Fragrance Of The Day: Mécanique Du Désir By Pierre Guillaume

Pierre Guillaume, a French perfumer and multi-user, never fails. Despite the regular production of fragrances within several lines of his brand, it never repeats itself and always surprises. He is adored by the press and industry insiders, he is applauded at the Pitti Fragranze perfume exhibition, and in the store, customers linger at his bottles longer than usual - after all, each fragrance always has its own story behind the scenes, which is equivalent to a small crime.

Mécanique Du Désir was awaited with a particular breath. After all, Pierre said that the “green period” in perfumery was over - almost all the latest fragrances were with “green” notes (bitter, tickling in the nose, herbal). He played enough with galbanum and hinoki and is now ready for new experiments. The idea for the new scent revolved around the French word "cambouis" - a waste product in a car engine in the form of dirty, black, oily and corrosive grease. The French also translate the name Mécanique Du Désir in two ways: this is how collectors coveted their vintage cars, and psychologists also reflect on the process of falling in love.

Pierre Guillaume recalls his childhood, when he spent time with his father in the garage all day. “As a true collector, he tried to convey to me the love and understanding of the beauty of antique engines. He rebuilt his Austin Hayles, Jaguars and Mercedes with great patience and passion, sinking his hands up to the elbows into the bowels of these magnificent sculptures on wheels. Every evening we returned home, smeared from head to toe with this black grease. It's amazing how not the most pleasant smell can be so attractive. Although it is associated with the happiest moments of my life, all this "engine sweat" with its harshness of gasoline and oil caused a kind of restless awe in my soul. Later, as an adult, I read the book by Jacques Lacarrier "Ce bel et vivace aujourd'hui" and, having understood all the poetry of this black substance,decided to go back to recreating the feelings that pissed me off. The challenge in working on Mécanique Du Désir was that I wanted to leave the deliberately masculine territory. Working with the smells of torn to shreds tires, smoking asphalt and diesel fuel, it is not at all necessary to draw in the head of males in greasy overalls … a girl in a leather jacket can also easily appear there."

Entering the garage, rows of luxurious retro cars open up. Perfectly smooth enamel and sparkling chrome steel sounds like metallic aldehydes and mandarin oil. Hands are immersed in the maze of mechanisms of the hood of the car, the main star of the composition appears on the stage - a sticky bud of black currant. Its inherent sweetness with the smell of chemical sulfur, due to the precisely adjusted concentration, recreates the coolness of aluminum, and not the synthetics of hairspray. And finally, the same black lubricant that made the car breathe and move an hour ago - a dark and exciting substance of guaiac resin, violet leaves, musk and amber.