Guerlain L’Art & La Matière Welcomes Three New Oud Fragrances

In celebration of the anniversary of the launch of their breath-taking L’art et La Matière collection, Guerlain has announced a new trio of fragrances, Cherry Oud, Oud Nude and Oud Khol to be included under the same collection. These three new scents will obviously be oud oriented and will mark a different dimension to the oud note. They will roll out under the name Shades of Oud.

Guerlain L’art & La Matiere Cherry Oud: Between red and black, oud wood is lacquered with cherry

As far as Cherry Oud goes, the perfumer, Delphine Jelk, was trying to embrace the dichotomy between the dark and mysterious oud appeal and the cheerful benevolence of cherry. The bottle displays this juxtaposition between the two major notes through the prevalent red and black color scheme.

In this creation between mischief and sacred, I wanted to play the contrast between the rarity, the mystery, the dark side of oud wood and the smile, the impertinence of the cherry. 

The Perfumer Delphine Jelk

Top notes: Cardamom, Cinnamon

Middle notes: Turkish rose, Bulgarian rose

Base notes: Oud Wood, Cherry Accord

“As if plucked from Guerlain’s iconic palette, a lacquered red cherry accord shakes up the majesty of oud wood. A vibrant and daring chromatic clash, visual and tactile as well as olfactory, a true encounter between the mystery of black and the power of red. A clash of spices – burning cinnamon and stinging cardamom – enhances the fruity intensity of the cherry accord. A unique and powerful olfactory color enhanced by a duo of roses at the heart of the fragrance: an absolute of honeyed Turkish rose and essence of fruity Bulgarian rose.”

Guerlain L’art & La Matiere Oud Nude:Luminous and sensual, an oud wood on edge 

When it comes to Oud Nude, the perfumer Delphine Jelk tried to capture the beauty and sensuality that the human anatomy has to offer, just like Michael Angelo’s statue of King David, but this time, in perfume form. This scent includes wood, cedar and sap of sandalwood, further stressing the raw beauty of the natural ingredients that goes hand in hand with the healthy and natural body image.

I composed this perfume like a fantasy tale, whose fragrances tell of the sensuality of bodies, their curves,the skin

perfumer delphine jelk

Top notes: Almond, Cumin

Middle notes: Raspberry accord, Atlas Cedar

Base notes Sandalwood, Oud, Vanilla.

“Strip the oud wood to reveal its softness In contrast to its intense darkness, Delphine Jelk has worked a luminous oud wood with finesse. Unveiled, the material is tamed in contact with light woods and expresses its most delicately sensual facets.”

“Guerlain L’art & La Matiere Oud Nude is first discovered by the curve of white almond, like a long polished wood, where the sensuality of cumin smells of warm skin. In the heart, a disturbing raspberry accord like the imprint of a kiss enhances the blondness of the sumptuous Atlas cedar.

Illuminated by this clear cedar, the oud wood is revealed, softened by the milky sap of sandalwood then exalted by the tincture of vanilla from Madagascar. A true signature of Guerlain, this exceptional ingredient comes from pods from organic farming. Using expertise refined by Guerlain over a century, these pods are cold infused in alcohol from organic farming until they become a tincture.”

Guerlain L’art & La Matiere Oud Khol: Intense and mysterious, an oud blacker than black.

Last but definitely not least, the Master perfumer, Thierry Wasser displays his craftsmanship through Oud Khol. This fragrance has got to be the darkest and most intense of the three. Oud Khol confidently and adequately carries out this mission through the use of dark accents of smoked wood and leather. Thierry Wasser was heavily inspired by the dark and mysterious allure of bakhoor that remains mesmerizing and iconic in the Middle Eastern culture to this day.

In this work around oud wood, I wanted to capture the incandescence of bakhoor, this bewitchingly scented incense that has been burned for centuries in the Middle East

Thierry Wasser Guerlain Master Perfumer.

Top notes: Aldehydes

Middle notes: Leather, Praline

Base notes: Oud wood

“In the opening, the metallic light of the aldehydes makes it possible to define this darkness more precisely, to reveal its depth. Magnified by this enhancer, Oud Khôl switches to a leathery and charcoal accord, as if to further darken the oud wood. Finally, a foam accord with carbon reflections enriches this palette. Then, it is the unexpected delight of a caramelized praline that allows Thierry Wasser to temper the intransigence of oud wood.

hypnotic, fascinating, black can also be seductive exacerbating oud wood to the absolute, To compose this noir de noir trail, Thierry Wasser plunges oud wood into an absolute black darkened with smoky, toasted, and mineral notes. An ultimate olfactory density, where you get lost until dizzy.”

Guerlain paid a great deal of attention to the visual presentation of the new trio. That’s why the house resorted to artist Ghizlane Agzenaï, a prominent and rising urban artist in Morocco to come up with unique top plate designs for the collector’s bottles that would fit the impression they wanted to leave on their audience.

The artist’s previous work speaks for itself since she could capture human emotions through abstract shapes and patterns which are heavily inspired by the art of the arabesque with Andalusian, Persian or even Mughal influences. This collaboration resulted in hypnotic and geometric colored designs that reflect the essence of those three new scents, each highlighting the unique aspect of their respective scent.

The Article was made in cooperation between I Fragrance team and IG/Monsieur.Guerlain

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