Orgueil
Lucien Lelong (1946)

My picky husband liked this perfume very much. What does that mean? He likes vintage "florientals," but also insists that many perfumes that might seem to inhabit that niche, like Coco, are "too floral." My conclusion is that some female-targeted amber-based floral perfumes from the mid-century through the end of the 1980s managed to bring spice, wood, and leather notes to the fore, characterizing the fruit and flowers, rather than vice versa. This is better expressed in the Kafkaesque blog entry on florientals: "More often than not, the flower in an oriental composition has to jostle next to a plethora of other notes. Like eyes behind a veil, it peeks out from behind amber, leather, fruit, incense, honey, spices, oud, cedar, or some complicated mix thereof." (https://kafkaesqueblog.com/2015/01/25/florientals-definitions-and-big-bold-favorites/) The post-WWII 1946 "Orgueil" ("Pride") by the designer Lucien Lelong (played by John Malkovich in the tv series "The New Look") is a rounded, plush scent in which nutmeg and clove create a kind of warm baking aura around the plum and peach and citrus, over a rugged base of leather, sandalwood, and ambergris that could almost bring to mind "Le Lion." The floral notes bring a big breath of fresh, yet powdery, air rather than a bouquet. This category of scent remains for me a bit problematically "mature," "feminine," and "elegant"--qualities I seek to diversify in my olfactory wardrobe, not over-determine. But this perfume is not over-powering, despite impressive projection and sustainability: aldehydes are indeed "soft." "Orgueil" is about as "floriental" as I am willing to go in a regular rotation of fragrance. Definite thumbs up.

The opening is clearly fruity, with ripe peaches and plum each vying for pole position, and both liked by a gently restrained lashing of aldehydes, which provide the opening blast with a fresh undertone.

The floral heart of this composition is outed min the drydown, with white carnation, a lovely iris core, and a traditional natural jasmine playing the lead roles, although at times a bright Centifolia rose is an accompanying basso continuo in the background.

The base is changing direction again, with a delicious ambergris supplying a discreetly bitter main frame, with a somewhat weak oakmoss plating with a very soft and slightly crisp leather note. The ambergris is truly exceptional.

I get moderate sillage and excellent projection in this frangrance, which apparently was created to proudly celebrate the expulsion of the German occupiers from France. And, as far as the performance is concerned, there is pride to be hand in another quality of this creation: the absolutely sensational longevity, with reaches seventeen hours on me, albeit close to my skin toward the end.

Fruity - floral - then fougère: this fruity-floral chypre, composed in ingredients if the highest quality, is a remarkable achievement and masterpiece of the dawn of post-WW2 Europe. Magnificent. 4/5.

This is a perfume for the mature woman of the 1940s. A very strong, heady mixture of florals and leather - imagine inhaling the bottom of a woman's handbag of the era, where the scent of lipstick and cologne have mingled with the inner soft leather lining.

It was described by Lelong itself as "fruity with floral and oriental undertones." That about covers all bases without really committing. It may not have stood out above the other of its era, but the scent today is so rare as to make this a remarkable gem.

The name translates as "pride, arrogance," meant to symbolize the French emerging victorious from WWII.

Top notes: Plum, Peach, Sweet Pea
Heart notes: Carnation, Tuberose, Jasmine, Iris, Rose, Cloves, Nutmeg
Base notes: Oak Moss, Sandalwood, Ambergris, Leather

A real stunner of a scent! Vintage is still available on ebay.