Red Jacket Dandyism Bottled

Habit Rouge is extremely complex, “gentlemanly”, and bold. I don’t think of is as a powerhouse but it never got the extrait treatment that women’s Guerlain fragrances got.

The gender bias! Men deserve extraits too! This is why I generally wear women’s fragrances, but in the case of Habit Rouge we have a dandy, just like Jicky, but now for men.

This is Jicky, Shalimar, L’Heure Bleue, Apres L’Ondee, and the new accords for the next generation of Guerlain packed into one fragrance. No masculine of substance existed prior to Habit Rouge (am I wrong?), and while it does draw inspiration and influence from feminine Guerlain fragrances it does ALSO pre-date Samsara, which builds on the sandalwood/amber/resin accord that Habit Rouge uniquely has.

This is a novel creation by Jean-Paul Guerlain, in the second half of the 20th century he defined Guerlain’s growth, but maintained tradition.

You can tell that the Guerlain tradition, the Guerlain FAMILY tradition of the art of perfumery emphasized the balance of structure, complexity, depth, and transformation. No fragrances evolve or morph quite like Guerlain fragrances. Habit Rouge builds on the Guerlinade tradition with new accords and naturals to become a barbershop, fougere-adjacent fresh oriental.

Much like the Shalimar EDT I have smelled from the 60’s, Habit Rouge is a citrus/powder/woods/spices type. The Habit Rouge EDT is quite strong in comparison to the Shalimar EDT, at a whopping 83°vol, where the Shalimar EDT is 87°vol and EDC 90°vol. That extra 4% of fragrance oils is doing a LOT of heavy lifting, and makes it close enough to an EDP to be able to rival the stronger men’s fragrances to come in the 70’s and 80’s.

My review below was written before the above text. You get my reaction to smelling the fragrance for the first time in about a year. I have scarcely worn this bottle of 1996 juice. However I wore a 2004 EDT (significant formula difference, both good) in high school frequently.

The “Red Jacket” Smells of:

Top: citrus, rosewood, oppoponax, carnation, iris, orange blossom….rich blend with Guerlinade—like an iced lemon bar with a rich base of woody tones and a sheet misting of strident bergamot. Unctuous, wears like a true Guerlain creation, an extension of their tradition to the next generation flawlessly. It fits within the realm of the original creations and extraits. If it were made when Apres l’Ondee or L’Heure Bleue were made (1910’s) I wouldn’t be surprised. However there are absolutely some Shalimar vibes going on with the powder/lemon/sweet accord. It’s not quite vanilla but the oppoponax with the iris creates this sweet candy-like smell (if ethyl maltol were the coumarin to tonka beans).

Heart (Ventricle 1): citrus wanes, a musk enters the scene along a strong sandalwood presence. The powderiness turns to a delightful dusty iris and Guerlinade. This fragrance is extremely referential of the Guerlinade and feels almost like an exercise like “variations on a theme” that Bach or Rachmaninov would’ve made musically. Jasmine and indoles with a tickle or scratch of something else below, a Vetiver or green woodsy note— the basil or pimento perhaps? It is an odd addition to be frank but this fragrance is very multifaceted, like a kaleidoscopic prism bending the light that is the Guerlinade.

Heart (Ventricle 2): we transition to the base; the resins, spices, leather, and robust Mysore sandalwood become warmer. A clove note dances by every now and then from the carnation. A rose suddenly blossoms out of all of this as some of the Guerlinade begins to burn off, pitted against carnation and orange blossom, creating a beautiful floral accord that is perhaps represents the red color of the red jacket. Red flowers+leather=red leather jacket=Habit Rouge??? Someone check my math.

Base: sandalwood!!! Something I never shut up about is how you should always look for 1996 or before for authentic Mysore sandalwood. Harvesting was banned in 1996 so it’s not a hard line, but with fragrances that feature that note, it is worth checking. I think you can harvest it now— the benzoin is dominant in the wood/spice/leather/amber/resin accord and sits aside some residual powderiness from the now matured opoponax and Iris. The sandalwood bristles as the sweet florals finally disappear, and vetiver and patchouli overtake as the fragrance fades.

Goodbye and goodnight with a cloud of misty, dusty sweetness and a woody-amber-y kiss, says Habit Rouge.

Top 40 of time.