Women's perfumes: I discovered the ones that last (really) and I'll explain why they cost so much

In the world of perfumes Women's and for men, Guerlain is the French perfumer par excellence, the one who created now iconic fragrances such as L'Heure Bleu or Shalimar during the twentieth century, loved by millions of people from every country. Who among us, after all, hasn't had a grandmother, an aunt or a mother who hasn't worn a Guerlain perfume at least at some point in her life? And since 1828 what has characterized the jus of the legendary Parisian maison is the Guerlinade, a mix with secret proportions of six wonderful essences of rose, jasmine, iris, bergamot, vanilla and tonka bean. AND the unmistakable signature (and perhaps the key to success) of every creation of the maison. Now the nose of Guerlain, Delphine Jelk, celebrates the famous Guerlinade by dedicating a jus to each of the six notes that compose it. From this olfactory game six very classy perfumes arise, the Extraits Signaturewhich fall into the high perfumery collection L'Art et la Matière. It goes without saying that we are talking about extreme luxury and exclusive scents.

And you wanted me not to try them? Mind you, I could only smell them on the mouillettes (those strips of slightly thick paper on which perfumes are sprayed) and feel them on my wrist. So don't envy me this time. I can tell you though Just one drop is enough to feel its olfactory vibrations all day. But the most astonishing thing is something else: several weeks have now passed since I met the creator of these Extraits, yet the notes with the six fragrances, which I have jealously kept in the diary, still release wonderful scents today. I sign that these women's perfumes I'm really very intense And they have incredible persistence. So it's worth listening to the story. And maybe go and smell them in the boutique, even if we can't afford them.

Let's say right away that Delphine Jelk is a beautiful young French lady, who has what it takes: hers, in fact, is La Petite Robe Noire, a Guerlain fragrance that has had great success all over the world and which she created at just 28 years old . She works with passion and with passion she says: «I wanted to make every single note of the Guerlinade the protagonist of an extrait, in which the essence reaches a concentration of 30%. The formula is always very short, with extracts natural products of absolute value». To give you an idea, an eau de cologne usually has 3% essence, an eau de toilette 12% and an eau de parfum reaches a maximum of 15-20%. 30% is therefore a very high percentage. But in addition to the quantity of essence compared to water or alcohol, the quality of the raw material and the way in which it is obtained obviously matters a lot. (50 ml, €550, only at Sinatra Galerie de Beauté in Turin, the Rinascente in Milan Duomo or online).

Rose Centifolia Extrait 1for example, is called 1 because the roses are harvested and processed on the same day, in order to capture all their olfactory magic. Flowering occurs in the month of May and in front of the Grasse laboratories, mountains of petals accumulate from dawn, from which a few grams of the precious absolute, queen of this Extrait, are obtained before evening. «In Rose Centifolia I wanted to express all the facets of the rose and I wanted it to have something green, fruity, earthy», explains Delphine. To me it makes me think of a bowl full of raspberries, of a walk in a meadow after the rain, among fragrant plants and in the air that warm and slightly humid smell that rises from the earth when it is wet. A very elegant fragrance, which chooses the most unusual and surprising ones from the over 400 olfactory notes of the rose: feminine, yes, but not sugary. On the contrary, with a delicate bitter aftertaste.

Iris Pallida Extrait 6 contains perhaps the dearest olfactory note in the world, the essence of iris. I'll immediately explain why: it has a very long and very complex processing time, which lasts a good six years (hence the number 6, which distinguishes the Extrait). In the case of iris, the aroma is not extracted from the flower, but from the root, the rhizome. And this rhizome must grow underground for three years, in order to develop its wonderful aromas. After which it is left to dry for another three years and only then is it reduced to powder, distilled and a fragrant butter is obtained. For this «powdery, white, clean and tender» Extrait, Delphine Jerk added notes of leather and sandalwood to the iris. Personally I find this very refined scent, I would say intellectualwith a sweet echo of slightly out-of-time powder and a very modern almond note.

The third golden nugget of this collection is Bergamote Fantastico Extrait 11, but don't let the name fool you: it is not a simple citrus water, far from it. “Bright and amber,” as Delphine says, it is a surprising and contemporary perfume, characterized by the fresh and tart note of Calabrian bergamot, which is however sweetened and rounded by an enveloping accord of amber and precious woods. The number 11 tells us that the bergamot used is harvested in November, the eleventh month of the year. You could smell it for hours, this intense and light Extrait at the same time, very elegant and ultra feminine. You get lost among these scents like in an enchanted forest. And it's my favorite. Must try at least once in your life.

Among the Signature Extraits, the gourmande note of vanilla could not be missing, “the queen of Guerlain”, as Delphine says, which expresses itself at its maximum depth with Vanille Planifolia Extrait 21. Worked by hand and “cut into pieces with the same knife that Jean-Paul Guerlain used”, the vanilla is cold macerated in alcohol for 21 days (hence the number), until a tincture is obtained which releases all its delicious scents. After which Delphine added spicy, musky and amber notes, which make the fragrance more complex and enveloping. The impression is that of a gourmand scent but completely original, without that sugary side that usually characterizes this type of perfumes. Not it makes think to pastry desserts, but to a sunny and smiling femininity.

What can we say, then, about Jasmin Grandiflorum Extrait 30That it magically contains all the floral and carnal scents of jasmine just hatched? To obtain it, exclusively five-petalled flowers are processed, whose olfactory notes are expressed through CO2, i.e. carbon dioxide in a fluid state, which extracts the aromas from jasmine without leaving toxic residues. Everything happens at a low temperature, i.e. 30 degrees, a number which therefore characterizes the Extrait. The result is one bright and sensual fragrance without being opulent. Delphine calls it “floral and radiant”. She also has a slight hint of strawberry and in my opinion she suits a young blooming maiden perfectly.

Finally there is Tonka Sarrapia Extrait 75, in which the tonka bean, the seed of a large tropical plant, which comes from Venezuela and Brazil, triumphs. The number 75 recalls the percentage that the aromatic compound contained in the seeds, coumarin, can reach, which gives the jus an intense and almondy heat: here, however, the bitter and caramelized notes of the tonka bean mix with vanilla, cocoa and a set of spices . It turns out perhaps the boldest fragrance among the sixWhy vibrates with an intense sensuality and very particular, which does not indulge in sweet or flowery accords: it brings to mind exotic loves, tropical landscapes and Gauguin's paintings. I would give it as a gift to an adult woman of great temperament.

If you've read this far, it's a sign that you like perfumes. However, since each Extrait costs approximately as much as the monthly salary of an unfortunate young intern in any Italian company, and since I don't want to leave you with a bad taste in your mouth, let's immediately console ourselves with a fresh Guerlain, much more affordable for our pockets , which definitely contains Guerlinade and exudes an enchanting scent. I mean Aqua Allegory Florabloom, the latest addition to the Aqua Allegoria collection. It is offered in two versions, Eau de Toilette and Eau de Parfum Forte.

In both tuberose, Grasse centifolia rose, violet and iris triumph, more delicate in the eau de toilette, enlivened by a mango accord, warmer and more sensual in the eau de parfum, intense with sandalwood. They result two seductive and luminous fragrances, which seem to contain the smell of spring. Difficult to choose between one and the other. One might think that one could be used as a day perfume, the other, more intense, as an evening perfume. Great note of merit: over 90% natural ingredients and the possibility of refilling the bottles.