LVMH-owned beauty and fragrance house Guerlain has extended its luxury L’Art & La Matière line with three new scents, which together are called Shades of Oud.
The collection comprises the Oud Nude, Cherry Oud and Oud Khôl fragrances. It was launched in global travel retail on 1 September to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the relaunch of the L’Art & La Matière collection.
Each of the three fragrances was inspired by a renowned figure in the world of art. Oud Nude is a woody amber and spice fragrance that offers white almond, cedar wood milky sap, Madagascan vanilla and sandalwood notes. It was inspired by the sculptures of Romanian artist Constantin Brâncusi.
Cherry Oud was inspired by the glossy reds used by American pop-artist Jeff Koons. It is centred around a lacquered cherry accord with cinnamon, cardamom and Bulgarian and Turkish rose essences.
Oud Khôl takes inspiration from the ultra-black shade popularised by British-Indian artist Anish Kapoor. It offers leather, smoky oud wood accords, blended with moss accord and caramelised praline.
All three fragrances are available in 100ml and 200ml formats. They are housed in Guerlain’s signature octagonal bottle, engraved with the House’s Bee emblem. The flaçons were made with 15% recycled glass and can be refilled at selected Guerlain boutiques.
To highlight the creative spirit of the new fragrances, Guerlain has partnered with Moroccan artist Ghizlane Agzenaï to create a new artwork around Shades of Oud.
Agzenaï’s work features abstract graphic and chromatic motifs to reveal the olfactory colours of oud wood. The pattern features on the L’Art & La Matière bottles, a limited-edition plate and on the visual merchandising of selected Guerlain boutiques around the world.
As reported, the L’Art & La Matière Collection, described as the crowning jewel of Guerlain’s haute parfumerie offer, was originally launched in 2005. The revamped range takes inspiration from the art world and features a total of 21 eaux de parfums that use only the finest ingredients in the world of fragrance.
In addition to the three new Shades of Oud scents, the collection comprises a total of 21 scents. These are Frenchy Lavande, Herbes Troublantes, Œillet Pourpre, Épices Volées, Rose Chérie, Santal Pao Rosa, Rose Barbare, Joyeuse Tubéreuse, Cruel Gardénia, Embruns D’Ylang, Néroli Outrenoir, Bois D’Arménie, Iris Torréfié, Cuir Béluga, Angélique Noire, Spiriteuse Double Vanille and Tonka Impériale.
