Chamade Extract

(Extrait made in Oct 1983) What to say about this perfume. No description is going to be just and sufficient. It is recognizably Jean Paul Guerlain: every note speaks at the perfect and intentional volume, the staging and evolution of the fragrance's accords is orchestrated like a beautiful ballet, and like all Guerlain extraits it takes you on a journey that is going to turn and twist for hours and hours. What is most readily apparent upon the application are the hyacinth, rose, and jasmine accords. They are potent and beautiful. Throughout the life of the fragrance, and the opening is no exception, there are ample doses of powdery aldehydes. There is a definite green and herbal quality, and floral without a doubt, but perhaps flowers that are only beginning to bloom and haven't put out their full aroma yet. As it dries down - nearly 4 hours later - the youthful green but floral energy is still that, but the flowers have completely bloomed - gone is the greenness, making way for mature florals and a touch of sweetness. It's a beautiful transition - thump thump thump goes my heart. At this point, and then several hours more into the fragrance, the base accords have more of a say as the bright woods, ambers, and vanilla warm you. It doesn't fully register with you until you've spent a significant amount of time with Chamade how much the amberics have been working behind the scenes. The modern-day perfume enthusiast used to the ambers of this part of the 21st century could be forgiven for not recognizing this because - unlike most 21st century ambers - Chamade is bright and energetic. It radiates with passion and joie de vivre. The complete opposite of a cloying, bulbous, sweet, lumpy, vanillic mess. That energy is what makes it so special. That tenacity without being strident and lumpen is a beauty all to its own. This is one of the greatest perfumes of all time, and that's really all that needs to be said.

"Un cœur d’artichaut” - thump, thump, heart accelerating, love lies bleeding, exhilarating is the smell of Chamade, achingly good as it lands on skin, bent-stem-sap-flowing-out greenness, poet's narcissus that flirt, pink and white hyacinths that seem delicate and then haunt closed quarters with their plangent vernal scent. Ripe lilac petals bruised and dripping, the sound of English horns as seeming teardrops fall from blooms in their twilight stage before they recede until another year. Roses tremble at the wake of these mid-spring flowers saying tearful goodbyes and promising to return after another of Earth's orbits around the sun. Will there be another year for me? Cranesbill geranium leaves and lily of the valley are heated by the midday sun in May, that's what I now smell, with rose bushes in the periphery, their saturated colors stand out like a constellation against the courtyard. The garden is painted impasto, jutting out in relief, almost swelling, as tears harden into resins, sweet, tacky, coalescing with the green foliage and fully-fledged flowers, lathered and spiced edges, silky yet wooden. Eyes are dried and when opened once more, the mid-spring flowers are gone, leaving vegetation to grow unruly as summer envelops the surroundings, getting all "handy" in the tolu and benzoin like bears pawing at a beehive. From a glorious pell-mell in the garden what I now find is a powder-soft belly to find comfort. The extrait of Chamade shapeshifts in a way very few perfumes do in the modern age, and I marvel at it. I cherish it.

This in the modern version is one that Guerlain really needs to work on, just as it did with Mitsouko. I have two extraits, a modern that I received as a gift, and now a vintage extrait that I searched out because I was so frustrated with the longevity of the modern Chamade. They have not dealt with the loss of the concentration of the oak moss in the modern Chamade at all. For an extrait to last an hour or two on the skin is ridiculous, especially considering the prices that Guerlain charges for it. Oak moss is a strong fixative and preservative in perfume. The perfume industry has yet to begin trying to deal with the horrible blow dealt to it by the IFRA restrictions on oak moss. My advice is don't bother with modern Chamade until they can improve the longevity and sillage issue. It's not Guerlain's fault. The original Chamade is earthy and strong and longlasting and gorgeous. Now with all the restrictions, they need to get to work in having a true synthetic oak moss replacement for it created. Or is it easier to just make your customers have to reapply every two hours, thus increasing usage and using the perfume up faster?

Guerlain Chamade Extrait (1969) - hyacinth chypre - #jeanpaulguerlain ‘s fragrance was inspired from love and the beating heart. Cut-grass-like Galbanum, Sharp Green-smelling Hyacinth and Aldehydes are mixed with Guerlain’s Guerlinade of Florals and Spices. A similarity with No. 19, but that is cold and steely while Chamade remains warm and comforting. Masterpiece.

This is VERY green in the top and soapy with the hyacinth being the star player. Many of the base notes deepen the florals and give them chops to ride on. This is not a sweet fragrance but it is one of Guerlain's best.