Sunday, March 6, 2016

20 Carats by Dana c1933

20 Carats was first introduced in 1933 by Dana who launched Tabu just one year before. Originally only sold in their Parisian boutique, 20 Carats may have only been introduced to American women during this time by soldiers returning from duty in France, bringing home perfumes for their sweethearts, sisters and mothers.

Monday, February 29, 2016

Toujours Moi by Corday c1923

Toujours Moi by Corday: launched in 1923 in France, in USA by 1924. Toujours Moi (Always Me) started life as the favored incense used in the Notre Dame cathedral of France. Hundreds of years later in 1923, the great House of Corday translated that incense into a classic perfume which would be known as their signature fragrance.


Sunday, February 28, 2016

Elgin American Compacts c1940 Advertisements

Vintage advertisements for Elgin American compacts from a 1940 N. Shure catalog. Shown as various enameled compacts, some have cloisonne.


Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Diorella by Christian Dior c1972

Diorella by Christian Dior: created by Edmond Roudnitska, was launched in 1972. The name combining Dior's name was most probably inspired by Cinderella.


Friday, February 19, 2016

Shocking You by Schiaparelli c1976

Shocking You by Schiaparelli: launched in 1976. I believe that this may be the reformulated version of 'S' by Schiaparelli as the notes are very similar.


Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Orgia by Myrurgia c1922

Orgia by Myrurgia: launched in 1922. Myrurgia's Orgia, pronounced "orheeah", the Spanish word that signifies a profusion of things in the case of this perfume means many flowers, many lights, many loves.


Saturday, January 30, 2016

Monday, January 25, 2016

Vintage Shampoo - Yucca Dew

"ooh oooh yucca dew "

The all natural Yucca-Dew Shampoo was made by Alberto-Culver in 1972. It was very distinctive at the time for what it contained, it had the oils from the yucca plant to enrich your hair, leaving it soft, glossy and manageable. Yucca roots when pounded, produce a soapy lather suitable for shampoo. This fact has been known to certain Native Americans in the southwestern United States and Mexicans for centuries and the plant is often called soapweed or soap plant.



La Rose by Rochas c1949

 La Rose by Rochas: launched in 1949. Created by Edmond Roudnitska. Reformulated by Mme Thérèse Roudnitska.

The fragrance was available in Parfum (Extrait), Eau de Cologne and an Eau de Toilette cleverly called Eau de Jeunesse "Water of Youth".

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Vintage Boudoirs of the Stars - Part 4

Joan Evans, c1940s-1950s, various perfumes and powder boxes on her vanity.

 Joan Fontaine, c1930s-1940s, various perfumes and goodies on her vanity.

Joan Fontaine, c1940s, various perfumes on her vanity.


Joan Crawford, c1940s, gorgeous mirror front vanity table, some treasures on the table.


Judith Barrett, c1940, various crystal bottles and an atomizer on her vanity

June Collyer, c1920s, Apollo Studios pierced brass perfume atomizer on her vanity.

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Bullock, Ward & Co

Bullock, Ward & Co. of Chicago, Illinois were manufacturers of soap, perfumes, pure food flavor extracts and toilet specialties. The company was established in 1899 by Thomas H. Bullock and Phillip T. Ward, and primarily dealt in the mail order business.



Friday, January 15, 2016

Le Parfum Ideal by Houbigant c1896

Le Parfum Ideal was created by Houbigant by in house perfumer, Paul Parquet in 1896, but it was launched for the first time at the 1900 Worlds Fair, along with another perfume Coeur de Jeanette.



The quintessential label for Le Parfum Ideal features a Gibson Girl sniffing a flower, this label was made of gilded foil and heavily embossed.


Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Friday, January 8, 2016

Courant by Helena Rubinstein c1972

Courant by Helena Rubinstein: launched in 1972. Created by Max Gavarry. Courant was reportedly formulated to change with a woman's body temperature.



Monday, January 4, 2016

Halston

Halston (pronounced HALL'-STON).

Established by fashion designer Roy Halston Frowick (1932-1990) in Des Moines; started as a milliner. There is tons of info on Halston online, so I won't go into that here, but I will concentrate on his fragrances.


Directoire by Charles of the Ritz c1946

Directoire by Charles of the Ritz: launched in 1946.


Thursday, December 31, 2015

André Chapus Parfumeur

André Chapus, 11 bis Avenue Mac-Mahon, Paris, launched a range of perfumes and cosmetics in the 1940s.

 



Arpege by Lanvin c1927

Arpege by Lanvin: launched in 1927. Created by André Fraysse and Paul Vacher. Named after the musical term ‘arpeggio’ in honour of Jeanne Lanvin’s only daughter Marie-Blanche, a talented pianist.


Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Laura Biagiotti by Laura Biagiotti c1982

Laura Biagiotti by Laura Biagiotti: launched in 1982. This was the first Laura Biagiotti perfume, it was later known as Fiori Bianchi (White Flowers) in 1991.

This fragrance was manufactured by Ellen Betrix and distributed in the United States by New York-based Accents and Essentials.




Thursday, December 17, 2015

Miss Dior by Christian Dior c1947

Miss Dior by Christian Dior: launched in 1947. Created by perfumers Jean Carles and Paul Vacher, it met with immediate success.


Monday, December 7, 2015

Caleche by Hermes c1961

Caleche was launched by Hermes in France in 1961, it was officially launched in the USA in 1963 and imported by Alexandra de Markoff. Created by Guy Robert, it is described as a fragrance of vibrant light and magic. A classic blend of floral and woodsy scents.

Caleche (pronounced KAL-ESCH'), was named after the House’s emblematic carriage team logo. A caleche is the folding hood of a two-wheeled, horse-drawn open carriage. Caleche was reported to be the favorite fragrance of Princess Margaret of England.





"You'll lead an enchanted life if you wear Caleche!"


Cabriole by Elizabeth Arden c1977

Cabriole by Elizabeth Arden: launched in 1977. The name stems from a ballet movement consisting of a leap and a turn.





Thursday, December 3, 2015

Les Parfums de Marie Magdeleine

Les Parfums de Marie Magdeleine of Paris, France; another name that E.J. Fay traded under during the 1920s-1940s.


Welcome!

This is not your average perfume blog. In each post, I present perfumes or companies as encyclopedic entries with as much facts and photos as I can add for easy reading and researching without all the extraneous fluff or puffery.

Please understand that this website is not affiliated with any of the perfume companies written about here, it is only a source of reference. I consider it a repository of vital information for collectors and those who have enjoyed the classic fragrances of days gone by. Updates to posts are conducted whenever I find new information to add or to correct any errors.

One of the goals of this website is to show the present owners of the various perfumes and cologne brands that are featured here how much we miss the discontinued classics and hopefully, if they see that there is enough interest and demand, they will bring back these fragrances!

Please leave a comment below (for example: of why you liked the fragrance, describe the scent, time period or age you wore it, who gave it to you or what occasion, any specific memories, what it reminded you of, maybe a relative wore it, or you remembered seeing the bottle on their vanity table, did you like the bottle design), who knows, perhaps someone from the company brand might see it.

Also, if you have any information not seen here, please comment and share with all of us.

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