An iconic citrus fruit from the sunny landscapes of Calabria in southern Italy, the mandarin offers an unexpectedly nuanced palette. For Mandarine Basilic Harvest, our perfumers have given a unique essence a leading role, sourced from mandarins picked before they turn ripe.
Unlike other mandarins, Marzolo mandarins ripen in March, so that in November their still-green zest gives off a slightly bitter fragrance. It’s this precise scent that piqued the Guerlain perfumers’ interest. Evoking the sudden blaze of fragrance that floods from the essential oil in the fruit’s rind when torn, this note emerges with bold immediacy. Used by Delphine Jelk in generous doses, Marzolo mandarin essence echoes the way the greenscent of the fruit first bursts forth before any sun has had the chance to soak it with sugary sweetness.
Almost startlingly dramatic, mandarin takes the lead among Mandarine Basilic’s ingredients, while the fresh, green summeriness of basil essence creates a contrast to mandarin’s zestiness. The result is a freshly dynamic and exhilarating reworking of the original eau de toilette’s aromatic and citrus star ingredients. As addictive as it is electrifying, Mandarine Basilic Harvest brings a brand new bittersweet flavour to the Aqua Allegoria collection.
Harvested by hand, Marzolo mandarins are sent straight from the tree to the two sfumatrice & torchio machines used to extract the essential oil in its peel. By firstly pressing the mandarins between two rollers before crushing them, the resulting mandarin juice is centrifuged to create a pure essence. This essential oil courses through the Mandarine Basilic’s signature with the energy of a lightning bolt, making it vibrate with a fiery burst of youthfulness.
An aromatic, sparklingly bright and luminous citrus fragrance. Juicy and tangy mandarin pulp meets the transcendent aromatic freshness of basil and the vibrant energy of green tea on a base of woody notes.
For this new Aqua Allegoria Harvest film, Guerlain’s Bee leaves the soaring heights of the skies behind and swoops down to earth in search of the emblematic gardens and fields behind the three fragrances. Exploring the ingredients at the heart of the scents, Guerlain’s bee offers an intimate view of the world as it follows the pickers as they go about their harvest. As the bee discovers those who work to produce the exceptional ingredients in perfume, it reveals the important human side to harvests and with it the wonder of Nature in all its truth and magnificence.
