Jicky by Guerlain Paris - Guest Review by Lesley Smith
I have been writing articles on perfume for a number of years
and have been on radio Stoke several times. So here goes I hope you find this article interesting and informative.
Sean Connery loves Jicky by Guerlain
You too can smell like 007.
In 1889 Guerlain composed a perfume called Jicky. It was the first modern
perfume in the sense of the word. Before 1889 most perfumes were a single
fragrance but Jicky changed all that. Jicky was a heady mixture of Top notes
Bergamot, Lemon, and Mandarin, Middle notes, Lavender, Rosemary, Basil, Orris
Root, and Tonka Bean with Base notes of Vanilla, Amber, Benzoin, Rose Wood, Spices,
Leather, Guerlinade, and Civet (extracted from the Anal Glands of the Ethiopian
Civet Cat, nowadays a modern synthetic is used).
Jicky is a Fougère (Fern) Perfume, it moves around like hair blowing in
the wind wafting its intoxicating perfume all around you. It soon became a favourite
of newlyweds “it was their wedding perfume”.
When Jicky first appeared,
men who wanted to be rather provocative and Dandy’s would wear it, attracted by
its rather ambiguous name (Ladies were expected to smell like dainty flowers).
Jicky was in fact the nickname for Aimè Guerlain the nose who composed it.
Sean Connery of 007 fame says it is his
favorite scent. Jicky is still available today it can be purchased online and also in John Lewis, Selfridges, Harrods etc.
Lesley.
To this day, no one really knows if Guerlain’s Jicky was first meant for men or for women: at the time, all scents were shared.
Michael Edwards writes “Jicky was such a
revolutionary perfume that it seemed more masculine to Gabriel
[Guerlain, who was in charge of business], Aimé’s brother. Jicky was a
bit harsher that the sweet flowery notes of the time. Also,
certainly, the blue colour, the strict and straight lines of the
original bottle suggest that it was conceived for a man." However, men
were reluctant it seems to accept the fragrance. “When they realized
that Jicky was too modern for men, they decided to target it towards
women”, adds Philippe Guerlain.
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