Tortue by Polly Bergen c1969

Tortue by Polly Bergen c1969.

Bergen said that "I have always wanted to become involved with fragrance. It's such an undefinable part of a woman." The Tortue fragrance was directly inspired by her Oil of the Turtle beauty preparations introduced in 1967. The name Tortue is French for turtle. Bergen said, "I asked two of my European friends - Mrs. Kirk Douglas and Mrs. Gregory Peck - if the word 'tortue' conjured up unpleasant thoughts and they said heck, no. In Paris, when a man tells a girl she's his little turtle, it means they're lovebirds."

"Choose your perfume for the man in your life. Men buy 68% of the perfume sold today and they don't want to be overpowered," said Bergen. She added that Tortue, "doesn't shout buts it's alluring. There are 933 drops in an ounce of perfume - 933 ways for a woman to please a man."
 

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It is classified as a floral oriental chypre fragrance for women. Flowers, ferns and woods. Tortue is described as fresh, green, earthy, woodsy, ferny, the purest scent of a forest; it isn't too floral, and carries with it a sexual note. The "turtle perfume," is an essence of green tropical blossoms with warm amber, and light, fruity citrus undertones.  

• Top notes: bergamot, fruity citrus note
• Middle notes: rose, jasmine, lavender, floral notes, spices
• Base notes: patchouli, tonka bean, myrrh, vetiver, musk, ambergris, oakmoss, fern, labdanum, sandalwood

Polly's Principles, 1974:

"I like having a distinctive scent, and I only use one fragrance. The chemists for my company experimented with 383 formulas before they came up with 'Tortue'. Perfume is a personal matter, I feel, and should be noticeable only when you're getting personal."

Bottles:

Tortue's parfum was contained in a clear, classic bottle on a platinum toned platform in a burgundy red pochette. The Eau de Tortue Spray Mist was presented in a column of frosted glass and silver-toned metal. The Tortue gift set boxes were made by Wallace Packaging Corporation, Maspeth, L.I. 

Tortue was available in various forms:

• 1 oz Bare Skin perfume
• 1/8 oz Parfum
• 1/6 oz Parfum Purser Spray
• 0.25 oz Parfum (originally retailed for $13.50)
• 0.5 oz Parfum (originally retailed for $22.50)
• 1 oz Parfum  (originally retailed for $40.00)
• 2 oz Eau de Tortue Spray Mist
• 0.75 oz Cologne Splash
• 1 oz Cologne Splash
• 2 oz Cologne Splash
• 3 oz Spice Mist
• 4 oz Body Lotion
• 2 oz Milk Bath
• 9 oz Bath Powder
• Bath Soap
• Solid Perfume
• 1 oz Oil of the Turtle Deep Sea Bath Treatment
• 3.5 oz Oil of the Turtle Moisturizer

CLICK HERE TO FIND TORTUE BY POLLY BERGEN

Fate of the Fragrance:

By 1969, Polly had raked in $2 million worth of sales from her turtle oil and perfumes.

Faberge bought out the Polly Bergen line and stopped manufacturing and selling Tortue in November of 1975. The brand was purchased by International Cosmetics, Inc,  a unit of Investments Finance Corp, Lugano, SA, a Swiss holding company. In 1976, the company filed a chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. Old stock was for sale at clearance prices up until around 1981.