Chanelle

I usually didn't have a good relationship with Shalimar (I'm talking about all flankers, dosage forms, concentrations, batches and vintages).
The classic EdP, for example, doesn't come into my house, too leathery, too breathtaking (not in a good way) resinous, and much more
The souffles had nothing that made a lasting impression on me; the extrait that is still available doesn't have the breed of the early batches and is too citrusy in the top note in my nose.
However, there were always very good flankers or even fragrances that had the word Shalimar in their name, even if you couldn't immediately make out much resemblance to the original form: Fleur D'Oranger was beautifully Spanish-orangy, the lemony-creamy fluffiness of Parfum Initial is still unparalleled, the "Route de..." Trilogy was an example of 3 wonderful vanilla varieties.
Now another one is added.
And is appropriate for the occasion (100 years of Shalimar) good and mainstream.
Again I am reminded of incense sticks, Nagchampa, Bois d'Armenie, Fumerie Turque, a smoky, crisp vanilla note plays the leading role.
Lasts a long time on the skin and is right at the top of the "if I were rich one day" list.

Sophie is a mystery to me. Mistresses like to surround themselves with a bit of inscrutability, and since Sophie's surname is Guerlain, that only increases. For example, why does my recently acquired, apparently super rare bottle say "Secrets NOIR de Sophie"? I can't find any information on whether it is a variant (new German flanker) of the original "Secrets de Sophie" and why Parfumo combines the two.
But now to the fragrance:
Love.
But not a dark, black, mysterious one, as the little word "noir" would have us believe.
Sophie's little secret in the cute quadrilobe flacon is far too sweet for that.
Not sugary or sugary-sweet, not synthetic, but fruity in the top note and then powdery and almondy. If it weren't for the ylang-ylang and orange blossom notes, Sophie's Black Secret would be related to L'Instant Magic. If more vanilla had been mixed in, it would be more like Metallica.
But you can feel the pre-Jelk era. I would have thought Sylvaine Delacourte was behind it, but Parfumo says otherwise and unfortunately I'm not better informed to question that.
EGAL. The fragrance is fantastically beautiful, old-school Guerlain and a must have.
I am very happy to have found it.

Still sad that I wasn't going to get the Dior jukebox for Christmas (2024/2025), I took the opportunity to head for a Dior counter where I hadn't yet asked for it. Before the most handsome man in Manchester (not Becks!) could attend to me, I took a look at the displays and discovered this fragrance that I had not yet discovered. The standard flacon from the Dior Exclusive line is of good quality, but - as an old flacon addict - it doesn't appeal to me. The contents have a beautiful, dark wood color, and I hoped that it wouldn't smell as woody as it looks. I was lucky, even doubly so: no "me and my wood", but soft, beautiful, gourmand. Shades of Fumerie Turque, which I adore, but also babycat associations. Wonderful! Sweet, smoky, oldschool-oriental, un-oud, (I even find vintage-lagerfeld sandal) wood.
As expected: long-lasting and wearable. Breath paralysis or tooth decay not to be feared.
Hit!

Düsseldorf, early 90s. Poor me, I have to take the overcrowded subway every morning, and that in summer; even worse: Dune and Chloé Narcisse have divided the market between them, it seems. It's not just my friends who smell of one or the other - no, the whole train smells of it. Coupled with human exhalations, which don't seem to be contained enough in summer, it's a difficult mixture to bear. Which wouldn't really have bothered me if I hadn't been pregnant with my first daughter and the morning sickness was making my life even more difficult....
One sunny morning, I tried to push myself into the train again, as you might know it from Japan. I had barely managed to get about 10 cm2 of standing room and was about to breathe in when I realized: No way. Air to cut through. I'm in a cloud of compressed Dune, but overlaid with B.O.
That's too much.
I get off one stop further on and fight unsuccessfully against rising nausea.

Düsseldorf, the year is 2024. My "Dune" daughter is doing fabulously well, her first fragrance was Petit Guerlain. The second daughter has also turned out very well (without morning sickness and Dune).
Among other things, I am a collector of large facticals and Geants (giant flacons with original fragrance) and already own a few, but I always avoided Dune when the flacon crossed my path; no matter what size.
Until today.
A few hours ago, the poor parcel carrier delivered a 1000 ml bottle of Dune to me, which had been sent with 500 ml of separate liquid (eau de toilette). So I had to fill the bottle with it and then find a place for it in my collection.
But a few droplets found their way onto my hand and I paused. "What is this wonderful fragrance?" I thought... Heavenly, so warm, woody, sweet, familiar and unmistakable? So powerful and yet like a nose full of sea breeze?
I was speechless.
What had happened?
The global perfume market had happened.
Unless you go deep into expensive niche perfumery, you don't find much that is individual anymore.
Dune is a mainstream masterpiece.

...but rather a black Baccarat Rouge. After I first smelled the Parisian patch on a test strip, which came up with an earthy (i.e. not friendly to me) patchouli cloud, the nice saleswoman in the Guerlain boutique needed all her charm to make me want to give the fragrance a chance on my skin.
I didn't regret it, because the earthiness was much less on my skin and the aldehydes came through relatively quickly, along with a floral, non-carrot iris.
I gradually came to like PP.
However, it also seemed more and more familiar to me, as it developed a creamy-sweet component that I had already encountered in several fragrances. For the first time in the good old Baccarat Rouge and not so long ago in the in-house Cheval Blanc.
So PP is not a fearful opponent, even if it will not become my favorite of all patches, that is still Coromandel.
But all in all, a beautiful, new, promising variation on this theme from Guerlain.