Guerlain Mon Guerlain

My first attempt at wearing Guerlain's new introduction, Mon Guerlain Eau de Parfum, was not a success. I don't know if it was the fact that it was the end of a warm day and I needed a shower, but the notes just turned into a sweet generic perfume such as can be found on numerous department store perfume counters produced by less illustrious brands. Fast forward to the next day, I sprayed Mon Guerlain again and this time my reaction was much more favorable. Perfumer Thierry Wasser along with Delphine Jelk have created a perfume featuring notes of lavender and vanilla. Lavender doesn't seem to be used a lot these days and has a reputation with some as being fusty or medicinal. I've always loved lavender; to me it smells fresh and invigorating. The challenge for Guerlain was to introduce lavender in a way that would not put off the masses. In my opinion they achieved this by taking a bow to today's mass market desire for sweet or gourmand perfumes.

As I said above, my first experience with the perfume was too much sugary sweetness, but now I think warm skin and  a warm day amplified this effect. One can't ever discount how skin chemistry can shift and how climate can affect the appropriateness of a scent. I suspect this might be more of a cool weather scent for me as in the heat my skin turned it into a sugar bomb with nary a touch of lavender in sight. That's hard for me to believe as now, on my third wearing of Mon Guerlain on this temperate day the lavender is very much present, although surrounded prettily by vanilla and tonka. The perfume ultimately smells like dainty lavender macarons to my nose.

Guerlain classifies Mon Guerlain as a "fresh oriental." I suppose to someone unexposed to oriental perfumes a case could be made but to me it is just too fresh and too clean to be a true oriental. Orientals tend to make me feel like I'm languishing on colorful Persian carpets with hookah pipes and spicy dishes but this brings more to mind skipping through a field of lavender sprinkling sugar crystals among the stalks. The lavender used in Mon Guerlain is a special breed: Carla lavender, which was also used in 2015's Mon Exclusif and Chanel's Jersey. Many reviewers have commented that they don't even get any lavender and I think this is because it's cushioned by the soft sweeter notes of the vanilla and tonka, along with iris which pairs beautifully with the lavender. At times I smell a dry almond note which could be from the coumarin. There are notes of jasmine to add a sweet floral touch. Wassler has a nice touch with jasmine and created one of my favorite jasmine perfumes for Guerlain, Aqua Allegoria Jasminora, sadly no longer available. A sandalwood note in the drydown adds to the creamy texture and as time wears on the perfume becomes like a blurry white musk.

I'm sure there is a market for those who want a gourmand perfume with the refinement of a Guerlain, which tips to the sweet side but doesn't take it too far . It remains to be seen if the lavender note will be liked or if it will be off-putting to consumers. As for the tie in with Angelina Jolie as spokeswoman, I am indifferent to celebrity ties in with products. I neither like or dislike her; I just don't care and to me the endorsement seems a terrific waste of money. I'm sure that Guerlain has a marketing team a whole lot smarter than me about these things who have figured that the celebrity exposure will pay off in the long run. What are your feelings about celebrities fronting perfume campaigns? Yay or nay?

Ultimately I like Mon Guerlain well enough, even though this category of perfumes is not one I normally seek out. The slight touch of lavender makes it more interesting to me, but if you aren't a lavender lover I would still give it a try as others have said the note doesn't stand out on their skin.


Photo and great recipe can be found at www.hintofvanillablog.com. Perfume sample from Saks Fifth Avenue.