Dandy or Not. G.A.

To be or not to be a Dandy, why choose? Absolute freedom is being able to change your mind. G.A. is a fragrance of calm elegance with an air of nonchalance. Sunshine spiced with cardamom radiates from the skin. Refreshing grapefruit and a splash of black tea with orange blossom soften into elegant leather accord.

Grimaud Alfred

The initials G.A. stand for Grimaud Alfred – the original name of Alfred d’Orsay – a flamboyant, seductive, and gifted ‘dandy’ born in 1801. However, his rejection of convention and out-of-the-box ways perhaps would have made him not want to be considered as such.

From the Perfumer

“The inspiration was to create the fragrance of today’s dandy, a person who is rebellious, anti-conventional, and assertive. I wanted to create an unexpected and recognisable scent by contrasting a slightly smoky black tea accord with a sweet and innocent orange blossom, I really wanted the scent to make you want to smell it indefinitely, an almost obsessive addiction.”

— Sidonie Lancesseur

History

D’Orsay imagines special fragrances, evoking the universality of the state of love and exploring its many facets: caring love, free, paradoxical, ardent, adventurous, tender, striking, impulsive, sincere, spiritual, secret, tactile, unwavering… D’Orsay perfumes are designed for couples, echoing the first historic fragrance designed in 1830 by Alfred d’Orsay for him and his forbidden lover, Lady Marguerite Blessington. Each creation is named after an index sentence, signed with the initials of a personality whose identity is left to the imagination of each.

MEET THE BRAND

Name: D’Orsay Dandy or Not. G.A. Sample 1.5ml
Brand: D’Orsay
SKU: 19439-1
Price: 5.00 GBP
Availability: OutOfStock

D’Orsay

Maison d’Orsay was originally founded in Paris in 1830 by Count Alfred d’Orsay. D’Orsay was known at the time to have been passionate, artistic, and flamboyant. He was an influential icon of the nineteenth century. He sought pleasure at all cost, which resulted in large debts and romantic affairs.

The fragrance house published nearly fifty perfumes that were distributed across the globe, in boutiques in Paris, London, and New York. At the time, the D’Orsay fragrances were highly artistic and forward-thinking, as they were inspired by love and desire, and were designed to be shared by couples. Alfred d’Orsay’s very first fragrance was an ode to his forbidden love of Lady Marguerite Blessington – a love story of illicit desire and intimacy.

In 2015, Amélie Huynh gave Maison d’Orsay a new lease of life, redesigning an olfactory line to honour the brand’s heritage. The fragrances are based on Alfred d’Orsay’s original line-up, reimagined by prestigious perfumers such as Olivia Giacobetti, Mark Buxton, Karine Chevalier, Bertrand Duchaufour, Fanny Bal, and Vincent Ricord.

”Everything we do references the romantic sensibility of Count d’Orsay – from the illicit affair to the sense of carnal desire.”
— Amélie Huynh, CEO & founder

Each fragrance is composed as a declaration of love, exploring its many facets. They are genderless and can be worn by couples, just as the originals by Alfred d’Orsday. Each scent explores duality in some sense, which is a concept echoed throughout the brand. In homage to the lost correspondences between Alfred and Marguerite, each perfume name is composed like a love letter and signed with initials – these initials referring to a secret identity that will never be revealed.

D’Orsay have two boutiques in Paris and one in Tokyo. Each boutique has been meticulously designed to capture the sense of mystique, passion, and eloquence of Count d’Orsay, with sleek woods and brass fittings, with cabinets of multiple drawers in which secret scents are carefully locked away like hidden treasures.

All of the production takes place in France, with fragrances made between Paris and Provencal perfume capital, Grasse. The bottles, caps, and spray mechanisms are also produced in France.

View D’Orsay Collection