Le Galion Paris: Are You an Aesthete?
05/06/15 17:11:51
by: Serguey Borisov
 | Being at the Esxence-2015, I couldn't miss the stand of Le Galion Paris, one of the best historical houses revived in the last decade. The first revived perfumes have impressed me so much that I had to come and see the art director of Le Galion, Nicolas Chabot. We talked about the new six fragrances of the house. |
Nicolas Chabot
Nicolas Chabot:
For the second year of the revival of the brand Le Galion Paris, which is also the 85 years anniversary of the brand, we are re-launching a new edition of classical Le Galion cologne, two new EDP products and a line of extraits, named La Collection Singulière.
For the second year of the revival of the brand Le Galion Paris, which is also the 85 years anniversary of the brand, we are re-launching a new edition of classical Le Galion cologne, two new EDP products and a line of extraits, named La Collection Singulière.
The first one is named Vetyver, after the iconic fragrance of the brand, Eau de Vetyver, that was created and launched by Paul Vacher in 1968, in the midst of sexual revolution. And new Vetyver is the re-edition of the fragrance made by Thomas Fontaine, and is muscular and musky.
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The new fragrance starts as a very aromatic perfume, with the classic construction of gentlemen's colognes. It starts with bergamot, then it develops into some aromatic side with sage, lavender and petitgrain, and then finishes dry, woody and musky with vetiver, musk and sandalwood. It really recalls the vetivers of its time by its architecture—it has a great aromatic part AND then Vetiver itself.
The modern Vetiver fragrances are based on the oil itself and are more straightforward. If you have a look at advertisements of the time, the girl that is in the picture looks very confident, when she presents the bottle of it.
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Serguey Borisov:
You have changed the name from Eau de Vetyver to Vetyver. Why?
You have changed the name from Eau de Vetyver to Vetyver. Why?
Nicolas Chabot:
No, not at all. In fact, Eau de Vetyver was the name of cologne concentration—therefore it has the “Eau de” part. Le Galion used to have a lot of colognes with names that started with “Eau de.” Like, Eau de Special for Gentlemen. Now we are launching Vetyver in Eau de Parfum concentration, and the cologne prefix just does not fit. That's why.
No, not at all. In fact, Eau de Vetyver was the name of cologne concentration—therefore it has the “Eau de” part. Le Galion used to have a lot of colognes with names that started with “Eau de.” Like, Eau de Special for Gentlemen. Now we are launching Vetyver in Eau de Parfum concentration, and the cologne prefix just does not fit. That's why.
Being a Vetiver soul myself, I could be easily attracted to a vetiver fragrance. A light lavender-coriander-bergamot part is the transparent start of the new Vetyver. It's like a ball at the top of a hill—you wonder where it could roll down to? There are three possibilities: aromatic, citrus and spicy. And the vetiver in this composition chooses all three of them. Linalool develops all of its three facets: citrus bergamot turns into raspy verbena, spicy coriander makes it warm and kitchen-y turn to easy nutmeg, and aromatic lavender pairs with sage and tarragon. Anyway, all three ways will bring you from the fresh and transparent start to woody dry Vetiver. NewVetyver is a laconic masculine cologne, but I would not compare it with Christian Dior au Sauvage and Guerlain Vetiver. Rather, it could be compared with a B-side of a true French classic of 60s—like a cross-pollination fragrance between Lubin L'Eau Neuve and Givenchy Eau de Vetyver.
Top notes: Bergamot, Italian Mandarin, Nutmeg, and Coriander;
Heart notes: Clary Sage, Lavender, Petitgrain, Tarragon, and Verbena;
Base notes: Vetiver, Sandalwood, Tonka Bean, and Musk.
Heart notes: Clary Sage, Lavender, Petitgrain, Tarragon, and Verbena;
Base notes: Vetiver, Sandalwood, Tonka Bean, and Musk.
Nicolas Chabot:
And now I'd like to introduce the new product, it's the first new perfume launch of new revived Le Galion: Cuir. It's a perfume made by young perfumer Vanina Murraciole, and we choose to work first on the theme of Cuir. We chose leather because it was the note that Paul Vacher used to adore himself. He created the leather Christian Dior Diorling, and he made leather Lanvin Scandal, and both of them were gorgeous perfumes. So I asked Vanina to work into a modern leather direction, because we didn’t want to have another old version but a modern leather perfume. So it starts with bergamot and elemi, then it develops with leather and white royal lily (lys royale), and then goes into the base with ambergris and sandalwood. I like it as a new direction of leather fragrances.
And now I'd like to introduce the new product, it's the first new perfume launch of new revived Le Galion: Cuir. It's a perfume made by young perfumer Vanina Murraciole, and we choose to work first on the theme of Cuir. We chose leather because it was the note that Paul Vacher used to adore himself. He created the leather Christian Dior Diorling, and he made leather Lanvin Scandal, and both of them were gorgeous perfumes. So I asked Vanina to work into a modern leather direction, because we didn’t want to have another old version but a modern leather perfume. So it starts with bergamot and elemi, then it develops with leather and white royal lily (lys royale), and then goes into the base with ambergris and sandalwood. I like it as a new direction of leather fragrances.
Cuir by Le Galion cannot be called historical or an outdated aroma comes from the 60s. This is a true modern leather scent with a good dose of aromatic fougere, symbolizing all the manly men's fragrances. The aroma resembles the smell of a guy in a leather motorcycle jacket who enjoys some classic fern fragrance. Also, the fern (and the aforementioned woody, Le Galion Vetyver) aroma reminds me of two wonderful examples of men's fragrances, namely Mona di Orio Cuir and Jovoy Paris L`Art de la Guerre. I cannot help but recall that Vanina Muraciole worked as an assistant to Thomas Fontaine at Jean Patou, and that she has created in the past year a modern classic fougere, L'Art de la Guerre for Jovoy Paris. Their creations confirm her skill at creating men's cologne for "real macho men" who accidentally survived in the politically correct 21st century.
Top notes: Bergamot, Elemi;
Heart notes: Leather, Lily
Base notes: Ambergris, Sandalwood, Musk.
Heart notes: Leather, Lily
Base notes: Ambergris, Sandalwood, Musk.
Nicolas Chabot:
And the next new one is called Aesthete. Not just any guy living next door. Why did we choose this name? First of all, in order to link with the story of the brand, as Paul Vacher was a real aesthete. He was the close friend of composer Maurice Ravel, he played music and he patronized the Opera and other theatres in Paris. So he really loved these arts and culture. He was an artist and a real aesthete himself and we want to pay tribute to him as a creator of many Le Galion perfumes.
And the next new one is called Aesthete. Not just any guy living next door. Why did we choose this name? First of all, in order to link with the story of the brand, as Paul Vacher was a real aesthete. He was the close friend of composer Maurice Ravel, he played music and he patronized the Opera and other theatres in Paris. So he really loved these arts and culture. He was an artist and a real aesthete himself and we want to pay tribute to him as a creator of many Le Galion perfumes.
But, as well for me Aesthete is a new name for a snobby person, it's a snob of today. It's a nice word to play with! You are not going to tell somebody that he’s a snob, you rather say “Oh, so you’re an aesthete!” That’s another link to Le Galion's past—I hope you remember Le Galion Snob.
And Aesthete is going to be an oriental leather fragrance, a perfume of Persian leather. It's really great. I love it (and if I did not like it, I would never launch it)! It starts with Italian mandarin with Davana essence (that gives it some fruity, alcohol cocktail, rum aspect) and some incense. And then you find some leather, guaiac wood, castoreum—it has a big black leather heart, very warm. And it also has some oud, though it was not a purpose by itself. The base is woody sweet, made of sandalwood, vanilla and musks. So it starts quite strong and then goes sweeter.
Top notes: Mandarin, Davana, Frankincense, Saffron;
Heart notes: Leather, Guaiac wood, Castoreum, Oud, Jasmine Absolute;
Base notes: Sandalwood, Vanilla, White Musk.
Heart notes: Leather, Guaiac wood, Castoreum, Oud, Jasmine Absolute;
Base notes: Sandalwood, Vanilla, White Musk.
Serguey Borisov:
When did you decide that it's time to launch new perfumes (not reformulations of the old)?
When did you decide that it's time to launch new perfumes (not reformulations of the old)?
Nicolas Chabot:
In fact, I got this thought right after the beginning. If we make a heritage brand, we need to start from restored iconic perfumes of the brand. But then, if we don’t want to stay as a vintage brand, we have to move quite quickly, to live in the contemporary world. What are we going to do, if we have to sell our perfumes to modern people? Like Sleeping Beauty at the awakening—the prince found her beautiful in her old dress, but when she awakens, she will definitely go shopping to buy herself a new dress to live again in the new life! That was the idea. If Paul Vacher were still alive and he decided to run the brand—what he would choose to do? That was the idea that popped quite quickly in my mind, that we need to find how to develop Le Galion collection further, and we found a way to go up with the communication. We need to bring Le Galion into the contemporary world.
In fact, I got this thought right after the beginning. If we make a heritage brand, we need to start from restored iconic perfumes of the brand. But then, if we don’t want to stay as a vintage brand, we have to move quite quickly, to live in the contemporary world. What are we going to do, if we have to sell our perfumes to modern people? Like Sleeping Beauty at the awakening—the prince found her beautiful in her old dress, but when she awakens, she will definitely go shopping to buy herself a new dress to live again in the new life! That was the idea. If Paul Vacher were still alive and he decided to run the brand—what he would choose to do? That was the idea that popped quite quickly in my mind, that we need to find how to develop Le Galion collection further, and we found a way to go up with the communication. We need to bring Le Galion into the contemporary world.
And, to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the brand, we are going to launch the collection of extraits. La Collection Singulière includes three extraits de parfums in a black bottles of typical Le Galion design.
LA COLLECTION SINGULIERE
The first extrait of the collection is Sortilege Elixir, we have used the original formula of the 60s made by Paul Vacher as the base for it. And we pushed up the aldehyde part of it. The second extrait is Essence Noble, which was based upon the original formula of the last fragrance of Paul Vacher, Eau Noble. In the parfum we pushed up the leather and chypres part and took the citrus part down—now it smells like an evening variant for Eau Noble cologne. I should mention that Paul Vacher himself loved chypres, and we underlined that in Essence Noble fragrance. Both of this extraits were reworked by Marie Duchene, the perfumer who re-created Eau Noble and Sortilege in EDP concentration.
The third extrait is the new perfume created by perfumers of Flair, Amelie Bourgeoisand Anne-Sophie Behaghel. I want to introduce more new perfumers as well, and especially women, as they have a different way of working. Its name is a tribute to the founder of Le Galion, Prince Murat—Sovereign. It is spicy oriental, because in the times of Prince Murat and his foundation of Le Galion, Orientalism was the most popular trend in perfumery. So it has pepper, rose, myrrh, amber, some oud and guaiac wood for modern touch, but not for the sake of it—it's a woody balsamic oriental perfume.
I must say that the most brilliant perfume of La Collection Singulière is Sortilege Elixir. It’s classic but very new. It's a soapy clean and soft oriental. It is flowers and woods—all the Sortilege glory made soft, appealing and lasting. The perfume was adored by Marilyn Monroe when she was not being interviewed. Essence Noble is a perfectly made green cologne parfum—it goes the same way as Eau Sauvage Parfum, but less suave, more manly, bright and effervescent. For those who prefer suave and refined soft masculine perfumes, Sovereign extrait will fit perfectly, as the evening perfume started by transparent peppers and finished by transparent guaiacwood.
Serguey Borisov:
What balance between old and new you intend to keep for Le Galion?
What balance between old and new you intend to keep for Le Galion?
Nicolas Chabot:
There were so many perfumes in Le Galion range, at one time the brand had 25 perfumes in production. Now we have 10 re-editions, and I don't know yet, whether we are going to do all 25 fragrances … we better find the right balance, as we cannot expand the range infinitely ...
There were so many perfumes in Le Galion range, at one time the brand had 25 perfumes in production. Now we have 10 re-editions, and I don't know yet, whether we are going to do all 25 fragrances … we better find the right balance, as we cannot expand the range infinitely ...
Serguey Borisov:
That was my next question. You are going to launch six new fragrances this year, after the ten you launched last year! Isn't it too much?
That was my next question. You are going to launch six new fragrances this year, after the ten you launched last year! Isn't it too much?
Nicolas Chabot:
Well, excuse me for that! (laughing) …now we are going to reduce our pace and we will slow down. Now we have the right balance between the families: chypres, citruses, florals, leathers, greens … so what I'd love to do as well is to introduce to you the new way of Le Galion and a new thing created out of the perfumery world.
Well, excuse me for that! (laughing) …now we are going to reduce our pace and we will slow down. Now we have the right balance between the families: chypres, citruses, florals, leathers, greens … so what I'd love to do as well is to introduce to you the new way of Le Galion and a new thing created out of the perfumery world.
We are going to produce an unscented body cream, a special silky whipped cream that you put on your skin before you spray any fragrance on moisturized skin. This moisturizing cream will makes any fragrance last longer and bring benefits to the skin. We haven't got the name for it, though the product is ready and we will launch it in September-October of 2015. It's the very first Le Galion attempt to go out from the perfumery field and to bring something new, but which still has a strong link with perfumes.
Oh, and we are going to present another thing! The universal refill for any Le Galion perfume to take with you in a handbag. It's more of an art object, like a Cartier lighter, like a branded lipstick. It looks great and it could be filled with any of your fragrances.
Notes: Aldehydes, Ylang-ylang, Lily of the Valley, Lilac, Rose Absolute, Jasmine absolute, Iris, Narcisse, Mimosa, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Labdanum, Amber, Musks.
Notes: Lemon, Green Mandarin, Neroli, Leather, Storax, Sage, Galbanum, Moss, Patchouli, Cedarwood.
Notes: Pink pepper, Black pepper, Rose, Iris, Myrrh, Amber, Woods, Oud, Patchouli, Cedarwood, Guaiac Wood.
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Serguey Borisov
Serguey Borisov has been known in the Internet world of perfume under the nickname moon_fish for more than 10 years. Now he writes about perfumes for GQ.ru and Vogue.ru, and contributes on the subject for glossy magazines.
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