Guerlain: Jicky

Jicky is often regarded as the first modern fragrance. It was created in 1889 by the venerable house of Guerlain, and represents a break from tradition, as it features the heavy use of synthetic aromachemicals. Most perfumers at the time sought to capture and enhance perfume notes from nature such as rose or jasmine, but synthetics allowed perfumers to start looking for other sources of inspiration. Trends in artistic thought in general were moving away from literal depictions of nature, and it was perhaps inevitable that the perfumer would try to create more daring interpretations of revered natural aromas, and eventually a higher degree of abstraction where the work itself took centre stage. With the availability of new aromachmicals perfumers pursued more individiualistic compositions, and even when individual notes were allowed to shine, they could be boldly recast.

Jicky represents the start of the new era, and while it was not the first perfume to feature synthetic ingredients, it is the most important one from its era to do so. What sets Jicky apart is not the notes in themselves, but the way they combine into a complex whole. The choice of a hesperidic and lavender opening might not seem particularly interesting in itself, but clearly Jacques Guerlain doesn't intend to create yet another lavender water. Instead, he sets these notes in a rich vanillic base that features a prominent civet note that even today shocks some noses. It comes across as bold and daring, but when it settles, something new emerges at the meeting point between lavender, vanilla and civet. A new opulent complex of notes emerges that is spicy, rich, and sweet, but in which the identities of the individual components surrender to the complex whole. It is the abstract core of Jicky, and it remains as the complex fragrance unfolds throughout many stages of development.

Later fragrances would draw heavily on this initial experiment, especially Mouchoir de Monsieur, and eventually Shalimar -the flagship fragrance of the house. Even fragrances not obviously derived from Jicky have been heavily influenced by it, as it defined the way Guerlain used vanilla in its signature accord -the Guerlinade.