L’Air du Temps

First (Van Cleef Arpels 1977) White Linen (Lauder 1978) T Air du Temps (spig carnation) L Air du Temps (Ricci 1948) Paris (Yves Saint Laurent 1984) Eternity (Calvin Klein 1988)... 

No two perfumers work in exactly the same way any more than do painters or musicians. There are styles in perfumery as there are in any other art, and the techniques that are used by perfumers can be seen to have changed enormously over the past hundred years, reflected in perfumes as different in their structure as Shalimar, L Air du Temps, and Tresor. These perfumes can be seen to epitomize three... 

From here students may go on to make accords between three or four materials, or between materials of different volatility, guided by their own intuitive sense, so as to arrive at an aesthetically pleasing balance. For example, ylang may be added to the combination of eugenol and benzyl salicylate to produce the basic note of carnation that occurs in L Air du Temps. 

Diagrammatically Carles represented the structure of a perfume in the form of a triangle divided horizontally into three sections representing the top, middle, and base notes, with the proportions between them as shown in Figure 9.1. A perfect example of a perfume formulated in this way is L Air du Temps. 

The Floral Salicylate Perfumes L Air du Temps, Fidji, Anais Anais, Paris... 

L Air du Temps of Nina Ricci must be regarded as one of the most important perfumes ever made. Not only has it enjoyed a great and enduring commercial success, but its influence can be seen behind the creation of a number of subsequent perfumes, such as Fidji, Charlie, Chloe, Anais Anais, and Paris, which can be thought of as forming a more-or-less well-defined family. It has also been the inspiration behind innumerable trickle-down fragrances, particularly for toiletry products and cosmetics. 

Created in 1948, L Air du Temps is a perfect example of a perfume belonging to what we have described as the middle period of perfumery, formulated around a structure composed of well-defined top, middle, and base notes. Its extraordinary simplicity, relying on natural products to give complexity and richness, not only makes it one of the most distinctive of perfumes but also a natural starting point for many derivative and often much more complex types of formula. 

During the early years of the century a number of successful perfumes had been made based on salicylates, usually on a combination of amyl and benzyl salicylate. Among these were floral-aldehydic perfumes such as Quelques Fleurs and Fleurs de Rocailles with a dominant lilac note, and Je Reviens based on narcisse and jonquille. Many of these perfumes also contained a combination of eugenol and isoeugenol as part of a carnation complex, and it was these in combination with benzyl salicylate which were to form the inspiration for the creation of L Air du Temps. 

At the heart of L Air du Temps lies the classic accord, 4% 1, between benzyl salicylate (15%) and eugenol. The large proportion of these two materials together with ylang and isoeugenol provide the essential carnation character that dominates the perfume throughout its evaporation. 

If we examine that part of the composition that corresponds directly to L Air du Temps, we find the general character to be little changed from the original. What is new are the green and fruity notes, hyacinth, and a slightly mossy character. 

Although less closely related to L Air du Temps than Fidji, we may think of Anais Anais (Cacharel 1979) as a perfume created within the same tradition. Again its character is essentially floral, in this case a combination of "white flowers," including jasmin, muguet, lilac, magnolia, tuberose, honeysuckle, and carnation, with a complex of woody notes, musks, and salicylates (6%). 

Otherwise, apart from the greater emphasis on floral notes, the general structure remains very similar to that of Fidji. A different combination of musks is used, including cyclopentadecanolide (4%), and cedryl acetate is incorporated into the woody complex. The woody notes are further emphasized by the use of an intensely powerful amber note—a "captive" material that is not generally available. Although the carnation-salicylate accord is again less than in L Air du Temps, it continues to play an important part in the overall fragrance. 

In Paris there is again a close similarity to the structure of L Air du Temps, but in this case with violet and rose as the dominant florals. 

Whereas in L Air du Temps it is the woody-iris character of the methyl ionone that develops in combination with the vetiveryl acetate, in Paris it forms the basis of a violet accord, with Iso E Super as the woody note. Iso E Super, one of the most important of the newer synthetics, is another chameleon-type product combining woody and amber aspects with some of the character of methyl ionone. Used in Paris as part of the L Air du Temps structure, it forms a natural link between the other materials and the violet accord. 

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