Jean Kerleo

Mood Scent 4 Golden Oldies

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It is Mood Scent 4 Time again! Our monthly blogging project where Portia, (on A Bottled Rose) , Samantha  (I Scent You A Day) and Megan (Megan In St Maxime) write about a different subject linking perfume to mood or occasion. This time we picked Golden Oldies, those classic perfumes we hold fond memories of and have been with us for some time. Or those iconic old school classics which are well worth to try.

This time Samantha is with us again fortunately, although she is in her second lockdown in Wales as is Megan in France. Luckily we are not in lockdown in The Netherlands but things are fairly restricted and restaurants/cafes are closed. Portia is lucky to be more free to go outside, living in Australia. These are exceptional times for many of us to navigate. Back to Golden Oldies again, starting with iconic Jean Patou Joy.

Jean Patou Joy

‘Joy is a floral bouquet based on a very rich accord of two natural notes: jasmine and rose.’ Jean Patou

According to Jean Kerleo, former in house perfumer of Jean Patou and Osmoteque founder, Joy was a simple combination of jasmine and rose. It combined the richness of Bulgarian Rose and jasmine from Grasse. These two materials were used to create a very rich floral bouquet. Joy was launched in 1930, one year after the stock market crash of 1929 to become an icon in modern perfumery.

Two years after acquiring Jean Patou in 2018, LVMH has sadly decided to discontinue all Jean Patou fragrances. This is not very surprising. As Dior (which is part of the LVMH) launched a perfume in 2018 called Joy.  If you want to try Jean Patou Joy, 1000 or Sublime (another golden oldie love) grab a bottle from a discount store while you still can, otherwise you will have to visit the perfume archive Osmoteque in Versailles to smell one of these fragrances. I don’t know how these  ‘newer’ versions smell though and if they were reformulated to be a shadow of their former selves.

Personally I haven’t worn Joy as much as I have Jean Patou Sublime. Joy feels like wearing a very precious dark brown long mink coat, rich and luxurious to be enjoyed in the past but not from this era any more. Sublime however was created in the late eighties by Jean Kerleo and is reminiscent of this period when I was a student just living in Amsterdam. 

Hermes Caleche

Notes include aldehydes, bergamot, mandarin, orange blossom, jasmine, lily of the valley, rose, gardenia, iris, ylang-ylang, oakmoss, sandalwood, cedar, vetiver.

Named after a special type of light carriage, Hermes Caleche invokes a feeling of Parisian sophistication with classic silk dresses, expensive leather bags, beautiful handmade silk scarves and soft leather gloves. Created as an elegant easy to wear fragrance by Guy Robert, the newer Caleche which is now sold in the shops, has a become a more agressive aldehydic soap floral but still a refined fragrance. Soie de Caleche (the bottle on the photograph) was launched in 1992 and meant as a more easy to wear version to appeal to a younger audience. Both feel elegant and luxurious.  Caleche was launched in 1961. As a little side note: Kelly Caleche is a completely different fragrance from Hermes.


Puig Aqua Lavanda Colonia 

Notes include Lavender, Rosemary, Spike, Petitgrain, Bergamot, Clary Sage, Geranium, Musk, Tonka, Cedarwood and Moss

Aqua Lavanda (lavender water in Spanish) is very well known in Spain as many grew up with the soap bars and eau de cologne from this scent. Large plastic cologne bottles are sold in Spanish supermarkets (or online) for a song. Which doesn’t make the fragrance particularly attractive. One wouldn’t expect such a masterpiece to be sold at this price in these large plastic dishwasher like bottles. But no wonder Aqua Lavanda is such a fabulous fragrance. Aqua Lavanda was created by master perfumer Jean Carles! 

These are my 3 picks for Golden Oldies Perfumes. Have a look on Samantha’s blog I Scent You A Day Megan’s blog  Megan in St. Maxime  and Portia on A Bottled Rose, to read their choices too.

I Love To Hear From You
There have been some troubles with leaving comments before.  I hope you are able to leave your choice for Golden Oldies fragrances. Those fragrances you love to revisit from long gone era.

Disclosure: all fragrances were bought by me and all photographs were made by me as well. The two ads were found online.

Nicolaï Maharadjah Room Fragrance

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What will tomorrow bring

The best image to illustrate the scent of Nicolaï Maharadjah is the painting What will tomorrow bring? made by Henriette Hackenberg. The colours in the painting are found in the home fragrance Maharadjah. The blue from the lavender, brown from the cinnamon, dark red from the clove, gold for the warm vanilla and orange for the overall feeling of comfort. The roomspray and scented candle give me a cozy feeling of enjoyment in my house like the painting. They are a perfect match.

Nicolaï Paris is a French perfume brand which was founded by the French perfumer and president of the Osmoteque in Versailles, Patricia de Nicolaï. One could say the Osmoteque is a perfume museum and archive where one can attend lectures, have private consultations and scent old classic perfumes. It was founded by former Jean Patou perfumer Jean Kerleo.

Nicolaï has a large home fragrance collection including room diffusers, room sprays, scented candles, catalytic lamp liquids (for Lampe Berger burning lamps) with at this moment 25 different scents and 3 Christmas fragrances.

It has a perfume line as well, as most of you already know. Except for two, Just un Reve and Rose Oud, Nicolai perfumes do not work on my skin. Her perfumes are not my taste as I find them a tad too sweet.like adding one cube of sugar to my coffee which then overdoes it in sweetness. So I prefer the room fragrances for my home as most of them are perfumed treasures on their own.

Nicolaï Paris has a home fragrance line consisting of candles, room sprays, reed diffusers, essential oils, lamp liquids. It has a bath line as well.  My favorite room fragrance is Maharadjah. It is very well suited for autumn and winter and a bestseller in the Parisian Nicolaï shops.

The best image to illustrate the scent of Maharadjah is the oil painting is my living room, What will tomorrow bring? made by my dear friend Henriette Hackenberg. The colours in the painting can be found in Maharadjah. The blue from the lavender, brown from the cinnamon, dark red from the clove, gold for the warm vanilla and orange for the overall feeling of comfort. The roomspray and scented candle give me a cozy feeling of enjoyment in my house as does the painting. They are a perfect match.

Maharadjah comes as a scented candle, reed diffuser, essential oil, lamp liquid, room spray and used to be sold as eau de parfum. I have tried them all. It comes in a more intense version as well, with the same scent but a bit more intensified. The reed diffuser is my favorite.

This is not a fragrance if you are looking for a subtle home scent as its throw off and longevity are amazing. But this is what I personally enjoy. The reed diffuser lasted almost a year. I find it to be well worth its price of 46 euro.* As it is a high quality fragrance and a magnificant scent, a perfume bottled as a room fragrance giving pleasure for a year.  What more would one want for one’s home ?

Have you tried Nicolaï home fragrances ? Or do you use other home fragrances ? Which one are your favorites ?

All room fragrances can be ordered on the official Nicolaï website and the Perfume Lounge in The Netherlands.

More paintings on: Henriette Hackenberg’s website

Disclaimer: All products mentioned in this article were bought by me.

*Note 1: But price is always personal and what you are willing to pay for a (room) fragrance.

*Note 2 : This review discusses Maharadjah not the other scent from Patricia Nicolai Maharani, which is different.