“Arpeggio – noun
–Merriam Webster
production of the tones of a chord in succession and not simultaneously.”
Picture yourself sitting at an old historic opera, the lush velvety chair wraps itself around you, the warmth of the stage lights radiating out towards you in the audience, the energy so thick you could cut it with a knife. What language is the singer singing? Italian? French? Latin? It doesn’t matter, because no matter what words they use the breadth of their impassioned delivery hits your soul like a train. The careful weaving of chords into a tapestry that allows each note to wrap around you. Music is the one true art form that transcends cultural boundaries and affects all of us, equally. In these ways, music and fragrance are very much alike, and no other fragrance dances quite like Lanvin Arpège.
Arpège is the third fragrance in what I consider to be the “holy trinity” of interwar fragrances. The others being Chanel No. 5, and Shalimar (read my Shalimar review here), of course. In this article, let’s explore the history, context, and of course review Lanvin’s 1927 masterpiece, Arpège.
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A Woman of Many Different Hats
The story of Arpège really starts in 1889 with the story of the brand itself. Lanvin was founded in Paris by legendary designer, Jeanne Lanvin. From a young age, she trained in the art of hat making, and originally she applied her creative genius in that capacity. She gained renown for producing high quality and creative designs that the fashionable Parisians flocked to.
From this beginning, Jeanne would craft an empire that encompassed not only the original hat making business, but also ready to wear, haute couture, and of course fragrance. This spark, however, was not only due to Jeanne’s genius, but rather it was in collaboration with her personal muse.
In 1895, Jeanne married her first husband, and in 1897 she had her first, and only child, Marguerite. Jeanne had Marguerite at a relatively mature age for the time period, (she was 30), and from some accounts the pregnancy was not an easy one. For Jeanne, her daughter was the spark of light that pushed her creativity forward, and she spent hours draping her daughter in creative and luxurious designs that were exclusively hers. Soon Jeanne began making children’s clothing for sale in her boutique, and the rest is history. To read further about this history, check out my article on it.
This motherly love and passion for her child was shown in everything Jeanne put her name on. Literally too, because the brand’s logo (even still to this day) is an illustration of Jeanne dancing with a young Marguerite.
From this, Arpège was born.
A Composition of Motherly Love
Launched in 1927, Arpège was commissioned by Jeanne Lanvin as a gift, and dedication, to her daughter for her birthday. A special birthday too, as this was Marguerite’s 30th birthday, the same age that Jeanne was when she gave birth to her.
Arpège is the result of a beautiful collaboration between the two master perfumers, Andre Fraysse and Paul Vacher.
Fraysse is well-known for his work at Lanvin, he is responsible not only for Arpège but for the succeeding Scandal, Rumuer, and Pretexte as well. These scents, (plus the older My Sin from 1924), made up the main base of Lanvin’s fragrance offerings for decades to come. His son, and grandchild, both went on to work for another legendary fragrance house, Caron.
Vacher, is most well-known for his work after the release of Arpège. In 1946, he was sought out by Christian Dior to create a fragrance, and Vacher created the legendary Miss Dior.
The name, Arpège, comes from the word, arpeggio. As the story goes, when the scent was finished and presented to Marguerite, she immediately was captivated with the scent. As a musician, to her the scent played out on the skin like an arpeggio, and thus the name Arpège was born.
But what does Arpège smell like exactly?
Lanvin Arpège Review: A Symphony of Fragrance
Since its launch in 1927, Arpège has stayed largely the same. In the early 90s, Lanvin Parfums was bought out and Arpège was reformulated. In my possession, I have five bottles of Arpège, two opened vintage extrait’s (1961 and 1969), one unopened extrait from the 60s, a vintage Eau de Arpège (1960s), and finally a modern Eau de Parfum. In this review, I am going to use the 1969 Extrait of Arpège for my review. In the near future, I plan on doing a review of the modern reformulation as well and comparing the two.
Let’s talk about the scent:
Arpège is one of my favorite scents to open, because the smell from the bottle itself is decadent, while also being so delicate and beautiful. First impressions are that this is a lush floral scent that isn’t trying to do anything groundbreaking, it is just trying to be beautiful.
On the skin, Arpège opens with a flash of aldehydes and white florals. Unlike its contemporaries, the aldehydes here take a back seat. They provide a clean and fresh foundation that allow the other notes to lift off the skin. Once you get past the aldehydes, the white florals sort of waft over the fragrance like a crisp breeze during the spring. It carries with it the notes of lily of the valley, honeysuckle, and peach most notably. Lily of the valley is one of my favorite flowers, but the honeysuckle and peach create an atmosphere that you could sink into. It’s comforting and soft, while also being refreshing and headstrong.
As the top notes die down, the namesake of Arpège becomes more apparent. The scent’s personality on the skin is so special, it builds upon itself and changes over time, continually progressing throughout many hours of wear. Right now, the top notes have taken a back seat and allowed the mid notes to have their turn. The conductor of this orchestra has allowed the scent to die down and now I am bathed in a bask of warm florals and powder notes. I smell rose, lily, ylang-ylang, coriander, jasmine, and more lily of the valley. This moment is so dense, it genuinely feels like sitting in the middle of a garden. The base rests underneath, providing a ground for the fresh picked floral bouquet radiating off my skin. At its base, Arpège envelops its florals in a warm bask of light woods, vanilla, and vetiver. My 1961 bottle has lost much of its floral top notes, but the base notes really shine through and show off a slightly Eastern inspiration.
One of the things that makes this scent so special is how well blended it is. I have to work very hard to pick out individual notes. The scent is so lush, so densely packed with its notes that it really does push the wearer into its own little world. Every now and then, a note jumps out of the scent. Like how when you pour a carbonated drink into a glass, and the small bubbles bounce out before quickly falling back in. It sparkles, shimmers even, and just dances on the skin like an old ballroom in the 1930s. There is obvious comparisons to be made between Chanel No. 5 and Arpège, both contain many of the same notes. But where the Chanel is bright, crisp, and bold; Arpège is lush, well-rounded, and soft. In the great hall of 1920s scents: No. 5 declares itself liberated and free, the modern young woman, Shalimar seduces and draws you into the intrigue and lust of a sultry flapper, and Arpège rounds it out as the sophisticated, well-cultured and intelligent woman who lets her work speak for itself. Quite like Marguerite and Jeanne themselves in that regard.
Sitting here, typing this, I catch the gentle wafts of Arpège on my arm and it really makes me feel one thing, comforted. It reminds me of being at my grandma’s house after school, her listening to me talk about my day and baking my favorite cookies. Smelling her mix together the dough while the kitchen door is open and the breeze from her flower garden wafts through the kitchen. It reminds me of all the encouragement she always gave, and most importantly it reminds me of her love and adoration. I hope that Marguerite felt that too when she first smelt it, because Arpège truly is a beautiful scent that loves the wearer just as much as the wearer loves it.
Final Notes of a Songbird
Although not as famous or popular as its contemporaries, Arpège deserves its place in fragrance history. It so thoroughly shows off the love Jeanne felt for her daughter, and really echoes the history of the brand itself.
Unlike fragrance, a mother’s love lasts forever, and Arpège makes me feel like it too could last forever, if only for a fleeting moment. It is a true prize in my collection, one I treasure and will always treasure for the special meaning and love that was put into it.
I hope you enjoyed my review and retrospective of Arpège, thank you for reading.
– Zak
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