SAMPLE .. Guerlain, Ode, 1/2 ml. DECANTED SAMPLE from Flacon, Parfum Extrait, Flacon Pochet et du Courval, Flacon Quadrilobe, 1955, 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.

Launched in 1955, Ode is a floral aldehyde fragrance for women. Then nose behind the fragrance was Jacques Guerlain.

"I have to say Ode is the most beautiful vintage extrait I have had the pleasure to wear to date. I have tried many of the masterpieces of perfumery in extrait form but none have made me fall in love instantly as Ode.
The well balanced jasmine and rose are not overpowered or overpowering as the iris and sandalwood cut the vibration of the musk to a long sensual hum." Basenotes Review. Southern Gardens

Exuding French luxury and feminine beauty, the jasmine-rose accord is one of perfumery’s great pillar ingredients. Probably the most classic and best known manifestation of the accord is Jean Patou’s Joy, famously marketed in 1930, in the midst of a devastating financial crisis, as "the world's most expensive perfume”. Guerlain’s Ode from 1955 was a fragrance created in the same vein as Joy because it was composed primarily of a combination of jasmine and rose.

Maybe not only the composition, but also the name Ode, was influenced by Joy. Jean-Paul Guerlain has said that most Guerlain perfume names have three syllables, because it sounds melodious to the ear: Mi-tsou-ko, Sha-li-mar, Vol-de-Nuit, Sous-le-Vent, Ve-ti-ver, Chant-d'A-rômes, Ha-bit-Rouge, Na-hé-ma, Sam-sa-ra, etc. Like Joy, Ode is a rare example of a one-syllable, three-letter perfume name. It’s interesting to note that Guerlain’s first three-letter named perfume, Liu, whose scent was a delicate face-powder version of the jasmine-rose accord, was created around the same time as Joy. In French, though, “Liu” is pronounced with two syllables, and not one, as in Chinese."

Ode was a joint creation of Jacques and Jean-Paul Guerlain. The collaboration marked Jacques’ pending retirement, and that his 18-year-old grandson and trainee would soon take over the role as the company’s master nose. As such, the name Ode could signal an “ode" to a retiring master’s enormous oeuvre, as well as to the future prospects of a young talented perfumer. In more general terms, it could also be the ode to Guerlain’s system of handing down family traditions, to rose and jasmine being the favourite ingredients of both Jacques and Jean-Paul Guerlain, or simply to the highly durable beauty of the art of Guerlain.

Smelling Ode, it seems obvious that it contains large amounts of rose and jasmine absolutes, as the scent of both is richly present from start to finish of this long-lasting composition. The top note, though, is made up of hyacinth, which gives the perfume a powerfully floral, oily-green, radiant, and quite heady opening. Within the hyacinth material used in perfumery, there is a heavy, almost fecal component, which is pronounced in Ode for the first hour. This kind of floral fragrance would probably be considered too demanding, too unclean for today's tastes, like most of vintage Guerlain, although a touch of sparkling aldehydes helps to add some lift and sparkle. " Monsieur Guerlain

"Distinctly feminine to the nth degree, Ode does bring to mind Patou’s Joy in its depth and richness, but the bright peach note makes a decided difference in its rounded sweetness. There is in addition the distinct green note of hyacinth and the vanillic heliotrope supports the peach beautifully. The jasmine and rose combo at the center is quite strong and darkly luminous with the dry notes of orris and violet grounding this seemingly baseless composition, with only a faint musk note claiming that honor.

Ode has the feel of an old-fashioned floral parfum from the 1930s. A little of this will go a long way, since projection and sillage are quite powerful and long-lasting. This is definitely a scent for the mature woman and most effectively worn in the cold winter months. Seemingly it was one of the last of the great Guerlains. A stunning fruity floral with a rich rose and jasmine heart." Basenotes Review. Jack Twist

Top notes are Aldehydes, and Hyacinth
Heart notes are Jasmine, Rose, Peach, Violet, and Almond
Base notes are Orris, Heliotrope, and Sandalwood

Offered here is a magnificent large quadrilobe bottle of the beautiful Ode containing over four ounces of this gorgeous perfume. It is hard to find nowadays, and one of the most beautiful Guerlain creations. Fabulous! Super rare!

Presented in Flacon Bouchon Quadrilobe made by Pochet et du Courval.