Volupte by Oscar de la Renta c1992

Launched in March 1992 in association with Sanofi Beaute, a pharmaceuticals and cosmetics company that owns the worldwide marketing rights to de la Renta's fragrances from Avon starting in 1990. The fragrance was created by perfumers Sophia Grojsman and Nicholas Calderone.

 

The name is derived from a poem by Charles Baudelaire. "I took the word out of a French poem by Charles Baudelaire called `Invitation au Voyage.' Any French man above eighth grade knows this phrase and this poem because it's very very famous," said de la Renta.

"A man invites a woman on a trip and he says, `My sister, my lover, just dream of the sweetness. Going there and live together. To love and rest in this place that looks like us.' Then he describes the skies of this place and the room and he says, `The most extraordinary furniture, polished by the centuries, will decorate our room.' And then there is this famous phrase where he says, `There, everything is order and beauty, luxury, calm and volupte,' " said de la Renta.

The word does not mean voluptuous. Oscar de la Renta said he was amazed that a survey showed 95% of women didn't know what the word volupte meant. It comes from the Latin word voluptas, meaning pleasure. Volupte is French for delight, with an emphasis on the sensual. "Volupte means a pleasure for all the senses," said de la Renta. "The fragrance obviously smells wonderful but it also feels good on your hands and the bottle looks good too."

This was the third women's fragrance launch from the designer. His first, was the classic Oscar de la Renta, a floral oriental from 1977, then came his Ruffles, a sweet floral, in 1983, which turned to be a flop. De la Renta said "We're going after another market, the woman who doesn't identify with 'Oscar' but for sure will identify with Volupte. There is no American fragrance that has ever lasted as long as Oscar," de la Renta says. "It is still among the top five fragrances in the U.S. We came out with a floral scent. Now we are trying a different scent and what makes Volupte different is that there is the fruit notes in it. We don't want them to think this is the new Oscar and now you abandon the other one. I am perceived as a man who designs very feminine romantic clothes. So this can't be dramatically different."

Volupte was created to celebrate the young woman of the 90s. The fragrance "symbolizes the aware woman...a woman who knows that style is about living, and pleasure belongs in her life," said the designer. "Trust your senses" was the fragrance's tag line in advertisements. "Yes, that's all important, the right image," he says. "That may lure a woman to buy it once. But what's more important is that she comes back again and again. After the first buy none of that advertising is important. When she comes back for the second or third time she isn't coming for the name of the bottle, she has to like the scent."

Annette de la Renta, the designer's wife, was instrumental in choosing which fragrance ended up being Volupte said de la Renta. "It was very important that Annette like the fragrance," he said, "I showed her the bottle and then she wore each of the final three fragrance choices for two weeks."

Backed by a $15 million advertising and promotional support in the US alone including newspaper ads, scent strips in magazines and a 60-second television spot filmed in India. Larry Aiken, CEO of Sanofi said that "Celebrity fragrances really have a hard time sustaining themselves because there is the lack of credibility that exists with a fashion designer. They come and they go." When asked if he thought the new fragrance would be around in the next ten years like Oscar, he replied, "We think Volupte will be there."

Sanofi projected that the fragrance would do $25 million in sales in its first years in the United States. 

The fragrance was launched in both San Francisco's Macy's and I. Magnin stores. Volupte was sold exclusively in one or two stores in every marketplace: G. Fox in the Hartford, Connecticut area, Filene's in Boston, Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue in New York. Volupte and Oscar were sold at separate counters.

In 1993 Volupte was honored with two awards from the Fragrance Foundation: best fragrance introduction and best fragrance package

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It is classified as a crisp green floral oriental fragrance for women. The fragrance was created from an intricate blend of exotic florals, sparkling fruits and rare woods from all over the world chosen for their ability to evoke a sensual mood. The fragrance's most dazzling characteristic, a brilliant and diffuse top note, uses osmanthus, freesia, mimosa and nuances of melon and mandarin to make an immediate and memorable impression. The fragrance is rounded out with precious jasmine, tagette, spicy carnation and fresh lily of the valley, layered over amber, earthy patchouli and sandalwood.

• Top notes: tagetes, living mimosa, melon, mandarin orange, living freesia, living osmanthus, watermelon and cyclamen
• Middle notes: carnation, jasmine, heliotrope, ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley, narcissus, lotus and peony
• Base notes: sandalwood, amber, patchouli, frankincense, tuberose and vanilla

Bottle:

To match the opulence and sensuality of the perfume, Oscar collaborated with Pierre Dinand. The bottle is feminine, with curved, flowing lines, a golden band at the collar, and an emerald green stopper as its crown.

 

The fragrance was available in:

• 1/8 oz Parfum miniature
• 0.25 oz Parfum (retailed for $80, raised to $90 in 1993)
• 0.25 oz Parfum Refillable Purse Spray (retailed for $75, raised to $82 in 1993)
• 0.25 oz Parfum Refill (retailed for $65)
• 1 oz Parfum (retailed for $200, raised to $220 in 1993)
• 1/3 oz Eau de Toilette Spray
• 1 oz Eau de Toilette Spray
• 1.7 oz Eau de Toilette Splash (retailed for $40, raised to $45 in 1993)
• 3.3 oz Eau de Toilette Splash (retailed for $50, raised to $55 in 1993)
• 3.3 oz Eau de Toilette Naturel Spray (retailed for $52, raised to $58 in 1993)

Volupté Body Collection , a line of bath and body products:

• 6.8 oz Perfumed Body Lotion (retailed for $40)
• 0.24 oz Perfumed Body Creme mini
• 0.5 oz Perfumed Body Creme mini
• 2 oz Perfumed Body Creme
• 6.8 oz Perfumed Body Creme (retailed for $60) 
• 0.5 oz Perfumed Dusting Powder Shaker mini
• 0.75 oz Perfumed Dusting Powder mini
• 1 oz Perfumed Dusting Powder 
• 5.3 oz Perfumed Dusting Powder (retailed for $42)
• 0.24 oz Bath & Shower Gel mini
• 3.4 oz Perfumed Bath & Shower Gel  
• 6.8 oz Perfumed Bath & Shower Gel (retailed for $30)
• 3.5 oz Perfumed Soap (retailed for $16)

 CLICK HERE TO FIND VOLUPTE BY OSCAR DE LA RENTA

Fate of the Fragrance:

Volupte is still being produced today, although it has suffered from reformulation, your best bet is to try to get the vintage versions.