Guerlain Mon Précieux Nectar: Smell Rich! (A Review and a Draw)

The one-liter Baccarat crystal fountain is up at the Guerlain flagship store for the launch of Mon Précieux Nectar, the new ultra-expensive, ultra-exclusive fragrance – only 62 fountains will be sold, at 6 000 euros a shot…

At that price point, I’m rather glad that the actual fragrance is another example of the beyond-gourmand aesthetics that Guerlain has been indulging in – a little rich for my taste, both in calories and price. I guess even the super-rich need olfactory comfort food these days (and the women who can afford this probably aren’t getting their fill of real, calorie-laden sweets, if they’re to fit into their Diors).

That said, as far as superlatively gourmand fragrances go, Mon Précieux Nectar is very pretty (I admit I sometimes wear Hypnotic Poison, so I shouldn’t be getting so high and mighty). I wore it for a couple of days without going into diabetic shock, though it has a drop of what may be one of my least favorite raw materials, Veltol – aka ethyl maltol, the food additive that gives the candy floss note to Angel…

Mon Précieux Nectar was composed, under the direction of Sylvaine Delacourte, by Ramda Hammami of Symrise, also the author of Cruel Gardénia, L’Instant Magic and of the two short-lived fragrant oils (inspired by Sylvaine Delacourte’s trip to the Middle-East, they were withdrawn after falling wide of the target – Western customers weren’t too sure what to make of them). And it is clearly in keeping with the style they have developed in the course of their collaboration. As Ms. Delacourte freely admits, she really, truly loves her almond, and Mon Précieux Nectar reprises the almond-musk accord of L’Instant Magic, along with the fluffy base of Cruel Gardénia. The honey, heliotropin and hyacinth notes of L’Heure Bleue which, again by Ms. Delacourte own admission, is her favorite fragrance, are also quoted. The almond is paired off with orange blossom – a classic accord of Middle-Eastern pastry – and anchored with the signature Guerlain vanilla, grounded in a strong sandalwood and amber base. Guaiac and incense are also listed among the notes, but don’t appear to my nose.

All in all, Mon Précieux Nectar smells like a richer, more luxurious take on L’Instant Magic: it has quite a powerful sillage while managing to give off a comforting skin scent vibe. Is it worth the price? I shouldn’t know: I’m most definitely not the target… Mind you, I’m not the target for the Habit Rouge extrait either, and that’ll soon join my collection, I hope.

A little while ago, Patty of the Perfumed Court (not affiliated) discussed the possibility of buying a vat of Mon Précieux Nectar – notice how I haven’t made a joke yet about the… um… lurid connotations of a female Sécrétions Magnifiques? To be fair, “précieux nectar” is a term more commonly used to describe wines or honey… Anyway, unless Patty goes through with the transaction and you can buy a couple of milliliters from her, or you come to Paris soon, you may not have much of a chance to sample this…

As Sylvaine Delacourte has very sweetly gifted me with a decent-sized sample of Mon Précieux Nectar – yes, we did meet, and things are all patched up between us after the flare-up we had earlier this month – I am happy to offer you the opportunity of smelling like a millionaire for a couple of days: just drop a comment stating you’re interested, and I will draw the name of the happy perfumista who receives a 2 ml spray of the potion…