Baraka
Extrait, Hughes Guerlain (1923)

The spelling of the first name of this perfume line is wrong for this particular perfume, which is labeled as "Hugues Guerlain," although perfumes by "Hughes Guerlain" also existed (and are a bit easier to find on the market, although still rare). Hugues Guerlain, a strand of Marcel Guerlain's cosmetics business (which also included Parfums Marcel Guerlain) was launched in the 1920s, and Baraka is described in rare references as dating to approximately 1923. Marcel Guerlain was viewed as a competitor by the Pierre-François Guerlain family, to which he had no familial relationship. Copyright conflicts ensued, in response to which Marcel Guerlain developed a proliferating array of perfume lines. The Guerlain family familiar from the 1925 Shalimar and other classics used as an advertising line "We Have No First Name." Baraka is made in a simple, almost fluted glass bottle with a raised, triangular/linear, deco-ish flower such as a tulip on the upper surface. The glass contrasts with some other Hugues / Hughes / Marcel Guerlain perfumes which were packaged magnificently, such as the 1929 Rolls Royce in which the perfume is set like the grilled hood within a Rolls Royce stand). Virtually anything one might say about "Baraka" is speculative due to the absence of the listing of this perfume on the few online sites that do list some Hugues (Hughes) / Marcel Guerlain perfumes. Baraka may be a North African term for luck. (Although it also shows up as a name for a kind of tobacco). I am hesitant to even try to apply descriptive terms, and I am seeking a consultation with the Paris Osmothèque to discuss and donate most of it (not all!) so that they can work on its history and formula. To me it seems like a gorgeous floral aldehyde with a strong element of jasmin, along with rose and likely ylang ylang. It is just sweet and appetizing enough for the possibility of a fruit note, or conceivably a sweet geranium? When I first opened the bottle a couple years ago I thought I detected a trace of carnation, but I haven't found that on my more recent 2nd and 3rd sniffs of the juice. In its drydown, the sweet floral notes fade and a powdery shadow, perhaps dusty vetiver, and incense, emerges.