Chamade pour Homme was composed by Jean-Paul Guerlain in 1999 as a masculine counterpart of Chamade from 1969 and originally sold as a romantic pair in a double-bottle set called 'Les Cœurs de Chamade' for Valentine's Day. Chamade is a floral oriental, basically mixing bergamot, hyacinth, jasmine, blackcurrant bud and vanilla. In the time of Napoléon, 'chamade' was a very fast drumbeat that called to retreat of the troops during war, and this perfume is meant to emulate the surrendering heartbeat of a person in love. And Chamade is really a romantic, impressive fragrance - the mix of hyacinth and blackcurrant has resulted in a creamy-crisp note of new-mown hay on a burning hot summer day in the countryside.
The idea of making both a feminine and masculine fragrance out of the same name is not new in modern perfumery, but more often than not, the two fragrances are only loosely related. This also goes for Chamade and Chamade pour Homme. Chamade pour Homme has kept the central flowery theme of Chamade (here hyacinth and violet) which makes it Guerlain's only true floral for men. But instead of laying it on an oriental background as with Chamade, Jean-Paul Guerlain chose a bitter, potent and 'wet' chypre base of vetiver, nutmeg, wood and leather accord, and added a pinch of black pepper to enhance the spiciness of the flowers. This is basically Coriolan with extra flower notes on top. As simple as this might sound, the result is striking and - typical for Guerlain - very unlike most of what is created for men in today's perfumery. If you didn't love Coriolan before, you will after knowing Chamade pour Homme!
Chamade pour Homme's flowers make it at first smell nostalgic and dandified, like something created in the early 20th century. But combined with the bitter-wet base, the overall feeling is a more 'brutal' perfume, quite solemn and serious, though with a somehow dirty and lush twist. Chamade pour Homme is not for everyday use, it doesn't have a modern, loud trail, and it's not even obviously 'great'. It's a sophisticated, elitist perfume for men, kept secretly in the exclusive 'Les Parisiennes' line in Paris. It's wonderful to wear with a suit from time to time - if not for anything else then just to be reminded that even when Guerlain does something quietly, they do it with style.
Year: 1999
Perfumer: Jean-Paul Guerlain
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Thanks to Mr. Guerlain for the insightful review! Please check out his website for a plethora of information on Guerlain and it's history.
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