L'Heure Bleue is inspired by Origan is an extremely
risqué statement, also very naïve considering that only a fraction of the Guerlain perfumes pre 1912 were available to draw a conclusion when this phrase emerged in the past. I do not add to that other perfumes from 1895-1905 proposed by several Parisian houses, less skilled in the commercial promotion on the other side of the Ocean.
Like many naïve statements provoked by the genuine admiration for Coty, one should remember that his genius was not responsible for everything in the history of modern perfumes, nor did he invent it. History is often forgotten and distorted by the lenses of the present. The same stands for the relation Mitsouko / Le Chypre. Guerlain's perfume is better, the formula is more beautiful and concise, but Coty had the name. Even the Houbigant version is better than Coty because it is based on the original XVIIIth century formula, but Houbigant lacked the commercial skills of Coty.
To understand the misconception one should analyze first one of the most common source of errors in perfumes. It is the difference between correlation and consequence in the relation cause-effect in the genealogy of scents, something which can be forgiven to the inexperienced nose, but has no reason to be used as an argument and worse, perpetuated.
Just because two desserts like nougat and baklava share a high content of "sugar" (honey) doesn't make them similar unless you are hungry. The relation between l'Heure Bleue and Origan is like the link between Angel and Lolita, the only thing shared by the modern formulae is the edible inspiration which is not even similar. If I give the 20+ short formula of the marvelous Mugler perfume you will never arrive to twist it into Lolita until you eliminate its bones or what makes Angel an Angel perfume.
If for these two modern perfumes the error of judgment can be easily corrected with 2 blotters from the closest perfume shop, it is not the same for l'Heure Bleue and Origan.
Because it is extremely difficult to smell them side by side and in the specific context of the era, it is more easily to say that l'Heure Bleue was inspired by Origan or that Jacques Guerlain was constantly inspired by François Coty, which is rather false. Another victim of misconceptions is Liù. How important was in fact Coty? His power is explained by those who perpetuated his memory considering him a great genius and because of his empire who made the name extremely known in USA since the late 30's when the new owners of Coty moved to New York and changed their names. The fascination with Coty emerged after Roudnitska because the master, searching for a new style, rejected his own "pastry", the abuse of vanillin and heliotropine from Femme, based on the original Rumeur from Lanvin idea (Prunol is also an interpretation of a Synarôme base), and he could not make Jacques Guerlain his idol who represented the old school in the 60's. Many generations idealized Coty without having real access to his creations because after 1960 his perfumes produced in UK and USA were a shadow when they began to be sold in drugstores. One should not forget Lalique in the story and the fascination with his bottles since the late 80's. This had also a strong impact for the new generations in the perfume industry adding a greater layer of deserved fame to Coty and undeserved thoughts to the genius of Jacques Guerlain. Of course Le Chypre was better than Mitsouko because it was not available to anyone and everything from the past becomes a legend! Of course l'Heure Bleue was inspired by l'Origan because it is hard to admit in France that a very good perfume did not originate elsewhere!
The transfer is incorrect when it comes to the scent of the perfumes created before 1920's. To say that l'Heure Bleue was inspired by Origan means that you recognize you can draw a line between the 2 perfumes from the same family as if they share the same structure or bones.
It is true that Origan had something unique and never done before but when the two perfumes and their formulae are put side by side, in the context of the era, near other perfumes from the same family and in the correct genealogy of accords, the analogies are blurred away.
The entire complexity of Origan, one of the most amazing perfumes ever and one of my favorites, can be summarized as an harmony between 5 main directions (extreme sweetness, clove spiciness, orange flower, powdery orris and musk), an idea which can be traced back to the XVIIIth century. The accord of Origan, though it largely depends on several strong molecules still new on the market early 1900 and not used in their pure form by Coty, can be turned back easily to its 100% natural version, much older, but without the same original impact. Origan was first a powder and became a reference to this type of note. But as a perfume for powder it was also influenced by the formulae of the century which abused on scented powders. The composition principle is old, the materials were new, the result impressive. Take some XVIIIth century powder formulae and replace the natural ingredients with their more powerful crystalline molecules. If the idea is extremely old, the new perfume from Coty proposed a reconfiguration, more modern than any other perfumes at that time and without an historicist approach like Pinaud or Roger & Gallet did several years earlier.
L'Heure Bleue was in many ways different because, though it contains an orange flower note, it was not used to smell like an orange flower - the floral base in Origan - it was an essential part of another imaginary flower. The spicy carnation note is not the quintessence of L'Heure Bleue, unlike the beautiful Firmenich product which represents an essential part of l'Origan. François Coty used a carnation, Guerlain used a spicy accent and the difference is huge. The extremely sweet orris common aspect is the common aspect of a dozen other perfumes built after 1895 when synthetic vanillin and ionones / methyl ionones became available. Also, the orris note in Origan, Après l'Ondée and L'Heure Bleue is not the same, each time is a different combination which has a special effect and role. With only 4 orris products you can obtain a great variety of notes if you know their combinations. These molecules were used almost everywhere and one should smell the perfumes presented during the Universal Exhibition of 1900 to understand what was filling the air of elegant Paris.
Was Guerlain inspired by Coty? Only if you assume that Coty invented the heliotrope-vanilla note or the modern violet which were part of Guerlain heritage before Coty arrived in Paris and bought his first cologne bottle. Coty arrived in the world of Guerlain and not vice versa. He arrived in Paris and conquered the world, but his amazing perfumes did not emerge ex nihilo. He was helped the year when the first formulae were imagined. If one of his earliest perfumes is Ambre Antique, one should not forget the first Ambre from Jacques Guerlain.
The heliotrope note, an essential part in both perfumes, though differently rendered, is everything but the invention of François Coty. In fact, it is the trend of late 1880's when sweet heliotrope perfumes bloomed everywhere, from Cherry Blossom of the British house Gosnell to the amazing versions of Guerlain and Roger & Gallet, at their turn updated versions of the same note found in their catalogue several decades earlier. When Coty created Origan, Paris was already embalmed in vanilla-heliotrope-coumarine-new mown hay. You can smell the idea in an amazing overdose in Azurea (Piver), which is more related to the sweet facet of Heure Bleue. The combination between balsamic sweet notes and orris was also explored by Jacques Guerlain before 1905.
The aromatic facet, an important accent in the top note of Origan and l'Heure Bleue, but rendered differently, comes also from an XVIIIth century perfume formula set in a similar context and found in the work of a famous perfumer of that era called Dulac. The XVIIIth century craze is not uncommon. After Peau dEspagne and several years before 1900, there was an entire fashion for the rococo scents in Paris. Many houses redid their old formulae, but in a new fashion and with gorgeous rococo designs. A perfume to remember is Rococo à la parisienne (Guerlain, 1887).
The orange flower theme of L'Origan combined with soft spiciness and delicate sweetness comes from Coeur de Jeanette (Houbigant), the true ancestor who used in the last years of the XIXth century the very new floral molecules (attention, the year shown at the Osmothèque is incorrect). In fact, the floral idea of the Houbigant perfume became rapidly a perfume base created with the new available floral molecules from the jasmine, rose and orange flower families. This very beautiful forgotten base sold by de Laire and sharing the same concept with Coeur de Jeanette is used as a heart note inside l'Origan.
Jacques Guerlain did the version of this flower, without using the base, in the central floral accord of Après l'Ondée and the idea becomes obvious only when the formula is "decomposed".
L'Heure Bleue however is completely different and it should be considered in relation with Après l'Ondée and not at all with Origan. In fact, from the formula of Après l'Ondée one can arrive straight to l'Heure Bleue structure. A different central flower which smells like sweet pea, a different sweetness and the orris - oriental twist, the last theme is found also in the amazing Kadine.
What makes the huge difference between l'Heure Bleue and Origan, besides the different structure of the perfume, is the hyacinth sharp green molecule and the new aldehyde used by Jacques Guerlain, after Piver made its introduction several years earlier. Another huge difference between Guerlain and Coty is that at the time when Origan was created, Coty had at his disposal the work of other perfumers. His composition relies on the products from de Laire and Chuit Naef, while l'Heure Bleue relies only on the imagination and savoir faire of Jacques. Coty was not really alone in his creation. Jacques Guerlain had the power of the Guerlain books where everything was recorded and could be used later.
Did "Origan Coty" inspired "l'Heure Bleue Guerlain"? Not at all, but our mind tends to make an easier version of the past and prefers shorter names. After all, who would remember "Voilà pourquoi j'aimais Rosine" and the perfumes this Guerlain creation has inspired?
Lolita Lempicka versus Angel, L'heure bleue versus Origan, Eau de Cologne Jean Marie Farina Extra Vieille versus 4711 … the same old story. You remember the story you can remember, a shortcut. It is rarely History.
Origan and L'Heure Bleue are two amazing perfumes from a lost decade created by two great perfumers who signed so many masterpieces. There is no need to draw a line between them because this line of intentional inspiration does not exist, the inspiration, the technique and the result is very different.
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Fragrance is the 8th Art - Octavian Coifan - Le Parfum est le 8ème Art
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(1974)
