In this guide I have listed the various perfumes thatGuerlain launched from 1828-1990. Also included in a brief history of the company and other companies with the Guerlain name.

 Guerlain is one of my absolute favorite perfume companies, and they never cease to amaze me with all of their fabulous scents that are created every year. Perfumes of Guerlain are said to be inspired by the scents of confections and other gourmand treats. This common vanilla and amber accord is known as "Guerlinade" and was used in several of their perfumes. I love both amber and vanilla scents, so this could be why I am drawn to their perfumes.

 This is part one of two parts, please see Vintage Guerlain Perfumes Part 2 for bottle dating and other information.

Shalimar launched 1925

History

The House of Guerlain is one of the oldest perfume houses in the world. It was founded in 1828 when Pierre-Francois Pascal Guerlain opened up his first perfume store on 42, Rue de Rivoli in Paris. Pierre-Francois  composed and manufactured custom perfumes with the help of his two sons, Aime & Gabriel. His unique approach was to personalize perfume for a specific person, place or event. Honore de Balzac commisioned his own eau de toilette during the writing of Cesar Birotteau, and the periodical La Sylphide, le Journal des Elegances, scented each issue with a different fragrance by Guerlain.

Guerlain catered to the high society of Paris,  and obtained a very loyal following. The perfume house was so successful that Guerlain decided to open a flagship store at 15, Rue de la Paix in Paris in 1840. The house was at its peak in 1853 with it's fragrance Eau de Cologne Imperiale. This perfume gained Guerlain the prestigious title of His Majesty's Official Perfumer of France. This in turn led him to create perfumes for other royals such as Queen Victoria of England, Empress Sissi of Austria and Queen Isabella of Spain as well as other crowned heads of royalty.  

Pierre-Francois passed away in 1854 and his sons inherited the perfume house. Aime became the master perfumer, a tradition that would be upheld for the next master perfumer in lineage. Gabriel managed and further expanded the house. Aime, created several fragrances for the perfume house, these include Fleur d'Italie, Rococo, and Eau de Cologne de Coq and his greatest creation, Jicky.  In 1914, Guerlain moved to 68, Champs-Elysees Paris.

The business was then handed down to Gabriel's sons, Jacques & Pierre Guerlain. Jacques became the third master perfumer and created many fragrances in his lifetime. His creations include Eau de Coq, L'Heure Bleu, Apres L'Ondee, Shalimar, Vol de Nuit, Ode,  and Mitsouko. These perfumes were so successful that some are still sold today. Jacques grandson, Jean-Paul Guerlain is the fourth generation master perfumer and has authored several perfumes and men's colognes including Vetiver, Habit Rouge, Samsara, Nahema, Jardins de Bagatelle and many others.

Apres L'Ondee launched in 1906

The perfumes of Guerlain, in order of their introduction:

• 1828 Senteurs de Champs
• 1828 Extract of Roses
• 1828 Extract of Patchouli
• 1828 Extract of Frangipani
• 1828 Esterhazy Mixture
• 1828 Essence Bouquet
• 1828 Esprit de Reseda
• 1828 Esprit de Fleurs
• 1828 Eau de Portugal de Montpellier
• 1828 Eau de Miel
• 1828 Eau d'Arquebusade
• 1828 Bouquet de Roi d'Anglettere
• 1830 Eau de Judee
• 1850 Poudre Fine a la Violette (powder)
• 1853 Eau de Cologne Imperiale
• 1863 Voila Porquoi J'Aimais Rosine
• 1863 Parfum Imperiale
• 1863 Parfum de France
• 1863 Le Bouquet de Furstenberg
• 1863 L'Eau de Cologne Russe
• 1863 Delice du Prince
• 1863 Bouquet Napoleon
• 1863 Bouquet de L'Imperatrice
• 1872 Flor d'Aliza
• 1873 Muguet
• 1875 Cuir de Russi
• 1879 Fleurs de Serre
• 1879 Geranium d'Espagne
• 1880 Plantes Marines
• 1883 Rita
• 1883 Arôme d’Héliotrope
• 1883 Arôme Synthétique de Fleurs d’Espagne
• 1883 Arôme Synthétique de Fleurs de Champs
• 1883 Arôme Synthétique du Peau d'Espagne
• 1883 Avril a Fleurs
• 1884 Fleurs d'Italie
• 1885 Skine
• 1886 Excellence
• 1887 Rococo A La Parisienne
• 1889 Jicky
• 1890 Hegemonienne
• 1890 Au Bon Vieux Temps
• 1890 Violette a deux sous
• 1890 Eau Hegemonienne
• 1892 Belle France
• 1894 Eau de Coq
• 1894 Cyprisine
• 1895 Le Jardin de Mon Cure
• 1989 Tsa-Ko
• 1899 Dix Petales de Roses
• 1900 Voila Pourquoi
• 1901 Violette Madame
• 1901 Bon Vieux Temps
• 1901 Fleur Qui Mert
• 1904 Violette Qui Embaume
• 1904 Monchoir du Monsieur
• 1904 Champs-Elysees
• 1905 Avril en Fleur
• 1905 Ai Loe
• 1906 Muguet
• 1906 Apres L'Ondee
• 1907 Sillage
• 1908 Une Rose
• 1909 Chypre de Paris
• 1910 Quand Vient L'Ete
• 1911 Kadine
• 1911 Pour Troubler
• 1912 L'Heure Bleue
• 1912 Vague Souvenir
• 1912 Fol Arome
• 1914 Mi-Mai
• 1917 Pois de Senteur
• 1917 Jasmiralda
• 1919 Mitsouko
• 1920 Eau de Fleurs de Cedrat
• 1921 Guerlinade
• 1922 Rue de la Paix
• 1922 Aroma Helio
• 1922 Jacinthe
• 1922 Jasmin d'Siam
• 1922 Fragrance
• 1922 Vera Nova
• 1922 Vetiver
• 1922 Ger d'Espagne
• 1923 Ne M'Oubliez  Pas
• 1923 Secret de Bonne Femme
• 1923 Superdulci
• 1923 Poudre Aux Ballons
• 1923 Elixir de Guerlain
• 1923 Imperiale
• 1923 Bouquet de Faunes
• 1924 Candide Effleuve
• 1924 A Travers Champ
• 1925 Shalimar
• 1927 Djedi
• 1928 Jasmine
• 1929 Liu
• 1930 Guerlilas
• 1930 Guerlarose
• 1930 Eau Aromatique de Montpellier
• 1933 Vol de Nuit
• 1933 Sou le Vent
• 1933 Loin de Tout
• 1936 Vega
• 1936 Verveine
• 1936 Violette A Deux Sous
• 1937 Coque d'Or
• 1937 Cachet Jaune
• 1945 Dawamesk
• 1945 Kriss
• 1945 Veritable Eau de Cologne
• 1947 Une Rose
• 1947 Fol Arome
• 1948 Chypre 53
• 1949 Fleur de Feu
• 1950 Paris-Gem
• 1950 Le Quai Aux Fleurs
• 1952 Atuana
• 1955 Ode
• 1961 Vetiver
• 1961 Faena
• 1962 Chant d'Aromes
• 1965 Habit Rouge
• 1969 Chamade
• 1974 Eau de Guerlain
• 1975 Parure
• 1979 Nahema
• 1983 Jardins de Bagatelle
• 1985 Derby
• 1989 Samsara

The following perfume names were found, but I am unsure of their launch dates:

• Abeilles
• Amade
• Amanda

• Au Goût du Jour

L'Heure Bleue launched 1912

Some Guerlain perfumes have some interesting histories:

Jicky: was reportedly named after the girl who broke Aime Guerlain's heart when he was a student in England. It is also the nickname Aime Guerlain gave his favorite nephew,Jacques. This was the first perfume to include synthetic scents and was heralded the first "modern" perfume, some name this the ultimate fougere.

Eau de Cologne Imperiale: created for the Empress Eugenie,wife of Napoleon III. The bottle bears the Napoleonc 18-kt gold bees, symbols of the French Empire at the time.

Apres L'Ondee: has notes of bitter almonds and wet stones. Its name means "After the heavy (Summer) Showers."

Nahema: was the bold and untamed "Daughter of Fire" in Scheherazade's A Thousand and One Nights.Created by Jean-Paul Guerlain.

L'Heure Bleu: "The Blue Hour", the time just before twilight, said to be the most romantic time of the day. A cool, mysterious perfume.The bottle design was designed by Raymond Guerlain in collaboration with Baccarat.

Sillage: In French the word Sillage refers to the wake of a ship, created by Jacques Guerlain..

Mitsouko: Japanese for "Mystery" and named for one of the heroines in Madame Butterfly,this was done in part as a tribute to Claude Farree,the librettist, who had written so enthusiastically about Jicky in one of his earlier stories. This perfume came out at the same time the first World War was ending.  Mitsouko was probably created to be the warm counterpart of L'Heure Bleu.

Shalimar: Named after  the garden in Srinagar, built for Mumtaz Mahal, wife of Shah Jahan in honor of his wife. Shalimar was one of the first scents to incorporate the synthetic vanilla compount, vanillin. I read somewhere that Shalimar was created from mixing Jicky and vanillin. Shalimar is the flagship perfume of Guerlain.The design of the bottle was designed by Raymond Guerlain and Baccarat and remains the most successful of all the Guerlain perfumes.

Vol de Nuit: created by Jacques Guerlain, a tribute to author-aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery and Air France.Every year the Air Force College at Salon-de-Provence orders Vol de Nuit in presentation boxes decorated with the emblem of the French Wings.These are distributed by the cadets during official visits to other countries.

Candide Effleuve: was intended to connote the innocent touch of a young woman.

Mi-Mai: inspired by the mild month of May, created by Jacques Guerlain.

Champs-Elysees: this perfume was created by Jacques Guerlain and is named for the Parisian avenue where the Guerlain shop is located.

Liu: was named after the heroine Liu in Puccini's opera Turandot.

Chamade: La Chamade has two meanings in the French language: the wild beating of the heart and the drumbeat of surrender.

Chant d'Aromes: this perfume took seven years to complete, it is composed of the subtle qualities of over fifty five ingredients including honeysuckle,gardenia,rose and jasmine.

Jardins de Bagatelle: named for the chateau and gardens built for Queen Marie Antionette in 1777.

Ode: the last perfume created by Jacques Guerlain with the help of his grandson Jean-Pierre, it is a perfume in similar composition to Jean Patou's famous perfume, Joy.

Liu by Guerlain circa 1929.

Please note that two other Parisian perfume companies should not be confused with the Guerlain family company are Marcel Guerlain & Hughes Guerlain.

These names are not affiliated with the Pierre-Francois Guerlain family although Marcel Guerlain was the same name as one of the heirs to the Guerlain family, there was no other connection. In light of this confusion, the Guerlain family adopted the slogan "Nous n'avons pas de prenon" (We have no first name) and brought a successful lawsuit against Marcel Guerlain, who then changed his company's name to the Societe des Parfumeurs Francais. Marcel Guerlain was then using his own slogan when advertising in the USA: "no connection with any firm of  similar name".

 I have included some info about them in this guide for future reference. Marcel Guerlain founded his own company in 1923 and produced perfumes and cosmetics. He opened a splendid shop at 86 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honore in Paris.

The perfumes of Marcel Guerlain are as follows:

• 1923 Kadour
• 1923 Le Roy le Veult
• 1924 Caravelle
• 1924 Pavillon Royal
• 1924 8 et 9
• 1924 Pate D'Or
• 1925 Masque Rouge
• 1925 Ki-Loc
• 1925 Mai Wang
• 1927 9
• 1927 Contes Choisis
• 1928 Chypre
• 1929 Rolls Royce
• 1930 Aimee-Aime

He also formed seven other perfume companies such as the Hughes Guerlain company and launched four fragrances that I know of, Extrait 9, Extrait 14, Bolide, Molny, and Aime, probably manufactured in the 1920s-1930s. Other companies are Helen Gys (using HG initials),Gys, La Societe des Parfumeurs Parisiens, Les Parfums d'Agnes, and Marlaine.

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