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Post by Madeleine

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Hello fragrance friends. Hope you are well and enjoy today’s post.

Well, like any other perfume obsessive, I’m pretty unfaithful when it comes to scents. Sometimes I’ll wear several a day, let alone dozens in a week. So it’s surprised me that I have been pretty much faithful to one scent for several weeks now:

Chamade by Guerlain 1969

Chamade was created by Jean-Paul Guerlain in 1969, and it was inspired by the Francoise Sagan’s novel “La Chamade” which was later adapted into a movie starring Catherine Deneuve. The word, from French means a drumbeat signifying a retreat from war.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Fragrantica gives these featured accords (Ed: different in the blurb and pictures, I’ve melded):
Top: Hyacinth, Turkish rose,  jasmine, bergamot, aldehydes
Heart: Lilac, cloves, jasmine, rose, lily of the valley, iris, galbanum, ylang-ylang, blackcurrant buds,
Base: Sandalwood, vetiver, musk, benzoin, amber, tonka bean, Tolu balsam, Peru balsam

Many others have written of the fragrance so beautifully, that I can’t really add much more to what’s been said already. However, the perfume, as many have noted, feels like a perfume in three separate acts. The first is the bright green, spring-like opening of galbanum and hyacinth at first fresh and then powdery; the second act is all about dewy rose and lilac, underpinned by juicy blackcurrant; the final act is another beast entirely, where the green rosiness segues into smooth and sweet vanilla and amber.

Photo Stolen Temptalia

I acquired my bottle of Chamade a few months ago, knowing it was hard to find here in Australia and a classic. I initially regretted my purchase and wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about it. Fast forward some time and Chamade is now so perfect to me, I’m actually wondering how I lasted without it as long as I did. The perfume is everything I’d like to think I am and everything I want in the idealized version of myself: sophisticated, elegant, intelligent, beautiful and warm. It is at once a perfect adornment whilst at the same time being innately part of me. For note, I have the EDP version.

Photo Stolen TrendsEve

Further reading:Bois de Jasmin and Now Smell This

SurrendertoChance has samples starting at $3/ml

Have you tried Chamade? Have you been more faithful to one fragrance lately? What perfumes are currently in rotation for you?

With much love until next time!
M x