Chant d'Aròmes (1962)
by Guerlain

Goes on light and bright, citrus and aldehydes, transforming quickly into what is, to my nose, EXACTLY Mitsouko's cream/peach undecalactone top, with only the lightest underpinnings of a chypre base. If it stayed there, I would enjoy it as a pleasant, though subtle skin scent. Mitsouko is hard for me to wear, and this gentler version is lovely. Sadly, if fades to nearly nothing very fast (45 minutes) until my skin smells no more distinct or interesting than if I had washed it with a lightly floral soap several hours before. I understand that it's been reformulated a few times -- I'd love to smell a vintage version and see if it had more bones. I'll give it a neutral because there's nothing offensive about it, but at this rate I don't know if I'll even bother to finish the sample.

Where is the love for Chant d'Aromes?

In my opinion, one of the best Guerlains, alongside Vol de Nuit and L'Heure Bleue, and very under-appreciated.

For me this is the sweet baby daughter of Caron's Infini. Complete with its stupefyingly perfect, unobnoxious, lactonic-fruity chypre personality ( I emphasize this because I find many of the lactonic greats, though delicious, quite confrontational.), and a sour-rose, metallic drydown.

I fantasize about smelling its parfum concentration, since the EDT is so light, but I also find the faintness seductive; It is such a treasure to discover, having to sniff right up on the skin. Like a tiny glimpse of perfection, elusive and fleeting.

I find myself re-spraying a lot on days I wear this, but it's so fun to admire its development! From initial grapefruity bitter citrus, to a plummy lactone that is very rounded out, to its classic, modest finish, which vacillates from a antique, girly floral to a very sophisticated and modest chypre . I find it perfect from start to end.

Like the good Guerlains, it both sings it its purity with natural-seeming, clearly identifiable notes, and presents a totally distinct character as a whole composition.

Oddly, it has incredible sillage, and it is one of the the fragrances that pleasantly catches me by surprise, hours after I think it's gone, with a wonderful warm, elegant redolence wafting up from my skin

This bright and refreshing chypre one of the most wearable you'll find! True enough, it is soft, pale, delicate, gentle, etc. Precisely the characteristic that makes this chypre a stand-out in its' class. I personally have trouble wearing Mitsouko, and also a few other classic, heavier chypres. Chant d'Aromes joins the ranks of "modern chypre" (alongside Chanel 31 Rue Cambon) in spite of the fact it was launched in 1962! Ayala has superbly deconstructed this fragrance in her commentary, I cannot think of any better words to Dd'A. Thumbs up.

Whereas it is nice floral that goes on strong at the start, it fades to nothing Very, VERY quickly. What gets me is the base - it is soooo very unremarkable, which is absolutely shocking to me as I am a HUGE Guerlain fan. All I can say is that it is a major disappointment.

Chant d’Aromes is an assertively pretty peaches-and-cream floral on top, with a clean, green underpinning and a solid dose of aldehydes. Cream eventually overtakes the peaches, so that after a few minutes on the skin Chant d’Aromes is less a fruity floral than a very soft textured, pale, aldehydic bouquet with a dab of vanilla on top. Bright, chaste, and innocent are words that come to mind as I inhale it. In fact, Chant d’Aromes is what my young daughter would refer to as a “girly-girl” fragrance.

It doesn’t take too long for the creamy vanilla in Chant d’Aromes to rise to prominence, and within a hour I find that it dominates the composition. Whatever chypre element there might be buried at the core of Chant d’Aromes escapes my nose completely. For me what remains is rather dull, and lacking in the complexity and sophistication I expect out of a successful Guerlain composition. Not, in the end, the best that this house has to offer.

I agree with Ayala's review 100% delicate sweet and gardenia for those who cannot normally wear it. very gentle.