Wings by Giorgio Beverly Hills c1992

Wings by Giorgio Beverly Hills: launched in November 1992. Created by Jean-Claude Delville.

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It is classified as a fruity floral oriental fragrance for women. Composed of 621 ingredients, Wings takes off with a burst of ginger lily, green osmanthus, gardenia and blue rose; glides with cattleya orchid, jasmine and lilac; and comes to rest in a base of amber and musk.

• Top notes: gardenia, ginger lily, passion flower, blue rose, green osmanthus, and marigold
• Middle notes: cyclamen, cattleya orchid, lilac, shaffali jasmine, and heliotrope
• Base notes: sandalwood, amber, musk, and cedar

A group of 2,500 men and women around the world were invited to be part of a select few to evaluate five different versions of the Wings perfume all vying to be the final juice. The nominated versions contained exotic ingredients such as a cactus orchid which only blooms at night and a jasmine found in desert regions. No one would know which the winning formula would be until Oct. 1, 1992, when Linda LoRe, Giorgio's CEO would make the final selection. The fragrance was slated to debut by the first week of November of 1992 at Giorgio boutiques and by mail order only. It would not be released to department stores until January of 1993.

The final selection that became Wings perfume boasted 621 ingredients.



Lear's, Volume 6, 1993:

"Wings. From Giorgio Beverly Hills (the makers of Red, a semioriental, and Giorgio, a bright floral scent) comes this brilliant floriental with exotic floral and warm, sensual woody notes. Among the ingredients are living ginger lily, living cattelaya orchid, and living shaffali jasmine - all made possible with "living flower technology," which captures the essence of a flower's scent at the peak of bloom. In this process, a gas chromograph , or filter, is inserted into a flower to extract the aroma. Then the filter is removed, the aroma is chemically analyzed, and a.."

Bottles:

Wings parfum was contained in a small, sphere like squat bottle with a blue ball shaped stopper, designed by Mary Scott of Maddocks & Company of Los Angeles. Her inspiration was influenced by a memory of a keepsake seedpod her mother kept in a drawer. "Perfume is about fantasy and feeling good, and the bottle is an essential part of the experience," she said to the Los Angeles Times in 1995. "Many times, you start with no name - the bottle may inspire one," said Scott.

The Eau de Toilette spray was in a tall, slender bottle.

Wings was originally available in the following:

• 1 oz Extraordinary Perfume (Parfum) this bottle stands 4" tall.
• 0.25 oz Extraordinary Perfume (Parfum)
• 0.13 oz Extraordinary Perfume (Parfum) miniature bottle stands 1.75" tall.
• 1.7 oz Extraordinary Eau de Toilette Spray
• 3 oz Extraordinary Eau de Toilette Spray
• 5.3 oz   Extraordinary Extraordinary Perfumed Dusting Powder
• 5.3 oz Perfumed Body Treatment Cream
• 6.7 oz Extraordinary Perfumed Shower Gel
• 3.4 oz Extraordinary Perfumed Body Moisturizer
• 6.8 oz Extraordinary Perfumed Body Moisturizer
• 8.3 oz Extraordinary Perfumed Body Moisturizer
• 12 oz Exhilarating Bath Crystals

The large advertising dummy, known as a factice, was filled with colored water to simulate the look of the perfume. It would have been displayed at the perfume counter. This large bottle was on loan from Giorgio and would have been returned at the end of the promotion for the perfume, so it was not for public consumption, however, many bottles were never returned and have come up for sale over the tears. The large bottle stands about 10" tall x 7" diameter.

Fate of the Fragrance:

Avon originally owned the Giorgio Beverly Hills fragrances since 1987, and then sold it to Procter & Gamble in 1994 for $150 million. P&G then merged Giorgio with it's fine fragrance division Eurocos (now known as P&G Prestige Beauté). In 2007, Arden Inc acquired the worldwide licence for Giorgio Beverly Hills fragrances and markets them under EA Fragrances.

Wings has been in constant production for many years but has suffered from reformulation due to IFRA restrictions and regulations on ingredients, the most noticeable of reformulations was around 2010.

To find the original vintage versions, be sure your bottles and packaging are marked with Giorgio Beverly Hills name and not marked with EA Fragrances (Elizabeth Arden). The EA Fragrances bottles and boxes omit the Giorgio Beverly Hills name.

CLICK HERE TO FIND WINGS PERFUME BY GIORGIO