Reviews of Sous Le Vent (1933)
by Guerlain

It’s Derby for girls! Well, maybe not exactly, but the opening sure is a dead ringer for Derby in its smoky, bittersweet, green leather chypre structure. Sous le Vent’s top notes include a magnificent sweet bergamot that’s lacking in Derby, and there is a more obvious floral component, but the two still present themselves as siblings. I’m left wondering whether Jean-Paul Guerlain consulted grandpa’s formula when he made Derby, or whether the resemblance is purely incidental.

Unexpectedly, the bergamot note expands rather than fades with age, contributing a bright accent to what otherwise might be a rather somber accord. Next to appear is a whopping note of civet, which serves at once to infuse the composition with a lascivious animal warmth and to associate Sous le Vent unmistakably with the tradition of Guerlain’s vintage perfumes, particularly Jicky, Shalimar, and Mitsouko. The current Sous le Vent was composed in 2005, and whether it follows the original formula or not, it certainly smells like something out of 1933.

The intensely animalic chypre accord persists for hours, growing ever more sweet, spicy, and balsamic, until the civet dissipates to reveal warm amber and oakmoss base notes. This drydown goes on forever on my skin, though sillage and projection are only moderate. I’d consider Sous le Vent equally appropriate for a man or a woman, assuming you’re comfortable with its raunchy animalic aspect. I think it’s a great scent, and regret that it’s so hard to come by.

I'm just a beginner and my nose isn't very articulate as yet but I absolutely adore this perfume. It's the vintage perfume I have. It's rationed for special occasions.

to me Sous le Vent is all about colours : the head is fresh-green with a hint of spices then it evolves toward something i would call yellow-green (a luminous feeling, like the first rays of sun on your face at spring with a gentle wind); the middle notes are back to fresh-green and soapy-green and the drydown is spicy-green (with a note that reminds me cinnamon?)
very subtle and refined, very unisex

Well, odysseusm has hit this one on the head! In addition to his accurate description, I have to comment upon the "lightness" of Sous le Vent. For all the grand herbs, florals, and woods - this one will never weigh you down!

Am in [B]Sous Le Vent[/B], and I love, love, love it. A gorgeous citrus-green, at first very much in the manner of a funky O de Lancome, with oodles of grass, moss and verdure -- all the things I love to roll in! I tend to struggle with older Guerlains, but this is an utterly effortless wear. I'd even go so far as to say that it appears to lack the requisite [I]guerlinade[/I] -- there's not a trace of vanilla, as far as I can establish, and I thank heaven for this small mercy. My only grumble -- and, sadly, it's a serious one -- is that longevity is short, which I find unusual for a Guerlain. It disappeared on me in an hour or so.

A mélange of green-herbal, spicy, and floral notes on a chypre ground. This is a very fresh, green chypre, however; a substitution of tonka bean for the patchouli in the base could easily have made it a green fougère, and the lavender does lend it that sort of character. This comes only in eau de toilette formulation, which is rather appropriate to the freshness of the composition.

Sous le Vent is French for "leeward," as in the name of the Leeward Islands. The scent was supposedly composed by Jacques Guerlain for Josephine Baker in 1933, for her to apply after her dance performances, which were the rage of Paris at that time.

How can I describe it? Fresh, green, neither feminine nor masculine. I feel it would be suitable for day or night; it would probably be better in warm daytime weather than in cool. It is a bit light-handed to expect much development from it apart from moderate to warm temperature.

The scent starts out very fresh: dry citrus, herbal, very green. It becomes subtly floral, the jasmine not predominating (but boosting the floral side of the lavender a bit); the carnation contributes a clove-like spicy freshness, and then there's some more green. The iris comes on as slightly earthy, but never chases away the green theme; and the woody notes give it depth and a certain roundness. It has a decent sillage and longevity for an EdT, but doesn't project especially far. Hug someone, though, and they're sure to notice.

Overall, the fragrance is refreshing and energizing; I would call it generally subtle (by which I *don't* mean weak); the subtlety is in the art of the blend and in the balance.

If you can find it, it's well worth a sniff. ...Oh, and in spite of Josephine Baker, not just for women...

Sous le Vent is an astringent chypre with agressive notes of oakmoss, galbanum and bitter citrus that I personally found to be very off-putting. It is a close twin to Coty's Chypre de Coty. In either case, I cannot imagine wanting to smell like these perfumes! Thankfully, Sous le Vent calms down eventually - I had to make myself resist scrubbing it off (ah - what I do in the name of perfume reviewing!). However, as chypres go, I easily prefer Chanel's 31 rue Cambon, Dior's Diorella, Hermes' Caleche or even Piguet's Bandit over Guerlain's Sous le Vent.

I received a sample of this from a Guerlain boutique, and I wasn't expecting to like it. However, this is definitely a feminine perfume a man shouldn't have trouble pulling off. Green turning to floral it develops nicely. It is pretty close to the skin though, but it's worth a try if you find a sample.

Sous le Vent was created by Jacques Guerlain in 1933 for Josephine Baker, the famous dancer who often performed nude except for her brief banana skirt and strode the streets of Paris with a pet leopard. Like Mitsouko, Sous le Vent is a chypre and was designed for the new self-confident, short-haired and trouser-clad 'garçonnes' of Paris. Josephine Baker was from St. Louis, but the French always seemed to forget she was American, instead associating her with the tropicália of her costumes, and Guerlain named this scent 'Sous le Vent' after the exotic Leeward Isles of the lesser Antilles. Though it's a chypre, it's much less spicy, potent and animalic than Mitsouko, and also greener, fresher, cleaner and more subtle. It didn't survive as one of the classics, but it was recreated in 2006 by Jean Paul Guerlain as part of Guerlain's 'Il Etait Une Fois'-collection, in which old fragrances from the Guerlain repertoire are being revived in limited editions. The bottle for this collection is a cylindrical apothecary bottle with a wide mouth and a crystal stopper. The label's black disc with its gold lettering recalls the metal-logo on the old Vol de Nuit and Sous le Vent bottles.

Family: chypre, green. Top notes: bergamot, lavender, tarragon. Middle notes: jasmine, carnation, green notes. Base notes: iris, foresty notes, woody notes.

Scent notes for Sous le Vent: bergamot, basil, lavender, tarragon, carnation, jasmine, oakmoss, iris, woods, patchouli.
This is a green, dusky, dry chypre. The bottle (most attractively packaged, in a splash format) has a pamphlet with a charming story of how this was created for the noted Parisian cabaret dancer, Josephine Baker. I read a blog which called this “the best feminine to be worn by men” and I agree (as do other reviewers below). There is nothing here to keep a man from wearing it. SLV has some floral sweetness (a bit of powdery iris, some fragrant jasmine) but it is in essence quite dry, even austere. Great... my favorite style! It is very interesting and quite complex. Initially it is very green, even a bit sharp, and it makes an incredible first impression. Then, it develops interesting wood notes, further complexified by patchouli... the result is a slight roasted-coffee effect. This is excellent, really different stuff. It is only available at Guerlain boutiques and it a limited edition sort of thing, so good luck finding it!

A great, go-anywhere scent. Very energizing. It has the old-fashioned appeal of the other guerlain classics. It's my very favourite 'green' fragrance.

Sous la Vent reminded me of a milder version of Mitsouko. It has that sharp, green smell, but not as sharp as Mitsouko, and it calms down more quickly. Like someone else observed, it has a soapy, clean smell to it. I also agree that it would smell really good on a man. In fact, I will probably pass this on to my boyfriend; it's not floral enough for me. It has a nice linger to it.

This fragrance starts ultra-green and crisp, almost harsh and slightly bitter. You get the smell of leaves crushed in your hand and there's not the slightest touch of sweetness in it. After some time, flowery accords enter the stage, above all green jasmine, accompanied by some spices - mainly clove - that prepare the ground for a warm and spicy drydown.
Sous le Vent lasts quite long though it stays close to your skin. The 2006 version comes in EdT concentration, and though I'd wish they'd launch an EdP, it's perfect for hot summer days.
It's marketed as a female fragrance, but I find it decidedly more on the masculine side.

It feels like a classic chypre, but not "dark" or heavy or musty or sharp or any other such things associated with vintage chypres. No, this is a fresh, light, floral summer chypre with aldehydic powdery/citrusy/soapy topnotes. It has some of the juicy greenness of Cabochard, but it's not that bitterly green/woody at all. It reminds me of Vega - they are both classic, refined scents with aldehyde top, floral middle and woody base, but Sous le vent is greener and spicier, without the almost tropical white florals of Vega.
Simply put: a lovely scent. Cheerfully green and summery yet refined enough for the office and with vintage-type character enough to make a statement.

What a changeling. The topnotes are marked by a sharp greenness that is rivaled by none. Seriously, this is a crisp, green opening. As the scent moves into the middle notes, the floral quality emerges and softens the greenness, which is still very much a part of the scent. As it moves into the base, however, it becomes a warm, ambery, spicy scent with just a faint memory of the green herbs and floral notes that were so prominent throughout. Here one can smell the Guerlain family resemblance, especially the deep dry down of Vol de Nuit and Jicky - all related but none the same. Great stuff, and a good so-called "feminine" scent for men who want to explore the Guerlain classics to try out (I would also highly recommend Jicky and Vol de Nuit, amongst others). In fact, I have no idea why this would be considered feminine. It's so green and sharp that it seems to me to be as masculine as it is feminine.

I sampled the re-issued version of Sous le Vent at La Maison Guerlain in Paris. I find it a rather strange fragrance. Though it smells of another era, its very green spicy notes (galbanum, clove, patchouli and though not listed I smelled also cinnamon) doesn't make SLV your typical vinatge perfume. It's a green chypre but in a style much more aggressive than Miss Dior for example. SLV is closer to a very spicy Vent Vert. Maybe I didn't wait long enough, but I didn't get the famous Guerlinade note in this one. Like with the re-issued version of Vega I don't find it's concentrated enough, seams like an edt strength.