Empress Josephine Bonaparte Perfume

 Introducing Our Very Limited Edition: Empress Josephine Bonaparte Perfume

The time has come to unveil a BEAUTIFUL Perfume that Empress Josephine would have worn. We made 48 vials specifically for the Battle Of New Orleans Bicentennial 2015. This Special Limited Edition is infused with various types of roses and the smallest hint of musk which makes this oil perfume a full bodied lovely flowery scent with a bit of the exotic. We partnered with The Regency Assembly Of North Carolina to bring you a perfume to honor the lovely Empress Josephine. We wanted it to be something that she would have loved to wear and that celebrated the unique history of her life.

Our Empress Josephine Perfume!

I first started researching Josephine herself. I found out about her love of Musks, her Rose Gardens, and her love of the Exotic Scents. I combed resources to try and find out what I could about her original perfumes. The stories behind them were pretty interesting. The one story that sticks in my mind the most is: Jean-François Houbigant the royal perfumer was said to have created 2 separate scents- one for Josephine and one for Napoleon. Separately their scent weren't all that great, but when the 2 were together the scents blended to create an amazing perfume. How romantic. ( Maybe we should think about this for the shop? what do you think?) I am not sure how true this is as I couldn't follow it back to a legit source, but the perfumes made for Josephine were made by Francois Rance' and his family. In honor of her he created one called "l'Imperatrice" which was presented to her in a beautiful Sevre porcelain box. The last surviving example is kept in the Racine Archives. In digging around I found that the great-great granddaughter of Rance' attempted to work with the original recipe as a base and create a new perfume. It says that this new one is" the most romantic scents ever created" and that it "is an exquisite construct based around both rose and musk."... So I tried some. Not Impressed.  100mls for $179.13. WOW! It may be that when I think of Josephine and her perfumes, I think in historical terms of what general scents were popular at that time. I found the "Josephine" perfume to be VERY MODERN and a weird fruity floral scent. As I looked more into it it had White Peach in it amongst other odd modern things. So yea. I would not believe that it stayed remotely close to the "Historical Recipe". You can find it at some high end perfume counters or online. I'd be interested to know what you thought. 

Rancé 1795 Joséphine Eau de Parfum

After that adventure, I decided to get all the original perfume books I own- out and dig through them to see if I could find any called, "I'lmperatrice" that specifically had roses and musks. I did find a few. The one thing we were concerned about is the musk- some people like it, some people hate it. So we wanted the final perfume to have a really rich soft notes with just a hint of musk. We settled on a recipe form 1890 which when translated from French to English is titled, "The Empress Bouquet" It was heavy on the roses, with some Jasmine, Ambergris, and a bit of Musk. A perfect base recipe for me to craft a completely unique scent that embodies who Josephine was. Even though she loved musks, We focused on the floral scents by adding a few types of roses to really bring home the romance of her story and her rose garden. We included Rosewood, Bulgarian Rose, Tea Roses, and Rose Petals. We also included Jasmine, and Frangipani ( which according to my ancient perfume books- is a flowery-musky scent that was first invented by a member of an ancient Roman Family of that name. However the Merriam-Webster dictionary states that it's first mention was in 1675.) In keeping with her love for the exotics and what was used at the time, we added Sandalwood and of course a teensy bit of Dark Musk in an almond oil base.  All these scent come together to form a lovely sweetly romantic, enticing, and exotic floral with a hint of a rich woodsy base. It's almost like you are walking in a rose garden on the edge of a forest in the middle of the night under a full moon. HOW ROMANTIC...

1808 Empress Joséphine by Baron Antoine-Jean Gros Musée d'Art et d'Histoire at Palais Massena, Nice FranceWe only have a limited number available.

Bouquet de l'Imperatrice

It's Like, "Walking in a Rose Garden on the edge of a forest at Midnight!"

Customer Review: "Absolutely gorgeous, incredible scent. Lots of depth and wonderfully blended. Hard to describe, even with the scents listed—they all come together to make something very, very rich. It's got everything I've been looking for in sensual perfumes—spicy, woody, but still floral—all in one place, and without a distracting alcohol scent. So glad I jumped on this opportunity! "

HISTORICAL SHOP SPOTLIGHT: FleurdeLysOriginals on Etsy

Today’s Post:

FleurdeLysOriginals

Are you looking for Historically inspired and recreated jewelry which is completely handmade and has outstanding quality? Look no further then Lauren from FleurdeLysOriginals. She recreates Period jewelry based on extant originals and portraits. Not only can you find high quality recreated historical jewelry, she also has a jewelry line based off historical movies ( so cool). If you haven’t checked our her Etsy shop- you should.

 CLICK HERE 

She opened her shop in 2013 and is the nicest person. She is always there to help answer your questions. Lets look at some of her products:

$25.00 16" Coral Necklace seen in the portrait Jane Elizabeth, Countess of Oxford by John Hoppner 1797.

   

Coral Necklace  ( Above) as in the portrait Jane Elizabeth, Countess of Oxford by John Hoppner 1797.

Here is another Awesome set that is a must have for the Battle Of New Orleans Bicentennial which is quickly approaching.  Think of pairing this with our LIMITED EDITION: Historically inspired Josephine Oil Perfume ( Not in the shop yet- We were asked to make this special perfume specifically for the upcoming Battle of New Orleans Bicentennial- More Later) After all we are celebrating the 200th year anniversary of the passing of Josephine .

(Below) Josephine Bonaparte in a posthumous portrait dated to 1863 by Victor Viger du Vigneau. 

$30.00 Josephine Bonaparte Necklace

I asked Lauren if she could tell us a bit more about her shop and her love for historical fashion and jewelry, Here is what she said:

"I've always liked history, period clothing, and jewelry-even when I was very young. Personally I feel that I never grew out of wanting to dress up. Partaking in living history allows me to feel the most "at home" and in my element, in that I get to combine quite a few things that I love. I've been making jewelry since I was little, and for a time made a lot for myself and for friends and family members, but there's only so much of that you can do. So I wanted to branch out and make some for others. I scrapped the first version of my shop because it wasn't period. Period approperate jewelry that is completely correct is my general goal for the shop.

I have also always enjoyed research, and being a graduate of history, I did a lot of it in school. I always apply some form of research before listing an item in the shop-even if it is made after something in the movies or television. I try to use the best materials and methods that I can in making jewelry for my shop. Which is why I primarily use gold fill and sterling silver for the Georgian and Regency pieces. As well as, most of the other replicated pieces. I am also going to be doing the same for the Renaissance section.History is truly the love of my life and it is probably what inspires me the most. I want the items in my shop to look like something people of the past wore, as well as, being of the best quality possible."

  I have a few sets of Lauren's amazing work. I can't tell you enough- how much I love them and how well they are made. I recently got tear drop pearl earrings and was just stunned at the quality and how weighty they are. They are REAL Fresh Water Pearls! Every girl needs pearls in my opinion. Here are a few photos of the jewelry from her shop that I own. I haven't gotten to wear my new earrings yet, but I can't wait. 

 This Limited Edition Perfume Made From Researching Her Original Perfume Receipts Will Be Available Soon In Our Shop. LBCC HISTORICAL .

Below are some photos that were taken on the Williamsburg trip this year. Check out my Awesome Freshwater Pearl necklace and matching earrings. They complete my look and give a air of romance.

 

 If you are still looking for something special for the holidays- check our her shop and her Facebook page. She just started one up.  Shop and Fanpage

Part 1 of 3 Lets talk Lead: Dispelling The Historical Myth, 18th Century Dr's, & Finding It In Today’s Cosmetics

Part 1 of 3

These few posts will focus on 18th century education and awareness of lead and other chemicals as well as the beginning of beauty books.  I have a lot of information, so I decided to split it up into 3 separate blog posts. Lets start with our modern over the counter lipstick and work out way backwards.

Did you know that today many of the brands of lipsticks you purchase still have lead in them?

       Think again about your lipstick!

In 2013 a study was done where they asked girls to hand over their lipsticks and glosses. They found unhealthy traces of: aluminum, cadmium, chromium, and manganese. Here is the unsettling part: Lead, was detected in 75% of the samples [1]The FDA responded to a number of inquiries into the lead saying, "FDA's studies have found no lead levels that would pose safety concerns when lipstick is used as intended." [2]

The problem with this is that it's intended to only be worn on the lips, not accidentally ingested- which is so often the case. In 18^th century Europe Dr's. were already working towards an all natural cosmetic revolution because they knew the dangers of lead and other harmful chemicals in cosmetics.

There were many treaties on health published during the early to mid 16^th-17^th centuries. Current medical knowledge considered cosmetics as medicines to be used on the skin and face.[3] During this time, a majority of these works overlooked the dangers of chemicals. Therefore, many recipes previous to the 18^th century contained poisonous chemicals like lead and mercury. Thanks to these early works, the myth of lead has stayed with us. It is an 18th century myth that all cosmetics were harmful and it needs to be debunked- and here is why!

 By the late 17^th and early 18^th century, it is documented that medical manuals were already starting to correct mistakes of their earlier writings.  Therefore, the issues with lead and other chemicals were well known by the medical community and they were already working to educate and resolve the mistakes of past centuries. The question soon became: How can we educate the masses?

 (Mrs. Catherine Macaulay) sits at her dressing table dipping a brush into a jar of rouge.

 "Speedy and effectual preparation for the next world"
1777 London. walpole@yale.edu.

In the early to mid 18^th century, Doctors had begun the ardent task of educating their patients on cleanliness, how to prevent illness, and most importantly the consequences of using chemically laced cosmetics ( pictured above). They started making lists of what ingredients were acceptable and what were not. For example, rouge recipes from plants like sandalwood, saffron, and alkanet were acceptable, but lead oxide, and cinnabar were to be avoided. [4] The push was towards rouges made with vegetable and animal substances. This new scientific data lead to a movement focused on natural beauty and non-harmful ingredients. In order to spread this movement and educate the public, many doctors decided on scare tactics first, and then, secondly they devised to publish beauty books and oversee women at their toilettes to instruct and educate them on proper looks, product use, and application. By writing these recipe books, they were able to dictate to women what was fashionable, what cosmetics one must make and wear or must not wear, and how they should be applied. This idea of Dr's controlling what was beautiful by writing beauty manuals stayed popular until the 20th century. By this time the books were massive volumes with photos dedicated to every aspect of medicinal and beauty care for the whole family.

"1913 Domestic Medical Practice" Vinegar & Elder Leaf

 Bandages For The Eyes and Chin"

1913 Domestic Medical Practice. This

Includes many sections on women's

beauty. 

 Probably the most notable method of fighting against chemically laced cosmetics and working towards the goal of Natural and Safe beauty products was finding a way to prevent Small Pox. Doctors’ believed that if they could prevent small pox, they could change the types of cosmetics that were worn and desired by women. In the next post we will look at specific propaganda used to educate about lead, cosmetics laced with chemicals, and how the inoculation of small pox helped change the ideal beauty standard.

So the next time you hear someone talk about the lead in the 18^th century educate them and explain that the lipstick they are wearing, if bought at a store… probably contain lead.

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[1] Mercier, Tableau de Paris, ch.342, I:927

[2] FDA.GOV

[3] See de Renou. Oeuvres pharmaceutiques, 80

[4] Buc’hoz, Toilette de flore 198; Jaubert, Dictionnaire raisonne universel des arts et métiers, 3:362-63