Guerlain Muguet 2016

Fragrance Friday: Lilybelle
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Fragrance Friday: Lilybelle

As you know if you read any of my posts during last year’s May Muguet Marathon, I love lily of the valley and all things muguet. I wore Diorissimo for a decade and have been happily exploring other LOTV fragrances — but something was missing. And, yes, something really WAS missing, due to IFRA restrictions and reformulations. One of those things was the former level of hydroxycitronnelal (“a lily of the valley aroma-chemical and the main constituent of Diorissimo’s muguet bouquet”, according to the blog Perfume Shrine). Several of the aromachemicals formerly used to create a LOTV scent, such as Lyral and Lillial, are now restricted, I have read.

Enter Lilybelle! “According to David Apel, Senior Perfumer at Symrise, ‘Lilybelle is a molecule with an extremely fresh, green and wet smell. A touch of aldehydes raises its luxuriant floral touch, thus capturing the sparkling freshness of spring.’”

From Premium Beauty News: Symrise innovates with a lily of the valley note from sustainable sources:

After six years of development, the Symrise research team has designed Lilybelle, a new molecule with fresh and transparent notes that are very close to the scents of lily of the valley. This (…)

Source: Perfumes: Symrise innovates with a lily of the valley note from sustainable sources

Notably, Lilybelle is an aromachemical made with “green chemistry” practices and principles, from renewable resources, and it is biodegradable. Take that, IFRA!

I think this is a wonderful development and I share the hope expressed by Mr. Apel that perfumers will use this new aromachemical in creative, innovative ways, including its use in unisex and masculine fragrances. I already enjoy Laboratorio Olfattivo’s Decou-Vert, which is supposed to be unisex. However, I also hope that a talented perfumer who, like me, loves muguet, will create a lovely, feminine LOTV which, unlike Guerlain Muguet 2016, I can afford.

May Muguet Marathon: Guerlain Muguet 2016
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May Muguet Marathon: Guerlain Muguet 2016

Deep breath. I am not an experienced perfumista and I’m not sure I can do justice to this new Guerlain, but I will do my best. The new Guerlain Muguet 2016 is an entirely new eau de toilette by Guerlain’s in-house perfumer, Thierry Wasser. It builds on the tradition, begun in 2006, of Guerlain releasing its 1998 formulation of Guerlain Muguet every year in a different limited edition bottle on May 1, the day when traditionally the French present bunches of lilies of the valley to friends and loved ones as a “porte-bonheur”, a good luck token or “bringer of happiness.” So to start, I defer to “Monsieur Guerlain”, the longtime blogger and Guerlain aficonado, to describe Guerlain’s tradition: Muguet.

As you can see, the limited edition bottles are all beautiful, including this most recent one, which is a crystal bottle encased in silver-plated filigree, designed by the Parisian jewelers Ambre & Louise and influenced by the Art Nouveau master Alphonse Mucha. I saw the actual bottle at Neiman Marcus on May 1 this year, which I visited for the express purpose of trying this new Muguet. Continue reading →