Kadine by Guerlain: launched in 1911.
What does it smell like? It is classified as a powdery aromatic floral fragrance for women. It was heavy on the iris note, obtained by orris roots.
Evening Star, 1913:
A 1914 edition of Pearson's Magazine has this to say about the creation of Kadine.
Kadine was launched in the four-sided bottle ( Flacon Carre) which was a standard at the time in 1911. Also presented in the flacon de Guerre (wartime flacon) and in a 1/2 litre ‘Quadrilobe’ bottle in a black wooden box made by Cristalleries de Baccarat. Can also be found in the 'Petit Beurre", (Butter Pat) flacon from 1926-1939, the Amphore flacon (parfum), and the Goutte flacon (eau de toilette) starting in 1923.
In the Ottoman Empire, the Kadine means a woman in the harem of the Sultan, who was elevated to a wife, that is to say a "favorite". During a visit to the Topkapi Palace, Jacques Guerlain crosses the portrait of a Kadine. He was struck by her incredible beauty but is also said that she was endowed with an exceptional olfactory gift ... In homage to this history, he creates a perfume in her name in 1911.
Fragrance Composition:
What does it smell like? It is classified as a powdery aromatic floral fragrance for women. It was heavy on the iris note, obtained by orris roots.
- Top notes: anise, bergamot, Parma violet, aromatic notes, orange
- Heart notes: iris, jasmine, Bulgarian rose, carnation, leather, orris, violet leaf
- Base notes: musk, almond, vanilla
Evening Star, 1913:
"Kadine is an iris, but so fragrant and lasting, so arranged and dressed up, that it seems a queen of odors."
A 1914 edition of Pearson's Magazine has this to say about the creation of Kadine.
"Perfumes were a hobby with her. From her gardens, she distilled what Gabriel Guerlain says no Paris perfumer is able to buy unadulterated - the true concentrated essence of Bulgarian roses. Parma violets, the invention of her family, yielded her almost their exact fragrance. Above all, she loved the iris, the flag or fleur de luce of the old French Kings. Orris powder from the root is known to all; but no perfumer had succeeded in producing what the delicate fancy of Marie Louise hit on - a concentrated liquid iris that was not insipid, a central iris decorated with fugitive half-tones and a tantalizing suspicion of orange for dissonance. Gabriel Guerlain, that grand old artiste whom she called her friend, made it up for her under the name "Kadine", which is Turkish or Bulgarian for "queen" and "woman"; and such it was finally destined to become a precious modern scent. And a glory of the rue de la Paix. Who, today, paying $5 for seven grammes of it, will dream of what it typified in the reveries of the blonde daughter of the Bourbon-Parmas - the destiny of her beloved Ferdinand: the ancient fleur de lis, royal emblem of their common ancestry, adorned with the haunting half tones of every modern devotion to the people!"
Bottles:
Kadine was launched in the four-sided bottle ( Flacon Carre) which was a standard at the time in 1911. Also presented in the flacon de Guerre (wartime flacon) and in a 1/2 litre ‘Quadrilobe’ bottle in a black wooden box made by Cristalleries de Baccarat. Can also be found in the 'Petit Beurre", (Butter Pat) flacon from 1926-1939, the Amphore flacon (parfum), and the Goutte flacon (eau de toilette) starting in 1923.
Photo by ellenaa
Photo from the vintage perfume vault
Photo from duftreise
Photo from delcampe
photo from delcampe
photo from happy-penza.ru
Fate of the Fragrance:
Discontinued, date unknown. Still being sold in 1941.
In 2005, a re-orchestration of the original by Jean-Paul Guerlain, re-packaged and re-launched.
Relaunched in 2021 as a special limited edition of only 935 pieces available worldwide at a retail price of 690 Euros.
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