Guimet & Valois

Established by Rudolph Storfer in Paris; launched a range of fragrance in the 1920's and 1930's. the company also had an outlet in New York. Guimet produced perfumes, bath salts, body powders and soaps. Guimet was affiliated to Valois.

Elgin American Compacts c1938 Advertisement

Elgin American compacts shown in an advertisement from a 1938 N. Shure catalog. You can see various enameled, engine turned and cloisonne compacts.

Hula by Roxy c1998

Hula by Roxy: launched in 1998. Roxy is a brand of women's surf and sportswear manufactured by Quicksilver since 1991.

Vacarme by Madeleine de Rauch c1966

Vacarme by Madeleine de Rauch: launched in 1966, in USA by 1967. The name means "uproar" or "racket"in French. The perfume is sometimes incorrectly spelled Macrame online.

Vintage Boudoirs of the Stars - Part 6

Vivian Blaine, c1930s-1940s, Shalimar by Guerlain, and possibly a Czech crystal bottle to the left, Charbert bottle on right.

Virginia Mayo, c1940s, 

Toby Wing, c1930s, gorgeous long handled mirror

Toby Wing, c1930s, gorgeous mirror, another view

Sonja Henie, c1940s, Shocking by Schiaparelli, Salut by Schiaparelli box, Vol de Nuit by Guerlain, not sure what else, 

Simone Simon, c1930s-1940s, stunning Lalique or Czech tiara perfume bottle to the back of the vanity.

Ruth Hussey, c1940s, gorgeous mirror fronted vanity table.

Myrna Loy, c1920s, various DeVilbiss perfume atomizers on her vanity.

So You Want to Buy a Fragrance from The Vermont Country Store?

Before you make a purchase on one of your favorite discontinued perfumes, please keep in mind that it may NOT be the same as what you wore years ago. The Vermont Country Store carries two types of perfumes: those made directly from the original manufacturers such as Lanvin, Jean Patou, etc.

The other type is the recreated vintages made by a new company, usually Long Lost Perfumes/Irma Shorell and Timeless Perfumes/Evyan Perfumes Inc, but they are NOT the genuine formula. No one knows the genuine formulas so they attempt to recreate it. Sometimes they get it very close to the original, but on some fragrances reviewers say they are way off.

Celluloid Toilet Sets Advertising Catalog Page c1894

Celluloid, Zylonite and White Florence Toilet Sets/Dresser Sets/Vanity Sets taken from an 1893/1894 Marshall Fields catalog. Notice the fancy molded pattern on several of the sets including some Japanese influenced Aesthetic styles.

images: ebay seller mima48

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Cupid’s Breath by Elizabeth Arden c1928

Cupid’s Breath by Elizabeth Arden: launched in 1928. Although Arden was an American company, many of her perfumes were manufactured in France, and this perfume was made in Paris.

Prince Henri d'Orleans

Prince Henri d'Orleans of Paris, France.

The Skin Game, 1989:

"It was designed for the Prince Pierre Henri d'Orleans who, if there was a king in France, would be "le Comte de Paris". This distinguished gentleman had decided to launch a fragrance under his own great family name, and as the d'Orleans crest bears the emblem of the fleurs-de- lys the fragrance was to be called "Lys Bleu". 'On the bottle, which was shaped like a jewel,' Pierre Dinand added sarcastically, 'were the words "designe par le Prince Pierre Henri d'Orleans." Almost a royal warrant!' The Prince however, apparently believed that the scent would be successful on snob value alone. 'I thought the whole idea was cuckoo,' Dinand remembers. 'The fragrance was launched in the year that Mitterrand and the socialist Left came to power — so the King of France image was not a good idea! It was like calling a fragrance Charles I in England.' According to Dinand, the company marketing the fragrance had to accept defeat. 'They sold "Lys Bleu" off to another company."

Applied Chemistry c1992

In 1992, design partners Sandra Higashi and Byron Glaser of King George County created a “chemistry set” for adults. Something fun that could ignite the old human chemistry, but look like scientific stuff. Something like a make-your-own perfume kit, but with a New Age twist.

The result is "APpLiEd CHeMiStRY", a square, gunmetal-gray box with five test tubes of perfume nestled inside. There’s X2C, a bouquets of white florals; IM4U, an earthy mix of musk with floral undertones; and HeHe, essence of tropical fruit with melon undertones.

The others are Y, hyacinth with Oriental notes, and OoAh, which is “aquilaria agallocha with woody notes. (It’s basically aloe)

The scents come with some tongue-in-cheek recipes, or “CoNcOcTiOnS.”
It’s fun. It’s folklore.

APpLiEd CHeMiStRY is designed to look like an old-fashioned kid’s chemistry set, and the labeling, with upper and lower case letter, is a takeoff on the look of chemical equations, The test tubes inside are real ones, ordered from a chemical supply company.

APpLiEd CHeMiStRY was sold at upscale boutiques and museum shops around the world.
I do not know how many ounces are in each tube. Each tube measures approximately 3.25" including black cap and rubber dropper.  Applied Chemistry was thoughtfully conceived, simply and elegantly designed, and flawlessly manufactured.


A Little Ooah, A Little X2c...it Makes Scents, August 26, 1992:

"Madame Curie would have loved this: A chemistry set for cologne connoisseurs. Packaged in a metal case, Applied Chemistry contains five test tubes of fragrance oils: IM4U (musk with floral undertones); OoAh (a woodsy scent); X2C (white florals); HeHe (tropical fruits) and Y (Oriental). Although the scents can be used alone, the whole idea is to whip up your own perfume potions. A book of recipes is included to get you going including instructions for warding off bad luck, attracting the opposite sex and mending a broken heart. 

Applied Chemistry sells for $48 at Chiasso stores, 700 N. Michigan Ave. and 303 W. Madison St."

all images from ebay seller stellamae17