Guerlain and Harrods continue their collaboration in the form of the new exclusive Royal Extract II. This new fragrance is actually reimagination of Guerlain founder Pierre-François-Pascal’s firstborn -, ‘Royal Extract of Flowers‘ who supplied the greatest courts in Europe with precious fragrances in 1828.
Royal Extract II is to evoke a fairytale-like journey through a wild forest with notes of greenery, trees, moss, and intoxicating orange and hyacinth flowers.
The original version having been dabbed on the décolletage of aristocrats and fanned across ballrooms, it’s always thrilling to think of a wearing a fragrance of the past – to smell of history – but usually rather difficult to live with in actuality. Some may turn their noses up at ‘reformulated’ perfumes, but regulations, modern taste and scarcity of protected ingredients all play their part, and this is no mere copy of the original but a ‘re-orchestration’, if you will.
Today’s fragrance is housed in the iconic Guerlain “bee” bottle, in the Harrods colors of dark green and gold. It is available in Parfum concentration in a 125ml bottle at the price of £450.