LUXE TREND 32
DESIGNING LUXURY SERIES, MUGUET PORCELAINE - PRECIOUS TRANSLUCENCE
May Day in France is a double holiday: Fête du Travail celebrates all workers and labor rights, and Fête du Muguet is the tradition of giving sprigs of lily of the valley to loved ones. Lily of the valley has always symbolized a delicate romance. The most famous perfume that uses lily of the valley as its main theme is Diorissimo, created some 60 years ago by the legendary Edmond Rudnitska.
Lily of the valley belongs to a category of flowers perfumers call "mute". These flowers share the characteristic of having an essence that is impossible to capture through traditional methods. As a result, the essence of lily of the valley is synthesized from molecules in a laboratory. Due to its olfactory similarity to citrus, lily of the valley scent is amplified through the use of lemon or bergamot essential oil.
For his final perfume for Hermès, Jean Claude Ellena chose to create a lily of the valley fragrance. The fragrance is also an homage to Rudnitska, whom Ellena considers one of his masters. Ellena is a modern perfume master himself, and his creations have been widely recognized as elevating and redefining the perfumer's art for the new millennium.
Unlike his contemporaries, Ellena prefers to capture a material quality within a perfume concept. This is particularly true for the Hermèssence collection of scents he has created for Hermès. For Hermèssence Ellena's olfactory inspirations are more poetic in nature while at the same time, possess super modern elements.
It is this type of high-tech aestheticism that distinguishes Ellena in the art of perfume. Muguet Porcelaine is a masterful exercise in creating a perfume that has its own distinct spatial container. This particular lily of the valley is a Fabergé enameled jewel in a rock crystal vase. It is ethereal, translucent and fragile, possessing the same qualities as lacquered Japanese porcelain. This is a perfume that exists in three dimensions.
For Muguet Porcelaine, Ellena added bamboo and melon to the existing citrusy top note of lily of the valley. The impression is similar to the last breath of Spring, when the wind mixes the scent of late blooms and early fruits. Bamboo keeps the composition close to a watery environment. Green grass and hints of linden are in the vicinity, along with melon fruit. Fully developed, the scent possesses a quality that is crystalline, yet soft. It is not the heady roll in the grass of Diorissimo. It is perfumed air whipped up as if by the wings of a butterfly.
Unlike other Hermèssence fragrances that can be unisex, Muguet Porcelaine is a feminine fragrance. However, because its salty dry down stays close to the skin, it can be enjoyed by both sexes. Encased in Hermès grass green leather, the entire presentation is an irresistible ode to late spring.
Conceptually, this fragrance invites a connoisseur's examination, if only for recognizing it as the product of the intellectual curiosity of its author/maker. If you enjoy the lightness of lily of the valley, especially now that you know how it is acquired, try Guerlain's limited edition Muguet that appears every May. Each bottle of Guerlain's Muguet is collectible and the fragrance is marvelous and of an equally high quality. There is also Louis Vuitton's Apogée, which grounds the flower with magnolia and sandalwood, for a lily of the valley scent that is longer lasting, yet darker.