M.J. Rose: I’ve been fascinated with lost fragrances since long before I started writing The Book of Lost Fragrances… since I found a bottle of perfume on my great grandmother’s dresser that had belonged to her mother in Russia. Here is one of those lost fragrances that stirs the senses and the imagination… (researched and described with the help of the perfume writer Dimitrios Dimitriadis)
GUERLAIN – MARIE CLAIRE
Guerlain is revered as one of the most spectacular perfume houses in the world. More than 180 years of perfume history has translated into the creation of over 700 perfumes – many of which are rare editions and long-lost gems. In 1996, Guerlain created an eau de parfum for the French edition of Marie Claire magazine – limited to only 1000 examples – which were assigned to recipients by way of a competition. Nowadays, this rare treasure has all but disappeared. Marie Claire (the perfume) was a summery bouquet of white blossoms – jasmine, tuberose and ylang ylang, which bloom over a dry, earthy vetiver base. A perfume with titanic sillage and an enduring presence, Marie Claire has slipped from our consciousness as yet another perfume lost to time.
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