Jean Patou, Coffret, Câline, Caline, Amour Amour, 'Love Love', Moment Supreme, 3 x 7.5 ml. or 0.25 oz. Flacons, Parfum Extrait, 1970, Paris

When couturier Jean Patou arrived on the Paris scene, in the 1920s, the world was changing .. especially for women. No longer corseted, bound by convention or whalebone ‘stays’, there was a spirit of freedom in the air .. and Jean Patou captured it.

He was born in 1887, in Normandy, where Jean Patou‘s father was a renowned leather tanner, known for his bookbinding skills. And it was his father who taught Jean Patou all about color.

After going to work for an uncle in the fur trade, Jean Patou launched his own venture as a dressmaker and furrier, moving into tailoring. And in 1914, just before the war broke out, he established his own couture house. Sadly, his first collection had to be mothballed: Jean Patou left Paris to serve as a captain in the French Zouave regiment, fighting as far afield as Anatolia. But in 1919, Patou returned to Paris, and did indeed launch a collection, including long-waisted shepherdess dresses. He became famous for ‘sportif chic’ .. clothes designed to move, to flutter, to flirt gorgeously .. and to show off brazenly bare legs, in short hemlines.

In 1922 .. a slight career sidetrack, perhaps .. Jean Patou opened a nightclub, with fellow designer Edward Molyneux. It was named Le Jardin de Ma Soeur (My Sister's Garden). The highly social writer Anita Loos called it ‘the most elegant place in which to greet the Paris dawn'.

From 1925, Jean Patou was also creating the most desirable of perfumes. His debut perfumes were designed to complement women with a particular hair colour: Que Sais-Je? was for brunettes, Amour Amour was for blondes, and Adieu Sagesse was for redheads. In 1927, Jean Patou also delighted women with the introduction of Huile de Chaldée, the world’s first suntan oil.

* Câline, composed by then in-house perfumer Henri Giboulet, was released by Jean Patou in 1964 as the first perfume dedicated to young blossoming girls. The greenly fresh aldehydic sophistication and malleable primness of Patou’s Câline remind one of Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina, after her European trip in which she becomes a proper “lady”. Câline is an intense floral aldehyde, chypre fragrance with notes of green citrus, spices,

Top notes are Citrus Bergamia, Mandarine, Mimosa, Orange Blossom, Basil, and Mint
Middle notes are Carnation, Cyclamen, Jasmine, Mai Rose, Orris, Cilantro, Ginger, Patchouli, and Ylang Ylang
Base notes are Amber, Labdanum, Cedar, Oak Moss, and Sandalwood.

* Amour Amour is a Floral fragrance for women, and was launched in 1925. The nose behind this fragrance is Henri Almeras. It begins with a fresh, fruity top, followed by a classic floral heart, resting on a floral, woody base. Amour Amour used the Amarante perfume base from Givaudan which gave it a beautiful accord of lily of the valley, rose, sandalwood, musk and jasmine.

When naming a perfume "Amour Amour" one is making a very clear statement. Jean Patou, or rather his in-house perfumer, Henri Almeras, took it seriously. This 1925 composition together with Que Sais-Je? and Adieu Sagesse is part of a romantic trilogy that tells the story of a love affair .. the exhilarating infatuation, the worry and doubt, and the total surrender of body and soul.

Top notes are Bergamot, Lemon, Neroli, Black Currant, Orange Blossom, and Strawberry
Heart Notes are Jasmine, Heliotrope, Lilium, Rose, Orris, Carnation, Lily of the Valley, Narcissus, Ylang Ylang, and Lilac
Base notes are Honey, Vetiver, and Sandalwood

* Moment Suprême was launched in 1929, and was created by Jean Patou’s perfumer Henri Almeras. Moment Suprême is a spicy ambered harmony .. its first soft sensual warmth is due to lavender, geranium, cloves and bergamot. Its rose and jasmine heart lends elegance and refinement before its final blossoming from the ambered base which reinforces and draws out its very uniqueness.

"Moment Suprême, especially in Extrait, is a fat armload of lush flowers with a crisp lavender-geranium veil. Besides rose and jasmine, I wouldn’t count out powdery mimosa, iris, clove-like carnation, and a juicy gardenia, too. It’s a whopper of a bouquet, richocheting between an intoxicating freshness and an almost opaque, old fashioned tangle."

"The whole fragrance shines through the sepia tones of amber and musk. Sometimes I smell something a little animalic, but, as in Joy, it might well be the jasmine."

Top notes are Bergamot, Geranium, and Lavender
Heart notes are Jasmine, Rose, and Clove
Base note is simply Amber

Offered here is a charming coffret containing three of the famous Jean Patou fragrances, and a wonderful opportunity to try them. They have never been used and have seen only minimal evaporation. The batch code on the bottom of the box (701) indicates that this coffret was produced in 1970. Collectible!