouko is said to herald the ending of World War I. Since it uses a similarly styled bottle as L'Heure Bleue, Mitsouko was likely to be composed as warm counterpart to the cool L'Heure Bleue. Mitsouko has the sweet smell of peach preserves and glazed danishes with a warmth reminiscent of glowing embers.
• Shalimar (1925): Named after the garden in Srinagar, built by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, Shalimar is one of the first perfumes to successfully incorporate large amounts of vanillin in its composition. The scent of Shalimar is deep and velvetly black with the scent of lemon hinted medicinal vanilla. This is the flagship perfume of the House of Guerlain.

Past products

Guerlain's creations have long influenced the trends of perfumery with fragrances such as Jicky, Shalimar, and Vétiver. Guerlain is among the few older houses (such as Caron) that exist solely to produce and market perfumes. (Nowadays this includes a range of makeup and skincare products.) Many brands in the perfume industry, such as Chanel, Jean Patou and Gucci, are in fact divisions of fashion houses, which produce perfumes as part of a broader range of products.

LVMH Reformulates Perfumes

Since its acquisition by LVMH, Guerlain has reformulated some of its classics for health compliance reasons. These could potentially mean the end of the traditional formulations of many classics such as Mitsouko and Shalimar.

References

• Perfume Brands and Fragrances
• History of a house:Guerlain
• Perfume, A mainstay of the French economy

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