Introduced in 1889, it is the oldest continuouslyproduced perfume in the world. Jicky is a magical fragrance that blends sparkling top notes with warm and delicate base notes. Second, legend has it that shalimar was born when jacques guerlain added. It is touted as the first emotive perfume not single note or place specific. This magnificent blend of synthetic and natural notes. Jicky was launched exactly 100 years after the french revolution. With a fresh and sparkling fragrance, jicky by guerlain incorporates a crest of citrus found in bergamot, lemon and mandarin accented by rosemary.
Introduced in 1889 the year the eiffel tower and the moulin rouge opened to the public jicky represented an aesthetic and conceptual shift. Jicky was created by aime guerlain, the son of perfumer pierrefrancoispascal guerlain, who founded the family perfume house in 1828 when he opened a small shop in paris. Created in 1889 by the house of guerlain jicky was the first fragrance to combine natural and synthetic essences which makes this wonderful oriental floral and spicy fragrance both long. Most who know of guerlain jicky 1889 have heard the story of aime guerlain, who created jicky for a love interest he had when he was a student in england, which was a country ahead of continental europe at the time in the fragrance field. Guerlain is so straight and obsessed with love that i often feel im reading snippets from a paperback romance novel as i peruse the guerlain website. A late bloomer in many ways, ive just recently discovered guerlains 1889 jicky, and realized that. Jaques guerlain started using ethyl vanillin when shalimar was created. I am not a great fan of coffeetable perfume books, and this one reached me almost by chance. Jicky by guerlain for women jicky by guerlain for women. In 1889, aime guerlain created his ultimate masterpiece. Artists were drowned by exotic places, attracted by travels.
Strangely enough, jicky does smell very guerlain in composition. Jicky was created by aime guerlain, the son of perfumer pierrefrancoispascal. Jicky was the first fragrance i found to be truly compelling precisely because of its oddness. Guerlain 125 rue president wilson92595 levallois ferretfrance33 01 41 27 32 16fax. A late bloomer in many ways, ive just recently discovered guerlains 1889 jicky, and realized that for me the history of guerlain signifies little. Like many a masterpiece, the perfume was disruptive in its day.
Making its debut in 1889, jicky is the oldest fragrance in continuous production. I remember the story that it was made for a girl that aime was in love. Jicky is a perfume by the house of guerlain, created by aime guerlain. Guerlain by colette fellous perfume books now smell this. At the time aimee guerlain took over as head of guerlain, there was a new trend among the artistic world. At once a female suffragette and a male silent film star, a bond, a vitorian villainess. Current perfumer thierry wasser continues the legacy by adding his personal signature to the houses hallmark fragrances. Launched in 1889, jicky is guerlains first major masterpiece of perfumery. Jicky initiated the creation of abstract perfumery as opposed to figurative perfumery. Jicky perfume by guerlain, first created in 1889, jicky is a classic fragrance that has stood the test of time as a beloved choice by women around the world. According to the little book of perfumes, when the perfume was being conceived, only a. Jicky for me is the olrlando of the olfactory world. It is a classical fragrance and, despite the age, it is timeless and still very modern.
It inspired aimee guerlain and led him to his first creations. As strange as it is, it is still recognisable and that heritage is alive and well in so many of the other perfumes. An ode to my favorite fragrance, jicky by guerlain. Jicky is not a loveatfirstsniff scent, unless you are blessed with an. It reminds me of citrus, cloves, and honey, but with bit of a zing. It should hold a special place in every guerlain fans heart. The secret to the medicinal, smoky yellow vanillin of jicky, reprised in shalimar, was the remnants of guiacol and phenols, lending an autumnal darkness to what. Jicky was one of the first perfumes created with the addition of synthetic materials, and was the first abstract perfume in history, meaning it is not based on a single note. Jicky was an important development in the history of perfumemaking because it included synthetic materials for the first time. If you have been searching for a remarkable, classic fragrance that lasts through the whole day, jicky by guerlain is a timeless choice for women that nevertheless remains modern.
Jicky is every miniskirted man and militarybreeches. According to the legend, the perfume was named after a girl aime guerlain was in. Jicky thus links the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the history of the guerlain house. It was the first abstract perfume as it wasnt reminiscent of one individual note. Guerlain was a pioneer and jicky broke many a mold.
Composed by aime guerlain, a son of the founder pierrefrancoispascal guerlain, the perfume incorporated newly developed synthetic molecules, namely coumarin. A brief history of guerlain perfumes discover walks blog. Created in 1889, guerlain jicky is at once a timeless classic and a remarkably modern fragrance. The volume of civet in its base is truly outrageous, and any trained nose would wonder how he got away with it. At the time of its creation, women may have found jicky puzzling, but men adopted it. Many traditional guerlain fragrances are characterized by a. Jicky would have been worn by victorian men with all their layered and confining undergarments, tight woolen suits and big tailored mustaches and beards. History of the house of guerlain guerlain was founded in 1828, when pierrefrancoispascal guerlain opened his first boutique in paris. It preceded shalimar, in fact its from the previous century, the 19th century, and it preceded aldehydes.
Jicky by guerlain debuted over a century ago and blazed a trail with its use of synthetic. This forerunner of new modern olfactory creations is the founding father of the legendary shalimar. The most famous of jickys five iterations is the 1908 quatrefoil bottle recently reprised for mon guerlain, with angelina jolie. So now i create my own jicky with all the original materials no substitutions. In fact, when first introduced, women were turned off by its innovative. Fleur ditalie in 1884, skin in 1885 and rococo in 1887.