Celebrating the one year anniversary of Guerlain’s art-inspired luxury collection, L’Art & La Matière, the French house today releases three new oud fragrances, each intending to explore the more unexpected aspects of the iconic agarwood note. To introduce the new perfumes to the region, the Moroccan artist Ghizlane Agzenaï was selected to create new ‘collection plates’ – the interchangeable flacon lid designs that top Guerlain’s L’Art & La Matière bottles.
Inspired by “the thousand and one colors of oud wood”, the rising star artist used geometric shapes in a palette of intensely vibrant colors, with nods to Arabian cultural designs. “Color has always been a central element in my work,” shares Agzenaï. She was also influenced by American avant-garde Minimalism, for a true Middle East-meets-West intersection.
Each of the three new L’Art & La Matière Guerlain perfumes celebrates sustainable oud in its own way, using the art world as a reference point. Created by Guerlain perfumer Delphine Jelk, Oud Nude is a spicy and warm perfume, inspired by the curves and sensuality of a Constantin Brâncuș sculpture. The notes include the titular oud, white almond, cumin, raspberry, cedar, sandalwood, and vanilla.
Cherry Oud, also a Delphine Jelf creation, embodies oud wood lacquered in cherry, a contrast of red and black, like a Jeff Koon’s sculpture finish. The fruity floral includes oud, cherry, cinnamon, cardamom, Turkish rose absolute, and Bulgarian rose essence.
The third fragrance, Oud Khôl, was envisioned by Guerlain’s master perfumer, Thierry Wasser. “In this work on oud wood, I wanted to capture the incandescence of bakhoor, the captivating incense that has been burned for centuries in the Middle-East,” he says of the smoky wood and leather perfume. Drawing parallels to Anish Kapoor’s Absolute Black work, Oud Khôl is a “dark” fragrance, with heavy oud, aldehydes, leather, smoke, moss accord, and caramelized praline.
