Vintage Guerlain Fol Arôme

Ida’s bottle of Guerlain Fol Arôme

I recently had the great fortune to come across a 1 ¼ oz. pristine, unopened Baccarat flacon of 1912 (vintage) Guerlain Fol Arôme for sale: the seller was well known to me and reliable – and she discounted this rare gem considerably because of our ongoing friendship over the years. Please don’t hold this against me; I am normally not so lucky. If it were not for such reasonable installment payments, I could not possibly have entertained the idea. I was beside myself when the parfum arrived, attempting to photograph my bottle from as many angles as possible before I violated the seal which had remained intact for many decades. Once opened, there is no going back. To my delight, there had been scant evaporation, and the jus was in very fine condition.

Jacques Guerlain 1912 courtesy of Fragrances of The World

Jacques Guerlain’s Fol Arôme is one of those jewels in the perfumed diadem which one comes across very infrequently. Of note, Monsieur Guerlain’s famed L’Heure Bleue was released in 1912 as well. As is often the case, I remarked that a considerable number of the perfume community had perceived similarities between these two – which sent me scurrying down my Guerlain hideyhole to experience them side by side. Chacun à son nez (to each, his own nose!): despite sharing several common elements, I experienced each as discrete and unique; L’Heure Bleue’s magnificent pâtisserie felt a far cry from the shape-shifting enigma which is the domain of Guerlain Fol Arôme, even though they are fragrant kin. One of their commonalities was a reliance on fragrance bases, also referred to as “pre-perfumes” – which had been created by Marie-Thérèse de Laire, commencing in 1891. Marie-Thérèse sought to employ synthetic compounds (combined with natural raw materials) in a manner which rendered them far easier for perfumers to use – a contribution which helped pave the path to modern perfumery.

The original de Laire formulae can still be smelt at the Osmothèque’s archives, although they are no longer in production. Over the years, these bases have been beautifully reconstructed by a few respected sources. I had purchased most of them some years ago in an effort to assuage my olfactory curiosity. It was enlightening. One in particular, the Bouvardia base – was incorporated into multiple famous and beloved fragrances over the next several decades. Bouvardia is a genus of flowering plants (approximately 50 of them: evergreen herbs and shrubs) which are native to Mexico and Central America, with only one species extending into the southwestern United States. Their scent profile has been described as an amalgam of citrus, jasmine, and orange blossom, (some sources also refer to the presence of ionones) and guess where else they were used? Bouvardia is included in both Fol Arôme and (according to some experts) L’Heure Bleue – but it’s also present in Après L’ Ondée (1906, Jacques Guerlain encore), and François Coty’s famed L’Origan (1905).

Vintage Guerlain Poster 1949 Darcy Lyse©

There are likely many more examples – but I believe that the handful which we see here underscores the importance of fragrance bases in creating modern perfumery. It is no secret that Jacques Guerlain and François Coty were born within months of one another, and were fiercely competitive: while Coty was self-taught, Jacques Guerlain was classically trained. It is often said that François was an innovator – and that Jacques was the perfumer who frequently refined extant compositions and made them his own. Coty’s L’Origan (1905) preceded Guerlain’s Aprés L’Ondée (1906) , and his 1917 aromatic bijou La Chypre was followed by Guerlain’s 1919 Mitsouko. It has been bandied about that Coty’s Emeraude (1921) inspired Jacques Guerlain to create 1925’s iconic Shalimar – supposedly after Jacques’ wife became fond of Coty’s (earlier) resinous fragrance. Both perfumes included Ambreine Samuelson – a costly amber base initially created by a British company which was later acquired by de Laire, and then by Symrise. Truly, these early bases were groundbreaking, and widely sought after.

Vintage L’Heure Bleue Poster Pixels

Guerlain Fol Arôme is a creature of moods and radiance, vacillating between brilliant shafts of light and a profoundly shadowy presence. Although it reads somewhat chypric to me, it is classified as a floral fragrance – and it is that, but so much more. Herbs and flowers cavort with anise, mint, clary sage, and marjoram (a savory, less potent cousin of oregano). Some florals possess distinctly animalic facets, such as jasmine, narcissus, and even the spicy carnation (often read as deeply leathery due to a high eugenol content), and orris (on occasion, imparting a fatty, luxurious tone which can be warm and skin-like). Others are more dulcet, like the rose, the sweetness of acacia, and the Bouvardia base we described earlier (evoking violet-y ionones, orange blossom, jasmine, and citrus nuances). While the base contains vanilla, Fol Arôme doesn’t feel particularly sweet – the effect is woodier and spicier, earthier than L’Heure Bleue’s savory sweetness, which is dappled with heliotrope, hefty violet and ionones, ylang-ylang, orchid, neroli, benzoin, and tonka. While L’Heure Bleue possesses the dash of lemon and lemon-inflected coriander (both fragrances include zesty bergamot), it is incrementally more powerfully anisic. This may likely be due to the anise-intense presence of tarragon along with aniseed itself – and be concentration-dependent; the fine sandalwood in its base adds to an unctuous, creamy effect. It is very likely that true deer musk was one of their mutual aromatic materials; its use was very common during this era.

Ida’s bottle of Guerlain Fol Arôme

Fol Arôme revealed another facet when I shared it with my husband: it grew darker, muskier, more intense on his skin than on mine – but it unveiled more dimensions on me over time – an entire journey full of twists and turns. It remains an object of fascination. (N.B. – I was not able to sample the very-limited-edition 2020 version of Fol Arôme by Thierry Wasser – so I’m not qualified to contrast the two. It was ~ $720.00 USD for one ounce – and only 964 numbered pieces were produced worldwide.)

We may love them both: they are sublime. I address their frequent comparison by some perfume lovers not in the interests of preference – but as a way to better understand the charms of each, and to introduce the significance of the new science of that time – the naissance of the fragrance base – which altered the course of perfume history.

I listed the notes of each perfume for your perusal.

Guerlain Fol Arôme notes: jasmine, anise, lavender, bergamot, narcissus, rose, bouvardia, mint, clary sage, marjoram, orris, musk, carnation, acacia, vanilla