Blog post by Gwen
Les Voyages Olfactifs 02 Paris-New York – shimmering and and elegant and beautiful
Travel has always been an inspiration for perfume, and whether it’s time spent in an Italian Garden (Ninfeo Bio) or a trip back in time to a tiger hunt (Fougère Bengal), perfumers have used scent to transport us to other places. This was the inspiration behind Guerlain’s Les Voyages Olfactifs series.
Introduced in 2009 as a boutique exclusive, Les Voyages Olfactifs series features three scents: 01Paris-Moscow, 2 Paris-New York and 03 Paris-Tokyo. Each one shows a capital city from a Parisian perspective. All three are stunners, but it was 02 Paris-New York, now called Les Voyages Olfactifs 02 Paris-New York, that was the one for me.
The brochure that comes with the bottle describes 02 Paris-New York as “…an olfactory tour or rather a melting pot of aromas, reflecting this multicultural city, a crossroads of civilizations”. The blurb goes on to describe how the frag captures the smells of different parts of the city, from the New York Botanical Garden to Little Italy to Fifth Avenue, at different times of the year.”
It opens with a note of sweet, juicy, Mandarin orange joined by bright bergamot and the smell of warm, sweet, pink berries. Guerlain’s trademark vanilla is here too, signifying that Paris is where this journey starts. The opening is an elegant, balance of sweet and tart. As it blooms, spicy cinnamon shows up and warms a note of candied chestnut. It brings the smell of roasted chestnuts sold on the streets of in New York in autumn. Slowly a note of orange blossom emerges. It's fresh, sweet headiness is held in check by the anise facet of the sweet pink berries. It's followed by a familiar cedar note – could this be the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center? – along with earthy, mouldy rich patchouli and vetiver. Musk softens and smoothens it at the drydown.
I must admit, the more I wear 02 Paris-New York, the more I smell different seasons, and I like that feeling of discovery when I smell it on my skin. But no matter how this EdT reveals itself, it’s always a shimmering, elegant, perfectly balanced fragrance that could be worn any where any time of year, even in New York.
Check out Les Voyages Olfactifs 02 Paris-New York in our Shop.
