Pois de Senteur c1835

Pois de Senteur by Guerlain, launched around 1835, was one of the earliest interpretations of the sweet pea flower in perfumery—an homage to a bloom prized for its tender beauty and pastel grace. The name Pois de Senteur translates from French as “sweet pea,” pronounced "pwah de sahn-turr", and instantly evokes images of an English country garden in springtime, its trellises alive with fluttering blossoms in shades of pink, lavender, and cream. The name itself is delicate and romantic, conjuring feelings of innocence, nostalgia, and youthful femininity—qualities much admired by women of the early Victorian era.

The sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus) is native to Sicily and Southern Italy, where its fragrance first enchanted botanists and gardeners in the late 17th century. However, unlike roses or jasmine, sweet pea flowers yield no extractable essence—their scent cannot be captured naturally through distillation or enfleurage. In the 19th century, perfumers like Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain would instead reconstruct the flower’s fragrance through accords—carefully balanced blends of existing floral, green, and powdery notes meant to evoke its tender aroma. Such compositions often used natural essences like orange blossom, rose, and violet, tempered by heliotrope, orris, and faint musk or vanilla tones to recreate the impression of the flower’s soft, dewy sweetness.

When Pois de Senteur was first launched, it would have resonated deeply with the women of the time. The early 1830s marked the dawn of Romanticism—a period of sentimentality, poetry, and reverence for nature’s fleeting beauty. Fashion favored pale silks, ribboned bonnets, and bouquets worn at the bosom; a perfume named Pois de Senteur would have felt perfectly suited to this aesthetic—refined yet tender, natural yet luxuriously crafted. Guerlain’s interpretation likely emphasized lightness and charm, offering a gentle alternative to the heavier musk- and amber-based perfumes of the preceding Georgian era.

By 1917, however, perfumery had transformed. When Jacques Guerlain reformulated Pois de Senteur, he had access to a new palette of synthetic aroma molecules that could finally express the elusive beauty of the flower. Ionones and methyl ionones, discovered in the late 19th century, recreated the violet’s soft powderiness and lent a petal-like transparency—perfect for a sweet pea accord. Hydroxycitronellal introduced a dewy freshness reminiscent of lily of the valley, while heliotropin (piperonal) added a sweet, almond-like warmth that mirrored the creamy undertones of the original scent. Coumarin and vanillin, both popular by that time, were used to soften the base and give the perfume a gentle, caressing trail.

Thus, Pois de Senteur evolved from a romantic natural bouquet to a modern floral fantasy, bridging two centuries of perfumery. What began as Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain’s ode to nature’s grace became, under Jacques Guerlain, a study in the artifice of beauty—a perfume that captured not only the scent of a flower, but the dream of it.

Fragrance Composition:

What does it smell like? Pois de Senteur by Guerlain is classified as a floral fragrance for women.

• Top notes: sweet pea, bergamot, lemon, orange, aldehyde, almond, green hyacinth accent, cassie
• Middle notes: freesia, tuberose, orange blossom, jasmine, ylang ylang, lily of the valley, violet, orris, sweet pea, rose, heliotrope
• Base notes: vanilla, vanillin, rosewood, caraway, sandalwood, spices, balsamic notes, resins, tonka bean, musk, ambergris, civet

Scent Profile:

Pois de Senteur by Guerlain opens like a breath of spring morning air—crisp yet tender, luminous yet softly veiled. At first encounter, there is the shimmering brightness of bergamot and lemon, their oils most likely sourced from Calabria, Italy, where the fruit’s rinds yield an especially fine, floral-citric note due to the unique Mediterranean soil and sea breeze. These hesperidic tones sparkle like sunlight diffused through dewdrops, joined by a gentle sweetness of orange and a delicate mist of aldehydes—those airy molecules that lift the composition, giving it that distinctly “clean” and radiant quality so prized in early 20th-century perfumery.

As the citrus light fades, the green hyacinth accent emerges—cool, sappy, and freshly cut, adding the sensation of crushed stems beneath the fingertips. The cassie absolute, derived from the blossoms of the Acacia farnesiana tree of southern France, introduces a honeyed, powdery greenness that evokes a greenhouse filled with early blooms. Then comes the tender whisper of almond, its benzaldehyde molecule lending a soft marzipan-like sweetness that gently nods to the heliotrope yet to come. Through these layers, the star—sweet pea—unfolds not as a literal extract (for the flower yields no natural oil) but as a tender accord crafted from delicate floral materials and synthetics: violet ionones for its petal-like transparency, heliotropin for its sugared almond warmth, and hydroxycitronellal for its fresh, watery innocence.

In the heart, Pois de Senteur blooms in full. The freesia note offers a peppery, dew-laden brightness, balanced by the voluptuous cream of tuberose and ylang-ylang from Comoros or Madagascar, where the tropical humidity deepens their buttery, solar nuances. Orange blossom and jasmine, likely from Grasse, lend a golden, honeyed sensuality—their natural aroma compounds such as indole, linalool, and benzyl acetate weaving between purity and languor. Lily of the valley—a scent reimagined through synthetics like hydroxycitronellal—adds a crystalline freshness that feels like white silk fluttering in a breeze. Meanwhile, orris from Tuscany, aged and powdered to perfection, brings a violet-powder sophistication, its irone molecules producing that cool, velvety sensation that anchors the entire floral bouquet. Hints of heliotrope and rose soften the heart with their almond-vanilla sweetness, lending a nostalgic tenderness.

As the floral glow fades into the base, the fragrance settles into a dreamy, comforting warmth. Vanilla and tonka bean, rich in coumarin and vanillin, create a soft, powdered sweetness like sugar dust over skin. The rosewood adds a faintly spicy, creamy woodiness, while sandalwood—most likely Mysore sandalwood from India—brings its unique lactonic depth, warm as polished amber under sunlight. Subtle traces of caraway and spices lend an almost gourmand hum beneath the sweetness, while balsamic resins such as Peru balsam, tolu, and benzoin contribute honeyed, ambered undertones that linger for hours. The base is rounded by musk, ambergris, and a trace of civet, natural fixatives that breathe warmth and sensuality into the powdery floral core. These animalic nuances—softened by the sweeter materials—turn the delicate sweetness of sweet pea into something enduring, quietly magnetic.

Together, Pois de Senteur feels like an olfactory portrait of innocence touched by desire—a tender bouquet wrapped in silk and sunlight. It captures the spirit of Guerlain’s early artistry: the illusion of nature, perfected by human imagination. What begins as a bright, delicate floral gradually deepens into a velvety warmth, leaving behind a trail that is both graceful and unmistakably human—just as the name “Pois de Senteur” promises: the sweet breath of life itself, distilled into fragrance.

Bottles:

The fragrance was presented in multiple flacons over the years, including the Carre flacon (square flacon) for parfum starting in 1870, the quadrilobe flacon (parfum) starting in 1908, the Lanterne flacon (parfum) from 1935-1943, the Goutte flacon (eau de toilette) starting in 1923.

Fate of the Fragrance:

Pois de Senteur first emerged around 1835, during a period when floral perfumes dominated the European market, yet perfumers were increasingly experimenting with innovative blends to evoke freshness, sweetness, and natural elegance. Its delicate, airy bouquet captured the imagination of 19th-century women, offering a fragrance that felt both youthful and sophisticated—a subtle statement of refinement suited to the salons and promenades of the era. The perfume’s initial popularity carried it through decades, still available in 1853, reflecting its enduring appeal in a time when florals such as rose, violet, and heliotrope were highly sought after.

In 1917, Jacques Guerlain undertook a reformulation of Pois de Senteur, likely incorporating the era’s newer synthetics and aroma chemicals to modernize the composition. Ingredients such as heliotropin, hydroxycitronellal, and aldehydes would have been used to enhance the natural sweetness and powdery floral character of sweet pea, lily of the valley, and heliotrope, giving the fragrance a brighter, longer-lasting, and more nuanced sillage. This reformulation reflected both changing tastes and advancements in perfumery, as synthetic materials allowed perfumers to create scents previously unattainable with natural extracts alone.

The fragrance continued to be available well into the mid-20th century, around 1953, preserving Guerlain’s tradition of elegant, powdery florals. Through its longevity, Pois de Senteur exemplified the evolution of floral perfumery: from its early reliance on natural extracts and tinctures to the sophisticated integration of synthetics that enriched the bouquet and made it more enduring on the skin. For its admirers, the perfume remained a timeless symbol of delicate beauty, evoking the innocence, freshness, and subtle sensuality that defined Guerlain’s artistry.