“Everything old is new again.” – Attribution unknown
A funny thing happened on the way to the turn of this century. Guerlain produced a wonderful woody chypre that would become a ‘sleeper’ for a few years as they neglected the marketing aspects and selected a different time and place for the product to re-emerge. That product? Coriolan.
Coriolan by Guerlain (1998)
Coriolan was a masculine fragrance in every sense of the word. Although an eau de toilette, it maintained an all-day strength and great sillage, in addition to having a very masterful and clever packaging scheme: The pear-shaped bottle had an attached copper-colored cap in the shape of a soldier hat that simply flipped backward to reveal the splash or atomizer, then secure back into place. It was an amazing bottle to see given that most perfumers consider packaging as a mere after-thought once the scent has been created. Coriolan showed thought and commitment from inception. It was unique, and to this day I really cannot define a fragrance that even closely resembles it closely enough to be a reasonable facsimile.
Sadly, it was retired around 2003 and the supply of it began to quickly dwindle and disappear from store shelves. Finding it now becomes a search on the ‘Net for any number of retailers who might have a rapidly diminishing supply. Those who enjoyed it (yes, we’re an odd yet devoted bunch) are no doubt snapping up any remaining supply.
Notes: Lemon leafs, bergamot, neroli and petit grain begin at the top notes. The heart notes include a spicy fusion of ginger, nutmeg, ylang-ylang and gorse. The base notes settle at a warm woody base of patchouli, benzoin and leather. As you can see, it begins with a citrus sweetness and lightness and warms into spices and a leather ending.
So what happened? Not very much, despite the fragrance not carrying on the same storied tradition as Heritage, Vetiver and Habit Rouge before it. Amidst those three stalwarts of their collection, Coriolan seemed the odd duck out in a game of “which one doesn’t belong”. The other three live to this day and have their following. Had Guerlain truly misjudged the product, or missed their estimation of the target market? Perhaps. Apparently, Guerlain had other plans.
Les Parisienne L'Ame d'un Heros
Enter Les Parisienne L’Ame d’un Heros. Guerlain slowly begins the marketing of an “exclusif” — a higher-end fragrance that they’ve targeted for specific boutiques and specialty shops (Bergdorf Goodman in New York, for instance). Packaged in a trademark ‘bumble-bee’ bottle and concentrated to an Eau de Parfum strength, they began marketing the fragrance selectively. It was heavenly to smell with just one major caveat: It’s a mildly reformularted Coriolan. It’s slightly softened, somewhat greener, and not as leathery, now marketed as more of a citrus aromatic. Fundamentally, it’s strikingly similar.
Oh, let’s just say it. It’s the same thing. The notes are presented below and you can decide:
Notes: Top notes are sage, neroli, bergamot and lemon. Heart notes are wormwood, cypress, juniper berries, basil and ylang-ylang. The base notes are amber, patchouli, woodsy notes and vetiver. The top notes are largely unaltered. The heart notes are arranged in a lighter pattern, marked by ylang-ylang and juniper added to the mix. The base removes benzoin and leather, but replaces it with amber and vetiver — the amber warms it in a slightly different way than the leather and wood.
But you’ll otherwise smell the major elements of Coriolan. More highly concentrated and packaged into a signature bottle, though one that hardly evokes a masculine sophistication. More recently, they’ve recognized that as well and begin to package the line into a wood-framed bottle that would look perfectly natural on a gentleman’s dresser next to cuff-links. There’s another major difference between the two fragrances, aside from packaging: Price. The bumble-bee bottle at 125ml allowed the price-point to escalate to $295. Yikes! What a horrid way to reintroduce this ephemeral experience to both a new and existing audience!
With the change to the wood-framed bottle has come a resizing of the quantity, which places L’Ame d’un Heros squarely into a premium price range inhabited by other luxury fragrances (Creed, Le Labo, Byredo, etc.). And while I love the scent, I also know the secret and trick behind it, so by virtue of that I’m reluctant to seriously consider L’Ame while I still have a decent supply of Coriolan available — albeit at half the concentration, though I find that takes nothing away from the longevity or sillage in this case.
My Guerlain reps have suggested this repeatedly, neither truly understanding the behind-the-scenes story of how Coriolan became L’Ame d’un Heros. Strangely enough, even Guerlain’s own marketing material — the information behind the counter for their SA’s to review about each product — directly states that L’Ame “is a reformulation of Coriolan”. Perhaps absence makes the heart grow fonder…or in this case, forget completely. At least a few of us remember.
Bottom-line: My comments shouldn’t infer that I dislike L’Ame d’un Heros. Quite the contrary. I’ve tried the reformulated version, and I love it! It’s a tremendous fragrance. When I’m finally out of Coriolan, I will look for a bottle without a doubt. I recommend trying it to see if readers enjoy the experience behind this.
What’s in a name? Probably that’s less important than what is behind the name, though I’ll be the first to admit that L’Ame d’un Heros probably better suits the product and the Guerlain brand than Coriolan ever did.
I'm Andrew Buck, the man behind the words. I'm a published author, project management practitioner for over 20 years, work on Wall Street, and am a fragrance aficionado. I've had a passion for fragrance for 30+ years, and enjoy trying scents and adding to an expanding and rotating collection for some time now. 
