Perfume Review & Musings: Pamplelune by Guerlain (1998)
Pamplelune is part of the Aqua Allegoria line and was composed by nose Mathilde Laurent who is also the creator of Shalimar Light (the 2003 version) and of Attrape-Coeur. It was launched in 1998.
Pamplelune offers an original variation on the grapefruit theme. It is a fresh and sophisticated fragrance with a marked presence, some may say, too marked a presence. It is not as light and fruity as some of the other Allegorias. This scent contains certain asperities and it does not compromise with pleasantness. 
The perfume opens up with a burst of acidic, juicy grapefruit enhanced by other citrus notes like bergamot and petit grain. Some dryness is immediately apparent, I can smell light, dry touches of patchouli. I also detect some mint. Next, the perfume becomes rounder, sweeter, fruitier and a little flowery with the neroli and the blackcurrant notes becoming most apparent to my nose. Then, the sweetness starts receding and a more acrid, austere accord emerges with the fruity grapefruit still in the background but now softened down. It is at this stage that the sulphurous note that is natural to grapefruit and blackcurrant makes its presence felt. The perfumer has chosen to emphasize this aspect of the fruits rather than suppress it, unlike the choice made for Eau Fantasque by Fragonard which also contains both these notes. It is a very astringent and dry, even acrid note, that is not unpleasant, but certainly not "easy."
Luca Turin proposed a small experiment where he suggested we should try smelling garlic and Pamplelune side by side to catch a whiff of the common sulphur note. Out of curiosity I decided to follow his suggestion and did perceive the kinship between the two but I must say that despite this, I would not say that Pamplelune reminds me of garlic or spring onion.
However, Pamplelune does evoke B.O. to me as the drydown progresses. It makes me think of natural musk but since this note is not mentioned, it looks like it is the result of an accord. This odor is very present and becomes more pronounced as the drydown evolves.
Pamplelune is a difficult fragrance to wear in the context of the "deodorized society" in which we live nowadays in the West where body odors are supposed to be masked, and an agreable, non-offensive, scented barrier put between you and the rest of society. This trend I would say is particularly strong in the US where the acronym B.O. perfectly illustrates the deep fear most people have of smelling a little too natural that is, bad. In 17th century France, for example, it was not so, people wore perfumes to enhance their natural body odor according to cultural historian Alain Corbin, hence a marked taste for animalic scents such as amber, musk, and civet.
Personally, I like Pamplelune because I find it interesting. It goes against the grain of current societal preferences and affirms a personality of its own. Out of the many Guerlain fragrances I smelled one afternoon at their counter, this one stood out (together with Mouchoir de Monsieur and Angélique Noire). I had the opportunity to sniff Grosellina and Tutti Kiwi that same day and didn't like nor hated them.
Earlier today I stopped by The Body Shop and tested their new Rose Cassis. Well, my conclusion is that between smelling controversial and smelling cute (and sickeningly banal in this case), I'll choose the controversial perfume anytime.
Notes are: California Grapefruit, Italian Bergamot, Neroli, Petitgrain, Black Currant, Patchouli, Vanilla.
You can find a 4.2 oz bottle of Pamplelune for $33.73 at Amazon.com
There is a review of Pamplelune by Cait Shortell available here on Legerdenez
Previous Posts in Perfume Review & Musings:
Perfume Review & Musings: Violetta di Parma by Borsari 1870
Perfume Review & Musings: Eau de Patou by Patou, plus Mother's Day Perfume Giveaway
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Comments
Foo. Devoted Guerlain love slave that I am, I cannot enjoy this one. I have no objections to B.O., but this one is all cat pee on me. THAT I object to. (I have a gift for bringing out the, uh, boxwood in many a fine fragrance.) Fascinating note about perfumes worn to enhance body odor, by the way.
Posted by: marchlion | May 5, 2006
March,
Now that you say it, I completely agree with you, it does smell of catpee. But, I still like it. It's that same uriney note one finds in a musk tincture or civet that mixes so well with other refined notes in a perfume. I also love the fact that I can smell my natural skin scent more when wearing pamplelune.
Edmond Roudnitska says some very interesting things concerning the perfumer's appreciation for civet despite the fact that, as he says so himself, it smells of s*#t.
I'll find this quote and will also try to post something on the civet note sometime. I'm fascinated by this ingredient and I love it in Tonatto's Oropuro.
Posted by: Mimi Froufrou | May 5, 2006
My impression when trying this was a grapefruit that had been sprayed by an un-neutered male cat. I assume the later is from the black currant note. What were they thinking?
Posted by: Jim Barnett | March 2, 2008
Lol -- pardon my perversity, but I love this perfume.
Posted by: Marie-Helene | March 2, 2008
i have bought it and liket it lots. it was only after reading some reviews when i thought of BO, and honestly, i kind of want to fight for this interestinf perfume by wearing it whatever people say.
i also like layering / combining it with mandarine basilic from the aqua allegoria line
Posted by: jana | December 7, 2008
Hey, I want to have sex with my right arm that smells of Pamplelune, so how perverse is that? :)
Seriously though, Pamplelune I only tried today for the first time and it was instant love, I think. Not only in terms of scent but also composition, as I see the perfume as remarkably well done. The cat pee association, although present, is by no means a detractor to me. Did I mention just how sexy this perfume is? Told ya, a pervert :-D
Posted by: Dusan | October 24, 2009
I think this is one elegant perfume, despite the little sweaty aspect. Elegant sweat? I think so.
Posted by: Marie-Helene Wagner | October 26, 2009
I've just bought my first bottle of Pamplelune as something fresh and light for summer. I don't detect cat pee at all (and this is from someone who has smelled the real thing all too recently!), but I do agree about the B.O. comments. I still in fact quite like it!
Posted by: Katie | May 30, 2010
It's a great one!
Posted by: Marie-Helene Wagner | May 31, 2010
I am a Guerlain girl, and this is my favorite daytime fragrance (I tend to wear the Mandarin-Basilic scent when I go out in the evening). I find the Pamplelune to have more of a floral-rose note as the day wears on, and I get nothing "cat pee" or otherwise unpleasant from it. Interestingly, as I tend to exercise at night, the rose-like note that I detect becomes more pronounced when I sweat, but still remains subtle and not unpleasant at all.
Posted by: Amy Taylor | April 4, 2011