Parure by Guerlain (1975)

I  plan on traipsing through every perfume in my favorite perfume neighborhood: the Chypre-Floral Animalic hood.

This is no gated community, nor is it sorority row, the Upper East Side, Williamsburg, or Silver Lake. No, I think this neighborhood is  in Paris (maybe the Marais?) in the 70s. Chic but relaxed, without trying too hard.

A “parure” is a set of various items of matching jewelry. Sounds stuffy, right? Who wears a matching set of jewelry these days who is under the age of 80? The way I read it is more metaphorical: Parure’s notes, like individual pieces of jewelry, all add up to a well-balanced set. (Although it's a little "harsher" than Givenchy III, a green chypre, they both have that approachable, balanced cheery/formal quality.)

There’s the bracing and interesting green opening, the warm and sexy jasmine-dominated heart, and the dry, mossy and leathery dry down that butches things up. Not only butches things up, but makes them a little more formal.

 Think Charlotte Rampling with her unbuttoned button-down, or Bianca Jagger in what might be the coolest wedding outfit ever assembled: a white Yves Saint-Laurent-designed “smoking jacket” dress suit with floppy hat. Not exactly stuffy, but not cut-off jeans, if you catch my drift. Formality undone, or casualness slightly formalized.

Top notes: Aldehydes, citrus oils, thyme, galbanum, clary sage

Heart notes: Jasmine, rose, lilac, lily of the valley, orris, narcissus, jonquil

Base notes: Leather, styrax, vetiver, moss, Peru Balsam, amber

The citrus and galbanum in Parure is bracing and bitter. If it were a drink, your mouth would surely pucker. It’s accompanied by the herbal notes of thyme and clary sage, which soften this brightness and prepare you for the sweet warmth of a gorgeous jasmine that shines like the sun within Parure's dry, mossy leather-fresh impression.

Soon enough, the “formal” part of the perfume announces itself: leather, moss, styrax and vetiver, with amber and Tolu balsam’s warmth echoing the jasmine. For a moment, there's an interesting caramel note that recalls Azurée and Miss Balmain, an evanescent gourmand quality in an otherwise fresh and moss-dry fragrance. Reminds me of being in the shade when suddenly a spot of sun hits your skin...The styrax and vetiver provide an incensey-woody scratchiness that provides texture to the perfume. Parure's balance of citrus, warmth and mossy-dry-leather is perfection.

Fresh yet interesting, crisp citrusy-leather chypres just make me happy. They’re the perfect warm-weather fragrance. (Empreinte is another one I can’t wait to wear when the whether gets consistently warm. Melon + sueded leather = yum.) Although Parure might seem overly green and austere at first, its crispness hides a warmth and good humor you'll experience if you get to know it. (Did I mention I love this perfume? And thanks to my perfume pal Heather for introducing me to this one last year!)

 

 

Comments

[Anne]

Lovely review, thanks. I had heard of Parure but had been put off by the name; it sounds very Royal Family, somehow. Not so, it seems. 'Formality undone' sounds perfect. Private collectin reminds of this, in weird sort of way. She's like a steely spinster who, as you eventually realise, has a lovely sweet and slightly shy smile that she only shows after she gets to know you a little.

Mick Jagger looks so young in that photo!

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Anne, The name is pretty lame. ;-) It's interesting you see Private Collection (and maybe Parure from my description?) as spinster-y. Green fragrances seem too dynamic to me to be the fragrance of shy types. It's an intriguing question, though. I wonder if you can really do personality profiles that way. Haarmann & Reimer, in their Perfume Book, have a psychology profile of the kind of woman who likes oriental fragrances (introvert) versus chypre or green (extrovert), etc. I mean — who knows! (I should do a post on this.) Thanks for stopping by! Parure is available via The Perfumed Court, by the way.

[mals86]

A friend sent me a small spray sample of Parure last summer - and I haaaaaaated it. I'm still not quite sure why, as I do love galbanum, and tend to do very well with floral chypres. I gritted my teeth and managed not to scrub, but hoo boy. Disaster.

Parure did seem relatively fruity to me (as opposed to citrusy), and that may be the issue: I don't get on with Mitsouko. Or So Pretty, or Yvresse, or Jubilation 25, or Chinatown. Or vintage Femme (I like the refo, but not enough to own any).

'Sokay, I have my floral chypres...

[Perfumaniac]

Interesting, Mals, I don't get fruit at all from Parure. It's almost all green to me, save for the lush jasmine/rose floral accord and the momentary sweetness from amber's appearance. But Parure's definitely not for everyone. My perfume pal Heather who gave me a sample (and who loves greens and chypres) unloaded her full bottle after sharing a bit with me. She just didn't like it...

[50_Roses]

Parure is one of my very favorite Guerlains and also one of my favorite chypres (naturally, it is discontinued). I admit that chypres and I do not always get along, as I find many of them too bitter and harsh. I generally find that the floral-animalic ones are more to my taste, as they tend to seem warmer and smoother to my nose. I do not get nearly as much green out of Parure as you do, nor the harshness. I do get a soapy note in the opening--perhaps my nose reads the galbanum as soap?

BTW, I have a copy of the H&R book as well, and saw the psychology perfume profile. What does it say if I like some perfumes from a number of different categories? About the only perfume families I categorically do not like are fruity florals and anything with a strong tobacco note. I didn't think any of the personality/lifestyle profiles really fit me either.

[mals86]

Forgot to say, I always thought Bianca was sooooo soignee. I love the suit, it's such a nice balance between soft and structured.

[Perfumaniac]

Hi, 50_Roses! Our different initial impressions of Parure are so funny: fruity for Mals, soapy for you, and green for me! Maybe we're grabbing onto certain facets as the perfume develops, and focusing on ones that intrigue and/or repel us? Could be the formulations, too. I think mine is EDT. Sooo, as for the HR profiles and your question — I, too, like perfumes from different categories/families, but I will say that the greens/citruses/chypres are the ones I'm drawn to the most. I bet there's one you find yourself drawn to more than the others, too...

[Perfumaniac]

I know, Mals. I love how she expresses rebellion with that suit while doing one of the most conventional things a person can do — get married!

[50_Roses]

My Parure is EdT, bought from the Guerlain counter in about 1995 or 1996. I wonder if yours might be older? There are some perfumes that smell like soap to my nose, but I do not know what note it might be in them that creates that impression. I used to have a bottle of Prince Matchabelli Golden Autumn from about 1980, and it also had that "soap" smell. Another perfume which I find smells very similar to Parure (at least to my nose) is Alexandra by Alexandra de Markoff. In a side-by-side sniff test, I find them a little hard to tell apart. I would say that Parure is a little warmer and richer, but otherwise they are very close.

As for perfume families--I used to prefer orientals above all else, with floral aldehydes a close second, but I find that my tastes are definitely evolving over time. I now like perfumes from categories I used to reject (some florals, some chypres, etc.), while I find some of my previously beloved orientals to be a little too much--too heavy, to sweet, just too overwhelming (I still love floral aldehydes, though). It's not even a question of reformulation either, as I still have some of my original bottles from the 80's. I just don't love them as much as I used to. I couldn't say just now what fragrance family I prefer, as I would really have to assess my collection to decide that.

[Perfumaniac]

50_Roses, I got mine from the Perfumed Court, vintage. Not sure how old it is. I'm going to do a little investigation into what could account for soapiness. Aldehydes? I remember distinctly smelling that in Ivoire and Madame Rochas, but liking it...

[50_Roses]

Well, I know floral aldehydes are supposed to be the scent of many soaps, but I don't think it is aldehydes I am picking out in this case. Anyway, I don't get that particular note in no. 5 or Arpege. In any case, I don't mean it in a negative way--I like the smell of soap.

[Dorette]

This is one of my favorites! Great in the winter and warm and tweedy.

[Perfumaniac]

I love it, too, Dorette. Tweedy is an interesting description!

[Marion]

Lovely review....it made me go and dig out my bottle and spray! I bought this very inexpensively from an Australian etailer - and I don't remember ever finding it in my assaults on the Guerlain counter back when I thought they were all going to be Mits, L H'B or Shal. Now thanks to the wonderful online community of perfumistes I understand that the Guerlains of the later C20' were by Jean-Paul....and with all due respect none of them ever rang my bell! But this IS gorgeous, whereas Chamade, Chant d, Champs El etc, became so popular.
To me the green is momentary, it reads as a powdery cool floral with a very light mossy base...perfect for spring...
And a PS to the musk lolly post...MKK made me go - yikes, dirty washing pile! And I find virtually all 'typical' modern musks read as very masculine to me. My favorites are M Ravageur and the Miller Harris L'Air, they seem to have a sweetness which might be channeling the musk sticks! It probably explains also my other musk love the PGen Musc Maori. When I was a teenager, I always thought Ambush and Brut were "musky".

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Marion!

Parure is perfect for spring. It's light but interesting. I'm into the highs and lows...I like most musks, too, from MKK to Musc Ravageur, which is one I actually wear out of the house. :-) I need to try Ambush. I love their vintage ads!

[Angel perfume]

I had nevem heard of Parure perfume. They dont sell it in Slovenia. What do you think, its better than Naomi's or angel perfume?