Saturday 16 May 2015

NAPOLEON by Galimard

When Galimard were approached by "L’Association Action Nationale des élus pour la Route Napoléon" to create a perfume to celebrate the bicentenary of the passage of the Emperor from Golfe-Juan to Grenoble, Chantal Roux, Galimard’s co-owner, began by researching the man himself. Interestingly she found that Napoleon possessed an excellent sense of smell. He loved the scent of rose, orange water and violet, and as he was from Corsica had also grown up with the aroma of the scrubland. Any research on Napoleon will always reveal his love of the ladies, so Chantal thought it important to bring feminine notes into the fragrance in a way that meant it could be enjoyed by both men and women. On the 20th February 2015 Napoléon was launched at Galimard’s factory in Grasse.

So, a perfume inspired by a man who adored Eau de Colognes. Can it work?

Napoléon Fragrance Pyramid
The first sensation that you get is of a piercing citrus, in the style of the historical colognes, merging with a pepper and fig to give the impression of an aromatic fragrance. Interestingly this quality doesn’t disappear, it stays and is joined by the floral heart. The rose inhabits this space, although the orange blossom is lifted by the mandarin and remains effervescent. You have the merest touch of violet and jasmine in the centre, and although neither of them dominate, they skilfully aid the journey down to an earthy vetiver. The sandalwood is slow to appear above the patchouli and vanilla, although as we enter the dry-down it eases its way through.

The perfume retains its fresh opening even towards the end, it is just slightly muted, and the floral elements are perfectly in balance. This is a powerful fragrance from Galimard, and whilst it currently appears to be listed solely in their male section, it can easily be worn by ladies who like their perfume with a punch.

Described as a Floral Woody fragrance, Napoléon is available from their website as an EDP priced at €65 for 100ml.


1 comment:

  1. It sounds amazing Stephan. I actually have an old copy of France Magazine with an article in it about Route Napoleon.

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