Les Légendaires

Jicky Eau de Parfum

Jicky (Eau de Parfum) by Guerlain
Bottle Design:
Gabriel Guerlain
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Ranked 77 in Women's Perfume
8.0 / 10 684 Ratings
A popular perfume by Guerlain for women. The release year is unknown. The scent is spicy-animal. It is being marketed by LVMH.
Pronunciation
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Main accords

Spicy
Animal
Floral
Oriental
Powdery

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes Top Notes
BergamotBergamot LemonLemon RosemaryRosemary Mandarin orangeMandarin orange
Heart Notes Heart Notes
LavenderLavender BasilBasil Orris rootOrris root PatchouliPatchouli RoseRose JasmineJasmine VetiverVetiver
Base Notes Base Notes
CivetCivet BenzoinBenzoin Tonka beanTonka bean VanillaVanilla AmbergrisAmbergris FrankincenseFrankincense SandalwoodSandalwood SpicesSpices LeatherLeather RosewoodRosewood

Perfumer

Videos
Ratings
Scent
8.0684 Ratings
Longevity
7.6507 Ratings
Sillage
6.8481 Ratings
Bottle
8.3461 Ratings
Value for money
7.9116 Ratings
Submitted by Feylamia, last update on 07/21/2025.
Interesting Facts
Jicky is one of the first modern perfumes and the oldest one to be produced without interruption. Jicky´s revolutionary style back then when it was new, imitated - in contrast to previous perfumes - no natural fragrance. Instead, synthetic materials such as coumarin and vanillin (allegedly used for the first time) are used centrally and independently valid as fragrance building blocks.
For Marketing, Guerlain used a love story. “Jicky” is purported to be the name of a woman who Aimé Guerlain knew in England. On the other hand, it is said the name would go back to the nickname of his nephew Jacques Guerlain.
The fragrance is part of the "Les Légendaires" collection.
Variant of the fragrance concentration
This is a variant of the perfume Jicky (Extrait) by Guerlain, which differs in concentration.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Jicky (Eau de Toilette) by Guerlain
Jicky Eau de Toilette
Jicky (Extrait) by Guerlain
Jicky Extrait
Mouchoir de Monsieur by Guerlain
Mouchoir de Monsieur
Jicky (Eau de Cologne) by Guerlain
Jicky Eau de Cologne
Civet Cat Chypre (2021) by Meleg Perfumes
Civet Cat Chypre (2021)
Casamorati - Fiero by Xerjoff
Casamorati - Fiero

Reviews

31 in-depth fragrance descriptions
GypsyJohn

4 Reviews
GypsyJohn
GypsyJohn
Very helpful Review 9  
Strong Enough for a Man...but made for a woman
*FIFTY SHADES OF GUERLAIN
*
#2) Jicky
(1889, Aimè Guerlain)
-golden forest brown-

Modern (c. 2012) extrait review

I have reviewed hundreds of fragrances and own in excess of a thousand; yet, no other scent has confounded me as much while managing to enrapture me so completely. Please bear with me as I attempt to translate something so utterly iconic and sublime as Jicky using only the written word...

I felt as if I was looking down the wrong end of the proverbial microscope, attempting to review and experience such a legendary and revered perfume as Jicky having only a decanted sample of the most recent extract version (read: "post-IFRA's most stringent guidelines and more than a decade after the LVMH takeover") with which to plumb the depths of Aimè Guerlain's late 19th century masterpiece. Yes, I know, that word gets bandied about a bit; yet if any scent ever deserved that appellation-it's Jicky, even this almost holographic representation is no less amazing and still has its Guerlain glimmer!

To put this perfume in an historical perspective, it was released right in the middle of the Belle Èpoque era (1871-1914) in Europe, corresponding to the Gilded Age in the US. The Eiffel Tower was unveiled (many scorned it calling it gauche and unsightly). Van Gogh painted "Starry Night". The Moulin Rouge was open for business and Gustav Mahler premiered his first symphony. Baudelaire, Gaugin, Matisse, Bernard, Toulouse-Lautrec and a very young Picasso frequented Paris nightlife and salons. Pierre-François had passed away twenty-five years earlier leaving the Guerlain legacy to his two sons: Aimè becoming a second generation Master Perfumer and Gabriel *father of Jacques* running and expanding the business. The Age of the Machine was dawning and as exciting as that was, folks were a little skeptical of anything "un-natural".

Guerlain was a pioneer and Jicky broke many a mold. It is touted as the first "emotive" perfume (not single note or place specific). This fragrance was not the first to use synthetics (Houbigant used coumarin in Fougère Royale 6 years earlier) but Aimè was the first perfumer daring enough to combine more than one synthetic (coumarin, ethyl-vanillin and linalool) into a blend of natural essences; thus its title of first "modern" perfume. Allegedly, it is also the first fragrance to be called "perfume", as opposed to eau de cologne I would imagine(?). He crafted Fleurs d'Italie (1884), Skine (1885) and Rococo (1887) beforehand and Excellence (1890), Belle-France (1892) and his dual swan songs of Capricime alongside his generational ode to cologne Eau de Cologne du Coq in 1894 afterwards; however Jicky is, in my humble opinion, his magnum opus.

Without intending to (or perhaps he DID) M. Guerlain conceived and created a very androgynous unisex perfume. Supposedly, this was released for women, but was later adopted by men, ultimately being favored by both genders. One myth states prostitutes wore it because it left a very masculine trace and trail (not the more feminine scents usually worn by courtesans) lingering on their (presumably married) clients.

Then, just as now, many people fear what they do not understand...and Jicky remains perplexing on many levels. It was not initially received well (many said it "smelled like feet!" in 1889) and I am sure the *still* visionary fusion of a classic fougère structure being adorned with sophisticated flowers dusted with a subtle mélange of oriental notes then drenched by an overdose of civet musk left many inquisitive sniffers with wrinkled noses; no doubt shaking their heads and reaching for their snuff tins.

Many call this perfume "schizophrenic". I disagree wholeheartedly. There must be a "schism" (break) for that to be true and Jicky is anything but fractured or confused. The reaction of modern people has been a bit insane; as I have gotten the STRANGEST range of comments while wearing Jicky for the last few days (trying to wrap both my nose and brain around it). Everything from "you smell awe-some!" to (Sherapop's aforementioned) "spice cake" accord to my partner's declaration that one of the most majestic fragrances ever created reeked of "offal...with burnt hair on top"! Moral of the story: TRY BEFORE YOU BUY...because Jicky doesn't come cheap! *see links below*

An immediate vaporous warmth surrounded me as a lemon-dominated blend of citruses add lift to gradually unfurling herbal accords and the aroma of savory spices. Its true fougère nature is apparent as velvet lavender opens in the heart giving this a classic appeal with rustic undertones. The inviting charm of the opening draws you, like a bouncing and bright will-o-the-wisp, guiding you into a half-lit forest dense with fertile soil, cool greens and heady blooms wafting through humid air tinged with muskiness. A beguiling creature appears from the underbrush, each and every movement graceful while gliding between the trunks. It continues prancing and laughing with a blend of innocent joy and mature wisdom though each and every gesture belies an intimate sensuality and deep connection to the Earth.

This being radiates a masculine strength and rural ruggedness; yet, its obvious gentleness and feminine grace enchants, even as it confounds. Aimè Guerlain used varying degrees of green (orris, linalool and vetiver) to blend seemingly incongruous notes ultimately bridging the gap between "his" (fougère) and "hers" (floriental) with perfumed tendrils who pull the scent together as it expands and evolves.

An exotic balminess remains languorously for hours on skin. Coumarin's sweet breath lingers over vanilla glazed and spice-impregnated wood. Jicky purrs quietly as it caresses you one last time, emitting a (for want of a better term) "fresh funk" that haunts the memory with its beauty, almost as much as its oddness, before fading away into the wee hours a cold frosty night.

Projection on modern Jicky extrait varies greatly, depending on whether it's dabbed or sprayed, and on where it's applied. The longevity (especially on clothing, detectable even days later) is superlative. Sillage is soft, yet it can reappear-stretching and baring its claws a bit-when skin warms. It wore best for me on a drizzly and chill autumn day. Jicky is the perfect scent for such occasions as it has a definite ambience and moody complexity.

Silage: moderate then soft
Longevity: above average
Overall: 5/5
*TIMELESS AND ETERNAL*
Jicky is like the groovy great grandmother perfume surrounded now by her various fresh, oriental and fruity floral progeny. She is still amazing, warm and full of life. Unfortunately, she is not what she once was. Though very much alive she tires quickly and doesn't do quite as much as she used to do. Her very matronly aura commands respect though she is anything but formal, quick to hug with a joke and a smile. Always comfortable with herself and who and what she was, perhaps it is best we choose to remember her how she was in her heyday, full of sass and a total knockout while still being grateful we have her around today. She's still that lady (and always will be) who remembers (though she may claim that she doesn't) sylvan moonlight soirées and dancing barefoot in clothes that smelled of earth, love, smoke and flowers wandering home at dawn; now smiling and humming as she taps her nimble feet and gazes with ancient eyes at a full golden midsummer moon.

Love her or hate her, then or now, Jicky deserves the title of Legend
0 Comments
5
Bottle
5
Sillage
5
Longevity
2
Scent
Drseid

821 Reviews
Drseid
Drseid
Very helpful Review 5  
The Fecal Civet Used Is Just Plain "Icky"...
I apologize to all the fans of this classic fragrance, but this one is a definite scrubber for me. I may be overly sensitive to the fecal aspects of the scent, but immediately they came out in full force and I could not get past them. One of the worst scents I have ever smelled. I wanted to like it, but c'est la vie, I guess. My recommendation for anyone considering buying this scent is to definitely sample it first before buying. It has a huge following, but sampling it will protect you in case you mirror the negative experience I had with the civet. Two huge thumbs down from me folks, sorry. 1 to 1.5 stars out of 5.
0 Comments
7.5
Bottle
7.5
Sillage
7.5
Longevity
10
Scent
MarkStar

7 Reviews
MarkStar
MarkStar
Helpful Review 8  
Hopeless in love!
It all started more than a year and a half ago with Agua Lavanda Puig. First it was just a small bottle of the cologne, then the big jug o' splash, and then the hunt for the larger sized green glass cologne bottle (found @ La Tienda).

And by then it was too late...

Lavender. I was hooked. Then somebody threw in some vanilla. Vanilla! Sweet syrupy kid's stuff! I remember wearing Coty's Raw Vanilla back in '96 when I didn't know any better...

Caron Pour un Homme. Fantastic stuff! Delicious! Classy! Understated.

And then there came Jicky. Not delicious. Classy? Try dirty. Not understated. More like a muffled and muted scream. But even more fantastic!

I'm done-for. Ruined. I search the shops and the net for something similar, but it's futile. My fragrant hobby is dead.

All I need is Jicky. All I want is Jicky...
1 Comment
10
Bottle
7.5
Sillage
7.5
Longevity
10
Scent
MasterLi

375 Reviews
MasterLi
MasterLi
Helpful Review 9  
Review for the Eau de Parfum...
Reviewing something like Jicky isn't an easy task... but I'll try and give it a go.

Simply put, if you don't know much about fragrance, Jicky is basically the ancestor of practically every modern perfume we have today. Although it was not the first perfume to use synthetic notes (as opposed to those inspired by nature), it was different in that it was based on an abstract concept. Emotion (this was a perfume inspired by a person, and memories associated with them). All perfumes before either related to a place or a natural ingredient (a bouquet of flowers,a single flower, eau de cologne etc.). Fougère Royale by Houbigant was released 6 years before Jicky and used a synthetic note: Coumarin (an Almond and Hay-like note derived from Tonka Beans). However this was just a single synthetic note. Here, Aimé Guerlain used not just Coumarin, but also Linalool (a Minty, spicy-fresh type note), and Ethyl-Vanillin (a Vanilla derivative). The result? The foundation for all modern perfume. The world's first truly abstract (i.e. "Modern") perfume.

So what does this 125 year old creation smell like? Well, it doesn't smell simple. It's complex, and not old either. Jicky is essentially a Lavender-Vanilla combination, but not just that. It's also dirty and warm, due to use of Civet (an animalic, Musky note), which gives it a very intimate and a very human, almost sexual feel in the background. For me I get 4 main notes: bitter Bergamot, sweet Lavender, a dry and almost nutty, sweet Hay note (from the Coumarin/Tonka Bean), and warm, dirty civet (animal musk). It's such a strange mix but really fascinating to wear. I basically get sweet Hay and dry Lavender, with a hint of bitter-sharp Lemon and Bergamot, before settling down to a deep, sensual Vanilla and warm Musk combination which stays until the end.

Even after all these years... Jicky is still a very hard one to describe. But it's certainly a direct ancestor of all Lavender-Vanilla combinations since (including Pour un Homme de Caron and even Jean-Paul Gaultier's Le Male). It's also the direct predecessor of Shalimar (Jacques Guerlain later added a huge dose of Vanilla to Jicky and created Shalimar).

The other question: is it for men or for women? Originally it was a unisex/masculine scent. But very few men wore something as complex as Jicky, and afterwards was embraced by women (not at first, because of the skanky, animal-like Musk note). But time has proven that Jicky is truly androgynous, as it belongs to the fougère family of fragrances directed towards men (the herbs & lavender "barbershop" feel), but at the same time was dirty and sensual and sweet with a Vanilla and Amber base, and was later adopted by modern, independent women. The list of people who wore this includes Sean Connery and Roger Moore, but also Brigitte Bardot and Jackie Kennedy. It really doesn't have a gender. Even the name "Jicky" was either a nickname for an English girl whom Aimé Guerlain loved (called Jacqueline) or his nephew, Jacques Guerlain (who would later create Shalimar).

Basically, there is no other way to say this but that Jicky is a work of art and the DNA ancestor of all modern perfume. Without this, there wouldn't be a Shalimar, or a Chanel No. 5, or any other "abstract" type of perfume which uses rich, sensual ingredients and which is not inspired purely by nature.

My advice? Try it, not just because of the history and significance... but also because you may be surprised and challenged. It's not for everyone, and it's a little strange to many people, but if you approach it with an open mind, you may really grow to like or even fall in love with it. Jicky is as French as the Eiffel Tower, and like an impressionist painting... is to be appreciated as art and with respect in order to understand where modern perfume-making came from.
2 Comments
7.5
Sillage
7.5
Longevity
6
Scent
Sherapop

1239 Reviews
Sherapop
Sherapop
Helpful Review 6  
Is spice cake naughty?
I was very late to the Guerlain JICKY party, having acquired my bottle only a couple of years ago. I had never sniffed it anywhere, so upon delivery of the package, which I had ordered from an online emporium, I experienced my very first spritz of this legendary nineteenth-century creation--or so I thought. Naturally I was shocked at the disparity between the qualities of this reformulation, whose naughtiness is exhausted by the letters BHT appearing prominently as the fourth named ingredient on the box, and the reputation which preceded "JICKY".

Spice cake is the take-away, basically, to my nose. Okay, so it's spice cake being served in a barber shop, but it's spice cake all the same! I have nothing against spice cake, mind you, but clearly there is no civet cat or reasonable facsimile within a thousand miles of this reformulation.

To be more precise: Batch OT01 of the eau de toilette, which comes in the 3.1 ounce refill bottle--perfect for inserting into my now empty gold MITSOUKO case--is a kind of light refreshment, quite suitable as a rejuvenating cologne. To me this composition is unisex leaning slightly toward the masculine side. All that I need to go along with it are a hot towel and some cream cheese icing.
0 Comments
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Statements

13 short views on the fragrance
TheDunkPapaTheDunkPapa 6 months ago
7
Bottle
6
Sillage
6
Longevity
9
Scent
The proto-oriental feel is immediately apparent: aggresive, dusty citrus and ashy florals, sandalwood and something patchouli-esque below.
0 Comments
LillibetLillibet 7 years ago
8
Bottle
6
Sillage
6
Longevity
8
Scent
Mine is the modern 'bee bottle' EdP. Herbal open, powder & a gentle growl beneath. The dry down smells amazing right up close to my skin.
0 Comments
BertolucciKBertolucciK 4 years ago
8
Bottle
6
Sillage
7
Longevity
9
Scent
Fougère, unisex and not old fashion at all. Bergamot, lavender, floral with a balsamic base of vanilla, tonka, spices and a nice civet.
0 Comments
RingtaleRingtale 3 months ago
9
Bottle
7
Sillage
9
Longevity
9.5
Scent
Another beauty (and beast, but a well groomed beast :-)) out of the 'Les Legendaires' line which is fantastic!
0 Comments
TruckladyTrucklady 6 years ago
10
Bottle
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
10
Scent
In Gone With The Wind, Scarlett O'Hara splashed, and gargled, EDT, whereas Rhett smoothed his hair with Jicky.
0 Comments
PurlPurl 16 days ago
10
Bottle
10
Sillage
7
Longevity
5
Scent
I appreciate the history here, but it smells way too much like Deep Woods Off at the end of a sweaty hike for me to wear it.
0 Comments
bouffantbouffant 2 months ago
9
Bottle
3.5
Scent
Nice opening but TRAGICALLY the dry down smells like mothballs and bad breath to me.
0 Comments
Freshman78Freshman78 5 months ago
8
Bottle
7
Sillage
7
Longevity
8
Scent
This is for the 2021 formulation. Shalimar opening, Guerlain Heritage mid with more powder. No overpowering animalic notes. Nice!
0 Comments
MizywaMizywa 7 months ago
9
Bottle
9
Sillage
9
Longevity
3
Scent
Oh Jicky, I so wanted to love you, but I can’t :( The lemon, lavender and vanilla is lovely, but the civet is just too overpowering for me.
0 Comments
RjudgeRjudge 8 months ago
Very interesting and deep. Citrus with lots behind it. Smells realistic citrus. But don’t need
0 Comments
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