Jicky EDP - sumptuous and sensuous and classic

Photo: courtesy of Guerlain.

I've worn Jicky for as long as I can remember. I wish I had a fabulous back story to share with you about just how I came to know and love Jicky. Did my mother wear it? I can't really say. Did some young lover gift me with a bottle? Not that I recall. Did I smell it on someone else? Try it in a store? Sniff it in the Parisian air? Who can say? All I can tell you is that it seems always to have been in my fragrance wardrobe and while I might not have a back story about this iconic fragrance from Guerlain, Jicky, this does.

Created by Aimé Guerlain in 1889, legend has it that Jicky is named after a young woman Aimé fell in love with when he was a young man studying in England. Considered to be his first masterpiece, Jicky is hailed as the first 'modern' fragrance because of its complex pyramid structure – top, middle, base - and because it was a unisex scent. It also marked the beginning of abstract perfumery, where perfumes no longer try to replicate the smell of flowers but instead evoke emotions.

It's the stirring of emotions that makes this fragrance so dear to my heart. Jicky is threaded throughout my life, and because it is, it brings back sweet memories of being a bridesmaid, holding my godchild for the first time, meeting the man on a blind date and wearing it to my marriage to him six months later.

While Jicky, in any of its concentrations, is a constant in my life, it's the Eau de Parfum I wear most often. I like the sumptuousness, the depth, and the presence of the EDP. Here's why…

Jicky EDP opens with a rush of lavender. To my nose it's 'true lavender', lavandula angustifolia, fragrant, fresh and camphorous. A burst of citrus fruits joins the lavender: tart, nose-tingling bergamot, orange-faceted neroli and notes of succulent orange and vibrant lemon, which add a sharpness to the lavender. Verbena, lemon-tinged and green faceted, bridges the lavender to herbaceous, camphorous rosemary and cool, refreshing mint. Then I catch a whiff of civet. At this stage it adds a gentle warmth and muskiness to the mix. As it develops, the smell of sweet, fresh hay emerges from coumarin and is soon joined by a floral bouquet of rose, geranium, tuberose and jasmine. There is a spiciness here, likely from the geranium; apart from that, the flowers aren't distinct notes; instead, they give the impression of a floral scented breeze wafting through a garden. The civet gets more pronounced now, smelling like warm sexy skin; it slithers through the juice like a snake through the garden. At this stage, a woodiness comes forward from creamy, spicy sandalwood and balsamy cedarwood. The woodiness is extended to the base with patchouli and vetiver while Tonka bean echoes the coumarin as vanilla adds a creamy sweetness. Sweet, warm opoponax blends with the remains of the citrus, herbs and flowers and gives the EDP a lingering sensuality.

Every time I wear Jicky EDP, I marvel at its beauty. The drydown is elegant and timeless, and for hours, that triumvirate of lavender, coumarin and vanilla waft up to my nose and reminds me that wearing it makes any day memorable.

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