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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Mon Precieux Nectar c2009

Mon Precieux Nectar: created in 2009. It was created by Sylvaine Delacourte and Randa Hammami.

It was originally released as a limited edition of only 35, housed in a crystal fountain, the Fountain Imperiale, manufactured by the famous Val Saint Lambert in Belgium, and retailed for a whopping $9,000. The fountain, column like with timeless, pure lines inspired by the Second Empire. And, a honeybee, the emblem of the house, was engraved in the center of the stopper. The fountain contains one liter of parfum.





From Guerlain:
"Mon Précieux Nectar is aptly named. Discreetly fruity, floral and musky, this fragrance recalls the creations that made the history of perfumery. A fragrance with rare elegance, at turns vibrant and noble, enveloping or even deliciously delicate. The complexity of its scent boggles the mind. 
The fragrance is showcased in the iconic Bee bottle, which exceptionally takes on an oh-so-chic 125 ml format. 2009 re-edition. Floral Oriental. Subtle, sweet, enveloping.
The fragrance showcases a sweet, honeyed orange blossom for a breathtaking aura and addiction.
 
Mon Précieux Nectar: the most beautiful production by the Guerlain bee."

Fragrance Composition:


What does it smell like? It is classified as a floral oriental fragrance for women.
  • Top notes: petitgrain, bitter almond
  • Middle notes: orange blossom, jasmine
  • Base notes: white musk, vanilla, frankincense, sandalwood, guaiac wood

To the delight of fans who were able to sample this perfume, Guerlain released this fragrance as part of their popular Les Parisiennes line in 2012. This slightly tweaked formula was composed by Thierry Wasser and was presented as 125ml Parfum in the bee bottle, retailing at $270. Please note that some online resources have deemed this as eau de parfum, but my bottle and box strictly says "Parfum", not eau de parfum.


My  Review:


I happily received this in a swap, and it is my first of the Les Parisiennes collection and it did not disappoint.  I love that Guerlain adds an optional atomizer to use with the bee bottle (please do not leave the atomizer on your bottle, I did this and about 10% of the perfume evaporated, so keep the stopper in the bottle instead of the spray, switch it out if you need to spray it on then switch it back to the topper when finished, you'll be thanking me later). When I sprayed it, a super fine mist, like myriads of atoms, sprung forth and my body was sweetly enveloped in a kitten soft cloud of the precious nectar.

My first thoughts: this is absolutely divine. This is exactly what I would envision nectar would smell like, from the bee's point of view. The delicate florals and the nectar scent, yes, to me, it is intoxicating. Though it is a listed ingredient, I don't get a real intense bitter almond smell, in fact the first spray smells like heliotrope, but not the full blown, heavy heliotrope in L'Heure Bleue. It is softer, fragile like diaphanous dragonfly wings. The jasmine is very sheer, which is not at all indolic, no skank here, it is an innocent jasmine: sweet, pure, virginal.

The nectar accord smells very fresh and juicy and reminds me of what honeysuckle nectar tastes like (a nod to my childhood). I don't get a real intense bitter almond smell, in fact the first spray does smell like heliotrope, but not the full blown, heavy heliotrope in L'Heure Bleue. It is softer, fragile like dragonfly wings. The jasmine is very sheer, which is not at all indolic, no skank here.

Unfortunately, I do not get much of the incense or the guaiac wood, but the lush orange blossom is very true to the natural scent of the waxy white blossoms. The lightly balsamic vanilla and the precious sandalwood is very well rounded and never emerges as too sweet or cloying. The musky base is not dirty or overwhelming, nothing like the classic animalic Jovan's White Musk, it is more of a comforting scent, reminds me of an exquisite cashmere throw blanket that you want to curl up with.

My bottle's batch code dates this formulation to 2012 and has a super soft cream colored suede ribbon around its neck. I easily decanted some by just removing the stopper and using a pipette to transfer into a Travalo type atomizer to keep in my purse. 

However, I am saddened this doesn't have much longevity and is more of a subtle skin scent with quite low sillage. It does not live up to its stated concentration of parfum and behaves more like an eau de toilette or eau fraiche. I will however think of this as my holy grail fragrance and no doubt be mourning its loss when my bottle is empty leaving only wispy traces of the scent remaining like a ghost to haunt my scent memory.

Final thoughts: this would be nicer if it truly was a parfum concentration, with some real staying power. I would also love this in a rich body cream and matching soap and body wash. This would make a wonderful scent for a bride to wear as it is light and not overwhelming, especially when you need to embrace a ton of people at the event, plus orange blossoms are a traditional flower for the bride.
The Imperial Fountain
The Les Parisiennes bee bottle





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