Coeur de Jeannette by Houbigant: created by Paul Parquet in 1899. At the 1900 Paris Exhibition, Houbigant launched a special perfume, Coeur de Jeannette, in honor of the exhibition.
So what does it smell like? It was a floral amber perfume with spicy notes. "Coeur de Jeannette is a subtle caress of tropical fragrance most delicate and dainty."
- Top notes: acacia, mimosa, lilac
- Middle notes: carnation, orange blossom, honeysuckle, tuberose, rose
- Base notes: musk, spices (clove), ambergris, sandalwood
Also Coeur de Jeannette is specially interesting to us as being the favorite perfume of Queen Alexandra.
The Spatula, 1903:
"Queens Favorite Perfumes - The Queen of England remains constant to one perfume which is the secret of a Parisian perfumer. It is called Coeur de Jeannette and costs about thirty dollars a pint which is not expensive as fashionable perfumes go. It is taken as a signal favor when the Queen presents a box of this perfume as the brand is most particularly reserved for herself to prevent it from becoming vulgarized. The Czarina at present favors a special brew of Parma violets. She unlike Queen Alexandra often changes her perfumes favoring among others jonquil and jessamine extracts. The German Empress prefers new mown hay while the Queen of Holland dislikes scents with the exception of eau de cologne."
Life, 1912:
"Cœur de Jeannette is a subtle caress of tropical fragrance, most delicate and dainty. More pronounced is Houbigant's famous Ideal, a rich bouquet. Peau d Espagne, is a man's perfume, positively masculine. Violette Houbigant is a reminiscence of shady woods a master achievement in the making of a violet odor. Houbigant brings to you the perfumed moonlight in his Jasmin; his La Rose France is an epitome of Pompadour and the salons of old France; Houbigant's Giroflee is a languorous dream; his Lilies of the Valley, Muguet, an exotic rapture; and his Carnation of the King, Oeillet du Roi, a royal duplicate of this exquisite flower; each one a revelation of unique fragrance and exquisitely good taste to its delighted recipient."
Bottles:
Fate of the Fragrance:
Discontinued, date unknown. The last date I found it for sale was in a 1939 newspaper ad.
I have a bottle of this stuff that we got from some firefighters who were preparing an old building for a burn down in the '90's. It was hidden in a wall that they tore down in a business that was frequented by Al Capone on the lower Fox River to move liquor up and down the river. It is full but the top won't come off. I didn't realize how old it was!
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