SAMPLE .. Guerlain, Rue de la Paix, 'Peace Street', DECANTED SAMPLE from Flacon, Parfum Extrait, Pochet et du Courval, 1908, 1925, Paris,

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.

Rue de la Paix by Guerlain was launched in 1908, and then possibly again only in USA in 1922. It was created by Pierre Guerlain, though others claim that it was created by Jacques Guerlain.

This beautiful perfume smells like springtime and is classified as a soft floral amber perfume for women! The pungent bergamot and zesty verbena are the first notes that one can detect. Next the herbaceous lavender and rosemary burst forth through the citrus notes .. followed by a light floral heart of sweet jasmine and ylang ylang. The rose note is somewhat shy. As the perfume dries down, the familiar Guerlain notes are revealed in a gauzy veil of powdery orris root. The perfume's opening is fleeting and dissipates quickly, leaving a subtle trace of the delicate floral notes on the skin.

"Guerlain .. Parfum Rue de la Paix. Perfume will have a new and exquisite meaning when you use Guerlain's Rue de la Paix. Mayhap it will translate fatigue into exhilaration, or a grey day into a gay one. At all events, it will put a bloom in your cheeks."

Rue De La Paix opens with a honeyed amber, supported by lavender and a citrus bergamot/verbena accord. At its heart is a very dry trio of orris, violet and violet leaves, with a dry down of a very dark rose (think Lalique’s Perles), balanced within this mix. As such it is quite subdued and somber, the sort of scent one associates with a rainy day. The amber creates a cloud of warm and comforting menthol. I am not a fan of amber, but it is skillfully blended here, always at the heart but never overpowering. Although the note tree lists ambrette, I am experiencing ambergris. Perhaps my decant is the original 1908 version and perhaps the 1922 reformulation substituted ambrette for ambergris, with the note tree representing the reformulation." Basenotes Review. Jack Twist

Top notes are Honey, Lavender, Verbena, and Bergamot
Heart notes are Jasmine, Violet, Rose, Ylang Ylang, Leather, Woody Notes, Ambrette, and Spices
Base notes are Violet Leaves, and Orris

Offered here is an opportunity to try a decanted sample of this precious perfume. Offered if two sizes. Getting very rare today ..