Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Black Magic by Bombi c1945

Black Magic by The House of Bombi, New York perfume distributor: launched in 1945. This has been discontinued since the 1960s.



Black Magic's advertising theme revolved around the enchanting world of witches, their perfume bottles displayed black enameled serigraphy of a cauldron brewing on an open fire wafting heavenly wisps of smoke in the air. One of Bombi's ads suggested that women "be witching tonight" by wearing their seductive love potion, Black Magic perfume.

Black Magic was available in the following:
  • Perfume
  • Toilet Water
  • Cologne Pic Up
  • Creme Sachet
  • Bath Essence
  • Bubble Bath
  • Bath Mitt
  • Bubble Salts
  • Bath Powder
  • Rouge (Blush)


Fragrance Composition:


So what does it smell like? It was described as a sweet, heavy oriental floral fragrance for women with a dominant gardenia note.
  • Top notes: bergamot, aldehydes, citrus note
  • Middle notes: ylang ylang, orange blossom, gardenia, spices
  • Base notes: musk, sandalwood, amber, patchouli, vanilla


Motion Picture, 1946:
"Black Magic, Bombi's new perfume, as sophisticated as its name."

Motion Picture - Volume 73, Part 2 - Volume 74, Part 2 - Page 95, 1947:
"Bombi Bath Ensemble, sparkling Incite tray holding Black Magic Bubble Bath, Bath Powder and Toilet Water. $10."

Printer's Ink, 1947:
"A clear plastic tray securely holds the new bath ensemble created by Bombi Perfumer, Inc., New York. The combination is made up of Black Magic bubble bath, talc, toilet water and bath powder."

The Southern Pharmaceutical Journal ... - Volume 40, Part 1 - Page 6, 1947:
"Bombi recently has introduced a delightful new perfume called Entre Nous. The Bombi Halloween promotion on its Black Magic line received wide store acceptance and many special promotions in drug stores carrying the line."

Time Magazine, 1948:
"Sweet Words: In 1945, San Francisco, newspaper readers got their first whiff of a scented sales stunt. The Emporium department store and Bombi Perfumer, Inc. had printers mix Black Magic perfume with the ink for their full-page perfume ads. Result: Emporium sold out its stock of Black Magic in less than a day. "

Bottles:

Black Magic perfume, photo by ebay seller julieniabean


Black Magic Toilet Water 3 oz, photo by etsy seller VintagePickle


Black Magic, Toilet Water and Talc Set, photo by ebay seller gidgetpup






Fate of the Fragrance:


Discontinued, date unknown.



No comments:

Post a Comment

All comments will be subject to approval by a moderator. Comments may fail to be approved if the moderator deems that they:
--contain unsolicited advertisements ("spam")
--are unrelated to the subject matter of the post or of subsequent approved comments
--contain personal attacks or abusive/gratuitously offensive language

Welcome!

This is not your average perfume blog. In each post, I present perfumes or companies as encyclopedic entries with as much facts and photos as I can add for easy reading and researching without all the extraneous fluff or puffery.

Please understand that this website is not affiliated with any of the perfume companies written about here, it is only a source of reference. I consider it a repository of vital information for collectors and those who have enjoyed the classic fragrances of days gone by. Updates to posts are conducted whenever I find new information to add or to correct any errors.

One of the goals of this website is to show the present owners of the various perfumes and cologne brands that are featured here how much we miss the discontinued classics and hopefully, if they see that there is enough interest and demand, they will bring back these fragrances!

Please 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 what occasion, any specific memories, what it reminded you of, maybe a relative wore it, or you remembered seeing the bottle on their vanity table, did you like the bottle design), who knows, perhaps someone from the company brand might see it.

Also, if you have any information not seen here, please comment and share with all of us.

Featured Post

Faking Perfume Bottles to Increase Their Value

The issue of adding "after market" accents to rather plain perfume bottles to increase their value is not new to the world o...