Guerlain

Guerlain is one of the oldest and most storied names in French perfumery, founded in 1828 by Pierre-Francois-Pascal Guerlain, who began with soaps and cosmetics before building a house that would perfume several European royal courts. Its legacy passed through generations of family noses, from Aime Guerlain, whose Jicky introduced a synthetic touch and is often called the first modern perfume, to Jacques Guerlain, creator of L'Heure Bleue, Mitsouko, and the beloved Shalimar, and on to Jean-Paul Guerlain. The house has long favored rare, luxurious materials and pioneered the use of synthetics, and since 2008 Thierry Wasser has served as its in-house perfumer. Guerlain now sits within LVMH.

This corner of the house turns bright and breezy, built on fresh, airy materials touched with violet and a soft powdery finish. Watery and melon notes, wildflowers, and a cool sea-air feel make for an easy, sunlit profile. Aqua Allegoria Flora Salvaggia is the one to reach for, a luminous floral that shows how lightly nearly two centuries of craft can wear.