Fragrance Composition:
So what does it smell like? It was a floral oriental perfume. In a 1938 newspaper article it was described as "a very suave perfume, a natural affinity for furs, woolens, cold weather, grand for brunettes, and having a warm fragrance...the haunting mystery of the East...subtle and exquisite delicacy of modernized oriental fragrance."
I am using a vintage 1940's Shanghai perfume nip to review this perfume, and I detect soapy aldehydes in this example, which were probably not used in the Coeur de Paris version. This is a beautiful perfume, very powdery, herbal and spicy with the amber and aldehydes, I also think I detect bee pollen.
- Top notes: aldehydes, bergamot, cinnamon, clove, citronella
- Middle notes: carnation, jasmine, Bulgarian rose, geranium, lavender
- Base notes: frankincense, cedarwood, tonka, vetiver, oak moss, myrrh, benzoin, amber, musk, sandalwood
I just tested a small amount on my skin from another sealed vintage perfume nip that is over 60 years old. The perfume at first smells aldehydic, citric, a cross between Avon's Skin So Soft and Old Spice, geranium and lavender shine through. It lasts fairly long, spicy and herbal on a warm, woody base.
On paper, the perfume is extremely mossy, with only a short breath of the flowers, I feel that only on the skin does the super sweet gardenia and tuberose blend become very apparent and much more enjoyable.
A 1936 ad reads:
"New fragrance Shanghai, a gift that is refreshing. Many women like a spicy and gay fragrance and this perfume is as merry and gay as the Christmas season."
Etude, 1938:
"They are all there in Lentheric's magnificent perfume Shanghai. In direct contrast is Lentheric's A Bientot ('till we meet again), a light, gay, refreshing, free, playful fragrance, full of youth and expectancy, midsummer floral odors for you."
Bottles:
Clear crystal bottle, in the stylized shape of an ancient Chinese incense burner, with crystal inner stopper and amber bakelite over cap. This bottle came in several sizes: 1 oz
Clear crystal bottle in the stylized shape of an ancient Chinese incense burner, slightly different than the one shown above. Inner glass stopper and frosted glass over cap. Half ounce bottle stands 1 5/8" tall. one ounce bottle stands 2 1/2" tall.
Art Deco bottle with stepped frosted glass stopper. Bottle stands 3 1/8 inches tall by 2 3/8 inches wide. This bottle was used for other perfumes.
Fate of the Fragrance:
Discontinued, date unknown.
Note: Please understand that this website is not affiliated with the Lentheric company in any way, it is only a reference page for collectors and those who have enjoyed the Lentheric fragrances.
The goal of this website is to show the present owners of the Lentheric company how much we miss the discontinued classics such as Shanghai and hopefully, if they see that there is enough interest and demand, they will bring back the original formula of the perfume!
Please leave a comment below (for example: of why you liked the perfume, describe the scent, time period or age you wore it, who gave it to you or what occasion, any specific memories), who knows, perhaps someone from the company might see it.
Lentheric is an old perfumery house, founded at the end of 19th century in France. It was founded by Guillaume Lenthéric, a hairdresser who opened his saloon in Rue St. Honore, Paris in 1875.
ReplyDeleteGuillaume Lenthéric was also very passionate about perfumes and created some for his aristocratic friends, but soon became well known in courts of Europe. In 1924, 12 years after the dearth of Guillaume, a subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb, a pharmaceutical company with headquarters in New York City, and started producing cosmetics as well as fragrances.