Chamade (1969)
by Guerlain

In 1969, Jean-Paul Guerlain continued the new romantic, sensual inspiration from Habit Rouge into Chamade, generally regarded as his best feminine creation. Like Habit Rouge, Chamade is a citrusy oriental, but the animalic note is replaced by hyacinth, heavy and green, and — probably used here for the first time in perfumery — blackcurrant bud. The mix of bergamot, hyacinth and blackcurrant has resulted in a crisp, rich and almost leathery note of new-mown hay on a burning hot summer day — thus we are still in Jean-Paul Guerlain's beloved equestrian countryside-world! From beginning to end this scent gradually moves through different phases, each one displaying the supreme blackcurrant note in a new, charming light. The idea for this perfume was inspired by Françoise Sagan's heartbreaking 1965 novel "La chamade" about a woman's difficult search for wholeness and understanding what happiness really is. In the time of Napoléon, "chamade" signified a very fast drumbeat that called to retreat of the troops during war, and the novel introduces this word as a metaphor, both for the surrendering heartbeat of a person in love, and, more tragically, for love's defeat in the end. "Perfume is made mainly so that one remembers the woman who wears it. I like to call it the elevator effect," Jean-Paul Guerlain said when Chamade was released. "This is the man who goes to meet his lover — whether it be his fiancee, his wife, or his mistress — who has entered a building before him. She is wearing perfume, and he smells it. Suddenly his heart beats faster and the blood rushes to his head." Chamade's fragrant love story is rounded by a bottle in shape of a heart turned upside down and pierced by an arrow – a symbol of emotional surrender. The current edition of Chamade has lost some of its famous crispiness because of slightly more bitter, thin top notes, but the beautiful, oily drydown is luckily preserved. In 1999, Jean-Paul Guerlain created a masculine chypre version, Chamade pour Homme, also containing hyacinth.

Lovely and assured, Chamade starts out with a burst of cool florals -- hyacinth and jasmine, and I swear I smell narcissus, too. You often hear this described as a green floral, but to me is smells yellow somehow. A certain iciness in the top notes begins to warm in the heart, with the yling ylang and softly resinous galbanum, but Chamade retains an air of poise, never quite becoming intimate -- perhaps because it lacks any true animal notes. The final balsamic/vanilla dry-down is pure Guerlain, and lovely, but there is a sort of post-dry-down phase on my skin where a faint urinous note lurks around on my skin for a while, outlasting anything else. Lasts 3-4 hours, with modest silage.

I've heard "chamade" translated as drumbeat, and marketing copy indicates that this perfume is created to symbolize passionate love, but I think that's a bit misleading. "Chamade" means specifically the beat that signals an army to retreat or surrender. The Francoise Sagan novel La Chamade -- made into a movie starring Catherine Deneuve the year this perfume came out -- tells the story of a young woman who chooses life as the mistress of a wealthy man rather than pursuing a love of her own. Rather than give in to passion, she cuts off her own emotions for pragmatic reasons. Probably I'm being suggestible, but this perfume makes sense to me in the context of this story. It smells cool, chic, lovely -- and not quite happy.

The extrait de parfum is heavier than the eau de toilette as the top notes are almost non existent. The green notes are hidden behind a smell of pollen, and the impression is mellow, comfortable but definitely grown-up. It smells womanly, as if you had approached just a little too much.
And what is gorgeous about the extrait is that it radiates in the depths, in a humble and absolutely self-confident way, as if it knew it smelled exactly right.

Chamade is a beautiful, classic style, green floral. I've recently discovered this one, and happy I have! The edt is thinner than the rich parfum, but it still has an enjoyable feminine quality. Each version is beautiful in its own right. I think the edt presents more aldehydes than the parfum. For me it "works" in the same manner as I enjoy other green, classic style aldehydes, such as Givenchy III, Chanel No. 19, or Annick Goutal Heure Exquise. The parfum has more of a compact structure than the edt and more lasting power in the vanillic-balsamic drydown. Both versions are very good - even though reformulation has apparently diminished the composition. Since I've never smelled the original, I can only wonder about it. I still like the current Chamade very much, and I think as with all Guerlain's that sampling is a must for anyone interested -- the edt is just as enjoyable as the rich parfum (and slightly different). I am also an aldehyde lover, so for me there is no problem with that classic blast - those who are wary of aldehydes would be best to sample this one, and note that they don't stick around very long.

When I apply the edt, I feel a tiny bit of abandon, but the parfum requires more of a light hand otherwise it would be overwhelming. This fragrance smells of abundant springtime - mostly due to it's green-ness and the rich floral hyacinth and galbanum notes. Although it is very classic and elegant, it can still be worn for day, just as Givenchy III or Chanel No. 19, etc. It has excellent staying power in general, medium to strong sillage, and the scent will remain on clothes well after it is worn. I will also suggest that the right man could wear the parfum version for the prolonged spicy vanilla-balsamic drydown, esp. if he had some time to kill waiting for the top notes to burn off.

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.