Perfume: The Magical Personal Signature!

One of my favorite weekend gigs, when it is possible, is visiting the Nordstrom perfume area at my favorite mall, where the sales staff liberally distribute perfume samples of any you wish to try! It's such fun, and allows one to sample the new fragrances, as well as re-encounter old favorites and of course, the legendary. I will not give away which are my favorites, or in fact, which is my ultimate favorite. It wouldn't be right, as perfume is part of one's secret side, within one of the seven veils, a very personal and magical signature, as it were. Of course, fragrance smells differently on each individual, which is an insurance if people try to "copy", (though imitation is supposed to be the highest form of flattery! Ha ha !)

Perfume has always been important, but it truly came into its own during the reign of King Louis XV in the 18th Century. In fact, the court was nicknamed, "le cour parfumee", or perfumed court. Madame de Pompadour ordered loads of perfume, and the King fragranced his apartment with a different scent each day! My!!!

 King Louis XIV's court applied perfume to everything!including clothing, furniture, fans.  It became a substitute for soap and water, and by the 18th Century, aromatic plants were grown in the Grasse region of France to supply the industry with local material. Even today, France remains the perfume capital of the world.

Napoleon had two quarts of violet cologne delivered to him every week, AND sixty bottles of jasmine extract every month! His Josephine was partial to musk, and it is said that even sixty years after her death, her boudoir still held the scent.  The 1700's also saw the use of solid perfume.

Fashionable bottles were part of the ultimate experience, and were for the wealthiest in society. By the middle of the 19th Century, though, the industrial revolution changed that forever. Now, synthetic perfume allows the masses to partake, but of course, when something is not "the real deal" it always suffers somehow. Celebrity endorsed perfumes may smell interesting and modern, but they do not last (and it's probably a good thing....who wants to smell like Justin Beiber, or JLo for very long).

This bottle, at left,  is interesting with the face of a person seen when it is viewed from the front, while different faces are seen from the left or the right sides. From Staffordshire, which was a renowned enamel production center in the 18th century.

At right is one from England c. 1755 showing a jester in mask and colorful costume, his head is the stopper. From the Chelsea porcelain factory, it is whimsical and it was probably quite a conversation piece.

I hope to venture over to the perfume display soon again, and try one I've never tried before. Perfume is an adventure, not only the discovering of one you can't live without, but then planning how to wear it! What outfit, what mood, what mystery!