Guerlain, Habit Rouge, Red Riding Jacket, 100 ml. or 3.4 oz. Flacon, Eau de Toilette, Flacon de Voyage, 1965, Paris, France ..

The House of Guerlain is one of the oldest perfume houses in the world. It was founded in 1828 when Pierre-Francois Pascal Guerlain opened up his first perfume store on 42, Rue de Rivoli in Paris.

Pierre-Francois composed and manufactured custom perfumes with the help of his two sons, Aime & Gabriel. His unique approach was to personalize perfume for a specific person, place or event. Honore de Balzac commisioned his own eau de toilette during the writing of Cesar Birotteau, and the periodical La Sylphide, le Journal des Elegances, scented each issue with a different fragrance by Guerlain.

Guerlain catered to the high society of Paris, and obtained a very loyal following. The perfume house was so successful that Guerlain decided to open a flagship store at 15, Rue de la Paix in Paris in 1840. The house was at its peak in 1853 with it's fragrance Eau de Cologne Imperiale. This perfume gained Guerlain the prestigious title of His Majesty's Official Perfumer of France. This in turn led him to create perfumes for other royals such as Queen Victoria of England, the Empress Sissi of Austria, the Queen of Belgium and Queen Isabella of Spain as well as other crowned heads of royalty.

Pierre-Francois passed away in 1854 and his sons inherited the perfume house. Aime became the master perfumer, a tradition that would be upheld for the next master perfumer in lineage. Gabriel managed and further expanded the house. Aime, created several fragrances for the perfume house, these include Fleur d'Italie, Rococo, and Eau de Cologne du Coq and his greatest creation, Jicky.

Created in 1965, Habit Rouge was the first oriental fragrance for men in perfumery. From the moment of its launch, this tribute to Guerlain's passion for the dressage of horses created an element of surprise with its scents of sensual and bold vanilla. An oriental that is by turns citrusy, warm and accented with vanilla, it expresses the genius of contrast and well-mastered emotions.

Habit Rouge incarnates a man who is enamoured of refinement and capable of all manner of audacity. He lives his life fervently and distinguishes himself with a trail of extreme sensuality. With its modern geometry and mastery of form, Habit Rouge has an eternally elegant French appeal. Oriental. Rich, enveloping, audacious. Habit Rouge is a fragrance with multi-facetted voluptuousness and a devilishly ardent spicy heart. Its base, revealing Guerlinade notes of vanilla and patchouli, as well as leathery notes, is twice as exhilarating.

Top notes are Bergamot, Lemon, Rosewood, Basil, and Pimento
Heart notes are Sandal, Carnation, Patchouli, Cedar, Rose, and Cinnamon
Base notes are Vanilla, Amber, Oak Moss, Leather, Benzoin, Labdanum, and Olibanum

Offered here is a flacon of the original composition of Habit Rouge before various reformulations took place. It is so gentlemanly .. leathery, but also soft and alluring .. a Guerlain masterpiece ..