Les Bains Guerbois Oud Laqué Review (Mathieu Nardin) 2022 + Formes et Matières Draw

March 4, 2022March 4, 2022

Les Bains Guerbois Oud Laqué found the perfect set in my personal lacquered humidor, with some of my favorite cigars… ©Emmanuelle Varron

If you are familiar with Paris in the 1980’s, Les Bains Douches probably rings a bell. At that time, it was one of the most famous nightclub in the world, a former spa ”de luxe” created in 1885 that has had a third life since 2015, when it became a magnificent 5 stars boutique Hotel. Jean-Pierre Marois, its owner, is passionate about perfumes, and that is probably why he launched first a Cologne and a candle, followed from 2017 by Eaux de Parfums dedicated to Les Bains Guerbois history’s key dates of nine fragrances (including Les Bains Guerbois 1992 Purple Night and Les Bains Guerbois 1986 Eclectic). February 25th was a big day for the brand as it debuted a new collection called “Formes et Matières” (shapes and material)” that highlights the decorative characteristics of Les Bains used in the rooms and halls that have been welcoming lovers of the place for several decades.

Les Bains Guerbois Oud Laqué and Les Bains Guerbois Damier artwork – ©Les Bains Paris

Les Bains Guerbois Damier (Checkboard), created by Fanny Bal ( who signed Les Bains Guerbois 2018 Roxo Tonic) is a nod to the spa-then-nightclub-then-hotel floors made of small two-tone tiles. A fragrance playing on contrasts of course, with the black tiles symbolized by black pepper, pink pepper and patchouli and the white ones by jasmine and musk. These sharp facets find an elegant transition thanks to an aldehyde opening and are quickly coated, without being suffocated, by sandalwood, Virginia cedar and cashmeran. Fanny Bal’s composition is hot and cold, woody and peppery, like Yin and Yang.

Jean-Pierre Marois, Les Bains Guerbois founder and Mathieu Nardin, Mane perfumer – Jean-Pierre Marois ©Les Bains, Mathieu Nardin ©Mathieu Dortomb.

Les Bains Guerbois Oud Laqué (Lacquered Oud) is the second fragrance of this new collection. Created by Mathieu Nardin (and his first collaboration with the brand), it is a tribute to the precious wood decor in rooms and bedrooms at Les Bains Paris. A fragrance of great sensuality, silky and warm flirting between spicy, leathery, flowery and balmy notes. Composed by the perfumer with great precision, they intertwine in light and subtle swirls that delight the senses and could be compared with wood’s grain.

Les Bains Guerbois Oud Laqué is a skin fragrance, irresistible from its opening. I first perceive an accord of dried fruits of undeniable delicacy, enveloping and warm. My olfactory memories transport me to the blond tobacco used by my father’s pipe-smoking friends, a smell that fascinated me as a child decades ago, and which still causes in me a stir worthy of a Proust madeleine. Then another familiar smell tickles my nose: that of waxed wood with encaustic, where a spicy freshness and the roundness of a precious wood mingle. This reminds me of our lacquered wooden baby grand piano which sat in the living room; my father personally took care of its luster with a little wax and a leather cloth. Here, clove and guaiac wood combine perfectly with cardamom to reproduce this other olfactory memory, playing on the contrasts between a powdery freshness and woody and balsamic scents that give it body. Les Bains Guerbois Oud Laqué continues its rise with a note of leather close to suede, on the border of animality, which adds a sensation I would compare with velvet. Les Bains Guerbois Oud Laqué remains in the specific elegance and sophistication of lacquered wood, with raw materials that match with finesse and warmth. In the middle of these woods, spices and dried fruits, I spot a flowery facet of great silkiness, but still very perceptible. Mathieu Nardin had the idea of poetizing his creation with a delicate and sensual note of geranium, which sneaks discreetly over the skin, without overshadowing the other raw materials. It is the high point of Les Bains Guerbois Oud Laqué, just before the balmy benzoin and the woody and smoky tones of gurjum seal all these noble materials in a skin scent that vibrates until the end of the night.

A typical Les Bains Paris 5-star boutique hotel bathroom, with precious lacquered wood on the walls and black and white floor tiles – ©Emmanuelle Varron

With this new collection dedicated to the shapes and materials that make up the identity of Les Bains Paris, Jean-Pierre Marois working with young up-and-coming perfumers. For Les Bains Guerbois Oud Laqué, Mathieu Nardin inaugurates his first collaboration with the brand with a sophisticated and sensual yet easy-to-wear fragrance, which I could define as a mirror of olfactory memories of my life. A mirror, like the reflection of lacquered wood.

Notes: cardamom, dried fruits, geranium, leather, clove, benzoin, guaiac wood, gurjum balsam.

Disclaimer: A huge “merci” to Les Bains Guerbois for the Oud Laqué bottle provided for this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Emmanuelle Varron, Editor

Thanks to Emmanuelle, we have a 10 ml of Les Bains Guerbois Oud Laqué from her own bottle for one registered reader in EU or USA. To be eligible, please leave a comment on Emmanuelle’s review and where you liveDraw closes 03/7/2022.

Available on Les the Bains Guerbois website and at the brand retailers, including Jovoy Paris.

Please read about Mathieu Nardin and the fragrances he has composes in our young perfumer series here

More about Fanny Balwho also was in our Young Perfumer Series

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