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

White Rose by Guerlain c1887

White Rose: created in 1887, or before, was a rose soliflore extrait.

Fragrance Composition:


So what does it smell like? It is a soliflore based on the rose. All types of rose perfumes were popular during the 19th century. Formulas for Rose perfumes appeared in several perfumery manuals and pharmacopeias during the period. These formulas were based on mixed blends to suggest the fresh odor of rose. Natural extracts, infusions, absolutes and tinctures would have been used early on, but as the 19th century drew to a close, newly discovered synthetics and aroma compounds such as heliotropin and methyl ionones would have been utilized. Later versions of the perfume add sparkling aldehydes and a green accord to round out the rose. The general recipe included the following ingredients:

According to a review by Octavian Coifan, Guerlain's White Rose perfume smelled like fresh roses, just picked only a few hours beforehand right out of an English garden. The various white rose formulas of the 19th century included the following:
  • Top notes: hyacinth, verbena, Bourbon geranium, lilac, cassie, neroli, petitgrain, sweet orange
  • Middle notes: rose absolute, clove, carnation, heliotrope, rose oil, violet, jasmine, tuberose
  • Base notes: musk, orris, oakmoss, patchouli, sandalwood, benzoin, cedar, ambergris, tolu, civet


Revue Illustre,1887:
"M. Guerlain, le savant parfumeur si connu du high-life, dont l'expérience résulte de longues et minutieuses études. ... Les jeunes filles choisiront de préférence le White-rose; une pointe de verveine." 
 (Mr. Guerlain, the perfumer if known scholar of high life, whose experience is the result of long and careful study. ... Girls choose preferably White Rose; a touch of verbena.)

Bottles:

Housed inside the Carre flacon.






Fate of the Fragrance:

Discontinued, date unknown. Relaunched in 1904 most likely to include the newly discovered synthetics, and it was probably in the 1920s when the sparkling aldehydes were added to the composition. 

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