MOJEH: Guerlain L’Heure Bleue is inspired by a moment in time rather than a place or an ingredient. How do you translate something as intangible as atmosphere into a fragrance?
Delphine Jelk: Everything starts from an emotion that becomes a source of inspiration. I imagine stories and bring them to life through fragrance. I began with that precise moment when the day is almost gone and the night has not yet arrived. It is a suspended moment, a transition, a shift from one state to another. The reassuring clarity of day fades, the darkness of night is not yet complete, shapes blur, colours soften, everything turns blue.
You describe this ‘blue hour’ as a moment suspended between two worlds. What should a woman feel when wearing this scent?
Above all, I want her to feel free. For me, L’Heure Bleue is that moment when everything becomes possible. Day represents obligations; night offers the freedom to be who you want and live as you wish. I wanted to express a femininity that is free, contrasted and, above all, authentic. A real femininity, not a fantasised one. It is a subtle breath that reminds women that everything is possible in that moment when day gently slips into night.
Talk us through the notes.
To translate something so intangible, I work through sensation, contrasts and raw materials. I wanted to express both the freshness of the sky and the warm sensuality of skin. That is why I worked with ozonic notes, notably Cascalone, to create this impression of pure air, breath and blue sky, in contrast with the enveloping tenderness of iris, marshmallow, orange blossom, vanilla and Ambroxan.
It introduces a newly developed iris tincture that took three years to perfect. What does creating your own raw materials allow you to express that wouldn’t otherwise be possible?
It allows us to invent new nuances in our palette and to express something much more singular, much more alive. Iris tincture was part of Guerlain’s historical know-how, and I wanted to revive it. What I love about tincture is both its natural production process and, olfactorily, its richness and immediate freshness. It allows a different expression: more airy, more diffusive, more immediate: it is a top note. This is something very precious, because it gives a texture and an emotion that I could not express in exactly the same way with a classic iris butter alone.
It also reflects the time and perseverance that perfumery requires. Rather than recreating Jacques Guerlain’s iconic 1912 L’Heure Bleue, you’ve reinterpreted its spirit for today. How do you honour such an important legacy while ensuring the fragrance speaks to a new generation of women?
For me, it was essential to respect Jacques Guerlain’s work and remain deeply connected to it. Not doing so would have meant denying what he created. I approached it with my own sensitivity and emotion. It’s like a tribute; a contemporary interpretation with the same emotion but with today’s palette of ingredients. Today, I have access to raw materials Jacques Guerlain did not, especially ozonic notes like Cascalone, that allow me to interpret the scent of the sky. That is how I could anchor L’Heure Bleue in our time, while preserving its tenderness, its poetry and its original soul.
As a woman creating fragrance for women, how does your own perspective on femininity shape your work?
I experience this very naturally, and very happily. I create for women as a woman. That inevitably changes the perspective: more intimate, sensual and contrasted at the same time. I propose a femininity that is both gentle and strong. With L’Heure Bleue, I wanted to express exactly that. Blue replaces pink here. Blue is the colour of the sky, of serenity and trust. It is also universal, a non-gendered colour that calls for a nuanced, free and authentic femininity.
What do you hope L’Heure Bleue will come to mean to the women who wear it?
I hope women build a very personal and emotional relationship with it. Fragrance is about emotion, memory and presence. I want L’Heure Bleue to feel like a moment of tenderness and possibility that stays with you over time. Explore the fragrance
Originally published in the September 2026 issue of MOJEH Magazine. Subscribe here
