Friday, June 25, 2010

WEEKLY MUST-HAVE: Annick Goutal

Keeping with the french trend (yes, I'm still on my Parisian hiatus), I must write about one of the finest perfumeries in all of France: Annick Goutal. I'm not so much writing about a specific must-have product as much as I am gushing over a must-have line. As a true beauty connoisseur, YOU MUST OWN SOMETHING FROM THIS RANGE.

Originally a perfumery house started in 1981, Annick Goutal has transformed into a brand including skin and body care and candles and home fragrance. But I'm going to stick to the perfumes that made the woman behind the brand, also called Annick, so famous. The fragrances include citrus to floral to fruity to musky to woody to amber and then some. Pick your scent range then choose from a variety of perfumes in that specific range. And each perfume comes with a personal story: how Annick discovered the scent, olfactory notes in the scent and date of origin.

For example, I like citrus, so, I click on citrus and I choose from one of the 4 citrus family fragrances. I'm feeling "Mandragore."

Here's the story: "Fascinated by the mysterious and spellbinding mandragore, Camille Goutal (Annick's daughter) and Isabelle Doyen (the "nose" of the company) wanted to capture the powers of this plant to the multiple legends to create a unique fragrance, where the feminine and the masculine merge in a secret harmony.  Mandragore... Its very name is reminiscent of ancient times, when men kept secret their knowledge of the power of plants. A mysterious name for a perfume at the uncommon elegance, presented in a purple bottle to reflect the color of the plant. A scent which likes the skin, for both a man and a woman."
Notes include: Citrus, aromatic, spicy (Bergamot, blackpepper, peppermint, star anis, boxwood, ginger, sage, iris, ciste roots, labdanum)
Creation date: 2005

Each bottle is like a work of art in its own right, beautifully feminine with ornate detailing. And with over 30 fragrances to choose from, it's like finding the right man: trial and error.

As a bonus, the website is super cute and girly. Check it out by clicking here.

2 comments:

beautywoome said...

Completely agree. I received a bottle of Les Nuits d'Hadrien from the press team years ago and I still wear it. The boutique on Mount Street in London is gorgeous. If you haven't tried the body products, I highly recommend those as well. A brilliant French beauty find.

Jessica Allison said...

I've been a fan of Eau D'Hadrien for years now. It's pretty old-school as far as fragrance goes (meaning some may find it an "old lady" scent) but to me it is classic and chic. The only thing I dislike is that I don't quite feel confident pronouncing the name of the scent when someone says "you smell great, what are you wearing?"

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