<
s
c

s
Home / SmellyBlog / Tagged: Annick Goutal

SmellyBlog

Grand Amour


Pistacia lentiscus_redimensionar, originally uploaded by PacoBellido.

From the first second I smelled Grand Amour, I knew I could not remain indifferent to this perfume. It reminded me instantly of the bushes of mastic where I used to hide as a little girl: either from friends and siblings while playing hide and seek; or from greater horrors imposed on little children by the adults of the world. The scent of the mastic bushes is unique and unmistakable. And although mastic is not mentioned as a note in this perfume from Annick Goutal – the precise makeup of this particular perfume creates the impression of the scent released from the crushed crisp leaves between little fingers of a child hiding in the dense evergreen bushes.

The gum or resin from this bush is the same “mastic” which is used to flavour baked sweets and ice creams in the Middle East and Greece (more about this later). The Latin name of this bush is Pistacia Lentiscus, and it is from the pisttachio family. In ancient times it was used to create a chewing substance (mastic is chewing gum in Arabic and Hebrew), and it is also used as a medicine and a spice. A synthetic substance with similar chemical makeup is created especially for the chewing gum industry.

For those who are unfamiliar with the aroma of mastic, and particularly that of the raw leaves, I would try to describe it as it is in Grand Amour: it is green yet not like grass or leaves, sappy, but not resinous, and with an undercurrent of powdery warmth, while releasing a gently and evenly floral aroma in such manner that no particular flower stands out. It also resembles Chamade in some ways, though I detect none of the galbanum, oakmoss or vanilla notes that are so prominent in Chamade. Perhaps it is the hyacinth, a note that appears in both perfumes.

When I discovered Grand Amour some two or three years ago at The Bay in Vancouver, I immediately lavished myself in it carelessly in excess that can be only explained by my excitement. I was not able to enjoy it very much, the memory of those evergreen childhood hideaways brought a throat-clenching sensation, like the one that visits us just before bursting into inexplicable, shameful tears. I neglected the fantasy of wearing Grand Amour, but haven’t completely given up. I took a vial with me on my trip to Israel this spring, and decided to wear it in the natural environment and compare it to the live bush. I was right about their similarity. But imagine my surprise when I managed to enjoy the juice for three days straight while staying at my Mom’s place, surrounded by the bushes and the spring blooming greenery. In Hebrew we say “Meshane makom, meshane mazal” which means, that when you change location or place, your luck might change too. So true for perfume.

This review is for the Eau de Toilette, which is lovely in my opinion except for the fact that it is not extremely long lasting when dabbed. When sprayed the performance is excellent. The official notes (per the Annick Goutal website) are lily, hyacinth, honeysuckle, Turkish rose, amber, musk and myrtle.



25th Anniversary to Eau d'Hadrien


Annick Goutal Decor, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

On Tuesday, March 6th I attended a special event held at The Bay in Oakridge Centre to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Eau d'Hadrien, Annick Goutal's second and most successful fragrance. The event was advertised as an opportunity to learn how to create your own custom scent by choosing scent to layer from the line. I must admit my main objective of attending the evening was to finally get a hold of the Songes Moon Bottle. Songes only arrived in Vancouver that week, and I was waiting since the summer for that day to come.

A special room was decorated with golden frames and butterfly bottle posters, golden table-clothes glittered in dim candle light and sparkling water, fruit and other fancy snacks were offered to the guests. There weren’t many guests, so the atmosphere was intimate and quiet, even a bit shy at first. But with a lively hostess such as Marie-Lise Bernie, things warmed up and became more exciting in no time.

With her energetic presence and charming French-Canadian accent, Marie-Lise told us the stories behind the scents of Annick Goutal, accompanied by thorough fragrance sampling and a couple of video clips featuring Camille Goutal (the infamous muse inspiring Eau de Camille and Petite Cherie, who is following her mother’s footsteps and is leading the company after her death).

While many of the stories were not completely new to me (and I don’t believe they will make any news to you, so I will only repeat some details that I think might be interesting and refreshing to my internet-savvy readers).

The entire line carries on with the concept of tying emotions and personal experience to every aspect of the product, from scent to packaging and naming the scents. I must admit that in a market flooded with endless uninspirational and impresonal fragrances, this has a lot of appeal to me, even if most of the Annick Goutal fragrances don't work so well on my skin because of their greenness, floralcy or soapiness (except for Songes and Eau de Sud). It's nice to see a house that is carried on by the founder's daughter and that seems to stay true to the original intent and true spirit of the line despite the fact that the woman who conceived it is no longer with us.

Contrary to what most North American seem to think, the name for Folavril, Annick Goutal’s first fragrance, does not mean April Fool, but rather, refers to the antique shop Ms. Goutal worked in before she started her perfumery. Folavril, composed of unusual and refreshing notes of boronia, mango and tomato leaf, creates a soapy, almost powdery and somewhat old-fashioned impression, yet with a very individualistic twist. The signature packaging of Annick Goutal’s perfumes, AKA “The Butterfly Bottle” is fashioned after an antique bottle that Goutal found in that shop. The butterfly is, in fact, two butterflies kissing, which only intensifies the romanticism of this perfume house.


Annick Goutal Event March 6th 2007, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.


The Butterfly Bottle is always packaged in cellophane. Although this may seem odd, particularly for such a perfectionist line, there is a meaning behind that as well: Annick Goutal’s father was a chocolatier and to earn her pocket money, Annick would help him wrap the candy in the store. Hence the cellophane wrap of the Butterfly Bottles, which should be opened like a gigantic olfactory candy!

The golden ribbons of the scents from the days Annick Goutal was alive are also a detail that takes it’s inspiration from the golden threads used to tie the chocolate boxes. Now that Camille is leading the company, all the scents that were launched after Annick’s death, are tied with an organza ribbon of a significant colour. The first fragrance that Camille was involved in creating was Le Chèvrefeuille. Designed to evoke a summer memory from the South of France, of Camille playing dress-up with her cousins, and crowning themselves as princesses with tiaras made of honeysuckle. The yellow ribbon for this fragrance represents these honeysuckle-crowns.

Eau d’Hadrien, Annick Goutal’s second and most popular fragrance which is celebrating it’s 25th anniversary this year, was inspired by the book “Memoirs of Hadrian” and was created as a unisex fragrance that contained no flowers. Years later, Camille re-read the book and created Les Nuits d'Hadrien, a more sensual, with the addition of floral notes (ylang ylang) as well as patchouli and vanilla, alongside the citrusy notes of the original creation.
For the 25th anniversary of Eau d’Hadrien, a few new products will be introduced, probably as a limited edition, including a body tonic water and miniature votive candles.

The evening was calm and enjoyable and the crown was small and sweet, a bit shy at first but as the fragrances started to change hands the reactions did not fail to become vocal and people started opening up and sniffing each other's wrists enthusiastically, as you may e xpect in scent-loving circles. By the way, the only man around was a security guard that let us out because this event took place after hours (he was dressed in casual clothes and I was almost convinced he was a patient boyfriend waiting for his young lady inside, but I was mistaken; perhaps such patient young men only exist on duty!).

Although the evening had the premise of being all about layering, the only significant layering event that took place was Gardenia Passion and Petite Cherie layered together by a young lady. She was a Petite Cherie fan when she entered the room, and after much sniffing could not make up her mind between Gardenia Passion and Songes. When she layered both, the results was quite interestingly similar to Songes, but a little bit more gardenia-focused. It smelled lovely on her. The same creative young lady also won the book “Memoirs of Hadrien” in a draw that was held at the end of the evening.

The Songes Moon Bottle (and in fact most of the “Butterfly Bottles”) have to be special ordered in most of the Annick Goutal counters at The Bay. So I pre-ordered it and also snatched a couple of Eau d’Hadrien votive candles before they disappear. I really enjoyed the Noel candles this winter, so I hope this will be a nice companion on my upcoming trip to the hot Mediterranean spring.



Marie-Lise Bernier, Annickg Goutal's National Training Manager in Canada, originally uploaded by Ayala Moriel.

I would like to conclude with an interesting perfume-application tip that Marie-Lise offered in her presentation. She explained in much detail how to use the Butterfly Bottle – or any flacon with a dabber for the matter – without spoiling the juice:
1) Wash your hands
2) Open the flacon
3) Using one finger at a time, seal the mouth of the flacon and dab the perfume to one pulse point at a time.
4) Each time, change the finger, so always a clean finger is touching the juice.
* According to Marie-Lisehen using the dabber, you might add your own skin cells and bacteria to the juice which can cause spoilage. The same thing can happen if you use the same finger over and over again to apply the perfume.

A little trivia question, with an Annick Goutal related prize for the first to answer correctly:
What other name, besides Songes, did Annick Goutal went through a court battle for?

Best of 2006

Well, everybody else is doing it, and I love making lists, so I am joining the party!
Instead of using the usual categories (i.e. the best of fragrance family this or that or evening or day time perfumes, etc.) I am going to summarize my olfactory events of this year, perfume-wearing wise (My next post will cover my personal view of the year past from my point of view as a perfumer). I invite you to join me here and tell me which perfumes brought laughter and pleasure to your life this year, and that you would like to remember this year by.

The Discovery of the Year:
Farnesiana by Caron.
This pure parfum of acacia flowers (relative to the mimosa but with deeper notes) is brilliant and original. Paired with vanilla and almondy heliotrope notes, it is modern even decades after it was created. It makes most of the current gourmands look shallow and silly, and shows that there is no end to innovation in perfumery, even when it comes to … well, florals…

Favourite New Niche Perfume of the Year:
Songes by Annick Goutal
I finally found a Goutal I love!
This magical white floral by Isabelle Doyen is everything I need in a floral: a soft opening (rather than heady), a complexity (ylang ylang, jasmine, gardenia, nost just one note) and a sweet, comforting base to ensure interest, richness and longevity. This is soft, opulent and envelopes me with comfort and beauty.

Favourite New Mainstream Perfume of the Year:
L by Lolita Lempika.
I was so underwhelmed by it when I first smelled it on a scent stripe when it came out in the summer. Wait till the weather cools down, and try it on your skin – it’s like melting vanilla on your skin and like melted buttery cookies in your mouth. I don’t find the immortelle particularly apparent though. A tint of orange and cinnamon makes it a bit interesting at the top, but overall it’s a wonderfully linear scent. It’s another loveable creation from Maurice Roucel, with his signature chic vanilla.
Favourite scented body product:


Favourite Classic of the Year:
Le Parfum de Therese
This genius of a Chypre seems to have so much to offer yet is very lighthearted. I think it’s exactly what I need and it is now my most favourite of all the classic Chypres that I own. I like the cheerful sparkling citrus and tart plum, the rejuvenation of basil and the watery melon notes, the luscious yet light jasmine, and the subtley complex base notes, with just a hint of leather for dryness and the classic Chypre accord. It seems to be perfectly balanced and balancing, as a good Chyre should be, and oh so flexible. The only reason I don’t wear it all the time is because I savour it for warm days so it will remind me of the gorgeous hot spring days in Jerusalme in my previous visit there, when I wore it between dry stones and beating, blinding sun rays and it was as appropriate as a simple linen dress.

My Surprise of the Year:
I like Jo Malone’s Vintage Gardenia. In fact, I enjoy Jo Malone quite a bit recently, but this scent is going to be an all-time favourite. It just hits me in the right spot. It’s elegant and clean and simple, but not too simple. It reminds me of things past but not painfully so. I like it on its own or with a tiny amount of Black Vetyver Café, which I think works utterly well with the cardamom note in it. But otherwise I find layering quite confusing to my nose… I found myself wearing it day after day for over a week's period which is quite unusual for me. Yet another white floral I like, besides my own Tamya and White Potion, and this year's new love - Songes!

My 180 Degrees Twist of Fate of the Year:
I love Narciso Rodriguez!
Well, after having a longish love&hate affair with Narciso Rodriguez I finally settled down and am ready for commitment. I have just about every size possible of this scent and carry it almost always with me when I travel. This spring I really ennoyed it immensely, and I find that it is one of the most original modern creations possible. I am even going to give it full attention by dedicating a review of it on my blog. Really soon!

The Re-Discovery of the Year:
(And by this I mean a scent I haven’t worn for a long time and re-discovered it’s beauty this year).
I am afraid to say – none. I have been mostly indulging myself with perfumes that are new to me, and for some reason staying away from my old time favourites for the most time. I have worn very little Mitsouko, Shalimar, Vol de Nuit or any other Guerlain classic this year. Which is kind of sad in a way… I think I needed to stay away from the flood of emotions they contain within them. I think Miss Dior (or more so, the mourning of it’s reformulation) was the main event for me in that area. I have fallen in love with it again, and have been really digging the lighter Chypre qualities in it (the green top notes, that is). Perhaps is says something about me – is it not wanting to go to deep emotionally? Is my taste changing? Am I becoming a shallow gal who can only get excited about new things? I think it’s seeking simplicity and enjoying a perfume for a more extended amount of time, and it was new ones (to me) that really answered to my mood this year.

Self Discovery of the Year:
I like lighter scents.
I find myself staying away from my heavy orientals and chypres more than usual, and leaning towards woody, musky compositions more often than ever. Scents that I find myself surprised to return to over and over again are the ones that I have been wearing the most this year (see below).

Most worn this year: The perfumes I have been wearing the most this year are also more simple, and tend to be more dry than sweet. I think the top-worn are:
Razala
Narciso Rodriguez
Le Parfum de Therese
Vintage Gardenia
Agent Provocateur

The Disappointment of the Year:
Black Orchid by Tom Ford
I am neither a fan nor a hater of Tom Ford and his olfactory concepts. When his first scent was approaching, I was easily able to hold myself together and wait till whenever it hits the local counters. Though the packaging is quite beautiful (though not particularly original, considering the similar designs of Nuit de Noel and Habanita which preceeded Black Orchid by decades), the name is particularly corny and over used in my opinion. So you see, when I mean disappointment I refer to it purely in the olfactory sense.
At first, Black Orchid seems to stand up to all the expectations it tried to set in the packaging and marketing campaign. The opening notes are definitely luxurious, Femme-Fatale infuses mushroom sautéed in their very own arrogant sexual secretion while deeply inhaling spices. There is some nicely done chocolate accord as well… But if you think this is the base, you have been miserably deceived. These carnal notes wear off quickly, gradually revealing a phase of rum-soaked berries (not so bad on their own, really) and than a short lived rose opens up, only to be brutally murdered by an aquatic patchouli accord. From now on it will only go downhill, resembling a better-version-of-Allure-Sensuelle, which while is quite an achievement on its own rights, it is also frightfully disappointing in its own original way:
In Black Orchid, Tom Ford had proved to the world that it is possible to create a perfume with marvelous opening that smells worser and worser as it develops on the skin, thus creating the most disappointing fragrance of 2006.

* I can accept the idea of a perfume opening with less than lovely notes, and becoming better thanks to interaction with the skin (though this is not always the case, of course, because of body chemistry etc.). But to intentionally create such a devolution from fantastic to unoriginal is quite insulting.

Favourite Scented Body Product:
Azuree Body Oil
This is a really fun scent to wear, and I have been particularly enjoying it over the summer. It’s not so heavy as it may sound. And the texture is not too oily either, albeit rather moisturizing. You can read my full review here. I also found out I actually like body oils quite a lot, in the summer anyways. It adds a nice protective layer before swimming in an over-bleached swimming pool, or truely salty ocean - and the scent is nice when blended with either of these chemicals...


The Best “I Love It But I Never Wear It” Perfume of the Year:
Chinatown
Like Cait, I discovered this much later than anyone else, just this summer. Not the best time to try Chinatown if you ask me… It is one of the most unusual perfumes I recently added to my collection, though I know some will disagree and compare it to something else. I think it’s unusual for its combination of spices, florals and sweet patchouli and vetiver base. I only wish I had more occasions to wear it, as it just doesn’t work for me in every day use (and I am known for wearing whatever I want whenever I want). I hope I will find good opportunities to wear it, but overall I had more times when I found out it was the wrong scent to wear for the occasion (i.e.: dinner) or that I applied too much. The sillage on this one deserves a cautious label on the packaging. Preferably accompanied with illustrations and measuring droppers.

The Naughty yet Nice Perfume of the Year:
Agent Provocateur
Starting with a vintage Femme Fatale air to it, Agent Provocateur seems to be for a lady in the dark. However, if you spray it early enough before leaving the house, it dries down to a satisfactorily subtle musky and woody (vetiver, that is to say) with a hint of tartness – which is quite versatile really.





Best New Perfume House in 2006:

For the most part, this year has been quite disappointing in my opinion in terms of new releases. One refreshing standout was the launch of Anya’s Garden – a line inspired by botanical gardens from around the world. The perfumer, Anya McCoy, is also a landscape architect, and the director of the Artisan Natural Perfumery Guild. It is not a surprise that her scents are dedicated to gardens. I love the concept as well as the perfumes. These are complex, well structured creations that are original and innovative and use unusual notes in an otherwise classic structure. The results are quite stunning, with complexity and imagery that sucks you in and transports you to their own realms. My favourite is Pan, of course, as it uses goat hair tincture, moss, Seville lavender absolute, hay and is deeply amebry as well as aromatically rejuvenating. Fairchild is also quite a standout, with its myriads of intertwining notes of exotic and narcotic flora singing in counterpoint. I can’t say I smelled all the perfumes that my fellow members of the Guild are crafting with much love and attention to detail, but McCoy is a great example and a leader in the field. I think I ought to also give Anya the award for the most promising perfumer for 2007, as I can’t wait to smell what else comes under her hands!
The image above, by the way, is a digital collage by Anya McCoy herself. I love it and wish you all a full and fragrant year, just as the image suggests!

Next post:
My personal accounts of the fragrant events of last year as a Natural Perfumer, and my outlook for the next year, fragrance-wise.

To read more year-end reviews of a few other perfume blogs, I recommend visiting these blogs (it's really interesting to see some repeating themes, and the comletely differnt systems each created for their categories):
Perfume Shrine
Legerdenez
Cognoscented
Aromascope
Perfume Posse
Perfume Smellin' Things
Victoria's Own
Pink Manhattan
Sweet Diva

Goutal Mystery Scent Revealed!

None of you guessed it, and I don’t blame you. This was a sheer surprise to me. The Annick Goutal perfume Tamya has picked several times in a row and even tried on her own skin was none other than… (ready, set, go!):

The Magnificent,

The Rosy,

CE SOIR OU JAMAIS

No one guessed it correctly, so I am going to just send all of the readers who commented on the Annick Goutal blog entry a sample of Tamya parfum (if you haven’t experienced it yet). Camille, Haus Von Stone, Saj and the anonymous commenter, I don’t have your mailing address, so please email it to me so I can send the scents along to you.

Perfume Shopping with Little Duckling & A Guessing Game

A little while ago, I went perfume sniffing with Tamya and we went to The Bay – the only place in Vanouver where you can find Annick Goutal’s line. Now, Tamya is about the funniest person to go perfume shopping with. Although I know she can smell, she doesn’t really know how to do it, if you know what I mean… She usually blows on the object for sniffing (flower, scent stripe, perfume bottle, etc.) rather than inhale. I find it super funny and super cute, like everything she does really. And since this is her special month, I don’t mind flaunting it proudly on my blog…

So, on the circular table, there stand the entire Annick Goutal line. And Tamya is with me, doing pretty much what I do (spritzing cards and blowing her nose on them LOL). All of a sudden, I notice she is doing something she never done before in a perfume store: she opens one of those lovely Goutal crystal bottles, and she sprays some on her wrist!
Needless to say she smelled divine, the scent was gentle and pretty on her little wrists and I have to keep asking her for a sniff… The next time we went Goutal sniffing, she did the same thing, with the same fragrance. Mommy is tempted to get her a bottle, obviously.

Now, you get to guess the fragrance, and you will win a sample of the mystery perfume and a miniature 2ml bottle of Tamya parfum!
I am going to give you one hint though: it is NOT Songes. This scent haven’t made it to Canada yet. It could be anything else though…
For every comment or guess on this post, I will be donating $1 to Autism Community Training in BC.
Back to the top