The Vintage Perfume Vault: L.T. Piver

Showing posts with label L.T. Piver. Show all posts

Saturday, April 24, 2010

L.T. Piver Reve d'or

As promised, I'm back to report on one of L.T. Piver's modern offerings. For a perfume house with such an lengthy history- the name has been associated with fragrant perfumes, powders and lotions since 1774 after all. It is sad to see that Piver has not been in the same hands continuously but today some of the "classic" or historically popular Piver scents are being put back in current production. Reve d'or (Golden Dream) is the one I chose. Originally Reve d'or was composed in 1886. In 1926 it was re-orchestrated by Louis Armingeat, although I'm sure that is not the version we find today. Some UK men's shops carry portions of the L.T. Piver line that includes several masculine fragrances. But I went with Reve d'or, classified as a feminine floral bouquet, because I loved the notes- a refreshingly simplistic blend of orange blossom, tea rose, geranium, vetiver, heliotrope and sandalwood (from memory- so double check it for yourself or read back a few entires). I've been (back) on a heliotrope kick for the past month or so, and wearing quite a few vintage heliotrope-laden scents this spring and a floral bouquet featuring orange blossom with oriental leanings is always appropriate.

The Reve d'or of today comes in appealingly vintage-ish packaging, still looking very similar to what is shown in this 1920s advertisement (even the lid of the new product appears vintage, an ivory plastic resembling an old bakelite cap). I rather liked that the bottle is sealed with a metal (brass) inner cap, just like a vial of medicine or something. Once you peel it off, there is a little styrofoam plug underneath, and then you get to the juice. I wish other companies would take such pains to seal their perfume; it prevents leaks in shipping and you know you are getting what you're supposed to get. But as soon as I sniffed the bottle, even before unsealing it, I could smell the essence of Reve d'or. It's fairly strong especially for a "lotion" strength, which is 70% (or degree). It is a warm, bewitching floral with a rich, royal character. It reminds me of something a king or queen would use as a part of their daily toilet. But it has a certain quality, an intimate ability to improve and amplify the natural scent of the wearer. It becomes a part of you in a way many scents do not, forming a subtle vail emparting an aura of gentle mystery. You might think it is just a case of super-natural skin chemistry with me, but it isn't. This L.T. Piver creation is actually an international best seller and something of a "cult favorite" because most of its popularity is due to its ubiquity in the middle east as a men's barbershop cologne [even so, to L.T. Piver it is classified as a feminine scent]. In some areas of Arabia, it has been considered one of the most very traditional (and especially popular) scent worn by men. So I am not the only one under its spell. For something so light, it is incredibly rich and tenacious. It is not so strong, or so obnoxious as to suck the air from the room but I can see it might benefit from a restrained hand in hot, humid weather. It's golden efffect seems to be in the harmony of sandalwood and a perhaps a powdery facet of heliotrope enriched with the rose, which seems to form in its own hybrid, a unique sweet spicy musk that isn't an actual musk, and which imbues the natural skin. There are herbal and grassy facets thanks to a fresh green vs rooty vetiver and citrus-floral geranium. A green-apple lemony freshness hovers above the musky base, captured within a creamy carnation cloud, promoting sort of a clean and divine baby-skin effect. For me, that effect is the cause for repeated sniffing of my shirt, prompting me to ask, "Is that me [a trace of some exquisit old perfume,] or is it the new laundry detergent??... No, no-... it's Reve d'or!" The ingredients of Reve d'or are: alcohol, water, parfum, benzyl alcohol, cinnamal, cinnamyl alcohol, citral, cintronellol, eugenol, geraniol, hydroxycitronellal, isoeugenol, linalool and some coloring ingredients. Unlike many other vintage vault scents, this one can still be found and purchased online for a song, so why not give it a try? I'll be trying their Cuir de Russie next!

The Vintage Perfume Vault, where the scent of yesterday's vogue lives.

image credits:
colorized image of Gloria Swanson by Talkie_King.blogspot
vintage LT Piver ad from Mes-Parfums.com

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?