Un Certain Été à Livadia by Baccarat: launched in 1999. Created by perfumer Christine Nagel.
In 1997, Baccarat launched its first perfume, a feminine one called Une Nuit Etoilée au Bengale (A Starry Night in Bengal). The firm inaugurated the trilogy Les Contes d'Ailleurs (Tales from Elsewhere), followed by Les Larmes sacrées de Thebes (The Sacred Tears of Thebes), in 1998, and Un Certain Été à Livadia (A Certain Summer in Livadia) in 1999.
Un Certain Été à Livadia was issued as a limited edition of only 1500 examples. The perfume's name means "A Certain Summer in Livadia" referring to the 1945 Yalta (Crimea) Conference held in Livadia Palace where the BIG 3 leaders (Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin) met to negotiate how post-war Europe was to be reformed.
Livadia Palace, is located on the shores of the Black Sea in Crimea. It was one of the last residences if the Czar and his family, later seized by the Bolsheviks and now transformed into a museum. The scent of the perfume was inspired by the lush rose garden at Livadia Palace.
The perfume received the prize of Best Perfume of 1999 for Christine Nagel's work, awarded by a jury of French journalists (info according to her mentor's, Jean Claude Ellena, archives).Fragrance Composition:
So what does it smell like? It is classified as a floral woody musk fragrance for women. The fragrance is centered around a heart of fresh blooming seringat (i.e. Philadelphus , a plant of white-petaled blossoms with a scent between orange blossom and jasmine; also known as "jasmin des poètes"). The top introduces complimentary hesperidic notes of citruses while the base is comprised by a soft, enveloping musk accord. The perfume is said to have a proportion of pure musk that has never been used before.
- Top notes: citrus notes, coriander, mandarin
- Middle notes: seringat, mock-orange, jasmine absolute, liatrix absolute, iris, rockrose absolute
- Base notes: musk, cedar, vanilla
Bottle:
Bottle designed by Federico Restrepo and produced by Baccarat. The bottle rests on a clear crystal three footed (tripod) stand that is decorated with stars and the name of the perfume printed in Russian Cyrillic ""ОДНАЖДЫ ЛЕТОМ В ЛИВАДИИ"" in 24kt gold serigraphy across the arch.
The tripod holds the ruby red glass bottle fitted with a swirled emerald green glass stopper resembling the onion-shaped dome of a Russian Orthodox church. The top of the stopper features a 24kt gold plated metal monstrance cross as a finial.
The bottle holds one ounce of parfum. Bottle and stand measure 4.75" tall x 6.25" diameter (12.1 x 15.9 cm). Original retail price was $$1,200 USD.
Fate of the Fragrance:
Since the perfume was limited to only 1500 examples, the production ceased after the last bottle was filled. This discontinued perfume is considered quite rare amongst collectors, who value it not for its scent, but for its exquisite flacon and presentation.