Ondine by Suzanne Thierry c1954

Ondine was first introduced in 1954 by Suzanne Thierry of Paris. Named for the heroine of the Broadway play of the same year, Ondine, which starred a young ingenue actress, Audrey Hepburn, as Ondine. She fell in love with her co-star, Mel Ferrer and the two were married. Audrey Hepburn won a Tony award for the play and went on to win a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar that same year for the film, Roman Holiday, a feat accomplished by only two other actresses.


Ondine became a hit in the USA during 1952 - 1962 when Suzanne Thierry made a promotional tour for it across the USA. 

In this 1962 photo, Suzanne Thierry cedes the Ondine perfume to the Cardin brothers.

 

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It was classified as a modern floral bouquet fragrance for women.

• Top notes: aldehydes, spices
• Middle notes: rose, jasmine, ylang ylang
• Base notes: patchouli, oakmoss

Mademoiselle, 1971:

"Hence, we propose Ondine Bath Salts— a blend of jasmine, patchouli, oakmoss and other natural oils that add up to absolute heaven. In a handsome fluted glass container. By Suzanne Thierry, $7.50 for 16 ounces. "

Vogue, 1971:

"Ondine. You're more woman than you used to be. You're More Woman. So we blended More Perfume. We scoured the far off corners of the world for Jasmin, Patchouly, Oakmoss, Ylang-ylang, and dozens of other rare essences. The result is Ondine. So incredibly subtle and complex, it covers your whole spectrum"

 

Bottles:

The perfume bottles were made at the TC Wheaton Glass Company of Millville, NJ (close to where I live). Wheaton was founded in 1888 and produced bottles for pharmaceutical use, but also for perfumers. By the 1930s, Wheaton was manufacturing bottles for quality perfume brands, both American and European such as Hattie Carnegie, Adrian, Prince Matchabelli, Liz Claiborne, Anne Klein, Corday, Nettie Rosenstein and Shulton.

Ondine could be found in parfum extrait (extract) and Ondine All Over, concentrated mist, eau de Ondine, pure mist, lotion parfumee and bath oil.

Eau de Ondine was launched in 1963, advertised as

"Eau de Ondine Created By Suzanne Thierry. Excitingly Alluring As Its Namesake, Ondine, the Mythical water-sprite who lured men with her irresistible charm. The Ondine fragrance embodies the feminine eternal, makes a woman aware of her charms, evokes charming and youthful mannerisms that capture her man's attention.

• Ondine Extrait: $5, $10, $18
• Eau de Ondine: $5, $9, $16
• Spray Ondine: $6
• Dusting Powder Ondine: $5
• Bath Oil Ondine: $5"

The New Yorker, 1966:

"Don't wear Ondine unless you mean it. Ondine by Suzanne Thierry, Paris-Parfum $30 an ounce plus tax."

The Fate of the Fragrance:

Suzanne Thierry brought out the perfume under her own name, by 1954 Latour Products was the distributor, then Tolmer, finally MEM. MEM had the rights to the perfume in the 1960s. 

Ondine by Suzanne Thierry is a discontinued perfume. It was still being sold in 1978.

Timeless Perfumes now owns the trademark Ondine Suzanne Thierry, a Registered U.S. Trademark. Current fragrances are NOT associated with any previous manufacturer nor a continuation of any other company. They do not own the FORMULA. Many people have reviewed this perfume and said that it is not the same fragrance, neither is the one sold by the Vermont Country Store.

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