Guerlain Expands Series “L’Art & La Matière” With Three Oud Fragrances

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of its art-inspired fine collection "L'Art & La Matière," French luxury label Guerlain is launching three new oud fragrances, each of which reveals different facets of oud connected to the art world in its own way.

The powerful woody-oriental notes are featured by the three fragrances "Cherry Oud", "Oud Nude" and "Oud Khôl" in their different olfactory shades.

In the creation "Cherry Oud" perfumer Delphine Jelk contrasts the dark, mysterious oud with the fruity, cheerful notes of cherry. The cherry accord, which shatters the grandeur of the oud in the base, is enhanced in intensity by a spicy top note of burning cinnamon and pungent cardamom, and the heart of the fragrance, which combines the essences of sweet Turkish rose and fruity Bulgarian rose. Jelk found inspiration for this composition in the glossy lacquered sculptures of artist Jeff Koons.

Also created by Delphine Jelk, "Oud Nude" is a spicy and warm perfume inspired by the sensual curves of Constantin Brâncuși sculptures. "Oud Nude" tries to capture the beauty of the human anatomy, using almond and cumin as warm top notes, a raspberry accord combined with the scent of Atlas cedar in its heart and a luminous soft base of sandalwood and vanilla, which here highlight the gentle side of oud.

As yet another creation, a smoky wood and leather perfume was designed by Guerlain's master perfumer Thierry Wasser as the darkest and most intense fragrance of the trio. Inspired by the captivating scent of Bakhoor, the incense traditionally burned in the Middle East, "Oud Khôl" is said to emphasize the smoky, toasted and mineral notes of oud. The hypnotic scent progression opens with the metallic light of aldehydes. In the heart, the mood changes to mysterious woody leather accords that darken the fragrance, enriched by the unexpected scent of caramelized praline. Finally, in the base, moss and smoke meet the seductive oud wood, whose blackness here has been intensified to the absolute.

For the presentation of the series, the traditional house cooperates with the emerging Moroccan artist Ghizlane Agzenaï, with whose artworks as bottle caps the perfumes are crowned. Through her work, Agzenaï understands how to capture human emotion in abstract shapes and patterns. For the interchangeable lids, she therefore designed intertwined geometric shapes in bright colors, strongly reminiscent of the art of arabesque and testifying to Andalusian, Persian or even Mughal influences, to reflect the hypnotic modernity of the perfume series under the unique aspect of each fragrance.

The perfumes are available in 100 ml and 200 ml bottles.