Chamade Guerlain (1969)Eau de Parfum

Bottle Design Robert Granai, Raymond Guerlain

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Top 82 in Women's Perfume

8.3 / 10 208 Ratings

Chamade (Eau de Parfum) is a popular perfume by Guerlain for women and was released in 1969. The scent is floral-spicy. The longevity is above-average. It was last marketed by LVMH.

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Perfumer

Jean-Paul Guerlain

Fragrance Notes

Top Notes	Aldehydes, Bergamot, Hyacinth, Jasmine, Rose
Heart Notes	Lilac, Galbanum, Clove, Lily-of-the-valley
Base Notes	Amber, Benzoin, Peru balsam, Sandalwood, Tolu balm, Vanilla, Vetiver

Ratings

Scent

8.3 (208 Ratings)

Longevity

8.5 (145 Ratings)

Sillage

7.4 (147 Ratings)

Bottle

8.8 (154 Ratings)

View Video of Chamade (Eau de Parfum) (Vimeo)

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 12.01.2020.

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Reviews

05/03/2014

4
Scent 5
Longevity 5
Sillage 7.5
Bottle

WRoth
153 Reviews

WRoth

Very helpful Review 3

Chamade

This fragrance opens with an intense floral bouquet and a dash of pepper. The spice adds zest to a composition which without it would have been too simple. As the notes bloom on my skin, I identify jasmine and rose as the key players of the accord. Once the flowers burn up most of their intense sweetness, they reveal a smooth base of spices and wood. A dash of ambery and creamy notes joins the three in a harmonious union. The fragrance becomes lighter and creamier as it progresses, reminding me more and more of old-fashioned barber soap. This is the last stage of the scent’s development.

03/16/2013

8.5
Scent 8
Longevity 7
Sillage 10
Bottle

Gold
469 Reviews

Gold

Helpful Review 3

A perfect perfume

Other reviewers have contributed to this section on "Chamade" in detail, so I won't waste your time... just let me say one thing: Chamade from 1969 is one of the most perfect fragrances ever!
Why do I adimre it? It's utterly elegant, understated refinement in a bottle. Furthermore, Chamade has the advantage of smelling like no other fragrance.
Best enjoyed in pure perfume form, it reminds us of the fact that luxury is an affirmation of our own inestimable worth.

02/19/2013

10
Scent 7.5
Longevity 7.5
Sillage 10
Bottle

Sherapop
1239 Reviews

Sherapop

Top Review 11

Regal and Divine

Somehow Guerlain CHAMADE survived in all its glory and splendor and nobility. Nearly everything else chez Guerlain went under the accountant's knife and ended up looking like a botched nose job, like the mother of an ex beau of mine. She was so beautiful before, I know because I saw photos hanging in their home. She had a nose with character, which made her look strong and wise. Then she went under the knife and came out looking like she'd had Christie Brinkley's pug pushed into her face. As though she were Mr Potato Head with changeable face parts. The result was infelicitous, to say the least. Yes, sad to say: she looked more like Mr. Potato Head than she did like a human being and nothing like her former self. So, no: Michael Jackson was not alone, may they both rest in peace. Moral of the story: don't go under the knife, you'll come out looking worse than before and, on top of that, you'll be scarred for life with the badge of your low self-esteem.

Nothing of the sort has happened to CHAMADE, one of a cluster of perfumes which I reach for when I'm looking for genuine beauty. It's a perfectly balanced composition of mixed floral and various and sundry other notes with a light aldehydic opening--some days it seems stronger than others--followed by the sudden plummeting of tons of rose petals from above as though they have been released like pent-up raindrops trapped in a cloud until God or reasonable facsimile scratches the glass. In a swoosh they tumble down in all their glory from the heavens onto my head.

The scent is truly divine, and every time I wear this perfume I recognize again how so much of what goes by the name of "perfume" these days is really nothing of the kind. We have lots of fragrances and scents, but how many bona fide perfumes are being launched these days?

CHAMADE has survived, a reminder of the good old days, when perfumers toiled for years before launching a single creation rather than rolling out dozens of random-note generator Lego castles at the same time.

01/31/2013

7
Scent 7.5
Longevity 7.5
Sillage 5
Bottle

Missk
1165 Reviews

Missk

Very helpful Review 4

Good, old-fashioned charm

I was so very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to test Chamade in its pure parfum concentration. One whiff of this rare Guerlain masterpiece, and you'll find yourself 'ooohing and ahhhing' all day long.

I found myself quite taken with the somewhat green and Spring-like opening. My only fear was that it would become similar in both style and approach to Mitsouko, which is a well-loved favourite of mine. Thankfully Chamade, although green, is more floral and less dry. It also had an underlying classic powderiness.

On my skin, this fragrance is gentle and endearing. It makes me think of a good little housewife from the 50's, serving up plates of scones with jam and cream. Chamade is quaint and feminine with that good old-fashioned charm.

The heart becomes quite flowery, at which point the greeness becomes less sharp and more smoothed out. On hot skin, or even during Spring and Summer, I find Chamade much more pleasant smelling, however in cold weather it smells oddly like baby wipes. I won't be attempting to wear Chamade during Winter again, that I can promise.

I agree that the galbanum, aldehydes and hyacinth are the notes that sum up Chamade the best. In the pure parfum, I find the rose less dominant, and if noticeable at all, is fresh rather than richly scented. Another interesting thing I find, is the somewhat sugary drydown. At first I braced myself for something nauseating, however what I smell is rather befitting of the whole composition. The vanillary sweetness compliments the dusty, green florals perfectly.

I'm really happy to have found this fragrance, and even more pleased with the sillage and longevity. Do keep in mind however, that this review is for the pure parfum and that the EDT and EDP may differ considerably.

11/15/2012

LiliumLibido
51 Reviews

LiliumLibido

Helpful Review 7

Airy yet full bodied

A superb fragrance!

The aldehydes immediately take flight with the hyacinth, backed up with the soft sensuality of rose and jasmine, but with the brightness of bergamot: this first effect is one of gentle freshness, an ideal introduction to the rest of the composition.

In the heart is an another paradoxical combination: the fullness of lilac and lily and the valley, the green bite of galbanum, with a hint of spice (some clove, yes, but something else as well... I'm just not sure what) that seems to underscore the slightly spicy edge of the hyacinth from the top.

The base, oddly enough for a floral, could be perfect for any typical oriental scent, yet Jean Paul Guerlain found it appropriate for Chamade, and he was right: while on its own, it would be a warm, sweet, full bodied concoction, in this case it gives the earlier notes an unparalleled voluptuous feel.
(though I think that while all the basenotes have their role and place, the star trio here is the Peru Balsam/sandalwood/vetiver, it prevents the scent from getting too sweet, tones down the florals while carrying their sillage)

Chamade arrives almost muffled in its tone, a slow and steady rhythmic beat, not particularly melodious but impossible to get out of one's head. It's a cello, or a barytone, deeply hued, warm and glowing. Dramatic and compelling in that it really doesn't come off as a scent that wants to be noticed but its substance and texture are truly artful.

I do believe that all scents are appropriate for just about anything if you happen to be in the mood for it, but Chamade really has that top drawer classic feel that speaks more of 7 figure fund raisers than dashes to the local convenience store.

07/15/2012

jtd
484 Reviews

jtd

Very helpful Review 8

Chamade

Chamade captures the olfactory gestalt of Springtime like no other perfume. It smells like fresh stems, flowers, moisture, soil and rot. Succulence and indolence. More than a summary of notes, though, it smells like the sensations of Spring. It combines the acceleration of exploding growth and the leisurely pace of a world thawing over time. The rush of hyacinth pushing against the constraint of snow and pollen exploding from flowering trees convey the good-natured horniness and impatience of youth, yet the rebirth of the season is a free pass to young and old alike. The juxtaposition of the cool, crisp greenness and the burnished languor of the base, create a tension, an indeterminacy. It comments on one season but refers to the cyclical nature of time, posing questions without offering conclusions.

Springtime is classically the season of potential and therefore, expectation. It suggests wide-open horizons and dreams of love and success, but a crocus blooms only briefly and not all the chicks that hatch survive. Spring is equally passionate and cruel.

And I thought opera was melodramatic.

Chamade expounds on all of the above better than I could ever hope to. I avoid describing artwork as great because the ‘greats’ are usually a tally of opinions and ‘musts’. Greatness is held out as a threshold, a line to be crossed. Still, greatness in art has precedent. Great works are perennially rediscovered by individuals and generations because they are significant and remarkable. They express the meaning of their times at the same time that they offer advice to future generations.

Chamade is a great perfume and it can be read on many levels, another attribute of great work. Its meaning for you could be Springtime, the story and the era of the novel after which it is named (Francoise Sagan’s La Chamade) or the excellence of its composition. Most ‘great’ perfumes are cited for the measurable effect they had on the state of the art. Chamade didn’t spawn movements and artistic trends in that way that Fougère Royale, Mitsouko, Shalimar and other iconic perfumes did. Its lasting influence is its capacity to frame broader meanings through expert composition.

I know that my take on Chamade comes off like a litany of cheap platitudes, and I apologize for that. I’ve tried to write about Chamade numerous time, each time throwing out what I’ve written as it never seemed to capture the pertinence of Chamade. I still don’t do Chamade justice, but I’ve changed my goal from understanding it to acknowledging it.

froms scenthurdle.com

2 Replies

02/02/2012

7
Scent 7.5
Longevity 7.5
Sillage 10
Bottle

Lola82
362 Reviews

Lola82

Helpful Review 3

I Won't Surrender

The opening starts harshly with green notes Hyacinth and Aldehyde as it dries down it gets a little more softer and warmer consisting of amber dry sandalwood
and the oils of the tolu Balsam and i can
detect nuances of civet in little patches
Lilac with it's sharpness and spiciness
with it's delicate powdery rose holds
it own in a faintest of ways i'm going to be blunt here so.

do you think you'll Surrender to the
Magic of Chamade Unfortunily No.
Do you love the bottle Yes.
do you hate this fragrance no but it's not worth to purchase again.