Fol Arôme (2020)

I think it's interesting that folks are downvoting that this smells like original Fol Arome. After finally being able to track down this recreation, I'm pleasantly surprised at how true it is to the original. I've smelled a few different deep vintage samples and own another partial vintage bottle. While, yes, it is missing some of the three dimensionality that seems to come with vintage musks and animalics, it has the original's beautiful bergamot and herbal top, spicy floral heart accented with powdery cassie and iris, and musky and slightly vanillic drydown. People often compare it to L'Heure Bleue which is certainly apt--it feels like that scent stripped of a good portion of its spices (save for the clovey-ness of carnation) and relying more in the drydown on vanilla and musk vs. a drydown of darker resins like heavy labdanum. I appreciate having it both as a collector and as a wearer of scent. Since it's not as spicy and demanding as L'HB, it feels more accessible. For the sake of the wider world, I hope it would be re-released later on, say in the Parisennes line in EdP--it wouldn't be out of place in that context at all. Though it's super expensive still and was a "sacrifice some comforts for a month" kind of purchase, I am grateful that it's not some unwieldy liter bottle over 10,000 dollars. I hope that Guerlain returns to the practice of faithfully reviving older scents occasionally--they did such brilliant recreations of Vega, Sous Le Vent, and Liu. How nice it would be to see things like Pour Troubler, Vague Souvenir, Kadine, and the like brought back occasionally in reasonable sizes. EDITED TO ADD: Really enjoying this a lot after spending a longer time with it. I do find it tough to wear L'Heure Bleue, and this feels like a beautiful, aromatic in-between straddling Apres l'Ondee and L'HB. It has the beautiful almond/tonka/cookie of HB and the fresher, more pastoral side of Apres with its herbs, and anise. This is definitely less rounded than the deep vintage versions I've smelled, and it's really clear now that's related to natural musks/animalics lacking here. It smells like what I imagine Fol Arome would've smelled like if it had been around for years and had been reformulated throughout time--like the rest of the classic Guerlains today.

My very first impression, when the sales assistant sprayed it on the blotter, was that he grabbed L’Heure Bleue tester instead of Fol Arôme. This is how close they both are right at the beginning. That impression evolved quickly into a much softer, very rounded, plush affair. There is this butter soft opulence in Fol Arôme, which I have never encountered yet. Unlike in Shalimar, it’s not a room filling opulence, but a very sophisticated and cozy one, much like in a good full bodied Chardonnay, if it makes any sense. There is a lot going on here. The evolution takes a long time and has many surprises for the wearer. There is that wonderful floral lavender note, sweet and custard-like. Then the orris- heliotrope-orange blossom-vanilla symphony known from LB. Then, that heavenly fruit-candy note popping up now and then... Fol Arôme is undoubtably a masterpiece. Old school construction of incredible balance, which nevertheless feels very current to me. It’s just a pity that it’s a limited edition at a very prohibitive price. If it weren’t the case, I would be already bathing in it!

Fol Arome opens very freshly-spicy, and at that stage it reminds of LHB's anisé, and also of Vol de Nuit Extrait's galbanum - I'd lean more to VDN for the opening with clear notes of carnation, narcissus, and sage in Fol Arôme, but way less green than VdN's galbanum. The second phase is definately powdery, with iris and musk, and here we get closer to LHB, though vanilla's Wassery sweetness is changing the tone quite a bit, introducing the following and majestic floral 3rd phase, a fantastic aromatic bouquet absolutely charming and lasting, evocative of something in between Jour d'Hermès Absolu, Guerlain's Bouquet de la Reine or Vuitton's Apogée. This juice is an expensive but true jewel. @Carroll.1 Maybe you didn't test it in good conditions. Spraying it at home I got a good longevity of 6-8 hours. Though I didn't compare it arm to arm with the historical juice I could test in a Guerlain workshop at the Champs d'Elysées flagship boutique in Paris, IMHO it is very close ifnot identical to the original.

Fougère accord of lavender and sage, combined with the genes of coty L'Origan. Carnation, natural orris root and heliotrope, soft grey and pink, a little dry and pale with a powdery texture, all enlivened by the cool notes of anise, assisted by rose and jasmine. This base note is the key to make up L'Heure Bleue (carnation is also an important part of L'Heure Bleue). Fol Arome appears smoother on the skin, with a buttery texture. The base notes of labdanum and vanilla musk are comfortable, round and soft, sweet, moving slowly. Homologous to L'Heure Bleue, it is a reproduction of the romantic style of Jacques Guerlain. A subtly sophisticated blend that smells luxurious enough.

As a longtime lover of Guerlain, I've always harbored a secret wish to own one of their "pièces d'exception", these limited-edition collectors' pieces that are rare and exorbitantly expensive. Yet none of them seemed worth the price to me. Either they were just rereleases of other, less costly yet equally available fragrances dressed up in "artisanal" bottles, or new creations that ended up being quite lackluster (for example, L'Heure Blanche, which I personally didn't care for). When my friend and Guerlain SA told me about Fol Arôme, though, I was intrigued. I hadn't heard of it before: the long-lost sister of L'Heure Bleue and Mitsouko (the latter of which is one of my all-time favorites), the olfactory distillation of the Belle Époque in all its beauty and daring not yet darkened by the spectre of war, a "wild aroma" (or even "mad aroma") composed of some of my most beloved florals and a few notes I'd never experienced in fragrance together before (like acacia, or a peach and mint combo)—what wasn't to love? In anticipation for the event where I could actually try Thierry Wasser's 2020 re-creation of Fol Arôme, I purchased a tiny sample of the vintage online, and was immediately smitten. It was a powdery, playful perfume from another era, an impeccable mélange of dusty carnation, cool orris, licorice-like anise, and a host of other notes I couldn't identify. When the time came to sample to new version, I was generally impressed. People like to hate on Wasser, but I'm a big fan of many of his creations and reimaginings. The resuscitated Fol Arôme is quite close to the original, yet slightly lacking some of its levity and depth. From the beginning, it has a similarly enchanting strangeness, a combination of peach whose sweetness and poignancy have been restored through the addition of bergamot (and which is therefore far from the dry, lactonic peach of Mitsouko), powdery-starchy orris, and crisp, old-fashioned lavender. Then the rich rose-jasmine duo comes through, classic and lush, but never quite indolic or soapy, thanks to the juicy top notes and reserved narcissus. Then comes what is to me the most magical part of the olfactory arc: through some astonishing alchemy, that distinctive licorice note comes to the fore, despite the lack of anise (at least, according to official descriptions). I think it has something to do with how the mint, lavender, carnation, and acacia combine. It restores Fol Arôme's playfulness and verve, and since there's no heliotrope, it never veers too close to the cold, melancholic powder of L'Heure Bleue. As Andrewatic says below, Fol Arôme feels "plusher", quirkier, more full of life and laughter. This stage lasts for quite some time, and then in the drydown, my nose primarily detects that gorgeous, cool Guerlain orris and a touch of carnation, which always reminds me of a tired but happy traveler arriving home after a long journey. There's also a subtle trail of sweetness and warmth (perhaps the vanilla?), the lingering surprise of an unforgettable kiss from earlier in the evening. I find the vintage version to be a lighter on the orris and heavier on the spicy-herbal-licorice elements. The performance on both is excellent; they sit close to the skin, as is typical for many parfums and extraits, and have better than average longevity. The "flacon bouchon-cœur" (heart-cork bottle) is breathtaking, and I find the note structure totally genderless, even queer in its masterful mixing of aromatic, floral, fruity, and herbaceous notes. So, am I going to be paying off my credit card for the next few months to make up for this? Yes. Do I regret it? Absolutely not. Guerlain is one of the oldest, most prestigious houses of fragrance in the world, and they have consistently produced some of the most stunning and timeless perfumes in history. I therefore have no problem forgiving them the occasional marketing gimmick or contrived scarcity. Not for a perfume this special, this historical. I am proud to have this as my first Guerlain pièce d'exception, and my first Guerlain extrait. It is, without a doubt, the crown jewel of my collection.