Saturday, December 7, 2013

Balmain Perfumes

Pierre Balmain was born in Aix-les-Bains, Savoie, France on May 18, 1914. He later attended Grenoble University and after moving to Paris, he studied architecture and design at the Ecole des Beaux Arts.

Balmain's career began when he sold three of his designs to Robert Piguet. In 1934, he took a part time job with Captain Molyneux, who encouraged him to pursue a fashion career, and remained employed with Molyneux until 1939 Then for Lucien Lelong.

World War II stepped in and Balmain served in the army for two years, after which he returned to Paris and accepted a position with Christian Dior, which lasted more than four years.

In 1945, Balmain opened his couture house, Maison Balmain at 44 rue Francois I er in Paris. His collections were an immediate success and he acquired a very wealthy and titled clientele such as Eva Peron, the Queen of Thailand, the Empress of Japan, Katherine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh and Marlene Dietrich.

Balmain was credited by many as the innovator of "The New Look" and his designs were noted for their shapely silhouettes as well as their elegance and wearability.

Before he died in 1982, Balmain was decorated many times, he was made a Chevalier Legoin d'Hennoeur in 1962, received the Medaille Vermeil of the City of Paris in 1965 and in 1978,he became an officer f the Legion of Honour.

Balmain entered into the perfume industry in 1946 with the introduction of Elysées 64 83. He created fragrances to express his romantic vision of women and elegance.

Perfume business bought by Revlon in 1960. In 1982 the company was sold on and since 1991 has been owned by Erich Fayer. However the company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2004, currently attempting a comeback under Creative Director Christophe Decarnin.

His advertisements were illustrated by the artist, Rene Gruau.


The Perfumes of Balmain:

  • 1946 Elysees 64-83
  • 1947 Vent Vert (lilting, refreshing mossy and leafy)
  • 1953 Jolie Madame (sweet, yet sophisticated with mixed floral woodsy notes)
  • 1964 Monsieur Balmain
  • 1967 Miss Balmain
  • 1979 Ivoire de Balmain
  • 1983 Ebene
  • 1990 Monsieur de Balmain
  • 1998 Balmain de Balmain
  • 2000 Ivoire (reformulated)
  • 2000 Eau d'Ivoire
  • 2002 Balmya
  • 2004 BalMan
  • 2005 Eau d'Amazonie de Balmain
  • 2006 Eau d'Ete de Balmain Summer
  • 2007 La Mome
  • 2008 Ambre Gris
  • 2010 Carbone de Balmain
  • 2012 Ivoire (reformulated)
  • 2013 Eau d'Ivoire


The perfumes:


Vent Vert: One of the first fresh, green notes. Vent Vert was a trendsetting fragrance in 1947 and represented the forests and ferns of France . Its unique composition of jonquil, lily of the valley, narcissus and rose.

Jolie Madame: his was the name of Balmain's fashion collection, and the perfume was first presented in 1953, is a leathery, floral perfume, with dominant notes of jasmine, rose de mai,tuberose and the wild essences of neroli laced with subtle spice and woody notes. This fragrance came in perfume, cologne and eau de toilette.

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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.

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