Friday, May 3, 2013

Parfums Raphael

Parfums Raphael was established by Raphaël Lopez at 3 avenue George V, Paris in 1930.




All Parfums Raphael products were bottled, packaged and sealed in their factory at Colombes, France. In 1960, the factory was growing, with a new wing being added to new wing as the perfume became better known through the world. 


Someone online has reported that in 1961, tragedy struck Parfums Raphael. The perfume factory in Colombes, France, somehow caught fire and completely burned to the ground, apparently taking with it all the formulae for the fragrances. Only Replique and Plaisir were produced after the fire. I would think that if the formulae were destroyed, the only way these two fragrances would be able to be produced would be by analyzing existing bottles of old stock and developing a reformulation as close to the original as possible. I do not have actual confirmation of this, as I cannot find any documentation. I do know that Raphael expanded their factory with new wings due to increased customer demand for products.


Perfumery and Essential Oil Record - Volume 51, 1960:
"A Press Gathering was held on July 19 to introduce Raphael Perfumes to London. These are being handled by EM Douek & Co Ltd, of 38 George Street, Baker Street, London, W1. The Société Raphael Perfumes have their own factory at Colombes, built in a rectilineal style, bright and spacious, equipped with all modern technique. The Head Office of the Company is in Paris, 43 Avenue Kléver, where in luxurious premises, perfectly adapted, the commercial and administrative departments have been installed."

Perfumery and Essential Oil Record - Volume 52, 1961:
"Raphael of Paris Raphael of Paris recently presented their famous perfumes for women, Replique - known as 'Le Parfum de Paris' and Plaisir, to women behind the 'Iron Curtain'. The far-sighted President of Raphael, Monsieur Morille, last year showed his beautiful perfumes in a specially designed setting at the Leipzig Fair in East Germany and thereafter became the first luxury perfumer to sell his exquisite fragrances to the women of Moscow. Since last Christmas, 'Le Parfum de Paris' has been a very great success in a country where we here consider so little is known of the pleasure of luxuries. Added to the small, but very fine, Raphael collection is now the 'Eau de Cologne For Men'. Men of past years have used perfumes and pomades, toilet lotions and beautifying aids, but generations of more sedate clothing for men has meant that in the 20th century has a been a decline, at least in Britain, in the use of delightful toilet waters and other preparations for the man in the cosmetic field."

Magazine - Issues 315-322, 1963:
"CREATED BY RAPHAEL - "Replique ”,Plaisir”, "For Men", three big names in perfumes universally. Not twenty years ago, fashion designer Raphael denied being ranked among those of the most famous perfumers in the world. Because, from its beginnings, the Raphael company specialized in very high quality perfumes and toilet waters and wanted not only to serve French customers, but above all to make its brand known well beyond our borders.

The United States, Canada and Mexico were among the first customers. On the other hand, with the exception of course of Paris, the start was slower in France. But today, Raphael perfumes occupy the very favorable place they deserve. The company's exports will have represented 60% of production this year. Its role in foreign trade is therefore very important. Such expansion led the company's managers to set up a new factory in Colombes, as the old workshops no longer met production needs.

The quality of Raphael products explains their worldwide success, which has never been denied: "Replique". This new fragrance owes its overwhelming success firstly to its exceptional qualities, but also to an ingenious idea for the launch, the “replica game”. This fun and exciting game consists of distributing at major galas, or during parties on board cruise ships, for example, a printed matter bearing a single question to which an answer must be found. Forty-eight hours later, there was not a single bottle of this perfume left in US stores.

The lines and colors of the sober and modern bottles and boxes are pleasing to the eye and to the touch. The stopper of the bottles bears the fleur-de-lys. A wax stamp, in different colors depending on the fragrance, completes the presentation.

A second perfume created by Raphael, “Plaisir,” follows in the footsteps of its elder. Today, a whole range of products completes the productions of the company: toilet waters, soaps, atomizers, bath oils."


The best known Raphael fragrances were Replique and Plaisir. The company made all sizes of perfume (and atomizers) and matched these with toilet water, soap, bath oil and powder. There was also a distinctive eau de cologne for men.




The Raphael logo was designed by Marty. The perfumes were distributed in US in 1952 by Charles J. Oppenheim Jr., chairman of Jay Thorpe Inc. who headed Parfums Marcy.

In 1966, Revlon extended its line of programs by purchasing Parfums Marcy for 26, 136 shares of common stock. Foreign rights to Raphael products were purchased with cash. Parfums Marcy produced Replique and Plaisir.


Printer's Ink, 1966:
"The Replique line of perfume, toilet water, bath oil, soap and dusting powder is made by Raphael of France and imported and distributed exclusively in the United States by Parfums Marcy Inc. of New York, which also handles the Plaisir line .."

The Perfumes of Raphael:

  • 1936 Replique (Replica)
  • 1944 Cynique (Cynical)
  • 1944 Feu De Paille (Flash in the Pan)
  • 1946 Volontiers (Willingly)
  • 1946 Tubéreuse (Tuberose)
  • 1946 Raph
  • 1952 Raphaël for Men
  • 1953 Démon (Demon)
  • 1956 Plaisir (Pleasure)
  • 1957 Whisky
  • R
  • Raphaël



The most commonly found perfume is Replique, followed by Plaisir. The rarest of all to find is Cynique, Demon, Raph, Feu de Paille, Tubéreuse, and Volontiers. In all my years of collecting, I have only seen one bottle of Cynique, Raph, Demon and one of Tubereuse, they were all housed in the same bottle used for Replique and Plaisir. I have never seen bottles for Feu de Paille or Volontiers.

Femme, 1946:
"New, very new, the five perfumes of Raphael. Born together: “Cynique”, “Feu de Paille”, “Raph”, “Replique”, “Tubereuse”. We confess our personal preference for "Raph", exquisite sports fragrance, clean and exhilarating; but most women currently prefer "Replique", warm and languorous, with subtle and tenacious graces. You will judge for yourself. “Tubereuse” is a perfume for the evening, especially for summer evenings."


L'Atlantique, 1952:
"One of the handsomest bottles on the market is that containing Raphael's 'Demon,' which is only sold in its de luxe presentation, a magnificent crystal bottle. The two Raphael perfumes, 'Demon' and 'Replique' are very different: the former is a fruity scent, the latter, with a base of Bulgarian roses, is especially good for furs."



Plaisir by Raphael was launched in 1956. Created by Pierre Blaizot. Plaisir was advertised as a "younger" fragrance than its sister, Replique. The parfum sold for $22.50 an ounce in 1959. Plaisir is classified as an oriental fragrance for women with roses and jasmine as its main base, then essences from precious woods have been added. Plaisir is long discontinued and was still being sold in 1971. It begins with a fresh, green aldehydic top followed by a rich spicy floral heart of roses, daffodil, wisteria, and jasmine, resting on a woody base of musk, amber, tobacco, Russian leather, moss, sandalwood and vanilla.

  • Top notes: wisteria, green notes, Italian bergamot, Sicilian lemon, cardamom, neroli, coriander, clary sage, aldehydes
  • Middle notes: daffodil, Bulgarian rose, ylang ylang, lily of the valley, Egyptian jasmine, mimosa, tuberose, heliotrope
  • Base notes: Russian leather, tobacco, tonka bean, sandalwood, ambergris, vanilla, musk, oakmoss, spices







Replique and Plaisir were both available in parfum, eau de toilette (toilet water), bath oil, talc, soap and dusting powder.

Replique, Plaisir, and Demon were available in four sizes: purse mini, 1/2 oz, 1 oz, 2 oz and 4 oz.

Demon was offered to patrons at the Lido. It is a citrusy scent with a heart of roses and jasmine. It is a very rare perfume to find, however, in some cases, you might find it in a three piece coffret from the 1950s, alongside a bottle of Replique and Plaisir. It was still being sold in 1958.





Raphael For Men, launched in 1952 is also a rare one to find, this classic citrus cologne had notes of fresh citrus notes, lavender, leather, bergamot and vetiver. It was available in cologne, after shave and soap.  

Signature fragrance Réplique (pronounced RAY-PLEEK') was launched in 1936 in France, and in the USA in 1946. Replique was composed of a complicated formula, with Bulgarian roses, incenses and jasmine as the main ingredients. Revlon released Replique in 1966 in a new reformulation, but still used the name Raphael.  




Mademoiselle, 1976:
"Replique by Raphael — as all its devotees know — is flowery, sparkly, vivacious— and even more so now that Revlon has reformulated it.. given it a sort of fragrance- lift, you might say . and brought it out in batch of new formats. Including a rich, perfumed body cream."

House Beautiful, 1977:
"Revlon - Replique burns from a red candle in a large heart-shaped white porcelain box with bold red and blue flowers ($12) or from a pair of smaller heart boxes in the same design ($9.50 the pair). These make marvelous trinket boxes."

If your box is sealed and you don't know what the bottle looks like or what size the bottle is, here is a quick guide to the reference numbers on the packaging:

  • Ref. 601 - 1 oz Parfum Replique
  • Ref.  600 - 1/2 oz Parfum Replique
  • Ref. TPM - 1/4 oz Parfum Replique
  • Ref. TPM - 1/4 oz Parfum Replique
  • Ref. 1002 - 3/4 oz Parfum Set of 3 (Satin lined case)




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