Terracotta Voile d’été can still be had online for a fairly reasonable price and has, as such, become one of those little perfumista secrets that aren’t much blogged about, but have wound their way into many a collection. Launched in 1999 as a limited edition, it was based on a pre-existing Jacques Guerlain formula from 1910 called Quand vient l’été (“When Summer Comes”). That’s the name Terracotta took on when it popped up in the Les Parisiennes collection, a purgatory for Jean-Paul Guerlain’s limited editions and discontinued compositions, and then again in a “Four Seasons” coffret.
The original Quand vient l’été is described by Octavian Coifan as “a solar expression with strong notes pointing [to] all the flowers inside: ylang-ylang, carnation (very spicy with clove-dianthine), lilac-hyacinth, rose Wardia on a very sweet balsamic base (coumarine, heliotropine).” It was this formula that Mathilde Laurent, then Jean-Paul Guerlain’s assistant, was asked to modernize to accompany the Terracotta makeup collection. With no way of comparing the 1910 original with its 1999 reinterpretation, I can’t tell just what Mathilde Laurent did to it, but Terracotta does evince some of her characteristic boldness, and could well have been sold with her other Aqua Allegorias under the name Ylang Oeillet. Ylang-ylang and carnation were already at the core of Quand vient l’été. Here, they are welded by their common eugenol (clove) and salicylic (“solar”) facets and subjected to a radical slimming cure where the ylang loses most of its tropical lushness and the carnation, its old-fashioned powder puff. The result, though couched in a soft bed of heliotropine and vanilla, is essentially spicy and oddly combustible, which may sound counterintuitive for what was sold as a “summer veil”. But wearing it over the dog days makes sense: fighting fire with fire, as it were, before spreading that fire in a soft, spicy-floral, balsamic base that hovers over the skin like a miniature heat mirage.
Illustration: Saint-Tropez, Pier, by Pierre Bonnard.
I wish I got spicy florals from this, but all I can detect is a long-lasting, linear root beer note (with the occasional waft of the warm clay pot it's apparently been poured into). Maybe I'll give it another go in the summer humidity...
RépondreSupprimerWell, clearly, clove + balsamic notes = root beer to a lot of American noses, since the remark came up regularly about Vamp à NY. What can I say? It's certainly not a cultural association Mathilde has. But it seems a lot of people get carnation, and that solar note is definitely found in ylang-ylang.
RépondreSupprimerWell, first off, I feel like a perfumista failure b/c I don't know about this. Dangit! Secondly: ylang-carnation-clove-balsam-coumarin? Yes, please! Lastly, "solar note." It seems I've read this in multiple places lately and I'm finally going to ask: what 'zackly does that mean?
RépondreSupprimerI wear this fragrance during summer but never alone..On my left wrist I use one spray of the Voile d'éte and on my wright wrist two spritzes of Mahora. The only notes they have in common are vanilla and Ylang ylang but oh boy, the combi is stunning!It never ceases to amaze me how they blend in altough they shouldn't.
RépondreSupprimerAmy, it's not covered a lot by the blogs, actually. And, solar notes: the term comes up often in descriptions. It designates a class of molecules called the salicylates, for instance benzyl salicylate which you can find in flowers such as ylang-ylang and carnation (but can also be found in white florals).
RépondreSupprimerIt is called solar because it was used as a sunscreen material in Europe before more efficient products arrived on the market. When it was suppressed from sunscreens, people complained, so it was stuck back as a fragrance ingredient.
Illdone, that's a good idea. Combining Terracotta with a white/tropical floral... I can see it with Songes, for instance. Thanks for the pointer!
RépondreSupprimerI have a bottle and use it on hot, dry summer and autumn days- I get mostly warm carnation and baked clay. It wears very lightly, and feels sunny and cheerful without becoming overpowering. I think I found my 3.4 oz bottle for under $20! Doubt it can be found for that price anymore....Nice to see it get some love!
RépondreSupprimer-Marla
Marla, it's definitely hot and dry, which is why it makes me think of Mediterranean summers (Ms Laurent is Corsican, so I think she went for that feel).
RépondreSupprimerIt's interesting to see that modern treatment of carnation: it doesn't have a retro molecule in its body.
This sounds really good (even though this is the first time I hear of it). I just hope if I try and locate it, it doesn't turn out to be priced in accordance with the fact that is no longer available. :)
RépondreSupprimerInès, you can actually still find it for under 50 dollars at Reirien (not affiliated, but i know for a fact that the owner is one-of-us).
RépondreSupprimerI have both Terracotta and Quand Vient l'Ete (the late 90s version (I think), not the one from the coffret) and Quand Vient l'Ete is infinitely superior - clearly essentially the same smell but much stronger and lusher so it becomes a totally different beast. To me it smells like carnations plus sun-warmed skin and I totally understand what you mean when you say it smells hot. I wear it all the time in August towards the end of the day when it's been hot all day and the air is full of that residual trapped heat even though the sun isn't blaring down any more. It's that sort of scent.
RépondreSupprimerThanks so much for your review of this, as I was under the completely mistaken impression that it smelled of violets. Much more interested now. (And I wonder which commonly discounted Guerlain does smell of violets? Oh yes, I just realized now, I keep mixing it up with Meteorites! Maybe that deserves a review, too...?)
RépondreSupprimerLondon, I'm not quite sure whether there's a difference between the formulas. Possibly QVLE has more expensive materials. Definitely the higher concentration (edp vs edt) can make a great difference in the way the materials express themselves. I'm not entirely sure whether QVLE is still part of the Parisiennes line-up. If it is I'll check it out.
RépondreSupprimerAlyssa, I had Météorites but gave it away. It was an old-fashioned violet scent, not my favorite style -- the Météorites face powder is still perfumed that way, so you can get an idea.
RépondreSupprimerHmmm..."soft, spicy-floral, balsamic base" ..clove & carnation? sounds like something I need to try.
RépondreSupprimerEncountered the French ebay block on Guerlain sales (is it all designer or all LVMH products?)when I looked into availability of this online while still in France! So silly, when it's been discontinued and isn't available _except_ at resellers. I remember Octavian posting about the ebay issue last year. Is there a workaround for you to purchase vintage fragrances online now? No problem for me purchasing from ebay once back in the US though.
Such a pleasure to meet you in person Denyse, on our Paris trip!
Hi G.! The eBay block is supposed to concern only LVMH products, but it actually filters out every single fragrance auction from eBay sites outside France, which has curbed my collecting considerably. It's got to do with language settings and cookies on the computer: even when I use my laptop abroad I get the same block. There's probably a way around it but I'm no geekette. If I really need something vintage I ask friends in the US to keep an eye out...
RépondreSupprimerIt was a pleasure for me meeting you too!