In these short posts we'd like to present the latest unfinished articles, written in the years 2015 and 2016. We thought it was right to publish everything, even those notes that would become full-fledged articles. No changes have been made, the writings are in their raw state and therefore still incomplete.
Part One:
A tribute to Drakkar Noir, by Guy Laroche.
(last script: March, 2016)
Drakkar Noir, created in 1981 by Pierre Wargnye at IFF, launched the following year by Guy Laroche Parfums, was one of the most iconic perfumes of the 1980s.
Actually Drakkar Noir was a flanker of "Drakkar", launched in 1972; it was the first time a flanker had a much greater success than the original.
Drakkar Noir was one of the most famous scents of the 80s, for having begun the massive use of the chemical substance dihydromyrcenol in perfumes. Dihidromyrcenol smells like a "laundry detergent", and the success of this scent was overwhelming, backed in 1988 by Cool Water by Davidoff, built around the same molecule.
One of the little known aspects of this perfume is that it had many reformulations over the years, but the most famous and rare version was the first, and for a specific reason. When it was created in 1981, patchouli still was a predominant ingredient in perfumes. The second version (i.e. the first reformulation) created in 1989, almost completely removed the patchouli, considered too "1970s vibe", and left only a woody background.
In doing so, however, the scent was "distorted".
Only a "fresh, woody, clean scent" remained. When you compare the first version of Drakkar Noir with the following ones, the difference is enormous, especially in the "base notes" and drydown.
The first version of Drakkar Noir was really a *great* scent.
So, let's go in details: