Growing up, I was obsessed with the idea of a signature scent. I wanted a perfume that people would smell and instantly think of me.
At 14, I found it in Giorgio Armaniâs Sensi (after I dabbled in the teen staples of Ghost and Anna Suiâs Sui Dreams). I wore it exclusively for years until it was discontinued when I was at university.
After that, I abandoned hope of a signature scent; nothing was as âmeâ as the warm, amber notes of Sensi, so instead I swapped my perfumes daily â helped along hugely by my role as a beauty journalist, which meant I had access to an endless supply of scents.
Though I had several scents I wore frequently (Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb and Tom Ford Black Orchid), I never imagined Iâd find a signature scent again â until this summer.
My new signature scent: introducing Guerlain LâHeure Bleue Eau de Parfum
One morning in July, in a penthouse in Westminster decked out in sumptuous blue furnishings, I was introduced to Guerlainâs reimagining of the brandâs 1912 scent of the same name.
LâHeure Bleue is named after the time of day when day gives way to night â and vice versa. Itâs only a tiny moment in time, but it exudes peace and serenity, presenting the shifting in time and the possibilities that change brings.
Delphine Jelk, Guerlainâs Director of Perfume Creation, wanted to capture this feeling of possibility in scent form, and to do so, she blended velvety iris with comforting vanilla and fresh, crisp ozonic accord.
âLâHeure Bleue is that moment when the day is almost gone and the night has not yet arrived â twilight,â Delphine says. âIt is a moment of freshness and thrill; there is also the idea of flight: the blank page of night offers new freedom. Everything becomes possible.â
The notes muddle together to create a scent unlike any I have unstoppered before â no mean feat when my job is to smell perfumes day in, day out.
Itâs easy to list all of the fragrance notes and assume this conveys what it smells like, but when writing about fragrance, I think it makes more sense to describe how it makes me feel, and the imagery LâHeure Bleue evokes.
Other than a city bathed in slightly blue light with streetlights just switching on, adding a glow to the Paris streets (for me, itâs always Paris I imagine), this smells like when the evening has cooled down after a day in the sun, and youâre getting ready to go out.
Itâs a silky dress and barely there heels in a new city that youâre exploring; itâs mysterious and alluring â and it attracts many, many compliments.
When I went to the preview of the scent, the Guerlain team all told me theyâd received compliments from strangers while wearing LâHeure Bleue â and itâs had the same effect for me. Everyone from my osteopath to family friends have asked me what Iâm wearing â and until now, the fragrance has been under embargo, so I couldnât share. Now, Iâm ready to shout it from the rooftops!
My favourite thing about LâHeure Bleue is how much it lingers. Days after spraying it, it still lingers invitingly om my clothes. Iâm excited to spray it on scarves and coats come autumn to see how it develops in colder temperatures.
A reimagining of LâHeure Bleue
If you were a fan of the original LâHeure Bleue, now called LâHeure Bleue 1912, this really doesnât smell similar at all.
The original had that powdery scent many of us have come to associate with our grandmothers, so while itâs just as captivating as the new iteration, itâs scarcely recognisable.
Delphine says: âIt was essential for me to respect Jacques Guerlainâs work and remain deeply connected to it. Not doing so would have meant denying what he created. But I approached it with my own sensitivity, emotion, and todayâs palette of ingredients. This is not a replica, but a modern interpretation with the same emotion.â
In summary, my new signature scent is powerful while also being intimate. It announces itself when you spray it, but gets all the more intriguing up close. Iâve just finished my sample-size bottle, so Iâm relieved that LâHeure Bleue is no longer under lock and key,
Read the full article here
