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Welcome to my unique perfume blog! Here, you'll find detailed, encyclopedic entries about perfumes and companies, complete with facts and photos for easy research. This site is not affiliated with any perfume companies; it's a reference source for collectors and enthusiasts who cherish classic fragrances. My goal is to highlight beloved, discontinued classics and show current brand owners the demand for their revival. Your input is invaluable! Please share why you liked a fragrance, describe its scent, the time period you wore it, any memorable occasions, or what it reminded you of. Did a relative wear it, or did you like the bottle design? Your stories might catch the attention of brand representatives. I regularly update posts with new information and corrections. Your contributions help keep my entries accurate and comprehensive. Please comment and share any additional information you have. Together, we can keep the legacy of classic perfumes alive!

Monday, November 1, 2021

Pheromone by Marilyn Miglin c1978

Pheromone by Marilyn Miglin: launched in 1978.



In 1978, Pheromone's pure parfum retailed for $200 an ounce, in 1986 it was $300 an ounce, by 1989, it was selling for $325 a ounce, the fragrance was still very popular and costly so by 1991, it crept up to $400 an ounce, in 1998 it reached an astounding $500 an ounce. Today in 2015, it retails for a dizzying price of $600 an ounce on the Marilyn Miglin website.

Fragrance Composition:


So what does it smell like? It is classified as a rich green floral fragrance for women. Delicate blend of 179 quality ingredients including expensive natural flower essences and essential oils from France, Italy, Belgium, Madagascar, Portugal and Egypt. It begins with a fresh green top, followed by a radiant green floral heart, resting on a powdery base. 

A balanced blend of 179 rare and expensive natural essences. The essential oils are derived from flowers, wild grasses, exotic bark, seeds, and rare wine resins. No one ingredient predominates; it is a true blending of full bodied florals, exotic green notes, spices and wood tones.
  • Top notes: Italian bergamot, lotus palm leaves, mint, Marrakesh lotus blossom, rosemary, spices, orange blossom, green notes, lemon, aldehyde, galbanum, juniper berries, orange
  • Middle notes:  Italian jasmine, Bourbon geranium, plumeria, Florentine iris, cassis absolute, magnolia, narcissus, rose attar, orris, ylang ylang, carnation, hyacinth, lily of the valley, fo-ti-tieng, pennyroyal, lavender
  • Base notes: wild grapes, vodka, East Indian sandalwood, patchouli, oakmoss, vanilla absolute, cedar, musk, vetiver, olibanum, myrrh, amber, tonka bean, Venezuelan ambrette seeds, rum, spikenard

Ancient Egyptian kyphi, Cyprinum, Aegyptium, and Mendesium

The ancient Egyptian incense called kyphi often included the following ingredients:  juniper, sweet flag, cardamom, myrrh, cassia, cinnamon, mastic, mint, henna, mimosa, saffron, bdellium, spikenard, bitumen, sorrel, honey, wine, raisins, cyperus, turpentine, aspalathus, calamus, rush. This complex fragrance was sometimes combined with oils to make a perfume, and it was also drunk as a medicine for liver and lung ailments. Plutarch, the great Greek historian, said of Kyphi: "Its aromatic substances lull to sleep, allay anxieties, and brighten dreams."

Cyprinum, first made in Cyprus, was later made in Egypt, had a sort of sweet scent and was made up of crushed henna flowers and seeds, calamus, wormwood, rosewood, cardamom, aspalathos, sweet flag, cinnamon, myrrh, olive oil, rainwater and old wine.

Aegyptium (The Egyptian)  was an Egyptian perfume of the highest regard, made up of henna, cinnamon, honey, orange blossoms and myrrh first steeped in sweet glykos wine and then suspended in almond oil.

Mendesium was a Roman perfume compounded in Egypt = galbanum, pine resin, myrrh, cassia, cardamom in balanos oil.





House Beautiful , 1978:
"But leave it to Chicago makeup creator Marilyn Miglin to introduce Pheromone (pronounced "fare-uh-mone"), a new fragrance based on an Egyptian recipe at least 3,000 years old. The name, however Egyptian it may sound, comes from a word coined in 1959 and defined in Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary as a chemical substance produced by an animal that serves as a stimulus to other individuals of the same species for one or more behavioral responses. At $200 an ounce, Pheromone is one of the most expensive perfumes in the world. Mrs. Miglin says she found perfume descriptions written in hieroglyphs on walls in temple rooms used for storing scents for anointing priests. She engaged an Egyptologist in Cairo, transcribed the formula and came up with Pheromone, a pleasant, elegant and exciting scent."

Realities, 1980:
"Pheromone ($200 oz.) Chicago cosmetics firm owner Marilyn Miglin claims Pheromone was re-created from ancient Egyptian perfume recipes etched in hieroglyphs. Of the over 175 natural ingredients, jasmine is one of the costliest."


Vogue, 1999:
"To create her legendary perfume, Pheromone, fragrance designer Marilyn Miglin visited the ancient temples of Egypt and traveled back 5,000 years, to a time when perfume was valued above gold. During her trip, Miglin, with the help of an Egyptologist, studied inscriptions on the temple walls and discovered complex formulas for the creation of extraordinary fragrances..."






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