With new perfumes and their flankers proliferating faster than generations of fruit flies, there’s something deeply reassuring about a scent that has survived a century and still smells wonderful.

Does it smell exactly the same as it did in 1912? Of course not. And even if it did, the context and culture of fragrance has changed so much who knows how far that would shift perception.

This is L’Heure Bleue; I don’t need to describe the notes. If you don’t know what it smells like, go and try it. It’s still in every department store, even if it’s pushed to the back behind the armies of flankers and one-year-wonders. Though I will say it doesn’t smell even slightly melancholy or mysterious to me, but lush and warm and enveloping. Long may it thrive.

What’s your favourite classic Guerlain?