"Maurice Levy makes known the rediscovery of the Empress Josephine's favorite, exclusive eau de cologne, by M. Delia of Paris. Amusingly named "A la Cocarde de France," the cologne has a floral scent and is bottled in a flat crystal square with a heavy knob stopper. Use post card insert."
"A new eau de cologne has been put on the market by " Delia," which is claimed to be the perfume used by Napoleon's first wife, the Empress Josephine. Certainly it has a delicate, lingering scent, and its package, an oval flask bearing a decorative label, is in itself a sufficient attraction without any reputation from by-gone years."
"Soaps and Perfumes for Christmas. Messrs Edward Cook & Co Ltd soap specialists, Bow London E, have this year prepared for the Christmas trade an exceptionally large variety of their soaps in souvenir boxes either alone or combined with bottles of perfume or other toilet requisites. The cases which the Company usually employ for three cakes of Excelsior Savon Violette de Luxe, Savon Violette de Parme, Russian Violet toilet soap and Savon Mignora, are sufficiently artistic to be with the contents acceptable as a Christmas present, but they have numerous special cases for example glove and handkerchief boxes each containing a bottle of Throne perfume, a tablet of Violette soap, and a box of Royalist tooth powder and individual boxes shaped like a crown and finished in leatherette containing two tablets of Riviera soap and a bottle of perfume. There are also boxes of soaps only covered with leatherette bearing in gold scrolls such phrases as 'With best wishes' and 'The Season's Greetings' and a dainty little case for gentlemen contains a stick of Solace antiseptic shaving soap. The most handsome and attractive case of the series is a crimson and gold box containing a bottle of White Lilac perfume and two tablets of Excelsior Savon de Luxe. Our subscribers will find in the selection full particulars of which they can obtain on application to Messrs Cook lines which should bring business at Christmastide."
Vinolia Soap has become famous the world over first because of the inherent good qualities of the article and second because of judicious advertising. The proprietors Blondeau et Cie have their factory and head offices at Ryland Road, London England, a Paris office in the Rue de la Paix, and a New York office at 73 77 Watts Street England.
The latter is under the able management of FJE Welch, a native of Taunton, whose energy and enterprise have been fully proven by results in the two and a half years since the New York branch has been established. They first opened at 96 Fulton Street and moved to their present extensive quarters in July 1891.
The trade mark name 'Vinolia' used for the Soap is also employed in an entire series including Perfume, a most delicate bouquet, Shaving Soap, Shaving Foam, Lait Vinolia for the complexion, Pomade, Powder for toilet and nursery, Cream and Dentifrice.
The latter is in three styles English, American, and No 2 and contains no soap is free from gritty particles, has no mineral acids, is antiseptic preservative and peculiarly refreshing. It is handsomely boxed and also put up in ivory stoppered bottles. The latter form which is especially useful and economical incurs an additional duty of 20% over the ordinary form on account of the ruling that the bottles must be classed as cut glass.
Their perfumery includes fifteen odors but up to the present time only three special odors: Marequil, Jequilla and Vinolia Bouquet have been pushed in this country. They are bottled in 2 ounce size exclusively. The design see illustrations is original and pretty.
The Vinolia Shaving Soaps are superfatted with Bay Rum incorporated in the basis and prepared in both Stick and Cake form. The Sticks are in attractive silver metal cases with convenient loose bottom while the Cakes are put up in porcelain dish and silver metal cases. The Soap gives a very good firm lather that does not dull the razor or irritate the skin. Vinolia Shaving Foam in collapsible tubes, is a creamy preparation that leaves a cool and refreshing effect on the skin after use and is preferred by many to the use of shaving soap.
The Lait Vinolia and Pomade are sold in dainty receptacles of Staffordshire ware artistically decorated in antique style.
The Vinolia Powder is a very fine impalpable rose dusting powder free from zinc oxide or bismuth and is equally applicable to nursery uses and for the toilet. It is prepared in 3 sizes and in pink white and cream tints. Each box contains a pretty little puff and is therefore complete in itself.
Of the five Vinolia Toilet Soaps sold at various prices, the Vestal is the most expensive and while retaining all the good qualities of the Vinolia Soaps in being free of excess of alkali, devoid of sugar and containing some extra free, stable unsaponified cream is lavishly perfumed and boxed in extremely is attractive packages of imitation calfskin with gold embossed name. The Toilet Otto Soap has a very large sale as it is perfumed with the finest Otto of Roses an odor which is especially liked by those of refined taste. The other Vinolia Soaps are the Premier, Floral and Balsamic (Medical). Each of these is put up in dozen boxes with gold silver or fine color work embossed labels.
In placing the Vinolia Soaps on the market the manufacturers took up the cudgel against their rivals and predecessors by publishing home and scientific tests for the detection of adulterations, etc, such as bad fats, sugar as in transparent soaps, methylated spirit, excess of caustic alkali, arsenic, tartar emetic, mercurial coloring compounds, etc, most of which find place in some old style toilet soaps. They claim that the Vinolia Soaps are superfatted, their color being that of the pure oils used in their manufacture, that they are made from edible fats, are milled and not merely boiled, are guaranteed neutral, and to contain no irritating scents. Further that in washing they set free but little alkali and yield a cleansing emollient lather which is beneficial to delicate and diseased skins.
For these reasons, Vinolia Soaps are largely recommended by leading dermatologists, who have found that skin diseases are often caused by the continued use of the impure toilet soaps. In conversation Mr Welch said: 'The advertising of this house has done a great deal to improve the quality of Toilet Soaps, especially in England, where we have the largest sale of any high class Toilet Soap, because in both Medical and Lay Journals, Blondeau et Cie have published from time to time, reliable tests which will readily determine whether the soap tested has any excess of free caustic alkali or any bad fats in its composition, and also if it is colored with injurious matters as mercurial compounds, etc.
That the better class of soap makers appreciate these efforts to put soap making on a higher plane is shown by the fact that the Secretary of the Soap maker's Association of Great Britain wrote us some time ago to the following effect,' I wish to offer the proprietors of Vinolia Soap my most cordial wishes for their success in the efforts they are making to bring about the necessary reforms in the manufacture and supply of Soaps for Toilet use.'
In connection with this work, it is also pleasing to say that at the recent Annual Conference of the Association of German Soap makers at Leipzig, a resolution was unanimously accepted to memorialize the Imperial Chancellor to the effect that the proposed legislation to restrict the fulling of Soap is not stringent enough, but that all fulling processes in which any insoluble materials are used should be prohibited.' The Association also agreed that the addition of sugar to soap did not increase the preserving capacity but only increased the weight at the expense of the cleansing powers of the article.
Druggists are specially interested in this matter of good soaps as they handle the greater part of this business and their recommendation of any particular kind carries considerable weight.'
'Our trade in the United States', continued Mr Welch, 'is rapidly growing to large proportions, which speaks well for the way in which our business has been pushed. In my opinion, no little of our success is due to the attention we have given to co operation with both wholesale and retail druggists, and to seeing that they get a good profit on Vinolia goods. There is a heavy demand in the United States for fine imported soaps, etc, and the drug trade has been found very willing to recommend good articles in preference to the cheaper untrustworthy ones. An interesting item of information we gained, was that each hand employed in their factory is allowed two weeks vacation in summer with full pay, and that a Mutual Sick Club has been established for the benefit of the employees, any expense incurred by protracted sickness including medical attendance being defrayed from this club.
Space forbids us from making more than a passing mention of their Vinolia emollient Cream for the skin, in health and disease which is meeting with considerable recognition from the profession and said to have been highly spoken of in the British and American publications as being very serviceable in eczema, itching and burning insect bites, etc."
The issue of adding "after market" accents to rather plain perfume bottles to increase their value is not new to the world o...
