Clinique

Clinique, or the birth of a fragrant myth: Aromatics Elixir

Why Clinique? Perhaps simply because the founding idea of the company created in 1968 by Carole Philips, Estée Lauder and Dr. Orentreich was to offer cosmetics that were far more high-performing and scientifically studied than fragranced, in the image of a personalized dermatological treatment, medically effective and thus “clinically” tested. Be that as it may, the Clinique brand, whose philosophy is to combine performance with perfect safety, seemed then quite far removed from perfume creation! That was without counting on Estée Lauder’s love for delicate fragrances...

Thus in 1972, under the impetus of the charismatic head of the house, the precious Aromatics Elixir was released in a highly refined presentation, entirely consistent with the brand’s conventions. However, while the bottle is surprisingly understated, the fragrance itself is anything but, so much so that at first this great classic was sold discreetly before becoming a best seller among chypre and sensual perfumes.

Bewitching, timeless, mysterious, as Clinique likes to put it, Aromatics Elixir left no one indifferent thanks to its elegant, delightfully retro notes that brought women of the 1970s back to chypres they had by then forgotten. Without advertising or a face of the campaign, Aromatics Elixir launched Clinique into luxury perfumery by offering a legendary fragrance between sensuality and enchantment.

Clinique perfumes, rare and strong personalities

While of course the famous Aromatics Elixir remains Clinique’s number one seller (a dominance that lasted until 2010), stopping at such a success after years of sometimes difficult research and development would have been a real waste.

Thus, after its magic elixir, Clinique created new and surprising fragrances, until in 1998 it released a new perfume that would itself become a great classic: Happy. A twist of citrus. An armful of flowers. A whirlwind of emotions: the lovely Happy draws on Clinique’s research into emotional fragrances, the famous Mood Fragrance line, to bring happiness and pleasure to its customers.

The Happy fragrance is remarkably distinctive and particularly appreciated for its citrus freshness and its fruity, gourmand notes, which unfold into gentle floral warmth of jasmine and mimosa. Moreover, Happy for Men, released the following year, would also be a great success for Clinique thanks to its original woody and citrus freshness blended with novel fruity and aromatic sweetness.

At first glance, Clinique, a company specializing in cutting-edge techniques for creating personalized dermatological treatments, seemingly had no use for fine perfumery. And perhaps it is precisely this reason that pushed Clinique to set itself apart from its competitors by offering fragrances that are as original as they are timeless.