Showing posts with label vintage perfume. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vintage perfume. Show all posts

Saturday, February 11, 2023

Vintage Counterfeit Perfumes and Fantasy Fakes

During the 20th century, the perfume industry was rife with counterfeiting at every turn. There was some trickery going on in the 1930s-1950s regarding designer named perfumes. I can find famous names on bogus labels for perfumes in bottles that you would never see used by that brand. Various con men had boxes and labels printed up, then decanted or adulterated, refilling cheaper bottles with even cheaper perfume, then slapping the newly printed labels on them, and passing them off as genuine.

I have created a comprehensive guide for fake vintage perfumes going back to the 1920s and into the 1970s. Much of the crucial information I have gathered has been revealed nowhere else and it can answer a lot of questions regarding so called "rare" editions or bottles of designer perfumes. 

Discussed in this guide are rebottlers, fake pricing schemes, and outright counterfeits. A significant portion of the guide is devoted to what I call "fantasy fakes." Fantasy fakes are, in my own parlance and definition, is the usage of bottles and labels that a genuine perfumery brand would have never used. This also includes names of perfumes that were never part of their catalog such as "Ce Soir Ou Jamais" by Christian Dior. I have done extensive research on these in order to determine whether they are genuine or fake. You might be surprised, delighted or even disappointed at the information I uncovered.

Before you shell out hundreds for a rare "Poiret" perfume bottle, please see my guide first!


Thursday, March 19, 2020

Asphodele by Lentheric c1926

Asphodele by Lentheric: launched in 1926, pronounced "As Fo Del". Asphodele refers to the species of daffodil (narcissus) that grow around the Mediterranean and a species growing on both the coasts of Brittany and Galicia. In the ancient times, the daffodils were often used to bloom the grave of the dead, where the legend of Asphodel Meadow , instead of Hades in Greek mythology . I have read that the actual asphodele plant has no scent.




Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Miracle by Lentheric c1924

Miracle by Lentheric was launched in 1924 and named after the Max Reinhardt play starring actress Diana Manners.



 Lentheric issued it's perfume alongside the U.S. premiere of the elaborate pantomime 'The Miracle', which opened at the Century Theatre in New York City on January 15, 1924. The back of the program had a full page advertisement for the perfume. The program was by Karl Vollmoeller, the score by Englebert Humperdinck, and the design by Norman Bel Geddes. Among the many illustrations, are two full-page ink and watercolor renderings of costumes by Norman Bel Geddes.



Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Garwood's Standard Perfumes

Philadelphia; claimed established in 1852; most likely c1873; a subsidiary of Schandein & Lind in c1900; launched a range of fragrances in the first quarter of 20th century.

Thursday, August 8, 2019

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Incanto by Simonetta c1955

Incanto by Simonetta: launched in 1955. Perfume created by Simonetta Visconti (Donna Simonetta Fabiani), an Italian fashion designer.


Monday, June 4, 2018

Colgate Perfumes

Colgate & Co. was located at 55 John Street New York. Established 1806. Richard M. Colgate, Gilbert Colgate, Sidney M. Colgate, Austen Colgate.

Key Dates:

  • 1806: Company is founded by William Colgate in New York to make starch, soap, and candles.
  • 1857: After founder's death, company becomes known as Colgate & Company.
  • 1873: Toothpaste is first marketed.
  • 1896: Collapsible tubes for toothpaste are introduced.
  • 1898: B.J. Johnson Soap Company (later renamed Palmolive Company) introduces Palmolive soap.
  • 1910: Colgate moves from original location to Jersey City, New Jersey.
  • 1926: Palmolive merges with Peet Brothers, creating Palmolive-Peet Company.
  • 1928: Colgate and Palmolive-Peet merge, forming Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company.
  • 1947: Fab detergent and Ajax cleanser are introduced.
  • 1953: Company changes its name to Colgate-Palmolive Company.
  • 1956: Corporate headquarters shifts back to New York.
  • 1966: Palmolive dishwashing liquid is introduced.
  • 1967: Sales top $1 billion.
  • 1968: Colgate toothpaste is reformulated with fluoride; Ultra Brite is introduced.
  • 1976: Hill's Pet Products is purchased.
  • 1987: The Softsoap brand of liquid soap is acquired.
  • 1992: The Mennen Company is acquired; Total toothpaste is introduced overseas.
  • 1995: Latin American firm Kolynos Oral Care is acquired; Colgate-Palmolive undergoes major restructuring.
  • 1997: Total toothpaste is launched in the United States; Colgate takes lead in domestic toothpaste market.
  • 2004: Company acquires European oral care firm GABA Holding AG; major restructuring is launched.



Colgate Company of Jersey City, NJ from 1879 to 1959.

Colgate & Company had been a pioneer in establishing international operations, creating a Canadian subsidiary in 1913 and one in France in 1920. In the early 1920s the firm expanded into Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Mexico. Colgate or its successor firm next created subsidiaries in the Philippines, Brazil, Argentina, and South Africa in the late 1920s. In 1937 the company moved into India and by the end of the 1940s had operations in most of South America. By 1939 Colgate-Palmolive-Peet's sales hit $100 million.





Sunday, February 18, 2018

Help! My Perfume Has Sediment and has Darkened

I get a lot of questions from readers who cannot understand why their vintage perfume has little things floating in them. I have definitely had my share of bottles that had the floaties in some of my old perfumes too. This is mainly due to the natural decomposition process of the perfume. 

According to some of the questions I get from readers, they are afraid they may have unknowingly bought a counterfeit. While it is true that many modern counterfeits may have nasty bits floating in the suspicious fluid, there are perfectly reasonable explanations why you could find sediment in your genuine vintage bottle. 

If you collect vintage perfume you will notice some of the resins tend to collect in the bottom of the bottle. The sediment is actually the natural oils and essences coagulating as they start to break down. The alcohol and water inside will probably start to evaporate slowly over time and you will be left with a thick, syrupy concentrated perfume residue inside.

Monday, December 18, 2017

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Vers Toi by Worth c1934

Vers Toi by Worth: launched in 1934. Originally created by Maurice Blanchet.  The name means "Towards You" in French.




Saturday, September 2, 2017

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Intoxication by D'Orsay c1938

Intoxication by D'Orsay: launched in 1938.

"Intoxication, the champagne fragrance that whispers 'Someone lovely has just passed by' wearing Intoxication".

Welcome!

This is not your average perfume blog. In each post, I present perfumes or companies as encyclopedic entries with as much facts and photos as I can add for easy reading and researching without all the extraneous fluff or puffery.

Please understand that this website is not affiliated with any of the perfume companies written about here, it is only a source of reference. I consider it a repository of vital information for collectors and those who have enjoyed the classic fragrances of days gone by. Updates to posts are conducted whenever I find new information to add or to correct any errors.

One of the goals of this website is to show the present owners of the various perfumes and cologne brands that are featured here how much we miss the discontinued classics and hopefully, if they see that there is enough interest and demand, they will bring back these fragrances!

Please leave a comment below (for example: of why you liked the fragrance, describe the scent, time period or age you wore it, who gave it to you or what occasion, any specific memories, what it reminded you of, maybe a relative wore it, or you remembered seeing the bottle on their vanity table, did you like the bottle design), who knows, perhaps someone from the company brand might see it.

Also, if you have any information not seen here, please comment and share with all of us.

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Faking Perfume Bottles to Increase Their Value

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