Diamant Bleu by Gloria Vanderbilt c1946

The Gloria Vanderbilt Salon opened in 1946 at 15 East 60th Street, New York City on the first floor of the Chalom Art Gallery. The marble fronted salon was meant to be a dream showroom for the wholesale trade of the Gloria Vanderbilt Corporation's cosmetics, skincare and perfume line, in addition to some antiques and jewelry.

Vanderbilt's longtime friend, the French born art dealer and interior decorator,  Maurice Chalom designed the rooms of the salon to include his celestial "Chalom blue" walls. The main showroom featured mirrored pilasters, the second room featured Chalon designed wallpaper and deep piled blue carpeting. The tagline was "Apres la pluie, le beau temps", French for "after the rain, the sunshine."

The business venture was spurred on because Gloria Vanderbilt's sole support, 22 year old daughter, Mrs. Leopold Stokowski, had cut off her mother's annual allowance, $21,000. Her daughter said that the money was going to be used to aid poor children and suggested her mother find a ob to support herself. "When my daughter cut my allowance, Mr. Chalom suggested a business based on the secret formula of La Chevaliere d'Eon. She was a fabulous personality of the court of Louis XV and served as an international spy."

The new business, Gloria Vanderbilt Corporation had formed around Ms Vanderbilt, Maurice Chalom, and lawyer, I.T. Flatto. Chalom was quick to point out that "Mrs. Vanderbilt is not putting a cent into the business - but $40,00 has been put at our disposal by a friend of mine to start off."

The premier attraction of the business was the introduction of a new perfume in an elegant bottle. Vanderbilt explained that "we are going to start with the perfume Diamant Bleu. The bottle is similar in shape to the famous blue diamond in the Louvre."

The Perfume:

Diamant Bleu was contained in a chunky French crystal bottle, designed by Chalom, was cut into the shape of a diamond, said to be inspired by the famous French Bleu. The bottle was housed in a velvet lined presentation box. Three sizes of the perfume were available in prices of $17.50 for the half ounce, $30 an ounce and $50.

The men's colognes and shave lotions, in a fragrance named Revivor, were packaged like bottles of champagne and housed in a wicker basket.

Cosmetics & Skincare Line:

A line of cosmetics, including lipsticks, was scented with a hint of the Diamant Bleu fragrance. The accompanying toiletries were presented in light blue containers with dark blue caps.

The lipsticks were housed in gilded metal cases covered with the Vanderbilt coat of arms. The lipstick was in shades of Diamant Bleu, Sparkling Rosee, Bordeaux, Mon Beguin, Da, and Indian Orchid.

Eyeshadow in shades of Vert, Diamant Bleu and Brun were also available. Cream Rouge in shades of Diamant Bleu, Sparkling Rosee, Bordeaux, Mon Beguin, Da, and Indian Orchid echoed those of the lipstick.

Not to be forgotten was the all important face powders in various hues: Diamant Bleu, Blonde, Chatain Clair, Riviera Tan, Sparkling Rosee, Chatain Rosee, Mon Beguin, and Midnight Sun.

Sparkling Rosee liquid foundation and cream foundation rounded out the remainer of the cosmetic line.

The skincare line included Diamant Bleu night cream, Sparkling Rosee all purpose cream, La Chevaliere cleansing cream, Diamant Bleu hand lotion, Diamant Bleu lotion mist.

Fate of the Company:

By 1947, the Gloria Vanderbilt cosmetic company started failing and was being sued by investors and those who performed work on her salon showroom who had not fully been paid. $80,000 was spent on advertising alone!

Prices for her perfume, cosmetics and skincare line were drastically reduced, the once $30 an ounce bottle of perfume was now being sold by Macy's for only $3.98 and the half ounce size for just $2.50 rather than its original price of $17.50. I believe that Macy's bought out all of the remaining stock and was still selling it into 1948 at 70% off original prices.

 In 1949, the business was closed.