Hello and welcome! Please understand that this website is not affiliated with Guerlain in any way, it is only a reference site for collectors and those who have enjoyed the classic fragrances of days gone by. All trademarks belong to their respective owners. The main objective of this website is to chronicle the 200+ year old history of the Guerlain fragrances and showcase the bottles and advertising used throughout the years. Let this site be your source for information on antique and vintage Guerlain perfumes. Another goal of this website is to show the present owners of the Guerlain company how much we miss many of the discontinued classics and hopefully, if they see that there is enough interest and demand, they will bring back these fragrances! I invite you to 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 on what occasion, what it smelled like to you, how it made you feel, any specific memories, what it reminded you of, maybe a relative wore it, or you remembered seeing the bottle on their vanity table), who knows, perhaps someone from the current Guerlain brand might see it. If you have any questions, please send all images of your bottle and pertinent information directly to me at cleopatrasboudoir@gmail.com. I will try to assist you the best I can.

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Sunday, February 3, 2013

Vintage 1930s- Guerlain Perfume Tester Rack Version #2

Vintage late 1930s-early 1940s Guerlain Perfume Tester Rack, looks like it is clear lucite, which would have sat on the counter at the Guerlain boutiques or in the department store where Guerlain perfumes were sold. 

As you can see from the vintage illustration, the most popular Guerlain perfumes were presented:


  • Shalimar
  • Jicky
  • Vol de Nuit
  • Dawamesk
  • Coque D'Or
  • Mitsouko
  • Bouquet de Faunes
  • Geranium D'Espagne
  • A Travers Champs
  • Apres L'Ondee
  • Lavande
  • Rue de la Paix
  • Liu
  • Djedi
  • Vetiver

Curiously, I do not see Sous Le Vent represented...

The bottles are clear glass with glass stoppers with daubers that reach all the way down. Their white labels display the red Marly horse logo.




photo by scansione0002

Bora-Bora c2010

Bora-Bora: Created in either 2010. First noted by Octavian Coifan as seen in Madame Figaro magazine. This perfume was a limited edition created by Thierry Wasser.


Rare Guerlain Perfume Coffret c1842-1914

(15 Rue de la Paix period 1842-1914) "Bouquet of Princess Alice" "Double Rose Extract" Exceptional and rare oval cabinet veneered rosewood, friezes wrapped in gilded bronze, richly inlaid motifs in ivory on its cover, padded interior, including three bottles of extract section and cylindrical form decorated with a blue opaline mount pomponne ornate, decorated each capsule reserve a macaroon Paris porcelain polychrome decorated with flowers, with their colorless glass stopper, two bottles emblazoned with the label titled Guerlain, 15 rue de la Paix. Above. 7 cm each. 




Photo and description from Lombrail-Teucquam Auction 2009.

Eau de Lingerie c2013

Guerlain has decided to enter the world of clothing, by way of a limited edition lingerie line in connection with Absolutely Pom, which features a unique scented fabric fragrance, Eau de Lingerie, which is meant to be sprayed onto lingerie. The perfume was released on Valentine's Day, 2013, as a part of Les Elixirs Charnels collection.


Marie Claire c1996

Marie Claire: In 1996, Guerlain created an eau de par­fum for the tenth anniversary French edition of Marie Claire mag­a­zine — limited to only 1000 examples — which were assigned to recip­i­ents by way of a com­pe­ti­tion.


Heliotrope Blanc 000 by Guerlain c1870

Héliotrope Blanc 000, created in 1870, very popular during 1878-1883. The 000 after the name means that this is a triple-strength floral extract.

Heliotrope is a sweet-scented plant which is called Heliotrope because it follows the course of the sun. After opening it gradually turns from the east to the west and during the night turns again to the east to meet the rising sun. The Ancients recognized this characteristic of the plant and applied it to mythology.


Guerlain's Historical Cosmetics


Pierre-Francois-Pascal Guerlain was born in 1798 in Abeville. In 1817, he began a career as a "commited merchant" in the House of Briard, which manufactured and sold perfumes. Soon, he was hired by the House of Dissey et Piver, a cosmetic and perfume house, where he worked as a salesman and helped create perfumes.

In 1828, at the age of just 30, Pierre-Francois-Pascal Guerlain opened his first boutique, at 42 rue de Rivoli,an arcade-lined street located in the heart of Paris. Fortunately, this was also the location of the fashionable Hotel Meurice, a favorite haunt of the British high society.



To exploit this fact, he used his knowledge of popular British toiletry products from his days as a salesman, Guerlain began his business by importing upscale products from Britain, but he was soon developing his own, original, trendsetting formulas for toilet waters, scented toilet vinegars, soaps, creams, pomades, cosmetics, perfume extraits and perfume essences for handkerchiefs. many of the products bore English writing on the labels. He used imported ingredients for cosmetics: cochineal from Goa, alum and vermilion from China, and myrrh and rose water from Persia.


He created recipes similar to those from Dissey et Piver, namely Serkis de Sultanas, which they sold as Serkis de Serail, a skin whitening cream, the so called Secret of the Harem. Other products such as Cream de Perse, a Persian face cream, was also produced by both houses.

These swanky products were all the rage with the British aristocrats, especially the young Queen Victoria for whom Guerlain created the perfume Bouquet de la Reine Victoria in honor of her ascension to the throne.

Not long after the Guerlain boutique was opened in 1834, he offered his products to the French market, and it was a most popular and natty place for ladies to purchase the latest skincare and cosmetics.

A fashionable Parisian lady during the 19th century may have used Guerlain's perfumed vinegars to scent her apartment with the Vinaigrillon Seville, which she could also use to heal cuts or sores on her body.

The lady would have also used Guerlain's famous Savon Sapoceti, a rich soap, made up of whale blubber to cleanse her body and whiten the skin. It could be had in either a jasmine, ylang ylang, frangipani, heliotrope, benzoin, acacia, verbena, gardenia, honey or rose, or even one of Guerlain's special perfumed blends, Fleurs de Alpes, Huile d'Amande, or Marcehal Duchesse.

A long soak infused with L'amidon de Guimauve, a starch made from the marshmallow plant, would have softened the bath water.

When she wanted to remove superfluous hair on her face, neck or arms, she could mix some of Guerlain's Epilotoire with a bottle of its Prepared Water to create a hair removing paste.


After bathing and depilating her unwanted hair, she may have dusted her body with Poudre d'Amande in a cloud of pulverized almonds.

To cleanse her face she may have used Laits d'Iris ou de Concombres, a cucumber and iris infused milk from a glass bottle, followed by the citron based astringent, L'Essence de Cedrat or Eau de Pearl to tone her skin and shrink her pores.


By massaging Crème à la Fraise, in a white porcelain jar with a small strawberry molded on the lid, or Creme Emolliente au Suc de Concombres, a cucumber cream, from white porcelain jar, this would moisturize and freshen her face.





To lighten her skin's complexion she may have used some Lotion de Golwond, or the cold cream made up of snails, Creme Froide de Limaçons or the pearly white cream of Blanc de Perles. If she had a blemish a little dab of Creme Camphrea, a so-called miracle cream, from a tin pot would help, it was promoted to make your skin look like one of the porcelain dolls from your childhood.



Before bed, she may have slathered on night cream, possibly Creme Lenitive, an analgesic cream to smooth the skin and to make to maintain its elasticity, and to fade age spots or freckles, she would use Creme Patti or Creme Nivea, both from white porcelain jars.




To clean her teeth, she would use Tresor de la Bouche, a vegetable powder based tooth powder she would moisten with water, it was advertised as preventing tooth decay and would not harm the enamel on the teeth.

To ensure that her mouth was freshened, she would have swished with either L' Elixir de Guerlain, a balsamic antiseptic mouthwash to keep her gums and teeth strong and healthy, or Alcoolat Cochlearia et de Cresson, a watercress infused mouthwash..

To give her complexion a little color, she may apply Serkis de Sultanas, the secret formula of the harem queens. This would be followed by a dusting of Poudre de Lys or Poudre de Cypris culled from its decorated cardboard box with a swansdown puff to cut down on the shine and give her an alabaster like complexion.



To bring a natural glow to her visage, she may have rubbed a little liquid blush, Bloom of Roses on her cheeks with a cotton ball, or swiped a little powdered Rouge au Carmin de Chine or Rouge de Damas on the apples of her cheeks which was pressed into a small glass mortar decorated with gold.






A genteel lady would have used Roselip, a subtle rose-tinted lip balm housed in a tiny Sevres porcelain pot, but a more adventurous lady may have applied a little Rose du Moulin, a rosy lip colour with her finger from a small green glass tub or Extrait de Rose from a glass bottle.




The more daring woman may have even lined her eyes with La Pyrommee, an Arabian style kohl powder for the eyes kept inside an ivory tube decorated with an eye motif. Advertising of the era told a story that Pierre-Francois-Pascal Guerlain learned the secret formula from an Armenian Pasha who gave it to the ladies of his harem



To keep her body moisturized and supple throughout the day, she may have rubbed on some Creme Nivea to her arms and legs and during winter or harsh, windy weather, when her skin needed more protection, a thicker emollient the Cold Cream of Roses would have made sense.





 If she was a nursing mother, she may have applied Baume de la Ferte, a balm made from the tannins in Bordeaux wine, benzoin, beeswax and almond oil, to soothe her chapped nipples, the antiseptic qualities of the benzoin and wine tannins would promote healing. Years later in the 20th century, the formula for this balm would be used to restore flexibility to the lips.





She may have then used Crème de Perse to soften her hands, removed her cuticles with Pate d'Amande au Miel, a honey and almond paste, and applied a little Huile de Rosat to give a rosy gloss to her nails..

Her hair would be cleansed with L'Eau de China, to condition her hair, she would have used the Veritable Moelle de Boeuf, a pomade made up of beef marrow to promote hair growth.
To complete her hairdressing, hen she would have applied some l'Eau Lustrale, a liquid hair groom which would have gave it a lustrous shine. A touch of either Veritable Graisse d'Ours or Graisse d'Ours Liquéfie, pommades made of bear's grease, would help keep that jaunty cowlick from popping out from her coiffure in addition to strengthening and prevent color fading of the hair.





Before heading outside she may have applied Pate a L'Huile d'Amandes de Pistache, a pistachio paste made with almond oil, to make skin supple or Creme Huve de la Providence to her face to protect it from the sun's rays.




Her toilette would be complete with a splash of Esterhazy Bouquet, a cologne rumored to have aphrodisiacal qualities was a blend of orange blossom, rose, vetiver and vanilla. Her copy of Le Journal des Elegances, a fashionable magazine of the time, even had its pages of a special edition sprinkled with the famed essence.







Fashionable cosmetic and skin care products were:

19th century:
  • Cold Cream of Roses (1828) 
  • Veritable Graisse d'Ours (bears grease hair pomade, c1830) 
  • Veritable Moelle de Boeuf (beef marrow pomade c1830) 
  • Savon Sapoceti (soap, made up of whale blubber, c1830 -1960) 
  • Guerlain's Saponaceous Ambrosial Cream (emollient shaving cream soap for men, c1835) 
  • Guerlain's Shaving Cream (made of almond oil and the finest perfume, c1839) 
  • Crème à la Fraise (strawberry face cream, c1840-onward) 
  • Bloom of Roses (liquid blush, 1840) 
  • Otto Rose Soap (soap perfumed with otto of roses, c1840) 
  • Rouge au Carmin de Chine (blush, 1840) 
  • Rouge de Cour (Court Rouge, a blush,1840) 
  • Rouges de Carthame (Safflower Rouge, a blush, 1840) 
  • Rouge de Damas (Damascus Red, a blush, 1840) 
  • Creme Emolliente au Suc de Concombres (cucumber face cream) 
  • L'Essence de Cedrat (Citron based facial astringent) 
  • L'amidon de Guimauve (bath water softener made up of marsh mallow starch) 
  • Laits d'Iris ou de Concombres (cucumber and iris milk, cleanser) 
  • Lotion de Golwond (a skin bleach) 
  • Creme Froide de Limaçons (a cold cream, made from snails) 
  • Blanc de Perles (Pearl White, a skin lightener) 
  • Creme Camphrea (a zit cream, c1870) 
  • Creme Lenitive (an analgesic cream to smooth the skin and to make to maintain its elasticity) 
  • Creme Nivea (skin bleaching cream) 
  • Creme Patti (skin lightener) 
  • Tresor de la Bouche (a vegetable powder based tooth powder) 
  • L' Elixir de Guerlain - Dentifrice Antiseptique (antiseptic mouthwash) 
  • Alcoolat Cochlearia et de Cresson (a watercress infused alcoholic mouthwash) 
  • Serkis de Sultanas (a tinted face cream) 
  • Pate d'Amande au Miel (Honey and almond paste) 
  • Poudre de Lys (face powder) 
  • Poudre de Cypris (Cypress Powder, a face powder c1890) 
  • Poudre de Cygne (Swan's powder, a face powder) 
  • Poudre aux Fleurs (Powder of Flowers, face powder ) 
  • Alba Pulvis (white face powder) 
  • Roselip (rose tinted lip balm) 
  • Extrait de Rose (liquid lip tint) 
  • Baume de la Ferte (nipple balm made from Bordeaux wine tannins, benzoin, beeswax & almond oil, c1878) 
  • Ne M'Oubliez Pas (the first lipstick from 1870) 
  • La Pyrommee (kohl, a powdered eye liner, from 1878-1940) 

20th century:
  • Lotion Vegetale (a hair dressing first made around 1900, came in various scents) 
  • Secret de Bonne Femme Creme Pour le Visage (face cream, scented with Apres L'Ondee perfume, 1904-2001) 
  • Rose du Moulin (Moulin red, a blush, a play on the name Moulin Rouge, made from 1907-1950) 
  • Rouge d'Enfer (Rouge Inferno, first indelible lipstick c1924) 
  • La Poudre C'est Moi (face powder scented with Shalimar, created in 1925) 
  • Stilboide Fluide (a hair dressing, used to add lustre and fix the hair, created in 1923. It was perfumed with Jicky, L'Heure Bleue, Shalimar, Mitsouko, Fleur de Feu,Sous Le ent and Hegemonienne ) 
  • Creme au Citron (a lemon scented moisturizing face cream c1930) 
  • Huile Pour Brunir (tanning oil, 1936) 
  • Cremaliment (1941) 
  • Emulsion Ambrosia (anti aging serum c1950) 
  • Creme Super Nourissante No.2 (1952) 
  • Hydroserum (1955) 
  • Creme Hydrante Pour Le Corps (Body Moisturizer in various scents, Shalimar, Ode, Mitsouko, L'Heure Bleue, Chant D'Aromes, Chamade) (1959) 







Bloom of Rose




Milk of Cucumbers



Creme Froide de Limacons


 


 

Secret de Bonne Femme




























Some photos used in this blog were culled from Beautesse.at

Sapoceti c1828




Created in 1828, Sapoceti,  was a rich soap made of whale blubber. It was meant to cleanse not only the body, but to whiten the skin as well. Guerlain registered this as a trademark in 1926, again in 1967 and the trademark finally expired in 1987.

Quand Vient La Pluie c2007

Quand Vient La Pluie: ("When the Rain Begins"): launched in 2007, a limited edition fragrance for women. It was created in cooperation with two noses, Thierry Wasser and Sylvaine Delacourte.

The perfume was created as an homage to the successful Apres L'Ondee (“After the Rainstorm”) perfume, but as co-creator Sylvaine Delacourte explains, "to treat Après l'Ondée in a more contemporary way, with an intenser and more addictive base."


Vintage 1930s Guerlain Perfume Tester Rack

Vintage 1930s Guerlain perfume tester rack, would have sat on the Guerlain counter either at one of their boutiques or at the department store where they were sold. The rack is made up of wood and metal and measures 9" in length and is 2 1/2" wide.  It can hold up to six glass tester bottles. Each bottle stands 2 3/4" tall and features a glass stopper with a full length dauber. Two of the bottles have labels for Shalimar (c1925) and Sous Le Vent (c1933).

Photo by ebay seller looknforperfs



Additional tester bottles that would have been used in this rack.
Vega (c1936), L'Heure Bleue (c1912) and Jicky (c1889)

Photo by drouot




Rococo À la Parisienne by Guerlain c1879

Rococo À la Parisienne: created in 1879 by Aime Guerlain, a feminine perfume. The name Rococo is a combination of the French words rocaille and coquille, which refer to rock work and cockleshell decoration of crescent shape. 

 In essence, the name of the perfume would translate to "Rock Garden of the Parisienne" These "rock gardens" were often found in fashionable grottoes and caves in aristocratic gardens, irregularly encrusted with seashells and sharp, pointy rocks.  

Later in the next century, most likely inspired by Guerlain, the firm of Caron would introduce their Fleurs de Rocaille (Rock Garden Flowers) perfume.





Jacinthe by Guerlain c1849

Jacinthe: created in the nineteenth century, probably in 1849. It was relaunched in 1922.


Gardenia by Guerlain c1857

Gardenia: Originally created around 1857, then relaunched in 1935?





Plagia by Guerlain c1904

Plagia by Guerlain: launched in 1904. The name means "plagiarism"in French, may have alluded to the numerous competitors who created their own versions of Guerlain's perfumes.

But since Guerlain was in the habit of making various plant extracts, I believe that this is nothing more than Plagianthus.