Guerlain - Djedi (vintage)

Birdwatchers can go a long way to spot a bird that haven´t been watched in our country since the beginning of the 20'ieth century. they bring extreme binocculars, cameras and a book where they can hopefully can mark that they´ve seen the rare bird.


Perfumistas on the hunt after a certain vintage fragrance aren´t far from bird watchers. Some of us (more often male perfumistas I think)just have to own a full bottle, while others thinks it´s OK just to swap for some drops of the sought after scent. I belong more to the second kind, other perfumistas can hunt for the expensive bottles at Ebay.The perfume I´ll write about today is one people really are on the hunt for, namely Guerlains Djedi...


Djedi is one of the most rare fragrances from the house of Guerlain. One single ml can cost as much as a full bottle of a less rare perfume. Originally Djedi was created in 1926 (or 1927), but Guerlain released a limited edition of it in 1996. My precious drops is from an original bottle before the re-realese.


On me Djedi starts with a cloud of smoke and it is a strange, greenish kind of smoke. The top note is so dry and jagged I feel all dry in the back of my mouth when smelling it upclose, still it smells strangely good at the same time. Dry, rough, different and really good. When the smoke has settled down a little I can feel the civet very clearly. This is a comforting civet, as soft and warm as a cats fur. I have never encountered such a perfect civet note in any other perfume.


Djedi is also grassy, aromatic and with a light and subdued tart element. I guess it´s probably the vetiver that manage to be both earthy/smoky and grassy/green at the same time. Probably diffrent kinds of vetiver have been used to get this effect. Apart from the opening I don´t really agree with Roja Dove that says that Djedi probably is the dryest fragrance of them all. My skin manage to find a soft, powdery sweetness even in Djedi, and in my opinion this is partly what makes Djedi such a great fragrance. The sweetness and powder comes from a muted rose. And the rose makes all the difference in Djedi. On me, the leather is hardly noticable.


Djedi is amazingly complex and I suspect it can smell very different on different people. My skin often brings forth sweetness in fragrances, so I manage to find sweetness even in Djedi (which, to me, is a good thing).


Djedi feels like a scent that is half a great classic a typical, rich, animalic chypre vintage from the house of Guerlain. But half of it manage to be (and this is a frag created 85 years ago!) like something created today in some edgy and beyond modern niche perfume house. One part aging, faded beauty and one part thrilling, modern and on the edge. With only one of this parts, Djedi would have been either hard to wear or slightly dated, but combined they create a timeless masterpiece.


My drops are of perfect quality, over and over again I encountere vintage fragrances which smells like the raw materials was prepered last week, not years and years ago. This is to me pure magic. For sure, sometimes the top notes can be a little off, but just wait 20 minutes and the fragarnce is all good to go.


¨The drydown of Djedi is surprisningly soft, green and powdery. It´s hard to get my nose of the little spot where I put the drop of Djedi, and while smelling it I realise it might be the last time I ever wear Djedi. Djedi is a rich, different and all together wonderful fragrance, but I wont spend that much money to get more of it...


Have you tried Djedi? What do you think about it? I know some perfume nerdas avoiding it, and other vintages just to avoid falling in love with scents that is both hard to get and often very expensive. I´m more of the bargain kind, sometimes I find vintage bottles for practically no money and if no one else find it, well of course I buy it.



Pic: surreal portrait