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