Our take
What does La Cuvée Secrète smell like?
Guerlain launched La Cuvée Secrète in March 2017 as part of Les Eaux Exclusives. It joined Un Dimanche à la Campagne, released the year before. The format tells you how to use it: a 250 ml bottle, made for splashing on freely or tipping into bath water. No perfumer was named, and the house keeps its proportions secret. Bergamot opens, clean and juicy. Petitgrain follows with a green, slightly bitter edge, like a crushed orange leaf. Lavender closes things off, tidy and a little powdery, with nothing rustic about it. It is short, fresh and deliberately simple. Next to Eau de Cologne Impériale from 1853, another Guerlain classic, La Cuvée Secrète comes across as more aromatic and less citrusy. Lavender does the job that neroli does in the older cologne.
When to wear it
Use it like a morning splash, in large amounts after the shower. Longevity is short, so a top-up at lunch is normal.
It belongs to the Citrus, Aromatic family. La Cuvée Secrète is one of 99 creations by Guerlain in our encyclopedia.
