Le Galion L’Astre (Rodrigo Flores-Roux) 2022 + Ava Gardner’s Perfume Giveaway

March 29, 2023March 30, 2023

The famous Hollywood sign on Mount Lee welcomes the magnificent Ava Gardner and her Walk of Fame star, shining in the sky – ©Pixabay ©DR ©Le Galion, Montage of Le Galion L’Astre ©Emmanuelle Varron

Over the past few months, my recent sniffing sessions with a colleague has broadened my olfactive knowledge and tastes. These meetings surprisingly conjured emotions and summoned memories with fragrances that I had forgotten or had never smelled. I observed this in my latest olfactory favourites: complex constructions, where the facets unfold while taking their time, exposing the raw materials under the lights and offering their best profile. Smelling these beauties can easily be compared to admiring precious paintings or sculptures in the most renowned museums. Perfume as a work of art: this is my point. You won’t be surprised to read that now, I spend some time on websites dedicated to “vintage” fragrances, which gave me the opportunity to buy Jacques Fath Love, Weil Zibeline and Balmain Miss Balmain.

Two Le Galion vintage bottles (Eau de Vetyver is a miniature) that were part of a sniffing session – ©Emmanuelle Varron

The new Le Galion L’Astre is created in the style that now holds me spellbound. There is a timelessness that distinguishes it from “here today and gone tomorrow” trends, withstanding the decades and even better, it refers to formerly magnified accords that I can now only “sniff” during my dedicated olfaction sessions with perfumes that no longer exist today. Do you like to leave a memorable scent trail, something powerful and with “sillage”? Here you are! Do you rail against linear perfumes that delivers everything barely sprayed? Welcome to an olfactory world of a thousand colors and shades of subtle harmony! Would you resist introducing such a treasure to those around you who consider perfume to be an art? Le Galion L’Astre which has unanimously made the eyes of my colleagues and perfumer friends shine and nostrils tingle.

Le Galion Sortilège 1957 ad featuring Ava Gardner – ©Le Galion archives.

This miracle is due to Nicolas Chabot, owner of Aether, Headspace and who “refounded” Le Galion in 2014. Le Galion is a renowned French brand whose famous perfumer Paul Vacher (Lanvin Arpège, Dior Miss Dior, Dior Diorling, and many more) was the owner and creator of the most beautiful references… including Le Galion Sortilège (1936) which, two decades later, would have the sublime actress Ava Gardner as its muse. The piquant cat eyes brunette of wild and sophisticated sensuality, was an ideal ambassador, and Paul Vacher made no mistake in entrusting her with this role. So much so that the incandescent John Ford “Mogambo” heroine asked the perfumer to compose a bespoke fragrance for her. And so was born Le Galion L’Astre, whose formula has of course remained secret for many, many years. It was on what should have been Ava Gardner 100th anniversary (she was born on December 24, 1922) that Le Galion and the Ava Gardner Trust joined forces to bring back L’Astre to life; the magician behind the new version is Rodrigo Flores-Roux, (Michelyn once nicknamed him “Rodripedia” because of his extensive knowledge of vintage perfumes and their composition). As a true master he can use 21st century raw materials while preserving the soul and spirit of a vintage creation. Givaudan’s Vice President of Perfumery worked from archives kept by the Trust and gave it a second and now public life, with a contemporary touch that avoids the pitfall of smelling “old-fashioned.”

Paul Vacher, Nicolas Chabot of Le Galion, Aether and Headspace and Rodrigo Flores-Roux ©Le Galion ©Givaudan, collage ©Emmanuelle Varron.

Le Galion L’Astre crackles with sensory fireworks from the first seconds. One can perceive that the flowers are at the center of the composition, with touches of spices to raise the temperature, and some aromatic notes to give it a wild aspect. The jasmine – tuberose – ylang-ylang – orange blossom quartet may well be a classic of perfumery, but here it is imbued with both a light and erotic spirit… and I gladly imagine myself rolling on a bed of petals with that irresistible fragrance. Cardamom and red ginger bring a spicy aspect that oscillates between freshness and opulence, without breaking the floral harmony. On my skin, the tuberose takes on a lot of breadth and gives a carnal twist that fits naturally with the amber and leathery accords that open over the minutes. The temperature does not drop but modulates in an olfactory score playing more willingly on nuances, gradually letting the tolu balm release its creamy and woody facets and give body to a vanilla more focused on sweetness than gluttony. Le Galion L’Astre seems to follow the rhythm of the heartbeat… irresistible when you wear it. Also notable is its modernity with a nod to the markers that are now attributed to “vintage” perfumes. This fragrance inspired by Ava Gardner is a welcome perfume in 2023… it does not revolutionize codes, it magnifies them.

Notes: grilled sweet fennel, cardamom (India), red ginger (Laos), wild thyme (Spain), jasmine absolute “vintage”, ylang-ylang (Comoros), tuberose concrete (India), orange blossom (Morocco), amber, suede, tolu balsam (Honduras), vanilla bean (Madagascar).

Disclaimer: Milles mercis to Le Galion for L’Astre laboratory sample provided for this review. The opinions expressed are my own.

Senior Editor’s Note: Le Galion L’Astre is dressed in the beautiful bottle originally created by Paul Dinand and reworked in 2022 by the designer with his grandson, Jules. A bottle with generous and sensual shapes, with retro reliefs but with a modernity that is very much of our time.

Emmanuelle Varron, Senior Editor and Paris Brand Ambassador

Thanks to Nicolas Chabot, we have a 100 ml bottle of Le Galion L’Astre for one registered reader in USA, UK and EU. YOU MUST REGISTER. ln your comment please tell us what you enjoyed about Emmanuelle’s review of Le Galion L’Astre and where you live. 3/29/2023 is Emmanuelle’s birthday. Join us in the celebration!!!! Draw closes 04/3/2023.

Le Galion L’Astre is available in “avant-première” on the brand’s website, and will be shown for the first time at Esxence 2023 (30^th March – 2^nd April) in Milan, booth M73.

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