Year of release: 1965
Classification: Amber Woody
Nose: Jean-Paul Guerlain, who's created other masculine classic at Guerlain such as Vetiver and Heritage. He was the last of the family master perfumers, being the fourth generation Guerlain to work as the master perfumer of the brand. He retired as the head perfumer in the early 2000s and stayed on as advisor but removed from the Guerlain brand in 2010 for racist remarks made on French TV regarding his inspiration for one his classic perfumes Samsara.
Top Notes Lemon, Brazilian Rosewood, Orange, Bergamot, Lime, Tangerine, Basil
Heart Notes Rose, Carnation, Sandalwood, Cinnamon, Patchouli, Jasmine, Cedar
Base Notes Vanilla, Leather, Amber, Benzoin, Oakmoss, Labdanum
My take: Opens up with a deep lemon opening, it's rich and refreshing, but has a woody and slightly woody spicy backbone, coming via the Brazilian rosewood. There are other citrus' in the opening such as the Orange, Bergamot, Lime and Tangerine, however these are very much the backing players, the lemon is the main star, along with the Brazilian rosewood.
As the scent develops, it's joined by a slightly sweet floral rose, though it's very light on my skin, and the heart is mostly about the carnation, which gives off a slight cloves nuance, warm and spicy. The citrus lemon from the opening is now only a whisper on the skin.
In the drydown, the scent completely changes, and it's almost like it's a different perfume you've worn on your skin. For me I get this dusty quality, the drydown on my skin, is this sweet woody leather, which comes across quite dry and dusty.
My wife wasn't a massive fan of the scent, and make comments such as "It seems like I've been teleported 60 years", "you smell really old", "your scent smells like an old soap that grandma would use".
Performance: Unfortunately for me, this one doesn't perform as well as I would like, which is contrary to what other reviewers experience, where this one performs excellently on them. It must just be my skin chemistry. The longevity is around 6 hours on my skin, with the projection being good for the first 2 hours after which is becomes softer on my skin, the drydown especially is very subtle on my skin, though the top and heart stages project much more noticeably.
Season: This could work all year round, though it's best suited to Autumn/Fall, and I would avoid in the blazing hot days of summer, where the drydown could get a bit cloying.
Occasion: This is signature scent worthy, and could work excellently as a work and formal scent.
Rating: 8/10 - it's a classic, just wish it would perform better on my skin, if it did, it would get a solid 10/10.
You can watch my video review here: https://youtu.be/ImoSRRNjUGM
