Gershwin

Quick answers

History

Gershwin takes its name from George Gershwin, the composer who, from Rhapsody in Blue to An American in Paris, wed jazz and concert music into one cosmopolitan language. Maria Candida Gentile, not long into her own house when she signed this fragrance in 2009, made it an olfactory portrait: joyful, lively, urban, like a score that moves from Sicily to the tropics and then to New York. Today it ranks among the most sought-after scents in her collection, loved by women and men alike.

The perfumer trained in Grasse at the Ecole de Rure under Professor Carol André. She works only with natural molecules and macerates her raw materials in alcohol or olive oil, following the rhythm of the seasons. Gershwin shows that signature: a citrus that refuses to stay a plain cologne and gathers a spicy, resinous warmth instead. The house files the fragrance under a double family, amber and citrus, and the pyramid confirms it.

On top, winter lemon and Ivory Coast bitter orange give the solar opening; the house prose also cites Sicilian lemon and grapefruit, while black pepper adds a first spicy shiver. The heart stays discreet, floral and watery, a short bridge toward a base where the fragrance opens up in full: Madagascar clove, Sri Lanka sandalwood and incense draw a warm, woody, faintly sacred trail that signs the amber anchor.

Gershwin belongs to the neuro-perfumery work the house developed with Professor Joachim Mensing of the University of Freiburg: the house credits it with neuroactive qualities and positive effects on mental wellbeing. On that reading, the bright citrus flash on top stimulates the prefrontal cortex, the seat of extroversion. The formula is vegan and free of phthalates, parabens and synthetic colorants.

Olfactory pyramid

Gershwin reads in three movements, from the citrus and pepper flash on top to the woody, resinous warmth of sandalwood and incense.

The through-line is contrast: an urban, dazzling citrus that closes on a spicy, woody, amber warmth.

Olfactory profile

Gershwin opens on a frank, luminous citrus. Winter lemon and bitter orange give a solar attack, at once sharpened by black pepper that sets up the spicy tension running through the whole scent. This is no plain cologne: the citrus here is nervy, a little urban, like a note of jazz.

The heart plays restraint. Sycamore and water flowers bring a floral, watery transparency, brief, serving mainly as a hinge. This is a top-and-base fragrance: the heart does not fight for attention, it lets the citrus slide toward the warmth.

The base signs the amber identity. Madagascar clove, spicy and warm, joins Sri Lanka sandalwood and incense for a woody, resinous, slightly sacred trail. That base explains the fragrance's staying power and the medium intensity the house claims for it, as well as its masculine listing, though the bright top makes it easily unisex.

The fantastic blend of the vibrant and pungent citrusy top notes stimulates the prefrontal cortex, and in particular the orbitofrontal cortex, where we find the personality trait we call extroversion: being open to others and to the world, active and dynamic.Joachim Mensing, PhD

Key characteristics

When and where to wear

Gershwin is a daytime, warm-season fragrance, but its woody, resinous base lets it hold further into the year than the opening suggests. The citrus and pepper suit spring and summer; the sandalwood and incense in the base give it a reassuring presence into the shoulder seasons and the evening.

Usage markers

Seasonal fit

Context fit

Similar perfumes

The citrus that tips toward a spicy, woody warmth has its neighbors; a few share its cosmopolitan drive.

Common questions

See also