Hello and welcome! Please understand that this website is not affiliated with Guerlain in any way, it is only a reference site for collectors and those who have enjoyed the classic fragrances of days gone by. All trademarks belong to their respective owners. The main objective of this website is to chronicle the 200+ year old history of the Guerlain fragrances and showcase the bottles and advertising used throughout the years. Let this site be your source for information on antique and vintage Guerlain perfumes. Another goal of this website is to show the present owners of the Guerlain company how much we miss many of the discontinued classics and hopefully, if they see that there is enough interest and demand, they will bring back these fragrances! I invite you to 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 on what occasion, what it smelled like to you, how it made you feel, any specific memories, what it reminded you of, maybe a relative wore it, or you remembered seeing the bottle on their vanity table), who knows, perhaps someone from the current Guerlain brand might see it. If you have any questions, please send all images of your bottle and pertinent information directly to me at cleopatrasboudoir@gmail.com. I will try to assist you the best I can.

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Saturday, February 2, 2013

Rita by Guerlain c1883

Rita by Guerlain: created in 1883. Virtually unknown to all but those who crave the unusual Guerlain fragrances from the past. We do not know who the elusive Rita was, but Octavian Coifan speculates that she may be inspired by the opera of Gaetano Donizetti called Rita (Rita ou le Mari Battu) written in 1841 and presented in 1860 at Opéra Comique in Paris.



I know that Rita is a shortened form of the name Margarita, from the Latin Margaret, which means "child of light". The name Rita also means "pearl" in Persian.

Guerlain had a habit of creating bespoke fragrances for the wealthy and aristocratic. I believe that the perfume is named after Margherita "Rita" of Savoy (1851 – 1926), who was the Queen consort of the Kingdom of Italy during the reign (1878–1900) of her husband, Umberto I. In 1893, Guerlain trademarked the name "Regina Margherita," Queen Margherita.

 





I found reference to the perfume in Revue Illustree, 1891:
"...que certaines grandes dames adoptent, sur le conseil toujours si précieux du maître en l'art des parfums, de Guerlain, qui, ... extrême suavité, le Rita, comme il avait créé le Jicky et l'Impériale russe, adoptés par la fine fleur des Parisiennes."
(adopt some ladies on the board, always so precious, the master in the art of perfumes, Guerlain, which ... extreme sweetness, the Rita, as he created the Imperial Russian, Jicky and adopted by the cream of the Parisians.)

 Fragrance Composition:


So what does it smell like? I have no published notes on this perfume, I would need a sample to tell you what it smells like.


Bottles:


Rita was presented in the Carre flacon.






Fate of the Fragrance:


Discontinued, date unknown.

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