Cleopatra's Boudoir: Salvador Dali by Salvador Dali c1983

Salvador Dali by Salvador Dali was launched in 1983 and was inspired by his wife Gala's gardens and made to the specifications of Dali and Gala.

The Beginning:

In the early 1980s, Dali was approached by several perfume manufacturers who wanted to use his name for a product line. He declined all offers but one - that of a French company named COFCI (renamed Cofinluxe in 1998). In 1981, Salvador Dalí signed a licensing agreement with Jean-Pierre Grivory of COFCI, thus Parfums Salvador Dali was formed.

Dalí agreed to market the perfume only if he could design the company's bottles, an element he said was of utmost importance to a fragrance. These flacons were inspired by some of his earlier surrealist paintings. After Dali completed his sketch of the flacon in 1981, he suggested it be filled with a fragrance. He and his wife, Gala, requested the scent "must be predominantly jasmine and rose...it must be composed like a work of art."

"When we approached him, he was enthusiastic," said Grivory. "He wanted to have a fragrance based on jasmine and rose because he used to paint with a sprig of jasmine in his ear and he had fields of roses near his house," said Jean-Pierre Grivory of COFCI. "We came up with three fragrances and he picked the one he liked."

"The melding of art and fragrance is a natural. There is a high similarity between perfumery and painting. The perfumers mix with the same mental process as a painter mixing colors for a painting. Perfume is just like a person, it's the first contact before knowing a person, either you are seduced by the look, then the quality of the person must confirm it," said Grivory.

With Dali's approval, the women's line was launched in 1983 in Paris: a men's line, similar in aroma, followed three years later. The fragrance became quite popular in Europe.

However, this was not Dali's first foray into the world of fragrance. In the 1930s, he designed an exquisite perfume bottle and its presentation case for designer Elsa Schiaparelli. Her perfume, "Le Roy Soleil," was bottled in sparkling Baccarat crystal, a radiant gilt sun with flying seagulls forming its facial features, atop a wavy blue and gold sea bottle, luxuriously packaged in a hinged seashell case opulently covered in thick gold enamel.

He also designed the packaging for Marquay's perfume: “Rock and Roll," also known as "Coup de Feu." Dali also introduced his own perfume in the 1950s which he christened "Electricite," but this has been such a rare find, that I have never even seen what its bottle looks like.

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It is classified as an aldehydic floriental (floral amber) fragrance for women. "Floral aldehyde. Bright aldehydic notes, rich bouquet with soft oriental base."

From one of the foremost artists of our time, comes this singular perfume, blending delicate touches of mimosa, jonquil and narcissus with Calabrian orange blossom, ylang ylang, roses from Catalonia, Bulgarian and Grasse, costly Egyptian and Grasse jasmines and exotic spices to create a floral choir layered over the ancient marriage of precious Somalian frankincense and myrrh. Musk, Mysore sandalwood, earthy patchouli, cypress oakmoss and bright notes of bergamot create the chypre effect.

Top notes: aldehydes, mandarin, basil, green notes, violet leaves, Calabrian orange blossom, bergamot and cloves
Middle notes: tuberose, orris, Catalonia roses, Bulgarian roses, and Grasse rose, Egyptian and Grasse jasmine, lily of the valley, cypress, jonquil, ylang ylang, narcissus, and mimosa
Base notes: Mysore sandalwood, cedar, amber, vanilla, benzoin, Somalian frankincense, myrrh, patchouli, oakmoss and musk

Fragrance is forever. It is an art...the ultimate expression from the mind of man - an eternal commitment to the soul. It is the world of Dali, the new fragrance for women by artist Salvador Dali. Innovator. Iconoclast. Mystic. Impossible genius. As his painting reflect a world ripe in imagery and uncompromising originality, so too does Dali fragrance.

A lifetime of experimentation with the senses has produced a fragrance that ventures beyond the traditional boundaries of perfume. The fragrance itself is the perfect envelope of delicious odors. An epic of rare essences. Calabrian orange blossoms, jasmine, roses, cypress, sandalwood, myrrh and incense swirl in a unique crystal flacon inspired by the goddess of love, Aphrodite, and executed by Salvador Dali himself in gleaming black trimmed with gold. It is an exultation of sensuality...a world, glimpsed only by a few.

The World of Dali. For a gift sure to be treasured for years to come, consider Le Parfum by Salvador Dali. Only for she whose soul is touched by the beauty and mystery of art.

Bottle:

The design for the bottle was derived from Dali's "Apparition du visage de l'Aphrodite de Cnide dans un paysage" painting from 1981. Dali's interpretation of the famous ancient Greek statue of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, by Paxitales. Dali then sketched a bottle from the goddess's face, using the nose and lips as his muse. The surrealistic painting appears on the box and has two perfume bottle designs included in the forefront of the paintings composition. The the nose forms the stopper while the voluptuous lips form the shape of the bottle for the women's fragrance

In 1983, the signature Salvador Dali fragrance was launched at a reception in the Jacquemart-Andre Museum in Paris. In attendance was the COFCI perfume company who unveiled what they called "the most exclusive smell in the world" to a audience of 1,000 guests. However, Dali himself, despondent since the death of his wife Gala, was not present among the attendees.

The publicists have shared a quote by Dali himself: "Among the five senses, smell is unquestionably the one that gives the idea of immortality. Perfume: Immortal remembrance of smell." One of Dali's associates, Robert Descharnes said, "Dali often used roses and jasmine in his works and the perfume is made of that. Sometimes he would wear a sprig of jasmine behind his ear."

The star of the show was the heavy, lead crystal bottle that contained 300ml (11 oz) of the exquisite parfum. "For lovers of art, of Dali, of extraordinary concepts...People who want such an exceptional item in a world where everything goes to standardization." Handblown, each of the collector bottles weighs nearly four pounds, and was so difficult to reproduce, that hundreds had to be tossed out during production. The experience of many talented craftsmen was needed to translate Dali's design sketch into pure crystal, hand-cut, then hand polished for many hours before the lips were delicately sanded for the frosted effect. This rare bottle retailed for $2,000.

The crystal bottle is etched with Dali's signature and rests on a black wooden base, also signed by Dali in gold-colored serigraphy. The museum-quality bottle is polished for hours to emerge as a craftsman's masterpiece. The flacon was presented in triple double boxes, the outer presentation box is covered in glossy, black paper with gold serigraphy, the inner box is covered in black velvet and has a drop front, and the innermost box is made of thick, glossy black acrylic and is fitted to hold the flacon.

The crystal bottles were made in a limited edition of 5,000, (with only 700 for sale in the USA and just 50 in Canada) each is numbered, bears Salvador Dali's signature and comes complete with a presentation case and certificate of authenticity issued to the holder. Buyers of the Dali perfume at art galleries and luxury shops such as Bonwit Teller & I. Magnin received a numbered owner's card with an engraved name plate enabling them to purchase 11 ounce refills of the perfume for the bottles at $600.

Working Woman, 1986:

"LE PARFUM SALVADOR DALI created by the great artist, is the transformation of art into fragrance. This unique fragrance of Jasmin and Rose as top notes with other rare essences is offered in a $2,000 crystal bottle."

Until 1985, the only way to buy Dali perfume was in Salvador Dali's unconventional and extraordinary original museum bottle for $2,000. But this all changed when Le Parfum de Salvador Dali was re-released in New York, this time to the general public in less expensive sizes and price points. Dali authorized a replica bottle of pressed glass and filled with the same sultry perfume, distributed by Fragrance du Monde.

This, the so-called "Diffusion Line" commercial edition was available at a limited number of selected stores and art galleries such as I. Magnin, Ben Simon, Bonwit Teller and Bloomingdales at $170 an ounce. These 1 oz and 0.25 oz Parfum bottles are of black glass with a matte finish.

Customers were given a full-color poster of Dali's Aphrodite as a bonus with any Dali purchase. In addition to the one ounce bottles of Parfum, some of the higher end retailers still had about 700 of the giant limited editions sitting on their shelves.

Top notes: aldehydes, incense, clove, fruity notes, basil, green notes, bergamot and mandarin orange

Middle notes: narcissus, lily, jasmine, tuberose, mimosa, orris root, rose, lily-of-the-Valley and orange blossom

Base notes: benzoin, myrrh, ambergris, sandalwood, oakmoss, vanilla, cedar, musk and patchouli

A new distributor was created, Ray International, Inc, a subsidiary of COFCI, which permitted the Dali fragrances to again be marketed and sold in the United States. It was sold exclusively at Service Merchandise stores. Grivory said it was the problems of the past that led him to Service Merchandise, which at that time, had 337 stores in 37 states. "We should know in the next six to eight months whether this will be a big winner, a mild success or flop," Grivory told the Tampa Bay Times.

At that time, representatives of the Dali Museum said that they hoped to have the perfume in the museum store within the next few months, including the limited edition 10 oz crystal flacon, which was now being priced at $3,000. The Salvador Dali Museum got a plug in 12-million Service Merchandise catalogs and in millions more in sale flyers featuring the line of Dali fragrances. Both museum officials and Service executives were excited about the arrangement, which gave the museum a small ad on the perfume page. . "It lends credibility to what we're doing," said Charles Septer, senior vice president of Service. Service Merchandise and COFCI contributed $15,000 to the museum.
The Parfum de Toilette was introduced in 1985 as an accompaniment to the Parfum. It was classified as a floral oriental (now called amber floral) fragrance for women and created by Alberto Morillas.

The Parfum de Toilette spray bottles are of frosted colorless glass as are the bottles for the Body Lotion. The 1/6 oz Parfum de Toilette miniature is made up of clear glass with a plastic cap. The Dusting Powder jars are of ivory colored plastic.

Some people might find a miniature ivory colored plastic jar of what they think is solid perfume, however, it is actually the body cream which came in a gift set of other mini Dali products. The little jar is in the shape of the Aphrodite lips and measures only 1 7/8" across x 1 1/4" high x 1" deep. This design WAS used for a solid perfume, but was in red colored plastic and made for the "Red Lips" collection.

It was sold in America from 1985-1987, but the fragrance was pulled from department stores because of a difference of opinion between COFCI and the perfume's distributors, Fragrances du Monde, Ltd. which added Dali to their Fragrances des Artistes line alongside Ted Lapidus. While the fragrances stopped being sold in America, Les Parfums Salvador Dali were still available in certain parts of Europe at the time. "It was a big sacrifice to stop because it was becoming so successful," Jean Pierre Grivory said. "But we had created a demand, and we knew we could come back and be successful again."
After Dali's death in 1989, interest was revived in his fragrances. The women's fragrance line, along with the men's line, was released again in 1990 with a grand entrance at a black-tie introductory ceremony in June at the Salvador Dali Museum in St Petersburg, Florida. A 6pm cocktail reception was held in the museum lobby preceding dinner in the Raymond James community room. St Petersburg Mayor Robert Ulrich was expected to attend. The fragrances entered nationwide distribution after the event.
The line was launched in Japan in autumn of 1990.

In 1994, a dispute occurred between COFCI and Ray International, Inc. The case involved a dispute between the two foreign companies, relating to the termination of an exclusive distributorship agreement for Salvador Dali perfumes, delivered by a French company in the U.S.A. I am unsure of what the outcome was.

The fragrance was originally available as:

10 oz Parfum (original retail price was $2,000)
1 oz Parfum Splash (original retail price was $170, later raised to $179.50 in 1990)
0.25 oz Parfum Spray (original retail price was $60, later raised to $69.50 in 1990)
1/6 oz Parfum miniature (gift with purchase usually, but also in gift sets)
1.6 oz Parfum de Toilette Splash (original retail price was $32.50)
1.6 oz Parfum de Toilette Spray (original retail price was $35.00)
3.3 oz Parfum de Toilette Splash (original retail price was $48.00)
3.3 oz Parfum de Toilette Spray (original retail price was $50.00)
3.3 oz Body Lotion (retail price was $32.50 in 1990)
3.3 oz Body Cream
Dusting Powder (retail price was $39.50 in 1990)
Soap Bars (shaped like Aphrodite's lips, retail price was $13.50 in 1990)
In 1986, a gold plated pendant in the shape of the nose and lip bottle was offered for $25 with any Dali fragrance purchase.
1987, a shining gold lame scarf, 56" square and a 4ml mini bottle of perfume, was a gift with any purchase of the Dali fragrance.
In 1988, a gold plated brooch in the shape of the lips and nose was offered as a gift with the purchase of $48.00 or more in Canada.
In 1989, the "Dali Collection" gift set was released and included: 0.17 oz Parfum mini,0.17 oz Parfum de Toilette mini, mini Bath Oil, mini Body Cream and 2.3 oz mini bar of soap.