L’OFFICIEL delves into Guerlain’s new chapter in Malaysia and the timeless allure of L’Heure Bleue with CEO Gabrielle Saint Genis.<o:p></o:p>

At the opening of Guerlain’s flagship boutique at Pavilion KL, the celebration marked more than a new chapter for the Maison in Malaysia. It also welcomed the launch of L’Heure Bleue, a significant new fragrance for women inspired by one of nature’s most fleeting moments, the blue hour. As day gives way to night, or night slowly returns to day, the world is momentarily immersed in a deep, ethereal blue. It is this transitional moment, suspended between light and darkness, that serves as the inspiration behind L’Heure Bleue.<o:p></o:p>
Created for women who embrace authentic femininity in all its many expressions, L’Heure Bleue challenges the conventional idea of what a feminine fragrance should be.&nbsp;A&nbsp;blue fragrance for women, and why not? Throughout Guerlain’s history, the two have never been contradictory. In fact, as far back as the last century, L’Heure Bleue was conceived as a fragrance for women, originally composed by Jacques Guerlain for his wife, Andrée.<o:p></o:p>
We sat down with Guerlain CEO Gabrielle Saint-Génis to&nbsp;delve deeper into&nbsp;the story of L’Heure Bleue and the Maison’s latest chapter in Kuala Lumpur. From the new flagship boutique to the inspiration and heritage behind the fragrance, she shares the stories and ideas shaping Guerlain today.<o:p></o:p>

What does the Pavilion KL boutique mark in Guerlain’s evolving journey in Malaysia?<o:p></o:p>
Well, it’s a very important milestone for us because, for the first time, we have a space where we can truly express our stories. We had our boutique at The Exchange TRX, but this is a much larger space, allowing us to offer more services while also providing greater privacy for our customers.<o:p></o:p>
Guerlain is a 200-year-old Maison, and we have so much to share. This boutique gives us the opportunity to fully express the world of Guerlain, from fragrances and skincare to makeup. More than simply discovering our products, we can take our customers on a complete journey through our services and share with them the stories and heritage of the Maison.<o:p></o:p>
With this new boutique, we now have the space to develop these experiences together with our customers, and that is important to us.<o:p></o:p>
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What kind of impact do you hope the new boutique will make on brand’s presence in the Malaysian luxury beauty landscape?<o:p></o:p>
Well, to start with, we’ve already seen that since opening, we are attracting many new customers across different age groups. The immediate impact has been a significant expansion of our customer base. Some already knew the brand from elsewhere, while others are discovering Guerlain for the first time. So, for us, there is really a clear before and after with the opening of this boutique.<o:p></o:p>
It’s an opportunity for us, and we see a lot of potential to continue growing from here. This new space allows us to reach more customers and introduce even more people to the world of Guerlain.<o:p></o:p>

How does Guerlain continue to translate its heritage and exceptional craftsmanship into something that resonates with today’s Southeast Asian consumer?<o:p></o:p>
It’s probably one of the most challenging parts of our job but also one of the most exciting, finding the right balance between tradition and modernity. How can a 200-year-old Maison achieve that balance?<o:p></o:p>
There’s a fantastic quote by Winston Churchill. He was speaking about art, but it resonates strongly with what we do in luxury and beauty. He said, ‘Without tradition, art is a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Without innovation, it is a corpse.’ I think that perfectly captures the balance we strive for at Guerlain.<o:p></o:p>
Innovation has been part of Guerlain’s DNA from the very beginning. The Maison invented the first lipstick in the 19th century and later created one of the first modern fragrances by combining natural ingredients with chemical molecules for the first time, completely expanding the possibilities of perfumery.<o:p></o:p>
So, we have innovation in our blood. We are obsessed with creating something new, exciting, and relevant to our customers. If we cannot do that, then it’s simply not worth doing. We are always looking towards the future, but the way we innovate always starts with our heritage.<o:p></o:p>
L’Heure Bleue is a perfect example. We started with a creation by Jacques Guerlain from the beginning of the 20th century, so there is already a remarkable history and depth behind the fragrance. Yet we have transformed it for the 21st century, using the modern palette of today’s perfumers, with new possibilities and molecules. For us, it’s about finding that balance, drawing from our heritage, which gives a product its depth while remaining completely in tune with the times. We look closely at younger generations, from Gen Z to the emerging Gen Alpha, understanding how they are evolving and allowing those insights to shape the next chapter of innovation for Guerlain.<o:p></o:p>

L’Heure Bleue is one of the key fragrance launches this year. What does it mean to the Maison’s fragrance archive?<o:p></o:p>
It’s a very important launch for us. We really took our time because when we introduce a new fragrance, our customers expect something different. There are brands that follow trends, but I doubt that is the purpose of Guerlain. It’s not about being arrogant; it’s simply not our positioning. We are here to disrupt the market because Guerlain has always been a Maison of fragrance masters. So, we took the time to create something truly different, and I believe this is an important milestone in our story. It is a major innovation, a fragrance that I believe you have never smelled before.<o:p></o:p>
We spent a year developing the fragrance, followed by another year refining it to ensure that it had a strong trail, or sillage, as we say in French. So, it’s not only an innovation in terms of the scent itself but also a technically accomplished creation. The bottle was another important part of the process. We wanted to shape it like a jewel and worked with one of the world’s leading glassmakers. It took them a year to achieve the perfect blue hue, with a delicate gradient that fades from blue into transparency, evoking the colour of the sky.<o:p></o:p>
We also wanted to approach the inspiration from a different perspective. We have been observing women across the world, and what we felt was that women are becoming tired of the constant expectation to be strong, independent, and everything at once. What we sensed instead was a desire to slow down, to have time for themselves, to reconnect, and to simply be.<o:p></o:p>
This is where L’Heure Bleue comes in. When you think about the blue hour, it is a suspended moment when everything seems to stop. It gives you the opportunity to be yourself, to breathe, and to contemplate nature. It is not a story about power; it is a different kind of femininity. I believe this story can resonate with many women today, not only women in their 30s or 40s, but also younger generations, including Gen Z and Gen Alpha. There is a universal need for that moment of pause, and I think L’Heure Bleue speaks beautifully to it.<o:p></o:p>

How are you bringing the story of L’Heure Bleue to this region while remaining faithful to its original global identity?<o:p></o:p>
What we find particularly interesting about the concept is how universal L’Heure Bleue is. Every day, there are two blue hours, one in the morning and one in the evening, and you can experience them anywhere, whether in the countryside or in the heart of a city, in North America, Europe or Asia. It is truly a universal concept.<o:p></o:p>
We are paying tribute to Jacques Guerlain’s original creation and respecting its heritage, while also transforming it to reflect the modern world we live in today. We are essentially sharing the blue hours of the entire world. You can see this coming to life on social media, with people sharing their own blue-hour moments from wherever they are. I think there is something very contemporary about that.<o:p></o:p>
For me, it’s a very cool concept because it connects a creation with such a rich history to something that feels completely universal and relevant today.<o:p></o:p>
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What kind of experience can visitors expect when they step into the new boutique?<o:p></o:p>
We have a wide range of services to offer. To begin with, we can take a moment to introduce our customers to the heritage and story of the Maison. When it comes to beauty services, customers can enjoy anything from a quick makeup touch-up to a full makeup experience, as well as discover our facial treatments featuring some of our iconic skincare products.<o:p></o:p>
We also offer fragrance consultations, where our experts take the time to understand each customer and help them discover the fragrance that feels uniquely suited to them.<o:p></o:p>

How have luxury beauty consumers in Southeast Asia evolved, and what are they looking for from a Maison like Guerlain today?<o:p></o:p>
One of the things I observe across the world is that luxury consumers are becoming increasingly demanding. When they come into our stores, they want to connect with the brand and understand its story and concept. This is a significant change compared to ten years ago.<o:p></o:p>
If we focus specifically on Asian consumers, what I find particularly&nbsp;interesting&nbsp;is how quickly the fragrance market is evolving in ways that are quite different from the Western world. They are inventing and exploring so many new ways of experiencing fragrance, which is incredibly inspiring for us, even as an established fragrance Maison.<o:p></o:p>
We are learning from these new consumers across Asia, who are introducing different formats and ways of wearing fragrance. They are encouraging us to explore new textures and forms, whether oils, powders, smoky applications, or solid fragrances, as well as new ways of wearing them, such as fragrance&nbsp;jewellery&nbsp;or on a belt.<o:p></o:p>
I think this fresh perspective on the fragrance category is pushing us to look at the market differently and continue to innovate. And that is something I find incredibly exciting.<o:p></o:p>
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Beyond this boutique opening, what are your other priorities for Malaysia?<o:p></o:p>
We want to continue expanding, but very selectively. We make sure we're in the right place at the right time, at the right time, just as we did with Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. And we still see significant room for growth, particularly here in Malaysia.<o:p></o:p>

Guerlain’s new chapter begins with L’Heure Bleue

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