Guerlain, Véga, 80 ml. or 2.8 oz. Flacon, Parfum Extrait, Flacon Encrier, Inkwell Bottle, 1936, 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.

Pierre-Francois passed away in 1854 and his sons inherited the perfume house. Aime became the master perfumer, a tradition that would be upheld for the next master perfumer in lineage. Gabriel managed and further expanded the house.

Véga is a fragrance launched in 1936, and which was named after the brightest star in the Lyra constellation.

"A superlative classic floral oriental .. a masterpiece. Véga is a total surprise to me. I had no idea Guerlain made this type of scent .. creamy, warm florals over an oriental base. It reminds me of Raphael's Replique and Plaisir and of Schiaparelli's Shocking, but smoother and more balanced than any of these classics). After an initial, almost minty blast of Bergamot and Neroli, the Ylang Ylang nestles to the forefront of this warm melange of floral scents, supported by the sandalwood rosewood combo and the perfect balance of the three oriental notes .. (amber, musk, and vanilla. I would take this over the more highly touted Shalimar any day, simply because it has more depth, complexity and warmth." Basenotes Review. Jack Twist

" Véga is simply exquisite. Lots of huge aldehydes and an opening that is so much like Chanel No.5 .. a cross between the EDP and the extrait. Very smooth .. ylang ylang is very foreward on my skin. As it progresses, there is a little of Vol de Nuit peeking out, and some woods. It is elegant, supremely elegant. I'm not getting any powder. I can see why it is called Véga after a star .. it is so bright and luminous to begin with - like a flash of aldehydes, rose and ylang ylang. Beautiful and still smells up to date. Classic." Basenotes Review. Mimi Gardenia

Top Notes are Bergamot, Aldehydes, Jasmine, and Neroli
Heart Notes are Ylang Ylang, Carnation, Rose, and Orris
Base Notes are Sandalwood, Rosewood, Amber, and Vanilla

"For Véga, Guerlain made the so-called inkwell bottle whose sphere-shaped stopper when seen from above, resembles a star with its circumstellar swirl of cosmic dust. Its whole design, the robustness of the bottle, the octagonal black Bakelite base, and the severe box logo, was very much Art Deco, and quite metropolitan-American." Sugardrop

Offered here is an increasingly rare 80 ml. bottle of Véga presented in a Baccarat style flacon. These bottles were only produced from 1936 to 1959. No box. The bottle is still sealed and does not show much evaporation at all, which attests to an excellent seal. Very rare now and highly collectible .. So hard to find!