Galimard Galimar
November in Oregon is a curious time. Some years the weather is mild and aside from some grey rains, the weather is not so bad as things go. This year, and this week specifically, the winds from the Columbia River Gorge have been particularly gusty and steady. These winds aren’t just blasts of air, but almost like infrawaves of ice blowing so hard they cut into your bones. I am surprised and exhausted by the chill even when I only step out the front door and am met by a storm of dried leaves unsettled by the wind. There was apparently some sort of contest a while back to name these gusts, and I guess everyone decided upon the moniker “Chinook Winds.” Personally, I would have called the wind Mariah (hyuk-hyuk.)
I need a fragrance that can stand up to this late autumn chill, and have been reaching for Galimard’s Galimar parfum.
What I get from it is what I imagine some folks get from Tabu. But where Tabu induces me to vomit, not figuratively, but literally, Galimar dresses me in a glamor and sensuality that plain Jane me does not ordinarily accomplish. Galimar is a dense scent, one I perceive as a penultimate bombshell’s fragrance. It has a sexiness and richness that makes me feel like one of the screen sirens from long ago. Forget the fruity hard to reach prettiness of Marilyn Monroe and her Chanel No. 5. I want that hot beauty of Jane Russell.
Mellifluous patchouli and orangey nutmeg and lead down into hazy florals (orris and something vaguely rosy.) Jasmine is used for its mysterious indolic effect here, and causes me to feel just how animalic Galimar’s musk note is. (I am admittedly a fan of how Galimard employs jasmine in its parfums in general.) Cinnamon and warm very woody vanilla rise, giving the sensation of warmth where I have none in this sort of weather. While most of the year I absolutely must apply this parfum sparingly, right now I can lavish it on my skin to a very nice effect.
Galimard’s online site doesn’t fully list the offerings contained in their catalog, and the catalog doesn’t list the full range of products they offer in their shop in Cote de Azur. However, Galimar is one fragrance that can be found online, and is one of my favorites from the house.
Image top by Andrew Wyeth, from his Helga series, is from arrozaldalebre.no.sapo.pt. Second image of Jane Russell from poster.net
November 23rd, 2005 at 6:29 am
Dear Kathie
sounds a little bit like the weather I have encountered in Zurich the last few days…. I personally reached out for a simple lavendel note with lots of vetiver and cistus that I made a couple of weeks ago. Lavendel for the spirits in these grey days (well, francincense might have worked , too), Cistus for the warmth and Vetiver because I love Vetiver!
Enjoy your evening
November 23rd, 2005 at 6:38 am
How funny - I deeply prefer vetivers in summer, since I find them so cooling and usually refreshing! It’s so strange sometimes how perceptions can differ.
Of course, I do not have the ability or wherewithal to create my own “curse the cold wind” scent. I imagine it must be wonderful to be able to do that for yourself :)
November 23rd, 2005 at 7:54 am
K, that same wind is blowing here, I swear it. Not up to bombshell today if you know what I mean, but the Galimar sounds just lovely.
November 23rd, 2005 at 8:01 am
I’m not up to bombshell most days either, but when my hair is blown into twenty different directions at once by the time I get back indoors, I like to smell like one so I can pretend just a little. These Chinook winds are known for hurricane speeds, and can be quite nasty at times. I miss the heat and oppressive humidity of August suddenly. Hope you’re able to stay warm in those cold winds, too, Robin.
November 23rd, 2005 at 8:03 am
Ah, she is a stunner! I must try the fragrance that evoke her image.
As for weird weather, we have here what the PA people call Nor’easter (or something like that anyway), wind and rain…arrgh
November 23rd, 2005 at 10:10 am
Hi, I’ve really enjoyed reading your blog…especially since you talk so much about Portland! I’m from Portland but am currently studying abroad in France, and have discovered the joy that is fragrance while I’ve been here. But your blog makes me eager to check out the goodness in Portland! I’ll have to try to visit the Galimard perfumery while I’m here. And somehow the wind is getting me here too. Today’s been quite windy. Thanks for the great reviews!
November 23rd, 2005 at 10:19 am
Yep, windy and cold here too!
Another lovely review. I am sure that you are not a ‘plain Jane’ as you make out. oh Prince, you sweet talker you!
Barry
November 23rd, 2005 at 4:02 pm
Marina, I’ve heard about those Noreasters - they sound unpleasant to say the least. Jane Russell was more my idea of a bombshell than Marilyn was anyhow, but I do think she was exceptionally gorgeous.
Jenny - how neat! I envy you already, but I’m glad you found my blog. There is so much to discover perfume-wise there, and I hope you’ll have time for it inbetween your studies. You’re windy, too, huh?
Barry - gah, I give in! You’re windy as well. I am complaining over nothing. Or perhaps the se winds are more powerful than I know and are making their way all over the world. And yes, you’re a sweet talker: I’ll overlook it though ;)
November 23rd, 2005 at 4:19 pm
I am losing my mind, as I though that today as Tuesday, therefore I did not check out your blog till now. I need to get some sleep…
At any rate, you are a bombshell, as far as I am concerned, as I have seen your picture! I am trying to imagine Galimar, and it sounds wonderful. I actually love Tabu, however I am only familiar with the vintage version. I saw a bottle of the modern at the drugstore covered with a layer of dust, and I decided to pass it up. It was just too sad. The vintage is wonderful though. A true bombshell perfume, in my opinion.
November 23rd, 2005 at 4:27 pm
*blushes* Thanks V. It’s a lie, a total lie, but I will of course take the compliment!
The closest to vintage Tabu I’ve smelled is from friend’s mother’s bottle that she obviously still had from the 70s. I’m not sure when the thing was reformulated or anything, but that one made me ill as well. Someday I’m sure I’ll end up sniffing a bonafide vintage bottle. The juice of the drugstore version from now still fills me with horror just thinking about it unfortunately.
November 23rd, 2005 at 4:44 pm
A picture is worth a thousand words. :)
Well, Tabu was always a shock, and it was intended to be that way. I dab it on gingerly and wear it around the house. I do not dare wear it outside, just in case. However, it is fascinating to consider how many great fragrances were inspired by it! That patchouli-carnation accord was a genuis creation of Jean Carles.
BTW, what did we decide about the vintage vs. the modern Magie Noire? I am searching for the vintage now, and I hope that I will be able to locate it. I think that the modern is just so pale and so perfumey in comparison.
November 23rd, 2005 at 6:27 pm
Not sure about MN - I still have yet to score any of the vintage on eBay. Sigh. Want to though.
I remember reading somewhere or another that Tabu was intended as the scent for a “puta,” slang for “whore.” Crazy. So, yeah, I guess it should be shocking! But all those swoony romantic advertisments with the violin imagery from the more recent past make me giggle as a consequence.
November 23rd, 2005 at 6:42 pm
There are many spoofs on these advertisements. My favourite one has a caption: “Does it mean that I do not have to pay for my music lessons anymore?”
November 23rd, 2005 at 8:05 pm
HA! I’ve not seen those. That’s funny.
November 24th, 2005 at 1:14 am
WHAT a review! I feel I have to go find a sample of Galimar somewhere immediately! (and I’m an out-and-out Tabu lover). Thank you so much for creating another lemming!
I’m battling the icy cold winds with Shalimar, Rumba and Bois et Fruits…..
November 25th, 2005 at 4:12 pm
I wish I could carry off Shalimar. It just doesn’t work on me sadly, so I envy you. Lucky you!