Guerlain’s Jicky: The Birth of Modern Perfumery

Did you know? The first ever perfume that had synthetic artificial ingredients along with natural ones and was mass-produced was made by Guerlain and it was called Jicky. It was released in 1889. Created by Aimé Guerlain. It is cited as the first modern perfume. This is an important moment in perfume history. It was groundbreaking for its innovative use of synthetic ingredients, such as ethyl vanillin. This set a precedent for all modern perfume as we know them. Perfumes as we know them today have both synthetic and natural ingredients making them easier to mass produce and widely available. This was the first perfume to famously introduce this form of perfumery,

Before the release of Guerlain’s Jicky in 1889, perfumes were typically handcrafted in small batches, sold through apothecaries or niche boutiques, and relied solely on natural ingredients. The range of available scents was relatively narrow. Jicky revolutionized perfumery by introducing synthetic components and mass production, opening the door to modern fragrance creation. Synthetic materials did more than just make perfume more affordable and widely available. They increased the creative possibilities for perfumers and innovators, enabling them to tell more complex olfactory stories through richer and more nuanced compositions.

This innovation marked a turning point in fragrance history. By incorporating synthetic materials, Jicky gave perfumers access to a new olfactory palette — one that allowed for more complex, long-lasting, and unique compositions that simply couldn’t be achieved with natural ingredients alone. This turning point in perfume history paved the way for today’s celebrated creations and niche artistry, where perfumers can evoke anything from the lush scent of a rainforest to the crisp, earthy nuance of an autumnal landscape — all through meticulously crafted compositions.

Jicky has an androgynous vibe. A gorgeous symphony of citrus, lavender, vanilla and Tonka bean. Jicky is still produced today. 136 years since its debut you can still buy it today. However, it is possible that the formula has been reformulated or slightly modified. I tested it recently at Selfridges– it is a true vintage scent, think Paris in the fall. Think lace, classic books, gorgeous flowers, wine and all elegant things that make us feel warm. I really felt transported.

That said, it does feel quite mature and refined. I’m not sure I’m at a stage in my life where it fully resonates with me yet — it feels more suited to someone a little older, someone who’s already stepped into their full full power — someone with more stories to tell, shaped by what they’ve lived and seen. But when I sprayed it, I felt like I was being invited into that version of myself. The best version. The kind that shows up with confidence and grace. And I found that so powerful.

It made me admire the aspirational quality of the scent — the quiet push toward self-reinvention. That’s something to look forward to.

Have you ever experienced a fragrance that made you think about the person you’re becoming, or the version of yourself you’re still working toward? It’s a powerful feeling — one that reminds us that scent isn’t just about what we wear, but who we aspire to be. I’d love to check out your picks — drop a comment below and let me know which scents inspire you!

-AG

L’Interdit by Givenchy- story of a true signature scent

The fascinating story of a true signature scent.

Imagine having a scent formulated just for you. A scent that trails as you walk past. A scent that lingers after you’ve left. This is even more special and powerful when the scent is just yours and is exclusively made for you, not available to all.

This was true for the iconic Audrey Hepburn, as Hubert de Givenchy created L’Interdit specifically for Ms. Hepburn-his muse, friend and longtime collaborator, the legendary actress, fashion icon and humanitarian. Givenchy created the scent secretly in 1954. This is a true signature scent in every sense of the term, as Audrey was the only one who wore it for several years. In 1957 Hubert de Givenchy decided to market the perfume to which Audrey replied “Mais, je vous l’interdis!”
(“But I simply forbid it!”) which is how the scent got its name L’Interdit meaning ‘forbidden’.

From 1954 up until its official debut in 1957 Audrey Hepburn was the only one to wear this iconic scent. There is something so incredible about that. The original L’Interdit was a deep feminine aldehydic floral fragrance perfectly fitting Audrey Hepburn’s grace, beauty and uniqueness. The nose behind this fragrance was Francis Fabron.
The scent evokes feminine sensuality and timeless sophistication with notes of rose, jasmine violet and a blend of wood and grasses.

Audrey Hepburn did agree to make the perfume public and officially became the face of the fragrance. This also marks in perfume/beauty and fashion history as the first time an actress was the face of a perfume. This is now a tradition to have an actress/musician or a public figure as the face of a fragrance, but Audrey Hepburn was the first as can be seen in this campaign.

The fragrance was an instant classic. The fragrance was discontinued in 1990s in the US before reformulating in 2002. The L’Interdit that is available to buy today isn’t the same one, it has been muted and reworked to suit today’s preferences. A reformulated version of the original can be purchased today.
However, bear in mind it’s not the exact same scent that Audrey wore, although the modern L’Interdit is beautiful and intoxicating as well.

Personally, I love Audrey Hepburn and just this concept of a signature scent so much that the fact that the modern perfume is different makes this campaign and story all the more alluring.
L’Interdit is a timeless golden memory, much like Old Hollywood, in that it can be re-emulated but can never truly come back. While that’s bittersweet. I am totally on board with a woman as iconic and as magnificent as Audrey Hepburn to have a signature scent that is truly hers. And hers alone. Honestly, who can blame her? I would have done the same, given the chance. Wouldn’t we all want that? A perfume that is so exclusive that it only belongs to the one who wears it?

The true scent that was Audrey’s may be lost to history, but just like her presence it can never be forgotten.

Today L’Interdit lives and breathes in its modern formulation.

The modern L’Interdit was launched in 2018 it was created by Dominique Ropion, Anne Flipo and Fanny Bal. Top notes are Pear and Bergamot; middle notes are Tuberose, Orange Blossom and Jasmine Sambac; base notes are Vanilla, Patchouli, Ambroxan and Vetiver. The modern eau de parfum is powerful, intoxicating, seductive, sensual and leaves the trail of sophistication- a dark and warm allure which cements its place in the olfactory industry as a truly unique scent that evokes a strong sense of femininity and timeless elegance. Perfect for any beauty and perfume enthusiast.

What is incredible about any perfume is that it sits differently on different people, everybody’s skin and natural scent is unique to them so it is fascinating to experience how this formula fits each person and their essence. Everyone carries their essence differently, given that the modern L’Interdit offers the wearer their own way of turning a very successful and iconic scent into one’s own signature scent.

I personally love Jasmine, Bergamot, Tuberose, Orange blossom and Vetiver. As these ingredients have a specific impact. I love these notes in general and blended together with pear, vanilla and patchouli, I truly love it. I love the heady intoxicating quality of jasmine and tuberose, the freshness of bergamot, pear and vetiver balance the warmth of jasmine and tuberose, the orange blossom and vanilla add a sweetness that is not too sweet but a delicate sweetness, a breath of fresh air, while the patchouli adds extra depth making this a truly interesting and addictive fragrance. Its layers are complex and intricate but they blend so perfectly to create an alluring trail to leave behind.

What’s your signature scent?

-AG

Perfume

-Anshudha Garimella

I always thought the easiest way to reminisce was to spray some perfume

It takes me back to that summer faster than my memories do

And with one spritz of that sparkling essence

I can see it all again.

It’s a song liquified into a bottle

the perfect refrain

A melody of perfect notes in harmony

It still echoes in my memories.

I can remember the sea when I wear it on my neck

the fresh breeze of the Mediterranean.

It has a whiff of salt, of bergamot,

I remember it so clearly- that summer

collecting seashells to listen to the song of the waves inside them.

As I sit here reminiscing of a summer that will never return,

Just like that summer the top notes fade,

and I’m left in the afternoon basking in the memories of the hot sun

the bergamot and neroli have faded with that memory but jasmine

lingers…

I’m in the middle of a song, it takes me further back to other summers

I thought I had forgotten

It takes me back to afternoons far away tucked away in the corner of my childhood,

that scent always put me to sleep

and I used to slip into my reveries

With its effervescent notes

those notes are like a lullaby

they always have been, as the heady jasmine

takes over and embraces my mind

I have slept so soundly in that warmth each time

Wrapped up in the sheets

living in my dreams

the scent lingers- the middle notes laced with the memories

of afternoons spent in reveries

..but like any flower in the fall, that dream withers. What can I do to stall?

nothing much, nothing at all.

The setting sun takes away that song.

The warmth of that afternoon is now just a memory

laced with its sensory

effects that wash over me.

And soon enough it fades, but the base notes of white musk linger on my skin

and creates another feeling within.

This will fade too, but for now all the notes are in accord

with each other, creating a perfect picture

of a now faded summer, that I can only sense in the drops of that perfume.

I spray it and wait for the summer to return

New memories waiting to be made

new notes taking their place

to syncopate

in this everlasting melody

a new summer day is waiting to be laced with a new scenery

carrying the scent of a new story.

-AG

P.S. the specific perfume I’m describing is CHANEL N°5 L’EAU.

No Man’s Land- a poem

By Anshudha Garimella

It’s women’s history month and I was inspired to write the following poem.

No Man’s Land

I’m in a place so dark and dead

Yet I have hope, perhaps I shouldn’t dare

Is it really necessary to step on every flower that dares to grow?

I’m trying like so many others to live in a wasteland

Trying to survive in the no-man’s land.

This ground always was No Man’s Land

Yet it hurts you if I just stand

here, tall and proud

Perhaps you want me on the ground

Why is it so bad if I just stand next to you on this Motherland?

The only thing we share

Maybe I shouldn’t dare!

Would it make you feel better if I fought back with tears?

some did, the message still wasn’t clear.

I’m just trying to live in my ways on this divine land

Live in my body and in my mind

Others of my kind are doing the same

The beauty of this earth gets engulfed by the flames of mankind

This divine ground is no less mine

than it is yours.

This land is something we share

Yet women have to dare

To fight

For a place in this no-man’s land.

If you are winter then I am spring

None of us are less important

than the other.

Yet I have to seek for cover

when you rain down violently

on my ground

but still, we grow our flowers time and time again

Is it so bad if we’re just here?  Standing beside you on this no-man’s land?

It always was No Man’s Land.

You can step on our petals but we still dare

To live in harmony on a land we share

Time and time again we are seduced to fight each other

Our own, our girls, our women, our kind

While we are also fighting a gruesome war in our minds

Just to live in harmony with ourselves and humankind

Each day I feel I’m on some foreign land

An extraterrestrial plane- unkind

Because some can’t understand how to live together on this no-man’s land.

This divine ground belongs to

No man

No woman

No child

Nobody

We belong to it.

It always was No Man’s Land

Why can’t I live here with you side by side?

You are the winter I am the spring

You are autumn and I am summer

None of us are any more important than the other

Dare I say we are equal?

If you are the sky then this ground belongs to me

If you are the sun

then I am the sea

Why does he have to be at odds with me?

An Autumn Playlist

“Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Autumn lasts but a second- its warm and cozy colours paint the town red, gold, yellow, brown one last time before all is lost to Winter.

Autumnal landscapes leave such an impression that they need to be captured, because the colours of autumn can only really be captured in song so that they don’t fade like the falling leaves.

Autumnal Tones Photographed by Me.

Here are some incredible songs about Autumn:

  1. Les Feuilles Mortes/ Autumn Leaves

This is one of my favourite songs originally written in French by Jacques Prévert and composed by Joseph Kosma in 1945 Les Feuilles Mortes has been recorded by various artists Yves Montad, Juliette Gréco, Edith Piaf, Françoise Hardy and its English version Autumn Leaves has likewise been interpreted by many artists and is a jazz classic- most notably by Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra.

2. ‘Tis Autumn

Another Jazz standard written by Henry Nemo in 1941 and recorded by Nat King Cole. It has also been recorded by Chet Baker, Ella Fitzgerald and Stacy Kent.

3. Autumn in New York

Another jazz standard made popular by Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald.

4. L’Été Indien

The famous 1975 Joe Dassin single L’Été indien about autumnal colours, Indian Summer , and reminiscing memories.

Autumn Leaf Photography by Me At Hyde Park 2024

5. Spooky

By Dusty Springfield to get into Halloween Vibes.

6. Season of the Witch

As Autumn leaves drift by the window and All Hallows Eve comes closer Season of the Witch by Donovan released in 1966 helps get in the mood, I also love Lana Del Rey’s cover of Season of the Witch.

7. Witchcraft

Another jazz classic by Frank Sinatra.

8. Fade Into You

By Mazzy Star this song for me evokes warmth and cozy ambience that always puts me in Autumn.

9. For Emma

By Bon Iver, This entire album For Emma, Forever Ago paints the mood very cozy.

10. Harvest Moon

By Neil Young. It would be appropriate to end the list on a song about nightfall as the days will get darker now.

Chère Françoise,

Comment te dire adieu? (How to say goodbye to you?) when I don’t want to. I’m writing this message hoping some heavenly wind will carry it to you like the mistral that blows into the northern Mediterranean. It may seem like this letter is being written a little too late, but I believe artists never die. You have entered another plane, the afterlife where I imagine you in the paradis blanc with the greatest artists of all time. However, your soul and essence will live on in your beautiful music.

I don’t have enough words in neither English nor French to tell you how much you mean to me. You changed my life and saved me from the depths of darkness and pulled me out of the abyss of solitude when I often found myself lying there. Your songs were the only melodies that gave me a reason to keep going, I completely drowned myself in the beauty of the French language, in your gorgeous voice, in the beauty of your presence, your aura and your songwriting brilliance. I lost myself completely in the world of the 60s, 70s.

I used to be the girl who was perpetually sad until I was 19 and then everything changed when I found your music and it gave me a reason to look forward to the next day. The first 6 months of having found your music were just paradise, I don’t remember much else I just remember reading every French text I could, practicing my middle school French grammar, reading all of your lyrics in French then translating them and memorizing them and that is how I learnt all of your songs.

Not just your songs but what is in my opinion one of the most beautiful languages in the world. To think I struggled in school with French exams for years and you taught me enough French in 6 months to not only understand and sing your songs but to write my own songs in French. It was never even a goal of mine. To write a poetry book in French because it is so outlandish but I did it. Thanks to you.

The first song I ever heard by you was Message Personnel (1973). I was listening to something random and Youtube recommended you it has to be fate and auto-played the chanson while I was alone in my room in a foreign country away from home, lonely and sad, insecure and unhappy in gloomy London.

With candles lit in the room I was just feeling really out of place in this world. I was happy to be in a new place, but I still didn’t have anyone who understood how I felt. Uncomfortable in my own skin I was exhausted being myself.

Then your music started playing and I only understood about 50% but your voice was angelic, melodious and soothing so in that moment language didn’t matter. Music was the universal language. Needless to say I listened to the song on repeat all night then looked online for translations and fell more in love with you and from then on it was a daily mission to consume your discography as though someone was gonna take it away from me.

To this day I really feel like my personal diaries ended up in 1960s Paris and for some reason were worded in French and sung by a beautiful angel that is how much you get me. How else could you write exactly how I feel? I’m certain that I’m not the only one who feels this way your melancholic atmospheric sentimental ballads enchanted a nation, a world and touched so many people’s hearts. I bet most everyone feels like you understand them better than they understand themselves but even though we have never met and will never meet you have been an important part of my life and will continue to be an important part of my life. Every season I experience is accompanied by a Françoise song, La fin de l’été, Rendez-vous d’automne, Song of Winter, every moment of the day too Le premier bonheur du jour, Ce soir, La nuit est sur la ville, every vacation, every birthday, and really if I’m honest everyday.

I have suffered from anxiety most of my life and nothing could calm me down except for the only thing that can- La Question (1971) my favourite album under the sun. This album is a masterpiece, no piece of music means more to me than these tracks. Tracks like Si mi Caballero, Doigts, Mer, Même sous la pluie, Rêve, Viens. These songs showed me what it meant to be calm, in tune with the present moment and in love with life and for that I will be eternally grateful to you Françoise.

If I start quoting all of your songs one by one this will turn into a book. So, I will quote just one Contre vents et marées (2000)

Tu dois juste avancer

Regarder sans tricher

La vérité

Suivre ta route

Coûte que coûte

Contre vents et marées

which translates to “you just have to keep moving forward, without cheating, follow your path, no matter the cost, against the winds and tides. “

Anytime I need to be reminded of what is really important in life Françoise is there in rain or sunshine.

Françoise Hardy photographed by Jean-Marie Périer c.1960s.

In addition to being my music idol, and songwriting muse she is also my fashion icon of all time whether she was dressed in Paco Rabanne’s gorgeous metalic gold piece or Yves Saint Laurent’s Le Smoking, she was always chic, Someone that really didn’t have to try at all and gave Comme des Garçons their brand name. as Comme des Garçons is named after Hardy’s first song Tous les garçons et les filles…..

Françoise hardy in Le Smoking by YSL C. 1960S.
Françoise Hardy in Paco Rabanne in 1967.

Françoise, I cannot imagine the pain you have had to endure, I cannot begin to understand the immense strength that you have and the grace you have always shown even in tough times and everything you have been through.

I know now that you are not in pain anymore and that you have returned to your vivacious, joyous self. I would like to remember you in this way. As the most amazing Yé-yé girl from Paris.

I have read your autobiography, Le désespoir des singes: et autres bagatelles (2008), your novel L’amour Fou (2012) and every article that I could find about you in French and in English, I learned that just like me you too believe in astrology and I’m certain you are a celestial entity now, a star in the vast universe exploring all of life’s greatest mysteries.

Françoise you will always be in every season, in every tide, in every flower, in every refrain. Je vous aime.

and lastly from me to you here are a few lines :

Tu seras toujours dans les gouttes de la pluie

dans la mélodie de la nuit

tu m’as enlevé mes ennuis

et j’ai tout appris

de toi.

Merci.

(You will always be in the drops of the rain/ in the melody of the night/you took away all my pain/ I learnt everything from you/ Thank You.)

-Anshudha Garimella

P.S. Repose en paix.

There’s an Autumn that doesn’t worry about loss

by Anshudha Garimella

We cry over loss

Tears of salt

We stand in the rain

And confuse

 the tears of pain

With drops of rain

But there is an autumn somewhere that doesn’t worry about loss

I have written letters that I never sent

Wept like a willow that bends

There is the scent of salt

That comes from our tears

I mistake the taste of the tears

With the saline wind of the sea

Such a loss we have felt

 you and me

But there is an autumn somewhere that doesn’t worry about loss

We face a loss and live in pain

Or live in the fear of hurting again

And if you haven’t yet lost something

You worry about what you might lose

Of all the things we have lost I miss the smiles the most

Losing a smile is like a flower wilting

Pretty at first then damned to disappear

Losing someone is haunting

Haunted, you carry inside your heart – tears

But there is an autumn that doesn’t worry about loss

There is an autumn that doesn’t worry about changing colours

It isn’t afraid to lose

And lose it does

All petals and leaves

The balmy summer wind starts to cool

The summer now has lost its warm breeze

The first day of autumn there is still hope

Hope that grows like wisteria

Creepers and vines

All the colours of autumn

They’re such a pleasure for the weary eyed

Everything changes colours giving us hope

That all things must change

Just as we learn these messages

All the orange hope fades away

Flies away and we are left with twigs that flutter

Without a shadow of a leaf

Change it did and summer did leave

But there is an autumn that doesn’t worry about loss

The autumn sheds its  skin

Naturally

No regrets no lament

It was about time to start a new

To experience a fresh dew

There is an autumn that doesn’t worry about loss

We hold on to melancholic things and expect for something to change

It is quite deranged

Even if I want to change

I’m hanging on to unwanted memories

And jaded old stories

These are things I could happily lose

But I haven’t

Why don’t we lose the things we would love to lose?

There is an autumn somewhere that is

losing All its colour

It is unafraid

Carefree

Dying aesthetically

In changing colours

Pleasing to the eyes

And when winter comes autumn isn’t worried to have lost so much

Because all will be back

Come morning light

Come spring time.

Sepulchral Tones- a poem

by Anshudha Garimella

My violin cries sepulchral tones

Can you hear them weep?

The melancholic minor notes

Bleeding a blue so deep

There’s a song inside me I can’t stop playing

It’s a song of heartbreak, of chagrin of a heart bleeding

Sepulchral tones

Angels weep when I sing this song

Like willows in the wind

It’s a song that’s stuck in my head

And I try to drown the sound by banging on the walls

 and shattering glass

 breaking fragile things I was meaning to keep

Bleeding a blue so deep

I got the blues

The dangerous blue flame

I don’t wanna get burned

So I try to turn

This song into a happy one

I can change the instrument from a violin to a harp

But the second I touch the strings I start to play those sepulchral tones

Can you hear them weep

A blue so deep?

When it reaches a crescendo I can’t help it

I weep

A blue so very deep

I could change the lyrics of my song to a happy few lines

But what else to do with those blues I call mine?

Cedarwood

by Anshudha Garimella

Nights wrapped up in cashmere

We sat by the fire

Curled up listening to

The sound of crackling fire

I can remember the scent of cedarwood

As I watched the embers light up the wood

Turning flames to smoke

The fire danced the dance of red  and blue

I’m so glad it was you

You were as warm as a balmy July night

I wasn’t gonna let you go without a fight

So I light a candle that smells like cedarwood

And dream my dreams about you

I come alive in autumn

When the landscape is as warm as the fire

And the moon is as bright as your eyes

Which light up the night

And the fall skyline is as orange as tangerines

The sunset looks like a sweet sangria

I can taste the autumn when I smell cedarwood

And I dream about you

And our walks in the woods

I can remember the warmth of your skin

And the way your smile was illuminating

The room

You voice as warm as a balmy July night

I wasn’t gonna let you go without a fight

and I’m still like this today

Waiting for the fall

And hanging on

Waiting patiently for the summer to lose its heat

So I can feel the cashmere on my feet

And be entangled in your arms

My cedarwood so sweet.

Change can be beautiful….

Sometimes we fear change even though we long for change. It is genuinely a frustrating state to be in, this kind of state feels like running in circles.

Have you ever felt this way- you want something, you really really want something, but even before you can take any action to have the thing that you desire, a million thoughts show up out of nowhere.

Thoughts that stop you, thoughts that shift you out of alignment, thoughts that tell you “you’re not good enough” or you can’t have what you want because of some ridiculous reason that you choose to believe.

So before you can take any action you are caught up in this storm of thoughts. You may even find yourself creating obstacles that do not exist. You may start convincing yourself that you don’t even want the thing that you desperately desire. But you do. The problem isn’t you the problem is we can sometimes fear change, because we feel we can’t handle it.

You can become the mountain standing in your own way.

All because- change is unfamiliar.

Even change that is beneficial is unfamiliar.

Even change you are longing for is unfamiliar.

But that doesn’t mean change is bad.

According to Carl Jung we get so used to our past experiences simply because they are familiar that we end up making the same mistakes, choosing the same path, attracting the same type of circumstances that keep us in the past, attract the same type of people who keep us in the past, almost forcing ourselves to stay in the same jaded place we don’t actually want to be in. WHY? because that sad old place is familiar. You don’t know any different yet, you don’t trust yourself to deal with change.

And if you think of change you only think about the discomfort change will bring and you only contemplate the negative outcomes when you think of change.

This is not your fault, we are programmed this way. But that doesn’t mean you can’t change your programming.

You can’t look at the future the same way you look at the past. The future holds hope and one must look at it that way. And what is past is past. The future hasn’t happened yet.

Don’t make a mountain out of your non existent problems that are just thoughts and stop yourself from enjoying all the good things that come with change.

We are all afraid of change, but change is essential. Something must change so you can get closer to your desire.

There is a person you want to be but for that you must first let go of some old habits and get new positive ones. You must first change a little bit and this is where our old negative patters start kicking in.

When you try to change yourself something inside you will fight you, because your mind only relates to the past. But keep going. If you feel uncomfortable when you are doing something different it means you are doing something right.

This is the time to contemplate -who do you want to be?

This is Spring you can be any flower you choose.

And make lists on what you can do today to blossom into the spring flower you are meant to be.

We can learn so much from Spring just by seeing the transformation of a beautiful bud that blossoms into a beautiful flower, It is unafraid to bloom into its true potential and you can bloom just as easily as any flower.