Welcome!

Welcome to my unique perfume blog! Here, you'll find detailed, encyclopedic entries about perfumes and companies, complete with facts and photos for easy research. This site is not affiliated with any perfume companies; it's a reference source for collectors and enthusiasts who cherish classic fragrances. My goal is to highlight beloved, discontinued classics and show current brand owners the demand for their revival. Your input is invaluable! Please share why you liked a fragrance, describe its scent, the time period you wore it, any memorable occasions, or what it reminded you of. Did a relative wear it, or did you like the bottle design? Your stories might catch the attention of brand representatives. I regularly update posts with new information and corrections. Your contributions help keep my entries accurate and comprehensive. Please comment and share any additional information you have. Together, we can keep the legacy of classic perfumes alive!

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Dolores Del Rio and Her Perfume Collection

Dolores Del Rio and her beautiful perfume collection.





In this photo I spy:
  • Lerys 6 bottle presentation in bronze caddy
  • Parfum des Champs Elysées/À Travers Champs/Guerlinade or Candide Effluve by Guerlain
  • Jungla by Myrurgia c1933
  • unknown early Elizabeth Arden
  • Secret de la Perle by Pleville c1926
  • two Prince Matchabelli bottles
  • La Jacee by Coty
  • Sans Adieu by Worth c1929 (Lalique bottle)
  • Les Lys by D'Orsay c1922 (Lalique bottle)
  • Hattie Carnegie c1925 (Depinoix bottle)
  • Lentheric (Baccarat bottle)
  • Elizabeth Arden
  • She is holding an early Lancome bottle, possibly for Kypre or Bocages

I cannot make out all of the bottles, nor can I make out labels, but if you can, please comment below. 

SA Hanlin, Collector of 2500 Perfume Bottles

Samuel Albert Hanlin arrived in Newton in 1890 and started a store known as Hanlin Supply & Mercantile Company. At one time, he supplied provisions for the Santa Fe Railway commissary cars. He also operated a grocery and mercantile with JJ Lewis. Hanlin's store eventually took up the entire building at 601 North Main and was advertised as the "largest cash department store in the state".  In the 1920s, the store became the Cayot Mercantile.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37717639/samuel-albert-hanlin


Photo from 1935 showing perfume bottle collector SA Hanlin, who believes that "perfume bottles are exquisite things" and has been collecting for 14 years. Among his collection of 2500 bottles are gorgeous Czech, Baccarat, jeweled examples and atomizers, some DeVilbiss and others. I don't believe there are any commercial bottles in the cabinet shown.





There is a passage in a book, Romance in a Junk Shop, from 1938, mentions, SA Hanlin:

"Perfume bottles, in the designing and manufacture of which attempts have been made for ages to create a beauty that would please the sight and touch as much as the aromatic contents please the smell, have long been favorites with collectors. One young lady I know collects them in pairs. The king of perfume bottle collectors patronizing my store — he has called regularly twice a week for four years — is S. A. Hanlin. 
Hanlin, a prominent merchant in Newton, Kansas, after operating the Hanlin Department store for more than 25 years, along around 1910 retired from the merchandising business and started out to see the world - America first. In Cairo, Egypt, in 1921, he became fascinated by native perfume bottles, which he bought as a nucleus for a collection  to represent the different countries of the world. Little did he think at the moment that it would assume the proportion it has and that later he would make a second trip around the globe in search of more bottles.  
Mr. Hanlin called for perfume bottles. Showed him five. Three he had, two he bought. The actual number of bottles in his collection to date, he says, is 3215. Reports having made a fine acquisition while in Pasadena this week — a quaint and beautiful Chinese bottle reputed to be 150 years old.  If I could supply everything that is called for I would soon be rich."



In 1940, he hosted a tea for the members of the Matinee Musical Club where he showed off his collection of 4600 perfume bottles.













Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Tokalon Perfumes

Tokalon of New York City & Paris France. Originally a British company To-Kalon, possibly established before 1900 as a chemical-pharmaceutical company. They also produced laundry soaps in addition to cosmetics, toiletries and beautiful , luxurious perfume presentations.




Monday, October 6, 2014

Vintage Lentheric Perfumes

In this guide, I have listed the various perfumes presented by Lentheric from  1885 to 1989, as well as some brief history of the company. Lentheric produced presentations that ranged from luxury to low-priced and was the first beauty salon with its own perfumes.

Lentheric is an old company which was established in 1795 as a millinery. In the 19th century, fashion accessories were added to the store. From 1873, perfumes were being informally blended in the store for sale and originally made fragrances only on request to his customers. Guillaume Lentheric, a hairdresser, established the perfume-cosmetics company La Parfumerie des Orchidees in 1875 . A large building at 245 rue du Faubourg-Saint Honore in Paris was acquired in 1885 and turned into a salon for millinery, perfumes, cosmetics and important beauty-hairdressing only on request to his customers.

By 1900, branches were opened in Deauville, Monte Carlo, Nice, Baden-Baden, and London. In 1910, the company was acquired by Velsch and Holtz. Later acquired in 1965 by the British American Tobacco group. From 1910-1965, Lentheric managed to produce around 140 fragrances. The company was then sold to Smith Kline Beecham pharmaceuticals in 1985, merged with Yardley in 1993; the name was licensed to International Brands in 1994. In 1998 Lenthéric Ltd was re-established as an independent perfume company under the Fine Fragrances & Cosmetic umbrella.



Bottles designed by C. Depinoix et Fils:
Le Pirate, Le Miracle

Bottles designed by Baccarat:
Ambre Mousse, Violette Orchidee, Shanghai, Royal Caprice

Bottles designed by Julien Viard:
Desir Princier

The perfumes of Lentheric:

  • 1885 Au Fil de L'Eau
  • 1909 Dame en Noir
  • 1910 Le Secret de Marguerite
  • 1910 Swell
  • 1912 Ambre Mousse
  • 1912 Atyche
  • 1912 Chypre
  • 1912 La Feria
  • 1912 Mimosa de Nice
  • 1912 Neos
  • 1912 Royal Caprice
  • 1912 Desir Princier
  • 1913 Tiara Bouquet,a green floral parfum de toilette. Re-launched in 1965 and again in 2000
  • 1913 Le Prenant
  • 1913 Per Alta
  • 1913 Sukina
  • 1913 Violette Orchidee
  • 1913 Tramp, re-launched in 1965 and again in 2000
  • 1916 Coeur de Paris
  • 1916 Shanghai, This is the re-branded fragrance 'Cœur de Paris’; re-launched in 1934 and presented in a flacon designed by Frank McIntosh.
  • 1920 The Perfume of Aristocrats
  • 1921 Coeur Cheri
  • 1921 Secret des Fanchon
  • 1922 Ardans
  • 1922 Cheops
  • 1922 Fleurs Cologne
  • 1922 Fleurs Helene
  • 1922 Bel Inconnu
  • 1922 Ingenue
  • 1922 La Passant
  • 1922 Mi Vida
  • 1922 Mon Reve
  • 1922 Muguet d’Altesse
  • 1922 Nilus
  • 1922 Philine
  • 1922 Princess Mary
  • 1922 Rose de Rose
  • 1922 Sec Marguerite
  • 1922 Orkidee
  • 1922 Jasmin Orchidee
  • 1922 Fougere Orchidee
  • 1922 Lilas Orchidee
  • 1924 Confret de Ma Poupee
  • 1924 Lotus d’Or
  • 1924 Sourire de France
  • 1924 Miracle
  • 1925 Lotus
  • 1925 Maharajah de Kapurthala
  • 1925 Le Martin au Bois
  • 1928 Parfum 12
  • 1928 Asphodele
  • 1928 Foret Vierge
  • 1928 Le Pirate
  • 1930 A’Bientot (an aldehydic perfume)
  • 1930 Iceberg
  • 1931 Numero Douze
  • 1932 Tombola
  • 1933 Numero 12
  • 1933 Tweed
  • 1934 Turf
  • 1934 Bouquet Lentheric
  • 1934 Clandestine
  • 1934 Escapade
  • 1934 Persistence
  • 1935 Dykil
  • 1935 Cabana
  • 1935 Vagabond
  • 1935 L'Intuition
  • 1935 Bel Masque
  • 1935 Dykil
  • 1935 Gardenia de Tahiti
  • 1935 Home Spun
  • 1935 Risque Tout
  • 1935 Scotch Mist
  • 1936 Mazurka Russe
  • 1937 Anticipation
  • 1937 Espionnage
  • 1937 Plaid
  • 1937 Realization
  • 1938 Caravan
  • 1938 Carnation
  • 1938 Cloak of Night
  • 1938 Quin-Essence
  • 1938 Smoke
  • 1938 Soon
  • 1939 Bal Masque
  • 1939 Confetti
  • 1939 Jeanina
  • 1939 Gaiete
  • 1939 Le Triangle de Fleurs
  • 1939 Mavourneen
  • 1939 Sky Lark
  • 1939 Vieille France
  • 1939 Tomorrow
  • 1940 Picnic
  • 1940 Pink Party
  • 1940 Blind Date
  • 1940 Jeune Fille
  • 1940 Daisy Chain
  • 1940 Birds In A Gilded Cage
  • 1940 Family Album
  • 1940 Tiara
  • 1940 Picnic
  • 1941 Sous-Zero
  • 1941 Anchors Aweigh
  • 1941 Birds Of A Feather
  • 1941 Hell-Bent
  • 1941 Heart Throb
  • 1941 Band Box
  • 1941 Beige
  • 1941 Happiness Choo-Choo
  • 1941 Ditty Fox
  • 1941 Wildfire
  • 1941 Tanbark
  • 1941 Little/Small Slam
  • 1941 Sous-Zero
  • 1942 Folk Dance
  • 1942 Tombola, relaunch
  • 1942 Le Miracle
  • 1942 Bataille de Fleurs
  • 1944 Ransom
  • 1944 Reunion
  • 1944 Kubla Khan
  • 1945 Feu Sacre
  • 1945 Black Sunlight
  • 1945 Seersucker
  • 1945 Deep End
  • 1945 Pale Blue
  • 1945 Parachute
  • 1945 Simpatico
  • 1945 Trouble
  • 1946 Beyond
  • 1946 Formidable
  • 1946 Center of Attraction
  • 1946 Occasion
  • 1946 China Poblana, a Mexican revolutionary heroine
  • 1946 Feu Froid
  • 1946 Sometime
  • 1946 Don Quixote
  • 1946 Rampant
  • 1946 Turban
  • 1946 Small Talk
  • 1946 Voom
  • 1946 Vivid Black
  • 1946 Dark Brilliance
  • 1948 Critics' Choice
  • 1948 Pale Black
  • 1948 Gendarme
  • 1948 Stepping Out
  • 1950 Repartee
  • 1950 Icicle
  • 1953 Galaxy
  • 1953 High Tension
  • 1953 Adam's Rib (a floral perfume)
  • 1953 Royal Rose
  • 1953  Three Silent Messengers
  • 1954 All Stars
  • 1955 Musketeer
  • 1956 Aerolian
  • 1956 Lentheric 12
  • 1958 Red Lilac
  • 1958 Ripple
  • 1960 Gay Bird
  • 1964 Onyx
  • 1966 Black Label
  • 1968 Pagan
  • 1972 Miss Lentheric
  • 1973 Jungle Gardenia
  • 1973 Just Musk, re-launched in 2000.
  • 1976 Chique
  • 1977 Gold
  • 1978 It
  • 1979 Panache
  • 1979 Elle
  • 1981 Mystique, relaunced in 2000
  • 1982 Pure Silk
  • 1983 Finesse, relaunched in 1997
  • 1984 Lace
  • 1985 Joie de Vivre, relaunched in 1997
  • 1985 White Satin
  • 1986 Hallmark
  • 1987 Style
  • 1989 Fashion
  • 1991 Fleur
  • 1992 Tweed, re-launched in association with Yardley (FFC) with a slightly altered formulae created by Arthur Burnham.
  • 1997 Solo pour homme
  • 2001 Lavender
  • Air de France
  • Chypre Lentheric
  • Dunbar
  • Feria
  • Out of the Blue
  • Pre Catalan
  • Rebel
  • Repartee
  • Essence of Tweed
  • Muguet
  • Mystere
  • On Hand

Faberge Perfumes

Parfums Faberge was established by F Eugene and Alexander Fabergé in Paris in1922. The company produced toiletries and allied products. In 1936, they opened Fabergé Inc in New York  in association with Samuel Rubin. The company was later acquired by Elida Gibbs of  Cheeseborough-Ponds and latter taken over by Unilever.

The perfumes of Faberge:

  • 1932 Aphrodisia (an aldehydic perfume)
  • 1938 Tigress
  • 1938 Straw Hat
  • 1938 Woodhue (carnation)
  • 1943 Daytime
  • 1944 Woodhue for men
  • 1949 Fabergette
  • 1950 Act IV (Act 4) (an aldehydic perfume)
  • 1955 Flambeau
  • 1958 F# (F Sharp)
  • 1959 Activ
  • 1962 Esprit De Parfum
  • 1964 Brut
  • 1968 West
  • 1969 Kiku
  • 1969 Xanadu
  • 1975 Cavale
  • 1975 Brut 33
  • 1975 Musk for Men
  • 1976 Macho
  • 1977 Babe
  • 1979 Partage
  • 1979 Tigress Musk
  • 1980 Cellini
  • 1980 Turbo
  • 1981 Touch of Class
  • 1982 Feminin
  • 1983 Brut Royale
  • 1983 McGregor
  • 1985 Fleurs du Monde
  • 1986 Brut Musk
  • 1994 Joyau
  • 1994 Brut Actif Blue
During World War II, the owner of Faberge Perfumes made a patriotic plea to consumers to buy a war bond before they purchased any of his perfume.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Vintage 1940s Fan Top Fancy Glass Perfume Bottles Catalog Pages

The items shown in the following advertisement pages from 1940 and 1941 N. Shure catalogs, are made up of molded glass simulating the high quality cut crystal bottles from Czechoslovakia and Austria. These were made in the USA to imitate the more expensive items that were unable to be imported due to WWII. Some of the companies making these bottles are Imperial,  Duncan Miller, Fenton, New Martinsville and the US Glass Company.

Vintage Apollo Studios Ormolu Vanity Accessories and Perfume Bottles 1934 Advertisement

Vintage Apollo Studios Ormolu Vanity Accessories and Perfume Bottles from a 1934 L & C Mayers Co publication. Items shown as filigree metal trays, candy dishes and perfume bottles. Two of the trays have lace sandwiched between glass. The candy dishes have glass inserts with three compartments and sometimes I see these listed as powder jars and jewel caskets. The perfume bottles were made by Heisey (Crystolite) and rest inside French style metal mountings. One of them has a handpainted miniature painting on ivory.



















Similar Apollo pieces from the same time period:






22kt Gold Filigree Vanity Items from 1940s Catalog Pages

The items shown in the following advertisement pages from 1940 and 1941 N. Shure catalogs, are made up of 22kt gold over white metal filigree. The various perfume bottles and the trays I have had in the past. Some of the filigree has glass jewels. I am pretty sure these were made in the USA to imitate the more expensive items that were made in Czechoslovakia and Austria, but were unable to be imported due to WWII. From experience, I know that the metal is very soft and easy to break, I believe it is lead.










Saturday, October 4, 2014

Bohemian Glass Shaker Top Perfume Bottles 1901 Advertisement

Bohemian colored glass perfume bottles with shaker tops from an antique Victorian/Edwardian 1901-02 A. C. McClurg & Co. publication. Many of the bottles are gilded and the designs are reminiscent of Moser. It appears that the shaker tops are the open rose and the "loving cup" styles.










Celluloid Perfume Bottles 1927 Advertisement

Celluloid Perfume Bottles shown in a 1927 Advertisement for N. Shure Co.



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