Pour Troubler
Guerlain (1911)

I am extraordinarily fortunate to have happened into a bottle of this that is beautifully preserved. This gorgeously constructed but modest fragrance has the elegance of l'Heure Bleue without bright ostentatiousness. For that reason, it is quite easy to wear. This opens with a lovely bergamot, lavender, and rosemary combination. A strong cool-fresh-green-blue note that smells kind of like linalyl acetate (a sweet-herbal-floral sharp compound that is key in bergamot and lavender and clary sage) predominates. This segues into an also "cool" and slightly mentholated floral heart. I feel I get a blast of tuberose absolute (the mentholated part), ylang ylang, and a jasmine note (these variations on Apres l'Ondee and l'HB have a strong banana benzyl acetate-meets-ionones openings) and then a lot of lush, natural smelling rose. The flowers are beautifully warmed up and rounded out by an animalic civet not too divorced from that note in Jicky. I think some of the "cool" vibe comes from powdery violet/orris and anise materials too--ionones, anisic aldehyde, and more. This all lands on a bed of musks, vanilla, a very strong coumarin note, and some resins and woods. There's a bit of smoky and leathery birch tar which gestures towards Shalimar for sure. If I were to contextualize it with other Guerlain scents--it has the "chilly" and "bluish" sensation I get from Apres l'Ondee (and Kadine) from the anisic materials, but without the carnation, and with a warm, ambery, vanillic, tonka/coumarin base and a more animalic bent. It has some of the herbal/floral character of Fol Arome, but is more austere and cold. It definitely shares the orris/violet/herbs/amber/flowers of Heure Bleue but, again, kind of a "chamber piece" version of that accord. Finally, it has the civet/herbal/ambery fougere imprint of Jicky. This is absolutely beautiful. Each time I smell it, I think simultaneously that it's revelatory of another era while also thinking it is infinitely wearable and timeless. If only the Guerlain reorchestrations had continued!