Collecting Vintage Perfume: A Sensory Pursuit
Scent is our most evocative sense.
Photograph of flapper applying Shalimar, via: library.hbs.edu.
Conjuring both memory and emotion, our sense of smell creates new memories and helps us to recall those long forgotten. For some, the recollection of tender childhood moments is intertwined with the scent memories of perfumes our mothers and grandmothers wore. These classic fragrances were distinct in their makeup and very different in character to the reformulations on the market today. Many of the ingredients have been banned or regulated out of use. Some have simply been re-imagined to cater to modern tastes. A whiff of the current Chanel No. 5 is just a whisper of what it used be when Marilyn Monroe wore it to bed. And the modern version of Guerlain's iconic Shalimar isn’t nearly as dirty as it’s reputation precedes it to be. Long gone are the days when there were three things a lady never did: smoke, dance the tango, and wear Shalimar.
In recent years, the IFRA (International Fragrance Association), has worked aggressively to ban and restrict the use of many natural and animal ingredients due to a rising concern for human health and the environment. Known allergens and natural musk are amongst the ingredients most heavily affected by these controls. Unfortunately, these are some of the ingredients that gave classic perfumes much of their charm. Although new reformulations of the classics may smell similar, they are at a loss for the notes that gave depth of character, distinction, lasting power, and subtle blending nuance to the original fragrances. The women who have worn these fragrances for decades will be the first to share their disappoint in the recent changes, for they are the ones to have lived in them.
One of the restricted ingredients is oakmoss, a tree lichen that grows mainly in the mountainous Balkans, has been deemed an irritant to sensitive skin by the IFRA. As it is an essential ingredient for all chypre accords, many perfume houses have been forced to rely on synthetic approximations as stand-ins for oakmoss in their new fragrance formulas. The idiosyncrasies of such a complex scent are not easily synthesized. The current reformulation of Chanel No. 5 is an example of a classic perfume that suffers from the use of new mossy aroma materials. Guerlain, however, has cultivated and patented its own species of oakmoss to meet the IFRA’s dermatological standards. This means that Guerlain’s classic Mitsouko retains much of its original character in its current reformulation.
The recent regulations of historically important notes are just one of the reasons vintage perfumes have become so desirable to collectors. The only way to experience the craftsmanship and artistry of the noses behind these scents, is to sniff the original juice.
In our upcoming January 23rd Premier auction, we feature a collection of classic perfume that includes a sampling from three of the major fragrance houses of the 19th Century: Guerlain, Caron, and Chanel. The following is a brief chronological history of vintage perfume as told through this collection.
Jicky, Guerlain, 1889
Lot 1381 includes three bottles of vintage Guerlain perfume in their original presentation boxes.
Created by Aimé Guerlain in 1889, Jicky was the world’s first modern perfume. It was completely unisex and incorporated both natural ingredients and the newly discovered synthetics: coumarin and vanillin. As a fougere, it’s main accord is a contrast of astringent lavender, bright citrus, and dusty oakmoss. Jicky also famously contains an inordinate amount of civet. Civet is a glandular secretion obtained from the African civet cat. Its scent is fecal when concentrated; but sweet when dilute.
Jicky became the fragrance worn by dandies and was reportedly a favorite of a young Sean Connery. The original flacon takes the shape of a 19th Century pharmacy jar, while the quadrilobe stopper resembles a champagne cork.
Apres L’Ondee, Guerlain, 1906
Lot 1380.
Apres L'Ondee was created by Jacques Guerlain in 1906. It was born of the vibrant arts movement of the Belle Epoque-- it is a perfume of a landscape. The composition is much like an impressionistic watercolor or pastel in it's attempt to capture a sun-warmed garden after a spring shower. Translated from french, Apres L'Ondee reads: “After the Rainshower”.
It is a delicate combination of orange blossom, violet, iris, spicy carnation, and vanilla that features a synthetic never-before used in perfume: Anise Aldehyde. The Louis XVI style flacon was created by Pouchet et du Courval.
Mitsouko, Guerlain, 1919
Lot 1381.
Mitsouko was created by Jacques Guerlain in 1919. It was a product of the japonisme (an obsession with all things Japanese) that enveloped Europe during the Victorian Era. The perfume was inspired by a fictional love story popular at the time. The heroine, Mitsouko, is the the wife of a Japanese admiral who falls in love with a British officer during the war between Russia and Japan in 1905. With both men gone to war, she must wait with dignity to see who will return to her.
Mitsouko is considered the first fruity Chypre fragrance. The chypre accord consists of citrus, labdanum, and oakmoss. This perfume is unique in that it features a newly discovered aldehyde: a luscious peach note. Mitsouko is traditionally bottled in a bouchon flacon as shown, the cut-out upside-down heart glass stopper denotes this particular bottle's age.
Claude Monet, "La Japonaise (Camille Monet in Japanese Costume)", 1876. This painting is an excellent example of Mitsouko's clever marketing. The public was eager for all that was Japanese or so inspired.
via: http://www.mfa.org/
Chanel, No. 5, 1921
Lot 1378 include three bottles of vintage Chanel No. 5 in varying concentrations and fullness.
Chanel No. 5 was created in 1921 by Earnest Beaux. Its characteristic sparkle comes from the large dose of floral aldehydes used in the composition. Aldehydes are organic compounds present in most natural aromatic materials. They can also be synthesized artificially. These scents are most commonly used in household cleaning products and air fresheners as a linen scent. It is no wonder that Earnest Beaux used them in his fragrance formula when he was trying to emulate the cool arctic air blown off a frozen lake. Chanel No. 5 is chilly, but beautifully so. As the story goes, Beaux presented Coco Chanel with ten versions of this fragrance. No. 5 was her pick, hence the name.
Nuit de Noel, Caron, 1922
Lot 1375 in our forthcoming premier auction is a lot of three bottles of Nuit de Noel with original faux shagreen tasseled boxes.
Ernest Daltroff created Nuit de Noel in 1922 for his partner, to honor her love of the Christmas season. It captures the silence of Christmas Eve: walking home from midnight mass, arm-in-arm with your lover, while snow falls on silent Parisian streets, and whiffs of incense caught in your furs remind you to be somber. It is a floral oriental perfume featuring incense, sandalwood, and oakmoss in the base. The simple opaque baccarat bottle is adorned with a gold frieze embellishment. The shape of which is reminiscent of the art deco headbands worn across the forehead by flappers of the era.
via: theperfumemagazine.com
Shalimar, Guerlain, 1925
Lot 1381.
Shalimar was created in 1925 by Jacques Guerlain. It was inspired by the love story behind the Taj Mahal. The fragrance is named after the Gardens of Shalimar a famous Indian Shah had built to please his beloved queen. This story captured the imaginations of European women who yearned for the exotic and became a trendsetter in a relatively new gene of fragrance: the oriental perfume. These fragrances capture the aromas of the far east with spice, incense, and amber. Shalimar’s incense accord in comprised of Opoponax, frankincense, and vanilla. It is offset by orange-n-cream top notes and a powdery, floral heart. This juice is contained in a Gouette style flacon designed to resemble the Shalimar Garden fountains with blue glass stopper.
via: studyblue.com
This etching depicts the Shalimar Gardens as they were in 1859. It is an illustration from the travel log of John B. Ireland, entitled: "Wall-Street to Cashmere : a journal of five years in Asia, Africa, and Europe...".
via: searchkashmir.org
Bellodgia, Caron, 1927
Lot 1377 includes two bottles of Caron Bellodgia perfume. The bottle pictured is sealed. Evaporation has taken place over time.
Caron’s Bellodgia was created in 1927 by house perfumer Ernest Daltroff. It is considered the carnation gold standard in classic perfumerie. It features the natural spiciness of the dianthus note in soliflore. The fragrance immortalizes a trip taken by it’s creator, Ernest Daltroff and his lover, to Bellodgia, a small Italian town overlooking lake Como. The bottle’s architectural lines mimic those of the Italian villas the couple stayed in and the floral bouquet captures the fields of the countryside.
Joy, Jean Patou, 1930
This bottle as well as a small purse spray is also included in lot 1377.
Jean Patou’s ‘Joy’ was released the year of the stock market crash in 1930. The fashion house, turned perfumerie, had always catered to American women (hence the English names of it’s perfumes). Joy was a sumptuous gift to it’s American clients, bankrupt by the depression, who were unable to travel to France.
Despite being a product of economic decline, Joy was the costliest perfume of its day. A single ounce of this legendary fragrance contained 10,600 jasmine flowers, each picked by moonlight, and 28 dozen May roses. The original formulation also featured a heavy dose of natural civet.
Despite the cost of such a luxury item, it became a success that endures to this day as a landmark of the white floral genre of perfumes. The design of the bottle honors age old traditions. These were wrapped with gold thread (the French word for this is barbichage), and were closed with a wax seals to ensure freshness (this was called baudruchage). This was a labor intensive work, as each bottle had to be decorated and sealed individually, adding to the cost and preciousness of the perfume.
Photograph of Jasmine blooms,
via: flowerstips.org
Disclaimer:
These iconic perfumes may not be to everyone’s taste. It is important to keep in mind that a perfume is a product of the era it was created in. Much like a visual artist, the nose behind the fragrance, constructed it to appeal to a specific audience. He followed the ever-changing tastes of the day. In addition, these perfumes were not crafted to be universally likable in the first place-- they were intended to be distinctive, if not polarizing-- even to the public for which they were originally designed.
Though an appreciation for the history that shaped these scents, the ingredients that went into them, the nostalgia of old fashioned aramata, and the craftsmanship of the bottles and packaging is certainly reason enough to explore classical french perfumerie.
