Communelles
The word communellel is intriguing but well known in the wine industry. What is really behind this term when it comes to perfumery? First of all, here is the definition of a communelle: it is a judicious blend of different batches of natural essences.
At Guerlain
At Guerlain, we have always blended different essential oils, from the same botanical origins, from different producers or countries, with different facets. All of this is done to create a "Guerlain standard" with a very specific scent. This allows us, first of all, to have a strong identity, to participate in the olfactory seal of Guerlain perfumes and also to ensure, from one year to the next, a constant and homogeneous quality.
Rose
At Guerlain, we have always loved the rose. It is one of Guerlain's favourite ingredients. We have always associated the damascena rose, which can come from Bulgaria, Turkey or Morocco, with the may rose which comes from Grasse. The damascena has a very specific smell, more fruity, a little green, spicy, compared to the centifolia rose. With its characteristic smell of honey, the latter is round, suave, almost animal-like.
It should be noted that the first perfume to have overdosed rose was Nahéma, created by Mr Jean-Paul Guerlain, with the combination of rose essence and rose absolute from different origins. For the first time, a molecule found in the rose was added to the perfume, damascone, which made it possible to give an even greater tenacity to the rose scent, but above all to add a fruity note. In fact, I am convinced that if Nahéma had not been created, we would not have had perfumes such as Paris by YSL or Trésor by Lancôme on the market. Nahéma has really been the leader of a new family: fruity rosés.
In Idylle, Thierry Wasser has chosen a communelle rose from Bulgaria, a rose that was chosen this year with Mr Jean-Paul Guerlain for its fruity lychee aspect, to which they have added a garden rose accord created by Mr Jean-Paul Guerlain, an "old-fashioned" accord. A velvety and voluptuous rose called the Plessis Robinson rose, named after the garden of the same name, where Mr Jean-Paul Guerlain discovered it.
Bergamot
At Guerlain, we have other communelles such as bergamot: there has always been a standard "Guerlain bergamot" at Guerlain, the secret of which is preserved. It is a blend of bergamots from different producers chosen by the Guerlains in the Calabria region of southern Italy, to give a unique bergamot that will not be the same for everyone!
Thierry Wasser is now in charge of the choice of raw materials. This year, for the first time, he selected the bergamots from the various producers in Reggio di Calabria, Italy, as the Guerlains have done for five generations. This selection was made, as it is every year, at the end of January and beginning of February, so that the bergamots would be gorged with sunshine and therefore give off their fruitiest fragrance! Nevertheless, these very fruity bergamots will always have floral, fresh and green facets.
A few years ago I was lucky enough to participate in the expression of the bergamot essence. The peels of the citrus fruits or zests release the essence, which is a dark green when it comes out of the machine. It is then treated to get rid of all the undesirable components that give it brown spots. Its colour will change from dark green to light yellow. I even tasted a limoncello, where the lemon had been replaced by bergamot, this is quite particular as I really had the impression of drinking perfume!
Jasmine
Jasmine is a very precise communelle blend used in our classics. It combines jasmines of the grandiflora botanical variety from Grasse, India and Egypt. In some perfumes, such as Guerlain's feminine L'Instant, we have experimented with the quality of sambac jasmine, which has a really different, more orange and sunny scent. It is important to know that, for the same botanical variety, depending on the quality of the soil, the sunshine or the rain received, the smell of the essence or the absolute obtained after treatment of the plant can vary quite significantly, as for the grape.
I had already explained a little about these comunelles in my article "Guerlinade". Here I have lifted the veil a little more on some of the manufacturing and blending secrets that contribute to the Guerlain olfactory seal, this unique signature.
Sylvaine Delacourte perfumes
Discover Sylvaine Delacourte's brand with her Orange Blossom, Musk and Vanilla Collections. You can try them thanks to the Discovery Boxes (5 Eaux de Parfum x 2 ml) and rediscover these raw materials as you have never smelled them before.