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enetlytes – :
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.
LennyTZ – :
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?
annetka41 – :
I am pleased to see the various classic regular Guerlain lineup getting separate entries in the database in extrait form, because many I find quite different to the edp/edt versions.
Chamade in extrait is, IMO, a very different beast to the edt. I enjoy the eau de toilette (current formulation), especially in spring and summer as it has a lovely freshness to it while still remaining multifaceted and interesting. I think Chamade had the longest opening to heart and early drydown of any of the Guerlain scents I have worn. It has a dewy freshness, and is kind of like an abstact watercolour in my mind’s eye, smudges and shapes in a dusky/dirty pink colour and an evergreen forest green hue which leans more yellow than blue, on a textured white backkground. It has quite an airy quality.
By contrast the extrait is bold, slightly brash upfront, loud and dense with colour and texture and flavour (by which I mean aroma, obviously!!)Gone are the watercolour tones, replaced instead with vibrant bruised pinks and dark verdant greens. This isn’t by any stretch a watercolour, it is a vivid oil or acrylic piece, the olfactory equivalent of an impressionist recreation of a large hydrangea bush in full bloom of pink pompom flowers, with a small few turning to purplish blues, or a valerian bush covered in reddish pinkish flowers, or maybe both side by side together in a garden.
The scent opens loud, very in your face, a cacophony of notes all clamouring for immediate attention and it can actually be a little overpowering initially. The aldehydes are not so obviously present for me in this form, that said though even in the edt they never venture into spangly white fizzy aldehydes of some perfmes.
There is a dark rose present right at the opening, and a metallic chill that runs through from the start, which I think is the galabanum and hyacinth. The other florals are jostling for position and attention, and eventually after quite a tussle the hyacinth, lilac and rose take the lead, with the lotv slinking to the background.
It does take a little time for the opening to arrange and compose itself, and depending on my mood, and presumably factors such as temperature and humidity, the first half hour can sometimes feel a bit like a nasal assault. Luckily it isn’t an unpleasant smell, it can just be a bit much in some circumstances. Soon enough, once this starts to settle down it becomes much smoother, more controlled, more refined. The rose here is not of the dewy “wet” kind, nor is it a candy pink sugared type rose, instead it has a darker tone, probably due to the galbanum. Definitely there i a greenness, almost geranium like at times. It is not dry but not damp in nature, and there is an ever so slight tickle of pepper or something similar – the carnation maybe? It is a rose more akin to that in Hermes Rouge or maybe even Caron Or et Noir. The florals, once established, remain in place right through the end, as does the slight metallic edge, even as the resins and woods of the drydown step into scene some hours later.
Chamade really is a perfume that unfolds slowly, like a storyteller gradually revealing their tale. Longevity is great even in edt form, in extrait it lasts days not hours. Projection is pretty huge initially, and settles to a respectable level, enough to get noticed, not enough to choke someone. I have this in a splash/dabber bottle but I tend to transfer it to a travel spray, because I find that a wide angle singe spritz front and back right before dressing gives me the right balance and intensity of scent if wearing this alone. I think it is still best suited to spring and summer wear but this can easily be an evening/night scent or for formal occasions. I also like to apply the edt quite freely, and then add a single dab of extrait from the stopper to my chest just above the cleavage line, to add depth and richness and longevity to the edt.
This is definitely worth a try, it is a lovely scent. Not my favourite of the Guerlains but it is solidly made and performs well. Oh one last thing, my local Guerlain counter stocks this (or they did anyway) but never ever have it out with the testers or on display, but if you asked they’d get a tester bottle out from the back. Might be worth asking where you are if you don’t see it.