The Vintage Perfume Vault: A few of my favorite things...

Saturday, April 17, 2010

A few of my favorite things...

Apple and lemon blossoms, lilac, roses, lilies, lavendar, azalea and geraniums are all bursting forth in the garden right now. Next week, the orange trees, who just shed the last of last season's fruits, will be blooming again as well, adding to the profusion of delights. Despite this glorious springtime showing it is enuui-time for me, as we approach the end of an academic year and tax season wraps up. Vintage perfume projects will be taking a side-seat for a time, as I plunge towards an exciting new year in which I'll be involved in designing and planning a new project. But of course I will not be giving up my vintage perfume fascination so you will continue to see new posts but with what regularity I can't say as of yet.

Since I'm in a mini-rut and still waiting to receive some newly acquired perfume goodies, today I'm just posting some of what's been catching my eye lately.

If you don't already own one, consider gifiting yourself with a vintgae perfume lamp. They are quite easy to find on line and even at little antique, thrift shops- you've just got to know what to look for, since many people mistake them for regular bed-side, nightlight lamps. The distinguishing feature of the lamp is a small well or bowl in which you are meant to pour some perfume into. As the lamp heats up, the perfume is warmed gently, so it vaporizes and wafts through the air. Small, low watt bulbs prevent the perfume from scorching- a problem I've encountered when using modern metal perfume rings that fit over larger watt bulbs.

Check out the gorgeous 1930s German example above. It's much fancier than the one I currently use, which is a plain white porcelain owl. It still looks good and works very well. If you love dogs, there are many darling vintage 1920s-1930s doggy themed perfume lamps on the market (most are German, a few are newer Japanese made).

I love to use the perfume lamp for strongly resinous or oriental scents. On the other hand, there are scents that seem too dilute. If I can't get the oompf factor I want- the lamp often allows some of the excess alcohol to burn off, leaving behind an almost extrait oil residue of the perfume in the well, which often retains beautiful, sometimes mellow facets of the original scent (after thoroughly perfuming the air). Youth Dew was introduced to me in this way and within that perfume were some marvellous 'hidden' accords that really opened up under the magic of the lamp.

I'm also admiring the gorgeous vintage perfume and powder boxes of L.T. Piver. This venerable perfume house has been around snce it's inception in 1774, and so there is a long line of many, many releases but today, only a few remain in production. I'll be trying their classic scent Reve D'Or soon; it's notes of orange blossom, tea roses, geraniums, vetiver, heliotrope and sandalwood sounds like a perfect spring day spent in a dreamy garden. However, it will be the current formulation I'll be trying- and moreover, it's a cologne. So we'll see whether it can deliever on its promise. Don't you find the artwork on the old Piver products amazing?