Favorite Vintage Perfumes

[CherryRed]

Reading and re-reading the favorite vintage makeup thread got me thinking of vintage perfumes. I know some old sents are still available today but I am just unsure when they are from. I know Emeraude is an older one. Anyone know when it was first out? I also recently saw L'Air Du Temps by Nina Ricci at TJ Maxx. I remember my grandmother having the empty bottle from that on her dresser, so I know it would be at least from the 1960's, maybe older.
I would love to hear what your favorits are and also a description of the sent.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

My favorite vintage perfume is Quelques Fleurs--it was created in 1912.

Another fave of mine is Chanel Gardenia, which was released in the 1920s. It is the only Chanel perfume that I can wear--the others, like No. 5, are much to powdery for my taste.
Another heady gardenia fragrance is Fracas, which was released in 1948.

I would love to try some of the perfumes on this site, such as My Sin:
http://www.longlostperfumes.com/

Also, The Vermont Country Store carries a few vintage perfumes, including Evening in Paris (another scent I like):
http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/...ribute15=0&attribute16=0&RS=1&keyword=perfume

By the way, L'Air du Temps was released in 1948. My great aunt wears this, and the scent is lovely.

 

[CherryRed]

By the way, L'Air du Temps was released in 1948. My great aunt wears this, and the scent is lovely.

Great! Thanks. I will go take a look at those links.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Another wonderful Depression-era fragrance is Joy (1935). It was described as the most expensive perfume in the world

Apres L'Ondee was released in 1905.

Some of the Coty perfumes are still available as well. I found a bottle of L'Origan (the same scent used in Coty Airspun powder) on Ebay.

Also, Tabu (1932) is still around--though my very proper southern friend once said that her mother threw her bottle out, because "that is not a perfume for ladies."

Here's another good article:
http://www.beautybuzz.com/scent.asp?page=history

 

[MissQueenie]

I wear Givenchy's "L'interdit" daily in spring/summer -- it was created by Givenchy for Audrey Hepburn alone. They released an altered formula previously, and it didn't do well. If memory serves me, the stuff out now is the original formula and it's lovely.

I can't do Chanel No. 5 or No. 22 -- too powdery, like JBD has said. I've had good luck with 19, which is a very green, almost masculine, scent. (Be forewarned, my best friend swears it smells like bug spray on her...) I would love to have a bottle of 19, but they only make eau du toilette for sale in the States, and the parfum is supposed to have a richer, less alcoholic scent.

Shalimar by Guerlain is another popular vintage scent, though this too is a little powdery. I like it though, it smells like a crisp autumnal day in northern India (er, not that I'd know from personal experience...I just have a good imagination) -- spicy, rich, exotic, and cozy. Guerlain, too, has kept their older, classic scents intanct, like L'Heure Blue and Jicky (haven't tried these yet).

I have a love/hate relationship with Arpege. It's haunting. It can also be spooky, so I don't know that I'd wear it I guess it's the aldehydes...it reminds me of something a ghost would smell like which is both a little eerie and sort of romantic. The drydown is worth it, but the initial aldehydes scare me off.

I would really love a chance to try more vintage perfumes...Caron still sells many of their vintage scents. So does Creed. A good place to look is "The Bombshell Manual of Style" -- it's an adorable little book and has an entire chapter devoted to perfumes.

I'm excited about this thread -- can't wait to run out and test some new things...

 

[LaMedicine]

1000 (Mille--from Jean Patou, the same company as Joy.)
Mitsuko by Guerlain.
When did Chanel No.5 come out?

 

[jitterbugdoll]

I love Shalimar too, but only in the bottle. It turns acrid and powdery on my skin, just like Chanel No. 5. Both are perfumes that I can only enjoy on others. :cry:

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Chanel No. 5 was released in 1921--but I imagine that many people associate it with Marilyn Monroe in the 1950s

 

[MissQueenie]

I can sympathize, Amanda -- I nearly cried when I tried No. 5 for the first time. It smelled exactly like baby powder on me...Talk about destroying the mystique!

Do men still send perfume as a present? I think all the men in my life are scared to death of perfume counters, and of girly stuff in general. Unless they knew exactly what I wanted I don't think they'd be able to cowboy up and march into Bloomingdales for it. Though really, can you see Humphrey Bogart hemming and hawing at the cosmetics counter? Maybe the world hasn't changed as much as I'd like to think after all...

 

[jitterbugdoll]

I can't say that I've ever received perfume as a gift from a love interest--even with a specific request However, I do know of a few husbands who buy their wives perfume--but they always buy the same 'signature' scent.

Queenie--it smells worse then baby powder on me. It is so strong it's cloying! However, I believe that they have changed the formula, as is the case with many vintage fragrances still available. So, we can pretend that Chanel No. 5 would have been lovely on us in the 1940s

 

[Wild Root]

Good day ladies. I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢d like to offer my humble opinion to this feminine thread. I once received a letter with a nice sent to it. I liked it very much. If a young lady who I adore wanted a bottle of her favorite perfume, I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢d go and buy it. The cosmetic counters in Department stores are some what scary for the pure reason I don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t know what?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s going on there. You know, like what?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s good and for what reason it?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s good.

There are some really good fragrances and some really powerfully bad ones! Just sitting in Church some times an older lady will walk by and smell like she just poured on all the samples at the Clinique counter. I swear, if there were flowers in the building, they would wilt as she walked by.

I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m quite sure you ladies here know what you?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢re doing in this area. You all seem to have fine taste in every thing vintage.

It?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s really intriguing how some of the fragrances from the past are still around. I would like to find good cologne that has been around for the last 80 years for my self but, I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢m some what uneducated in colognes as well. Do any of you have a favorite that a guy like I might wear to complete the vintage look and ad a vintage aroma?

Good day ladies,

Root.

 

[Biltmore Bob]

Dial soap and sweat from a light work out...grrrrrrrrrr.

 

[LaMedicine]

Dial soap and sweat from a light work out...grrrrrrrrrr.

Now, I think I heard that somewhere else before
But I am not sure I would like to wear it with my lovely evening dress and best jewels, especially pearls

 

[Wild Root]

Oh Brother Bob.

Do you have any you like to use Bob? Besides Dial soap?

WR.

 

[MissQueenie]

Root, your post was too charming for words. Makes a girl feel good to know some boys still have guts and taste

If a fella can do it right, nothing is as equisite as a fine, subtle cologne. Too much is vile, but just enough to linger on a lady's skin or clothes after a long evening out is just wonderful. I remember the first time I ever danced with a boy, in 9th grade, and the secret joy I had in discovering his scent lingering in my dress as I took it off in the solitude of my bedroom. I also remember the comforting smell of Old Spice lingering in my school uniforms as a girl from hugging my wonderful and deeply-missed grandfather goodbye in the mornings.

As for specifics, I'm really at a loss...The Bombshell Manual had a few suggestions, but I can't remember them all off the top of my head. Irish Tweed was one of them. Also, and I don't know anyone who's tried this, but J.Peterman makes a really pretty bottle of men's cologne http://jpeterman.com/cgi-bin/sgdynamo.exe?UID=!+USID!&HTNAME=\html\jp-products/OM\collection-1903.html I love the wood casing!

Also, a fellow just can't go wrong with Bay Rum. I think it's got a beautiful vintage aura to it, and it's a man's man scent. Something colonial and exotic about it without being pert...Visions of blistering tropical sun, a gorgeous white linen suit, and a fine panama hat. There's the variety store stand by, St. John's http://stjohnsbayrum.com/category.php?category_id=1 These fellas have nice packaging http://www.calantilles.com/catcframes/Products/Meehan/combo.html

I would shop around, and whatever you do, try it on your skin for a day first! Scents react with your body's unique chemistry and take a while to show their true colors. Caveat Emptor!

 

[Annalai]

I have a book called 100 parfums de l?ɬ©gende written by Sylvie Girard-Lagorce
http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/ASIN/2263030212/402-1270354-3643315
Mine is in Swedish the original is French I did not see any English translation of it. But it is a nice book with information about when the parfume was made and some text about how it smells and of course pictures of the bottles several parfumes mentioned in this thread is in the book with the dates when it was made etc. The book is written 2000.

My first grown up parfum was channel no 5 it smelled good on me when I was 16. Some month ago when I was shopping for a new parfume I tried it on my skin again and this time I did not like the smell. One parfum from the 40's I like but does not use myself it was my mothers parfum so I still connect it to her and does not want to use it is Femme from Roshas.

Annalai

 

[Biltmore Bob]

My wife wears Chanel No. 5...Period!

 

[Wild Root]

Wow, sounds like an order! I take it you like that potion then.

I can't remember what No.5 smells like but, it sure has a name one can find in most movies and songs. It's really interesting how a perfume could smell different depending on one's own chemical balance. I have tried some nice concoctions ever so often from friends and well, they always seemed to smell ok and not different then they did in the bottle.

Carry on!

Root.

 

[LaMedicine]

Diorrissimo by Dior is another of my favorites. Though I haven't worn it recently, I've loved its lily of the valley note since my teens, and the fragrance always reminds me of those happy years.

 

[CherryRed]

This is going great I am getting a lot a super info from you all! I was talking to my mother about the perfumes a few minutes ago and she also mentioned Tabu. She said my grandmother kept it in a drawer and only used it on special occasions. She remembers giving Evening in Paris as gifts to teachers.
I and Dh both dislike powdery fragrances. We call them "old lady" perfumes. My DH's step-mother wears one that is a good example. I think it might be Interlude. It's been a long time since I smelled Channel No.5.