L'Heure Bleue by Guerlain c1912

L'Heure Bleue: (the blue hour) was created by Jacques Guerlain in 1912. Pronounced "LERR-BLUH." It was inspired by the most romantic time of the day, twilight, before the first stars appear in the sky, bluish dusk and anticipation of night.

c1937 ad

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It is a classic floral-oriental (spicy-amber) perfume for women. Gorgeous notes of orange, Bulgarian rose, iris, heliotrope, vanilla, vetiver and musk. Suave and ingenuous, brilliant, and subtle all at the same time.

• Top notes: spikenard, anise, orange, bergamot, lemon, neroli, tarragon, coriander, sage, thyme
• Middle notes: orange blossom, Bulgarian rose, heliotrope, jasmine, carnation, tuberose, violet, orris, ylang ylang, neroli, rose otto
• Base notes: myrrh, opoponax, ambergris, vanilla, tonka bean, iris, musk, sandalwood, St. John's wort, benzoin

L'Heure Bleue made use of some aromachemicals: vanillin, methyl ionone and coumarin.

Marie-Claire, 1937:

"L'Heure Bleue by Guerlain: fresh and subtle. Dominant note: floral. For redheads."

In very old bottles of L'Heure Bleue, you might experience a camphoraceous like opening upon first sniff. This is due to the chemical makeup of several of the herbal ingredients: sage, coriander, St John's wort and anise. All of these herbs share camphor ketones. During the aging process of the perfume, especially in older, sealed bottles, these ketones are released as part of a natural breakdown of the materials. This will result in a camphor-like scent. Also tonka beans contain camphoraceous qualities as well, as pure coumarin is exuded from the beans as "tonka bean camphor". This appears on the surface of the beans as a white crystalline powder.

Combat, 1953:

"L'Heure Bleue by Guerlain - amber, orange blossom, heliotrope, opoponax, warmed by jasmine, with spikenard, myrrh, Dioscorides thyme and a hundred essences delighted with evening spells. It is the pensive, and gently heady hour, when the distant strive to resemble a Corot and the flowers, on the brink of sleep, refine their last breath. The whole park softens and prepares to receive the mandolin players, the beautiful earphones and the slightly crazy marquis who will soon embark for Kythera."

The line consisted of the following products in the late 1960s-1970s:

• Parfum
• Parfum Spray
• Eau de Toilette
• Eau de Cologne
• Spray Cologne
• Film Spray Parfumé
• Capillaque
• Bath Oil
• Déodorant
• Talc 
• Crème Hydratante
• Flanelle pour le linge

Bottles:

The perfume was housed in the Bouchon Coeur flacon (parfum), the Borne flacon (parfum), the Guerre flacon (parfum), the Goutte flacon (eau de toilette), the Capsule flacon (lotion vegetale), the Parapluie flacon (parfum), and the Montre flacon (eau de cologne) and various spray flacons over the years. L'Heure Bleue was available in bath oil, stilboide fluid, lotion vegetale and other ancillary products.

"L'Heure Bleue" - (1912) Extremely rare in this large, solid crystal Baccarat bottle of colorless cubic section, molded decoration shoulder 4 scrolls, Carnette neck with his heavy cap hollow heart and rare cabinet Poplar first version illustrated polychrome paper wrapped titled, numbered. h: 25cm.

Advertising and Selling, 1931:

"Guerlain has adapted a graceful silver fountain motif to both the flat bottle and the carton of L'Heure Bleue."

This motif was again used in 1999 for a limited edition of L'Heure Bleue:

c1927

photo by monalisa

current box for 1 oz extrait

Limited Editions:

To celebrate the 100 years of L'Heure Bleue's birth, Guerlain pays homage to the perfume with two limited deluxe editions. First, a cobalt blue 490 ml Baccarat crystal quadrilobe bottle holding parfum, adorned with an impressive Gripoix necklace of violets cast in glass and 24-carat gold. Retail price: 11.000 €, or 6500 € without the necklace.

Next, a box set featuring three new interpretations of L'Heure Bleue by Thierry Wasser, alongside a bottle of the regular Parfum. The blue velvet presentation case is decorated with silver pearl embroidery spelling the Guerlain name, an artwork by Lesage Atelier de Broderie. All four bottles are the 30 ml size.

The new interpretations are meant to symbolize the three parts of a day and night.

• Morning - L’Aurore (Eau de Toilette)
• Midday - Le Zénith (Eau de Parfum) 
• Midnight - Le Crépuscule (Parfum)

They are composed with orange blossom, orris, heliotrope, white musk and gourmand notes, clearly inspired by the original classic but with a luminous and modern twist. The boxed set retails for 3000 €. The Eau de Parfum version will come out as standard-priced Parisienne edition in 2013.

The three interpretations's labels show clock hands, each one poised at the different times of the day.