Pitti Fragranze-2015: Pierre Guillaume

by: Serguey Borisov

Pierre Guillaume and his small PG team presented the second part of PG, La Collection Croisière at the perfume event Pitti Fragranze 15. The first four fragrances were presented in March; Mojito Chypré was launched in June, the launch of Métal Hurlant was now, at Pitti, and they 're planning the launch of Fleur de Foudreand Rivages Noirs at the end of 2015, around November. But there was more news from Pierre Guillaume…

Sergey Borisov: So you changed a bit the schedule of the PG launches?

Pierre Guillaume: Yes, initially we planned to introduce Fleur de Foudre in November 2015 and Rivages Noirs in February 2016. But our German retailers asked us to present both Cruise fragrances before Christmas, to increase the huge success that the collection has worldwide. So we complied with the request. Also, we're presenting here the 13th fragrance in the Huitième Art Parfums collection, Shermine. It's a really big perfume, with a name that's compiled of the last letter of Iris (S) plus Hermine, to transfer its idea of “Iris like a fur”. Our goal was to make a powdery scent that men can wear also. I wanted the fragrance to smell like you feel fur touching your skin, very tender, sweet, dry and velvety. 

Sergey Borisov: As far as I can remember, furs don't smell very sweet – they smell animalic…

Pierre Guillaume: That`s why I detached the animalic smell from the feeling of furs. The sensation of fur caressing the skin – that`s Shermine. The animalic scents will come later, in the Contemplation’15 collection, with Leathermore and Lumière Fauve, fragrances that are devoted to animalic smells. 

Sergey Borisov: It seems to me that detaching the animalic smell might be a result of the controversial relation our civilization has with furs. PETA activists, animal rights… and still fur is a luxurious product; the touch of fur against skin has become the rarest luxury nowadays.

Pierre Guillaume: Actually, Sergey, look here at the visual of the fragrance. See the fur photo? PETA activists have already sent us an email – they have no idea about me and my personal beliefs about these things, and they know nothing about theShermine perfume, but they took the right to judge me and my work, to offend and blame me. Of course, I wrote them back that I`d never buy a real fur coat for thousands of euros to make just one picture for one visual! They just don`t know me and don`t respect my work. I believe that many people like the sensation of furs – but nobody likes the idea of dead animals. It`s just about the feeling of fur and I wanted to create the olfactive analog to its texture. Because I really like this delicate caress of fur. 

Sergey Borisov: It could be an ostrich feather instead of fur also.

Pierre Guillaume: Of course! Absolutely! I really want to forget about the smell of furs  and focus on the feeling. 

Sergey Borisov: So it needs a few special synaesthetic abilities… 

Pierre Guillaume: You know, Sergey, I am totally synaesthetic. I am working like a painter, not a musician, in my fragrances. Each perfume has a color for me – and Shermine is white for me, white and dark pink by color. A kind of burgundy wine color, deep purple and violet – that part of the palette. And whiteness. 

Sergey Borisov: It should evoke the medieval ermine mantles of monarchs.

Pierre Guillaume: Yes, it`s very rich but also very pure. But again, it`s about the skin feeling, not the smell of furs itself. Actually, that`s why I choose the animalic theme for The Contemplation collection this year.

Sergey Borisov: And now, let`s focus on the animalic part of your creations!

Pierre Guillaume: OK, did you ever smell African stone resinoid or absolute?

Sergey Borisov: Never in raw form.

Pierre Guillaume opened a plastic ziplock, then an aluminum cylinder to reveal a thick brown goo. He reached out to have me smell it – it smells like something real from Mother Nature. Besides a concentrated fecal and urine scent, there are also some warm and mineral shades (but still it`s too much to be attractive or even wearable in civilized society). Real rodent guano, fossilized in the earth for thousands of years under the sun and winds, taken from African lands attached to some rocks, to be used as an animalic ingredient in perfumery. Hyraceum (or African stone, or golden stone) resinoid from Somalia. It smells both terrible and awesome. 

Pierre Guillaume: It`s pure dirty shit. It`s organic and sometimes mineralic. It reminds  one of castoreum and civet by smell, but it has nothing to do with animal abuse or cruelty. The idea was to tame and masterize this animalic ugly dirtiness, to make it perfectly intelligent and wearable. You know what? One time, I read some comments  on The Cruise Collection, made by an Italian blogger who had written very insulting things about me and my perfumes. That was a snobbish move, because La Collection Croisiere has a huge success worldwide. I read it on my phone and said: “Ok guys, continue to shit on me, and I make it gold!” [laughs]

Procavia Capensis

Sergey Borisov: So let`s try the gold?

Pierre Guillaume: OK, starting with Lumière Fauve. It was made as a contemporary version and dedication to L`Ombre Fauve launched in 2007, a scent with spices, woods and ylang-ylang. Here, you also find the Moroccan black honey resinoid that comes from cypresses growing in the Moroccan mountains. Just smell it (he sprays it on the blotter). You`ll also find some blond tobacco in it, with a hint of Prunol (Feminité du Bois, Femme de Rochas, etc.), to give it some lift and to surround and mask the wild African stone a little bit. And it`s interesting, if you put it in alcohol, you could smell a bit of a cocoa note in it, just a little of a castoreum-chocolate smell. And I find honey to be a good bridge between animalic and chocolate aspects.

Actually, I did not recall L’Ombre Fauve, the animalic woody amber perfume, at the Pitti. So at home, I tried to find a sample of it in my closet, just to compare it with the new Lumière Fauve. The comparison didn't fly for me - L’Ombre Fauve was a hairy, animalic amber, like Animalis Amber, quite monotonous and even a rather cold perfume with cedar wood that feels like a slow but powerful python. The new Lumière Fauve belongs to the spicy oriental family with a great animalic input, and has more explicit animalic, hot and spicy parts, based on hyraceum, ylang ylang and honey. In the base, Lumière Fauve goes from animalic to powdery gourmand. So the new version is more like a lively predator in a beehive. It`s interesting to look at the evolution.

Pierre Guillaume: Leathermore was a perfume I created for myself and I was aiming to create some OTHER kind of leather. More than a leather. You know, in my collection there`s a strange leather called Cuir Venenum, there`s a classical-academical leather Cuir d`Iris, and there's also a gourmand leather L`Oiseau de Nuit. And now I wanted to make a “fresh leather”, a “vegetal green leafy leather”. Historically they made vegetal leather by immersing hides into vegetal extracts of rhubarb, oak, acacia, mimosa or mosses… I like the idea of putting a piece of leather into a green juice of leafs. Green, sharp, fresh, milky leather. 

Sergey Borisov: It starts fresh, almost like a cologne!

Pierre Guillaume: No-no-no! You find here a fresh green accord: mint, cis-3-hexenal, spicy cardamom, a violet note. So you have the freshness of a modern cologne but without the citrus notes; no bergamot, no fleur d`orange, no-no-no! It starts very leafy and transparent, and – be patient, it takes some time. The leather is coming. 

If the reaction of people towards Leathermore is good, you know, Sergey, I will do something in an animalic direction. It happened this way with Mojito Chypré, with Arabian Horse, etc. I never do something without a reason. There`s a logical reason, but you`ll discover that next year. There`s Iris, and Ginger, and Olibanum resinoid (you know, I work more with resinoid than with oil), and some woody notes in it, let me think… Elemi, Cypriol Heart from Robertet, that I used in Isparta and Monsieur…  

Sergey Borisov: On a blotter Leathermore has a long phase that evokes a fresh green summer morning, which I love most. On my skin, especially after an ambery shower gel-shampoo, it presents a grey amber leather mineral sillage starting from the first minutes. I`d love for it to  have a more pronounced start, even if afterwards you would have to decide it fits better in La Collection Croisiere, in those blue bottles instead of the brown one.

Pierre Guillaume: Yes, the leather and mineral side is obvious, but the smell is still leafy fresh. I will have about a year to think about it – to have people tell me if it`s a good direction. That`s why it`s important to me to see the reaction at exhibitions, since we don't do marketing research, we are a small company. But the last time, when we presented Mojito Chypré, we took note of people's reactions and made some minor changes to it. 

Sergey Borisov: Let`s try and discuss the new Métal Hurlant?

Pierre Guillaume: OK, the idea was to create a leather perfume, but a kind of abstract, conceptual one that's still very wearable. The starting point was patchouli, maybe like Habit Rouge, but with a "Comme des Garcons" approach. So I started with true Patchouli oil (a very rude and full one) and we started to work on a dis-accord, to create a dis-harmony. We ended up with two dis-accords in it. One is a Patchouli–Jasmine dis-accord, and the other is Clary Sage. They do not work together and create an effect I call Chimaera. I mean, all these metallic and fresh paint effects are not real, the whole synthetic cacophony is made by that disharmony effect.

We did not use Labdanum or Birch Tar for the leather, it is an accord of Suederal and Corinal. We used Jasmine absolute to push up the animalic effect in the top notes, and you'll find some ethylene brassilate Musk and some Kaolactone (it`s a molecule that smells like dirty hair, like sebum) to make the biker-rocker image more naturalistic. 

Sergey Borisov: To me the perfume feels very ambery…

Pierre Guillaume: It`s Amberketal, a very strong smell of dry amber. We don`t want to make it very refined. So it`s like an ambery feeling, not the true amber accord. It lacks the sweet balsamic parts of amber. Together with Musk T and Kaolactone, it creates the unwashed biker image. You see, we work our way around the animalic part of perfumery – with beast furs that caress and wild humans. Our inspirations are everywhere. By the way, Métal Hurlant was basically made to meet the request of our Russian distributor. 

Sergey Borisov: I`d love to see Pierre Guillaume starting the new trend – to launch perfumes in collection of various perfumes in 15 ml spray vials. Like you did La Collection Croisière – it`s like a PG Spring-Summer perfume collection in one box. 

Pierre Guillaume: The next four perfumes of La Collection Croisière is coming next month, in a trial box. I understand that not many people want to go for every 100 ml flacon. So, PG is one of the brands that offers 100 ml, 50 ml and 30 ml. And now we have trial boxes with 4 perfumes too – that`s a perfume wardrobe all on its own! We are also working on the idea of Bar A Parfums Parfumerie Générale  – then people would be able to get any four 15 ml perfumes in a boutique.

But we need to solve some problems first, to develop logistics and to give a proper education to the sales assistants. 

Shermine Huitième Art Collection

Notes: Lemon, Cardamom, Pink Pepper, Lavender, Iris Fur accord, Guaiac Wood, Vanilla, Musk, Vetiver, Patchouli.

Lumière Fauve

Notes: Cinnamon, Clove, Angelica, Hyraceum resinoid, Ylang-ylang, Black Moroccan honey, Tobacco, Cocoa, Leather, Musks.

Leathermore

Notes:  Cardamom, Cumin, Pink pepper, Ginger, Green sap accord, Jasmine, Leather, Olibanum, Guaiac wood, Musks.

Métal Hurlant

Notes: Jasmine, Patchouli, Clary Sage, Musks, Amber

Photos from the event: Juliette ptoyan

Pierre Guillaume Paris Seychelles ... Madeira?

by: Miguel Matos

The aquatics ... The most hated family among niche lovers and brands. While everyone is still babbling on about oud and others venture into minimalism or the upcoming trend of the animalics, Pierre Guillaume dares to go the opposite way by launching the Collection Croisière. Yes, for even the snobbiest of perfumistas has to have some vacation with easy-on-the-brain scents to go inside the travel bag. And indeed this summer collection by Pierre Guillaume is so easy it could also be sold at any major perfume store. These are not challenging perfumes (except maybe for Jangala, but even this is pretty mainstream). And this is not necessarily a bad thing.

For now this Cruise Collection is comprised of four scents: Paris Seychelles, Entre Ciel et Mer, Long Courrier and Jangala. All of them are interpretations of the aquatic theme, which is the thing I just can't stand in perfumery, along with most fougères. But I have to say that what Pierre did is compelling and intellectually relevant. Taking something which is not high class, or which is not seen as new, luxurious and sophisticated, and making it a thing for reflection. It's high culture vs. lowbrow with interesting results. At first I didn't care much for Entre Ciel et Mer and Long Courrier. Nicely done but that was all. I fell in love in a second for Jangala, but later on I found it a bit heavy and sweet for summer. And of course, I had a favorite. The oh-so-elegant and chic vacation of a French woman: Paris Seychelles.

Some bloggers have reviewed this first and they speak about monoï, coconut and sand. To my nose this smells far more elegant and refined that that. It has coconut in it but it is not so sweet because there is also petitgrain. And of course there is that obvious dash of suntan lotion, but what this reminds me of is frangipani (plumeria) with black pepper, all drenched in a generous dose of salycilates, which in fact can be reminiscent of Ambre Solaire. It seems like a trip to the Madeira Island, in Portugal, where frangipani grows everywhere. I was there recently (and am going back in a few days) and I was mesmerized by the lusciousness of that tropical place.

The thing that struck me the most, smell wise, was the frangipani. There are a lot of these trees everywhere in Madeira (above), and I noticed that if you pick a flower and you leave it to rest some hours, it starts to decay. But this decay brings an evolution of the flower's natural perfume. It gets sweeter and more intense, but also very carnal, like indolic jasmine. The smell of decay brings an extra interest and it smells as if you were having sex over a bed of flowers. But there is even more to it. The sea in Madeira doesn't have a strong smell, as there is no sand nor much algae, and the rocks are volcanic. So there is an almost nonexistent mineral salty smell, within the usually moist air. Now, if I imagine a concentration of this decaying frangipani and the moist mineral scent of the air in Madeira, I can compare this to Paris Seychelles. This may not make perfect sense to most readers, or does it?

Funchal, Madeira

To lighten this up, Pierre introduced a white lily accord that freshens it up and brings us back to the Parisian woman. I actually think this could be a bit better if the lily was a bit toned down to give more voice to plumeria. After that masterfully blended opening of flowers and spices (pepper and ginger) with green leaves (from galbanum) and a pinch of what seems to me as tea, the marine notes come and keeps it watery and breezy. It never gets dense or too sexy. This fragrance is light and subtle. I think I would love to see this Parisian lady on a cruise undress her white silk caftan and verge more on the erotic side.

After a couple of hours, the spicy side of the lily emerges and Paris Seychelleschanges direction into a more deep and mysterious scent. This is very interesting and intriguing. The clove-y spiciness of the drydown works wonders in conjunction with the aquatic and skin notes. What seemed to be very simple gets complex at the end. Unpretentious perfection.

Madeira images: Miguel Matos

Pierre Guillaume Collection Croisiere: Mojito Chypre

by: Sandra Raicevic Petrovic

As the fifth fragrance of the collection inspired by cruising, Pierre Guillaume presentsMojito Chypre, whose aromatic-chypre composition highlights fragrant strawberry mojito. This perfume reinterprets fun on the beach … from Ibiza to Miami. The collection Cruise (Croisiere) offered four fragrances this year (Entre Ciel et Mer, Paris-Seychelles, Jangala and Long-Courrier) presented exclusively at perfume fair in Milan, Esxence 2015, and Pierre is announcing more unusual editions to accompany it. 

Pierre Guillaume boldly recreated one of the classic fragrance groups (chypre) into an unusual aromatic-chypre version by providing a hybrid composition and modern chords. Even though the fragrance was built around classic chypre ingredients (patchouli, vetiver, labdanum, vanilla and oak moss), its fruity essence provides an unconventional, playful twist.  

Flavors of lime, fresh mint, strawberry, aldehydes and rum absolute make mojito chord exciting and explosive. This blend depicts the atmosphere of beach parties and summer holidays. When passions calm down and the sweet aromatic-floral notes from the top notes disappear, the chypre structure lingers warmed with shades of forest, wood and sensual moss.

Pierre Guillaume Mojito Chypre (photo by Konstatin Subbotin)

PIERRE GUILLAUME CRUISE COLLECTION MOJITO CHYPRE edition june 2015 lime, mint, aldehydes, strawberry mojito, rum absolute patchouli, vetiver, labdanum, oak moss, vanilla

MOJITO CHYPRE is available in a blue flacon, just like previous editions of the Cruise collection, as 50 and 100 ml.

Source: Pierre Guillaume press release

Pierre Guillaume: A Cruise Heals Any Crisis

by: Serguey Borisov

Four years of participation in perfume exhibitions led me to a good habit. Or one superstition. To show things went great—no mistakes, delays or losses of the freshest perfume material—you need to start it with an interview with Pierre Guillaume. He is always open, friendly and offering rosaries in their judgments and explanations of their ideas, and always exact in creating a fragrance. To listen to Pierre while smelling his fragrances is always a great pleasure. Because my first meeting was scheduled for an interview with the perfumer, all this became even more apparent when the news came of his new collection of fragrances, La Collection Croisiere.

Sergey Borisov:
Pierre, tell me, why did you choose a cruise theme to create a new collectionof fragrances? Have you been doing a lot of traveling lately?

Pierre Guillaume:
As always, it's just a name. No, I hate traveling. I hate to leave my house, my bed and my laboratory, my cats (laughs). I travel a lot around the world to grow my business, but it's not leisure travel. In my travels I need fragrances; you can imagine that for my fragrances, such as Indochine or Hyperessence Matale, or Harmatan Noir—they felt exotic, but they are this sort of ideal exotics. So the idea is not new collection of travel, just these fragrances I need as a result of working on something else—to turn a page in their works.

Sergey Borisov:
You mean, to go away from the topic of ingredients and come up with something else?

Pierre Guillaume:

That's right. In this collection, I wanted to sniff other countries, other spaces, differentatmosphere. I'm just fed up with the fragrances "built around notes of leather" orchords of tuberose. Not that I do not like these notes and chords, but I need a break, the possibility of coming up with stories invented by other canons. You will see at the show a lot of good fragrances, built on a "note in a special environment." I myself was one of those who started this trend, but now, 13 years later, I would like to start a new trend.

Sergey Borisov:
A Cruise collection was previously the prerogative of fashion houses likeChanel and Jean Patou—all these bright skirts, blouses and hats, and later, in the summer seasonal colognes and perfume flankers of these respectivehouses. Why would a niche house go the same way?

Pierre Guillaume:

When I created my PG Tubereuse Couture, it was a connection with the history of French haute couture. Gardenia Grand Soir, also an homage to the history of Haute Couture. My new collection of Le Collection Croisiere also associated with cruise collections, right, you first noticed it, and I did it on purpose. We wanted to link the name of the collection with the cruise collections of clothes and the very idea of ​​a cruise, travel, travel in space. I wanted to create a fragrance that would carry you to another place on the planet. I wanted to breathe, forget about perfume raw materials, and start thinking of it as a means, not an end. I wanted to create and pass on the impressions of the fragrances to create the atmosphere.

And as for flankers and summer versions, Parfumerie Generale La Collection Croisiere will not be limited seasonal collection—it will be a permanent collection, consisting of eight fragrances.

Sergey Borisov:
Eight fragrances? In the press material we found only four.

Pierre Guillaume:

Yes, right now on Esxence 2015 we are launching the first four fragrance of La Collection Croisiere: fragrances Entre Ciel et Mer, Jangala, Paris Seychelles, Long Courrier, and I am sure that in April-May, we will run them all over the world . The remaining four fragrances will be launched by one: the fifth in June 2015, the sixth in September 2015, the seventh of November 2015 and eighth in February 2016. Total: eight scents.

Sergey Borisov:
Have you created them all or will you be creating them in the future?

Pierre Guillaume:

All fragrances are ready, the second four—Chypre Mojito (remember last year's exhibition Pitti Fragranze?), Foudre, Rivages Noirs and Metal Hurlant. And it's a complete story. We used for the new scents an azure bottle, which emphasizes the idea of a different color cruise (50 and 100 ml).

Sergey Borisov:
But there are a few ways to travel: on foot, by plane, by boat, by car or bicycle.Why did you choose the color blue?

Pierre Guillaume:

In this idea there is not only the color of the sea, which is most visible. Blue is the color of the sea, the sky, infinity and freedom. And the collection includes not only sea aromas. When you smell them, you yourself know that it is not only the sea aromas, built on the synthetic material Calone. They have different aromas: the history of biker crossing the United States on his Harley, and the history of a Playboy, enjoying a whiskey on a yacht under the stars.

Sergey Borisov:
And what about these methods of travel was the most difficult to create in afragrance?

Pierre Guillaume:

I would not say "most difficult." I always am working on each fragrance. I would saythe "most romantic" is Jangala. Why? Because the fragrance is dedicated to the Jangala jungle after the rain, and I've never been in the jungle. But I wanted to create a fragrance on the theme of walking in the wet jungle, and I thought of it as a dream,taking advantage of the ideal image out of my head.

Sergey Borisov:
So you imagined it, instead of having to go to a greenhouse or conservatory?

Pierre Guillaume:

Yes, I came up with the image of wet leaves and flowers in the most romantic way.Sandalwood, coconut and cardamom.

Sergey Borisov:
Cruise and crisis. You would think that between them, they have something in common.

Pierre Guillaume:

Oh, yeah. A cruise is a cure for the crisis. The same question was asked by ajournalist from Figaro, and I gave the same answer. And I need a little rest, to seeother landscapes. I need to recharge. And cruises really help to restore the creative potential.

Sergey Borisov:
So your scents also work as batteries?

Pierre Guillaume:

And if the price of cruises is high, the price of my fragrances is much moreaccessible. (laughs) And besides, do you know why, in the 90s, the aquatic andgourmand scents— L'Eau d'Issey by Issey Miyake, Armani Acqua di Gio, Thierry Mugler Angel, etc.—were so popular? Because people were tired of fragrances that "smell like perfume" and more! All these loud Poisons, Kouros, Fahrenheits, Giorgios,and so on were perfumes without inspiration. And people wanted to sniff space andrecreational areas, restore the scents of childhood memory and recall moments of happiness and tenderness.

Sergey Borisov:
Thus, we have to accept your new collection as a response to Orientalism andthe Ouds that were popular in recent years?

Pierre Guillaume:

Yes, probably. You know, I'm working now on the next fragrance, it will be PG №27,which we will launch in 2016. And it will probably be on the theme of the fragrance of white flowers, shown in some unexpected ways. I would not want to completely break with fragrant materials, I would just like right now to do some work, enclose it inparentheses. Create something else—not from a desire to market it, and not because of the market's predictions, but simply based on the mood. Later, maybe I'll be backto the perfume raw materials as the main theme, but not now.

Sergey Borisov:
Let's try the new items in the collection and please tell us a little bit about them.

Pierre Guillaume (spraying the blotter):

OK, let's start with Paris Seychelles, a fresh floral fragrance. Its idea: to transfer between two universes on this planet. Imagine a Parisian on the left bank of the Seine, who arrived after a weekend spent in the Seychelles. In her last evening before she left she could not take a shower after swimming in the ocean, as she already handed over her room key. So she flew to Paris with the scent of sea salt on her skin.

The idea of ​​the fragrance was to create a marine floral aromas of white flowers, but without exaggerating the exotic. I wanted to create a crystal flower, rather reminiscent of real flowers, as a reminder of the beach, the sand and tropical colors. I used the chord of white lily and a special material, Lisylang Coeur (Robertet), which together gave a very clean and very light floral accent. Frangipani and musk in the base notes, galbanum and petitgrain oil for initial green notes, plus ginger and black pepper. Most likely, you will remember a little resemblance to PG Tubereuse Couture, but the novelty is even more transparent and sparkling, and sugar-free. Fragrance Paris Seychelles can even be called dramatic.

Sergey Borisov (sniffing):
Yes, great! I like it, though its quite feminine.

Pierre Guillaume:

Next, the second fragrance is called Entre Ciel et Mer, a fresh woody fragrance. This is a simple name—between sea and sky, the smell of surf boards and anything that might smell of a surfer in the sea. You feel that you are on the border of the sea and sky, between two worlds, and the scent is also dual—sea and air. He splashed cold water on his skin and an icy wind is blowing. I used a special product of Robertet,molecular distillate of Pacific algae supplemented with sandalwood, amber and lichen,and on top of everything—a lavender, thyme and pear chord.

The next scent, Long-Courrier, is the smell of a beach party. I wanted to createsomething classic but futuristic, such as salty vanilla, and I tried to create a fragranceof vanilla and the contrast of Adoxal, a fresh, salty and metallic material of synthetic origin. One can imagine a Shalimar of the 21st century, created in a contemporary manner.

Jangala is a romantic idea of the jungle after a tropical downpour. So what can be expected of leaves and flowers, palm trees and coconuts, unusual and strangesmells. However, the main chord I imagined as a chord of coconut, sandalwood andeucalyptus leaves. It is more vivid, energetic and spicy compared with the other three—with exotic fresh herbs, fruits and leaves.

Sergey Borisov (sniffing):
Where are the flaws in your collection? I like them all!

Pierre Guillaume (spraying a blotter):

Maybe they're in the next part of the "Cruise Collection?" Metal Hurlant is "screechingmetal", and a "heavy metal" fragrance. You ride a motorcycle on Route 66 in the United States. Arizona, the Grand Canyon, that's all. What can you smell along the way? The smell of a leather jacket biker, the smell of new paint, the smell of metal parts, the smell of hot asphalt and exhaust, sweat, a gray-bearded macho biker ...

Sergey Borisov (sniffing):
Hmm, it's not PG, it the antiparfum collection of Comme des Garçons ...

Pierre Guillaume:

We believe that our work is more conceptual and call it an "aerodynamic skin" leatherscent with a modern metallic accents. OK ... next fragrance: Mojito Chypre, which wetalked about at Pitti Fragranze, in September 2014.

It will be released in June 2015, and I changed it a bit. When I presented it in Florence, it was a pure concept, rather than a commercial fragrance. It did not have tocomply with IFRA. Now, because of the high level of citral and other aroma materials,I had to rework it. But it's still pretty close to the original that you tried in Florence, I think. This is still a strawberry mojito with mint on a chypre base.

The next fragrance is called Foudre, literally "lightning." I wanted this fragrance to catch the scent of champaca before a storm. I learned that champaca flowers, for a couple of hours before a storm, alter their scent, and this property was used by the ancients to predict storms and minimize the damage from them. They had two hours to save valuables ​​and hide themselves. I developed a lot of aromas and with the help of a friend, who returned to the rainy season from the island of Reunion, was able to understand how it smells. It loses its floral aspect, becoming more green, rich and woody, like getting a root smell. I started looking for the champaca absolute suitable for this smell and found a particular faction, ideal for my purpose. To make it more woody, I added Vetiver, absolute black tea, pepper, and a pair of synthetic materials: fresh green Aldemone and dry Cashmeran.

Then comes fragrance Rivages Noirs ("Black Beach"). This idea I spied in one of the movies. Imagine a beautiful yacht in a night sea near the shore. You can see the handsome playboy with a glass of whiskey, considering the beautiful top model in a swimsuit, rising from the Black Sea aboard a yacht on the background of almost black in the moonlight forest on the coast. This picture was so kitschy and at the same time rich, I decided to make a marine fragrance of the night. Starry black sky, and the smell of the black cypress coast with its coastal forest, and a little smell of whiskey.There is a caveat to the overall aroma Liqueur Charnelle, which I released last year. Now I have a collection with Mojito, whiskey, cognac, perhaps it is time to make the smell of Champagne? In general, this fragrance for the most part a traditional sea fern fragrance with a dose of whiskey to change its perception.

Sergey Borisov:
Oh, it's very easy to remember: a fresh glass of wine, reminiscent of shower gel. Most modern.

Pierre Guillaume:

Yes, it is easy to understand. This is a simple and popular flavor. In this collection, La Collection Croisiere, I did not want any revolutions and explosions of creativity. Here I had no complaints, no shaking up of the perfume industry or niche sector. I justwanted you to inhale and exhale, measured and calm, and feel completely relaxed.For some time.

Photos from the exhibition: Evgeniya Chudakova. The others: parfumerie-generale.com

Pierre Guillaume Collection Croisiere: Entre Ciel et Mer, Paris-Seychelles, Jangala and Long-Courrier

by: Sandra Raicevic Petrovic

How to resist the new collection launched by Pierre Guillaume? With its nameCollection Croisiere (Cruise Collection) it invites us for journeys and pleasure.The collection was presented in specially designed flacons in a turquoise color with rounded edges, which evokes the sea, according to Pierre. The rounded edges remind me of beautiful and smooth pebbles in shallow water, shaped by sea water, and the very bottle evokes the exotic turquoise sea. The design of the new flacons is signed by PG Studio, and they will be available as 50 and 100 ml.

"For this 'Cruise' line, the PG Studio has designed a brand-new atomizer bottle, available in two sizes, atomizer sizes, 50 and 100 ml. This heavy slab of turquoise glass reprises the streamlined, timeless codes of the PG signature bottle, balancing the wide rectangular face with the rounded angles of the flanks. The cap is a shiny black block engraved with the PG lozenge. Like distorting mirrors, its irregular faces evoke a ripple on water." The new collection PIERRE GUILLAUME COLLECTION CROISIERE has four completely new fragrances and will be available from April 2015. It follows The Numbered Collection, The Signature Collection, The By Invitation Only Collection and The Huitième Art Collection, which together contain over 60 scents that were composed and signed by Pierre. With new Croisiere Collection perfumer Pierre Guiilaume goes against the tide ... He also turns a new page, leaving the theme of "one raw material" behind, avoiding compositions with oud, tuberose or leather, focusing on the least exploited genre in alternative perfumery: aquatic fragrances—ACQUATICS. Even though, according to Pierre, this collection is obviously inspired by sailing and joruneys, it expresses his wishes to start from square one. The raw material is not at the center of attention, by a means to tell the story. More than ever, PG fragrances will focus on their evocative power, says Pierre!

ENTRE CIEL ET MER
A marine poem composed wave after wave…

"Entre ciel et mer (“Between sky and sea”) tells a story of etesian winds, azure skies and flying over seascapes at top speed …

Icy, soaring and powerful, the first whiff feels as though it had been sculpted out of the Meltem—the north wind that blows over the Aegean Sea, with notes of crumpled, water-splashed leaves and the fruity-aromatic nuances of a lavender, pear and white thyme accord.

The scent’s naturalistic seawater effect is achieved through a molecular distillation of algae from the Pacific, with iodic and animalic notes of white lichen and ambergris.
The dry, almost mineral facets are balanced out with cedar moss and sandalwood from New Caledonia.

A strikingly novel interpretation of marine fragrances."

notes: water splashed leaves, lavender, pear, white thyme, algae, litchen, ambergris, cedar moss, sandalwood from New Caledonia

JANGALA
In the Indonesian jungle …

"In Sanskrit, Jangala designates a natural wilderness area, a jungle.
The term sums up the olfactory world imagined by Pierre Guillaume in this woody, aromatic composition, infused with moist jungle air.

The top notes evoke the lush vegetation of a tropical forest after a rainfall: eucalyptus leaves, cardamom and rosewood blend with Thai herbs and Kahili ginger blossoms.
Rising from the moist earth, sandalwood vapor suffused with coconut and vetiver slowly warms the steamy, ozone-laced air.

Suddenly, birds stop chirping: silence, then a quiver and the glint of dark eyes … a tiger is crouching in the shadow."

notes: eucalyptus, cardamom, rosewood, Thai herbs, Kahili ginger flowers
 

LONG COURRIER
A sweet-and-salty water brought back from a beach
on the other side of the world.

"With Long Courrier, ('Long-distance flight'), a solar oriental built around a core of salty vanilla, the perfumer evokes faraway destinations, beaches on the other side of the world, lazy days gorged with sea spray and the delicious scent of suntan lotion …
A pure, natural note of salt on sun-kissed golden skin is brightened with orange essential oil, while cocoa powder adds of touch of gourmand bitterness …

Elemi resin and cedar word, associated with vanilla and musk, add a counterpoint to this sweet-and-salty water.

A highly-contrasted formula for a powdery, tender and sensual fragrance."

notes: salt, orange oil, cocoa powder, vanilla, musk, elemi, cedar

PARIS SEYCHELLES
Solar flowers and warm sand, Left Bank style

"In this white floral blending exoticism with the allure and distinction of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the perfumer bridges two olfactory universes … Returning to the Left Bank a holiday by the Indian Ocean, a chic Parisienne carries back the essence of a tropical beach on her skin. Ocean, her skin suffused with the essence of a tropical beach.

Composed around a bouquet of solar flowers and warm sand, Paris Seychelles associates pristine salicylic white floral notes with crystalline plumeria blossoms. Its heart notes sway between the scent of monoi oil spiced up with lily and sweetened with coconut milk, and the soaring freshness of a galbanum, black pepper, ginger and petitgrain accord.

A delicate and nuanced composition conjuring warm, salty skin under a classic cashmere sweater…"

notes: white flowers, plumeria, monoi oil, lily, coconut milk, galbanum, ginger, petit grain, black pepper

Croisiere Collection is not a limited collection that would mark just one season, but s steady collection. Sailing represents a long journey worldwide and is not limited to a certain season. Pierre Guillaume envisaged a journey by plane, ship, motorbike or even on foot, which will takes us to four olfactive destinations:Entre Ciel et Mer,  Paris-Seychelles, Jangala and Long-Courrier The presented fragrances will be available starting from April 2015 as 50 and 100 ml.