Clinique launched Aromatics Elixir in 1971, the first fragrance from a brand known for its fragrance-free skincare. Bernard Chant, an IFF perfumer, made it a powerful floral chypre in which rose and ylang-ylang rest on patchouli, vetiver and oakmoss. The house presents it as a fragrance that plays its role and goes beyond, designed for strong personalities.
Clinique classifies Aromatics Elixir among floral chypres: a base of oakmoss and patchouli softened by a bouquet of flowers. The Fragrance Foundation France credits it with about a dozen notes, which Bernard Chant spread over three tiers.
Top
Aldehydes, bergamot, verbena and chamomile open the fragrance on an herbal note, almost like herbal tea. The aldehydes fade quickly and give way to a bitter, aromatic freshness that gives the opening its almost medicinal character.
Heart
Rose, jasmine, clove and ylang-ylang compose a tight bouquet, which the house calls delicate and subtle. Victoria Frolova detects in it a hot-and-cold accord of patchouli and hedione, close to that of Diorella, which carries the whole structure.
Base
Oakmoss, vetiver, patchouli and civet sign the base. The house attributes a warm sensuality to patchouli, a woody, earthy note to vetiver and rich green notes to oakmoss.
A patchouli family
Robert Calkin and Stephan Jellinek devote a few pages to Aromatics Elixir in Perfumery: Practice and Principles, in 1994. They place it among the patchouli florals, a group they keep apart from the chypres because of the prominence of flowers and the scarcity of animalic notes.
They read in it the accord of patchouli and hedione, with far more rose than in Diorella, along with hydroxycitronellal and methyl ionone. In their view, Coriandre, Aramis 900, Paloma Picasso, and Knowing take up this combination.
Today
Clinique now describes the fragrance through five key materials: patchouli, vetiver, oakmoss, ylang-ylang and rose essence. Its pages do not agree on how the tiers are divided.
The French page names lily of the valley and chamomile at the top, rose and jasmine for the heart, patchouli and moss for the base. The American page places Bulgarian rose and orange blossom at the top, jasmine and ylang-ylang for the heart.
What the label declares
Patchouli essential oil comes right after alcohol, fragrance and water, a rank that reflects its weight in the formula. The list also names oakmoss extract and oils of rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, lavender, cedar, geranium and neroli.
It includes many allergens that must be declared, among them geraniol, linalool, eugenol, coumarin and isoeugenol, as well as citric acid and benzoic acid, and three colorants, yellow CI 19140, green CI 61570 and red CI 14700.
Similar perfumes
Similar notes and family, from other houses.
- CoriandreJean Couturier
- CabochardGrès
- Scherrer Jean Louis ScherrerJean-Louis Scherrer
- Mémoire ChérieElizabeth Arden
- Fils de joieSerge Lutens
- KnowingEstée Lauder
- MichelleBalenciaga
- La ReligieuseSerge Lutens