Stilboide Fluide

Stilboide Fluide was a liquid hair groom and beard groom scented with various Guerlain fragrances over the years. It was also made "to maintain the curl of the so-called English papillotes." Papillotes was paper that was used to curl the hair, and thus the curly hair obtained with this method is known as "papillotes."

 Stilboide Fluid is similar to brilliantine and was mainly an alcohol mixture scented with perfume oils. You might come across these today and notice that the contents have separated leaving the alcohol mixture at the bottom of the bottle while the scented oils rose to the top of the bottle.

I found an ad for the Stilboide Fluide as early as 1875.

1875 ad

Some of the earliest Stilboide Fluid scents were:

• Bouquet
• Chypre
• Coq Gaulois
• Derniere Cri
• Des Pages
• Fragrans
• Heliotrope
• Jicky
• Makis
• New Mown Hay
• Pepita
• Rex
• Simplex
• Sornette
• Violette
• Ylang Ylang

Stilboide Fluide was available in the following scents:

• Champs Elysees
• Cuir de Russie
• Guerlilas
• Hegemonienne
• Jicky
• L'Heure Bleue
• Liu
• Mitsouko
• Shalimar
• Sous Le Vent
• Vague Souvenir
• Vol de Nuit

The Delineator, 1935

"To pick up a wave with unexpected swiftness there are Yardley's Setting lotion, lavender-scented, has more convenient atomizer, and Guerlain's Water Lustrale. For that satiny sheen which a dash of brilliantine gives, I offer you Guerlain's Stilboide — perfumed with your favorite "Shalimar" - glamourous."

Pola Negri, c1920s, holding a Guerlain atomizer (spraying her coiffure with brilliantine).