‘ER, I THINK I MIGHT JUST USE THIS TO PUT MY GUM IN’; ‘L’ HEURE BLEUE’ by GUERLAIN (2026)

It was somehow very fitting that I got to smell the new ‘L Heure Bleue’ with my best friend Helen. We have a history with this perfume; with this house; as does any true perfumista worth their bath salt. As teenagers we would roam the department stores obsessively, smelling everything: one gravely important day, she discovered her ultimate holy grail, Après L’Ondée. Created in the same classical Golden Era by the genius Jacques Guerlain, the doleful, fresh almond anise pallor of this exquisite scent immediately brought tears to her eyes after we had asked the Guerlain assistant to show us the hidden treasures that were stacked beneath the more current sales desk. At that time we also discovered Jicky (‘No! Too pooey’ our fresh adolescent response; were nonplussed by Mitsouko, which just smelled fusty and old; but I know that although I have never, never been able to remotely pull it off, I was also uttery and totally mesmerized by the thick, mellifluous langour of the powdery…