Eau de fleurs de cédrat: The Cologne of the 1920s—Jacques Guerlain is certainly the most prolific perfumer of the entire Guerlain dynasty.
Since its creation in the 19th century and its extraordinary rise with the Eau Impériale, the house of Guerlain and its perfumers of the same name have kept up the fine tradition of each creating an Eau de Cologne that reflects them. For Jacques Guerlain, the Eau de Cologne he composed under the gentle name of Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat would above all be a way of reminding us how much travel shaped his creations, from Shalimar to Mitsouko.
Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat, or Jacques Guerlain's vibrant tribute to his talented forebears
Founded in 1828 by Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain, the house of Guerlain earned a place of distinction in perfumery thanks to the Eau Impériale that its founder composed for Empress Eugénie. From then on the house's success only grew, but each of the perfumers in this family remembered that this glory was tied to Eau de Cologne. Thus Aimé Guerlain and then Jacques Guerlain each composed an Eau de Cologne representing their creative presence within this family house. It is worth noting that this fine tradition was later carried on by Jean-Paul Guerlain and, more recently, by Thierry Wasser.
As for Jacques Guerlain's work, Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat, there is no doubt that it is highly representative of the style of this perfumer, who never hesitated to take his 20th-century customers on journeys through fragrance. At the time, however, travel was rare and costly, but Jacques Guerlain dreamed of adventures and shared them through perfume with Mitsouko, steeped in Asian spirit, or with Shalimar, a magnificent oriental fragrance dedicated to India.
This passion for distant lands would therefore be the main instrument in the composition of Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat, which reflects Jacques Guerlain's love for Italian lands and its bright, fresh citrus fruits.
Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat holds the secret voluptuousness of Mediterranean scents. Inspired by citron, it is very refreshing and tangy. Guerlain on Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat.
The freshness of lemon and Mediterranean scents for an invigorating Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat
Jacques Guerlain never tired of making us dream of distant adventures through rare raw materials, most of which were still new to perfumery. The man was deeply attached both to the tradition and prestigious past of his house and to the design of innovative bottles with a taste of faraway places—two deep attachments that come together in his magnificent Eau de Fleurs de Cédrat.
Thus citrus fruits make a particular appearance in this elixir of freshness through a bursting, airy opening of limetta, bergamot, and lemon. Verbena lends its green, slightly damp freshness to these invigorating citrus notes from the sun-drenched lands of the Mediterranean. Finally, cedar, appearing in the depths, lends its nervous power to these intense freshnesses, creating a rare sillage for an Eau de Cologne that was usually far more fleeting at the time.
Jacques Guerlain remains, in more ways than one, one of the greatest perfumers of the early 20th century. With Eau de Fleurs de cédrat he reminds us that he was capable not only of the sublime, as with Mitsouko, but also of the simplest of things, as with this fresh, intoxicating cologne.