Guerlain, Muguet, 'Lily of the Valley', 75 ml. or 2.5 oz. Flacon, Eau de Toilette, Flacon Fleuri, 1908, 2000, Paris, France ..

The House of Guerlain is one of the oldest perfume houses in the world. It was founded in 1828 when Pierre-Francois Pascal Guerlain opened up his first perfume store on 42, Rue de Rivoli in Paris.

Pierre-Francois composed and manufactured custom perfumes with the help of his two sons, Aime & Gabriel. His unique approach was to personalize perfume for a specific person, place or event. Honore de Balzac commisioned his own eau de toilette during the writing of Cesar Birotteau, and the periodical La Sylphide, le Journal des Elegances, scented each issue with a different fragrance by Guerlain.

Guerlain catered to the high society of Paris, and obtained a very loyal following. The perfume house was so successful that Guerlain decided to open a flagship store at 15, Rue de la Paix in Paris in 1840. The house was at its peak in 1853 with it's fragrance Eau de Cologne Imperiale. This perfume gained Guerlain the prestigious title of His Majesty's Official Perfumer of France. This in turn led him to create perfumes for other royals such as Queen Victoria of England, the Empress Sissi of Austria, the Queen of Belgium and Queen Isabella of Spain as well as other crowned heads of royalty.

Jacques Guerlain undertook to create a perfume that smelled of Lily of the Valley, a flower that is closely linked to romance and innocence. He called it nothing more rhapsodic than Muguet, French for "lily of the valley". The earliest Guerlain catalogue had a Muguet cologne, dating back to 1840, and although Jacques Guerlain often used lily of the valley as a top note, he didn’t have much interest in making a proper lily of the valley perfume because it is so difficult to do so.

The lily of the valley note is romantic, and effortlessly lifelike and fresh, like an expensive bar of French soap. The addition of lilac gives it a very spring-like sensation of femininity, while rose and jasmine added natural depth and bloom.

As a stroke of both nostalgia and luxury, in 1998 Jean-Paul Guerlain created a limited edition Eau de Toilette called ‘Muguet'. With the motto "Un jour, un parfum", its specific launch date, May 1, coincides with France's "La Fête du Muguet", when sprigs of Lily of the Valley are traditionally given to one's beloved. The scientific name of the flower, ‘majalis', indeed means "belonging to May". To uncover the historical background of this tradition, we must go back to 1561, when King Charles IX of France was presented with a bouquet of Lily of the Valley on May 1. He liked the gift very much, which inspired him to give small bouquets of the tiny, pearl-like, white flowers to the ladies of his court each year on the same date he had received them. Around 1900, gentlemen began presenting a bouquet of Lily of the Valley to their ladyfriends to express their affection as a tradition. [Monsieur Guerlain]

And so this beautiful Guerlain tradition continues as re-issues of a special version of the delicate and spring-like Muguet are presented each year in limited edition on the 1st of May, which is traditionally the day when Muguet or Lily of the Valley is offered as a 'porte-bonheur', or a 'good luck charm' in France .. ushering in the spring time. The traditional issue of this lovely fragrance started in 1908, and has continued ever since. I do not know exactly which year this bottle is from.

Belonging to the floral family of fragrances, Muguet has notes of Bergamot, Green Notes, Lily of the Valley, Lilac, Jasmine, Rose, and Creamy Notes.

Offered here is a wonderful older bottle of this exquisite fragrance, possibly from the year 2000 limited edition. It is almost full and smells absolutely beautiful. I have never come across a Muguet that smells as heavenly as this one. Highly collectible. Presented in the Flacon Fleuri, or Flower Bottle. No box.