Chamade (1969)
by Guerlain

A classic scent from Guerlain with a rich floral palette balanced by green galbanum, spices, and oriental base notes. Looking at the pyramid, one imagines something very rich, perhaps even heavy, but this is blended with a very light hand. The overall impression is ultimately fresh, airy, slightly spicy, and green with a lingering hint of the florals. Good longevity and decent sillage characterize this fragrance. I think most men wouldn't find this impoassible to wear — in the EdT form, at least (on which this review is based).

Starts out dreadful, powdery, sharp, like medicated foot powder, but dries down to a creamy, slightly old-fashioned powdery floral. Nice and pretty after that initial awful blast.

First off, I'd like to get it off my chest that I'm not a Guerlain-o-phile, Guerlain-a-holic, or fan of Guerlain frags in general...in fact, most offerings from this house that DO appeal to me are not the popular ones. Whew! Now THAT'S out of the way, let me tell you Chamade is an absolute masterpiece! Yep, the blend of notes here is sheer genius. Chamade's florals are singular, yet immediately form a bouquet, that evolves sweetly, with fluid motion. 'Balsamic notes' in the base just send me over the top for this juice! I am sampling the EDT version and find it possesses quite ample sillage and good longevity. After this, I may become a Guerlain lover after all!

I haven't owned Chamade for about 35 years, but I still miss it. On me (I used the EDT), it pretty much stayed the same throughout the day, a very sparkly, peppery floral. The sparkliness and pepperiness were more predominant. I did have some friends who were surprised it was Chamade I was wearing, so apparently it's one of those that reacts quite differently to one's body chemistry.

It's one of the few scents I have ever worn that had strange men ask me what it was - including one guy who owned a ritzy little art shop in New Orleans, and decided he wanted to sell it as the only scent he would carry! Someday, I will splurge again; in the meantime, I have to settle for Chamade's working-class cousin Vanderbilt (which to me is Chamade with a few drops of Organza - could be worse!).

Chamade starts out as a surprisingly aggressive spicy floral with green overtones and more than a trace of sweet vanilla in the background. The spices settle down very quickly, while the green notes amp up to balance the florals in seamlessly blended off-dry and pleasantly bitter accord of great balance and beauty.

The spicy and vanillic components of the opening reassert themselves ever so slowly as Chamade evolves, moving the heart deeper at a rate that is nearly imperceptible. At the same time, a wave of soapy/powdery aldehydes wells up, and this keeps Chamade from growing overly heavy as it sweetens.

Following Chamade’s progress is like watching a slow, formal 18th century dance, the sort where the participants continually exchange positions while remaining in two lines. The end result is an accord that is extraordinarily soft and velvety, but at the same time light and bright, not ponderous or treacly.

The vanillic drydown that Chamade reaches after a few hours marks it clearly as a Guerlain product. It is an oddly “innocent” fragrance for Guerlain, but it upholds the house’s standard of complex development. It is a pretty, easily worn, and versatile scent that manages not to be trivial. A good thing.

I tried this in 1969 when it was introduced and was wildly popular with young women. So many years later, I tried it again because I had no memory of it. Now I understand the reason. To me it is a nice but unremarkable floral. I know "The Guide" says that it is a masterpiece, but to me it is a fragrance that doesn't take any chances. It just doesn't stand out in any way, good or bad. It's pretty but I'll pass.