SAMPLE .. Corday, Le Pois de Senteur, 'Sweet Pea', DECANTED SAMPLE from Flacon, Parfum Extrait, 1931, Paris, France ..

Corday perfumery was established by Blanche Arvoy, nee Reneaux, a perfumer and cosmetician, at 15 rue de la Paix, Paris in 1924, one year after she opened the Jovoy perfumery which was located at 127 rue de Longchamp, Paris.

Blance Antoinette Rose Reneaux was born on December 21st, 1892, at Montreuil Sur Mer, near Calis. She married an Englishman, Bertie Istvan Arvoy, and thus became Blanche Arvoy. In addition to Corday, she also established Jovoy, a fragrance house that sold a number of fine perfumes. Corday was launched in 1924.

Corday began its U.S. operations in the 1940's. Tzigane .. the gipsy violin .. in 1949 became its great success. In the United States, T.C. Wheaton of Millville, New Jersey, was the major supplier of bottles. Wheaton had the capability of manufacturing both bottles and stoppers. Corday discontinued its U.S. operations in the 1960's.

Corday was among the early 20th century perfumers that attracted new customers by launching sample collections. Sample tubes or miniature bottles were distributed, sometimes with matching souveniers such as bookmarks or illustrated cards. Others using this strategy included Guerlain, Bourjois, Colgate, Roger & Gallet, L.T. Piver, and Coty.

Corday's most impressive use of this technique was in their "Rue de la Paix" collection of 1952. The design was a Parisien lamp post with miniature bottles of Corday perfume inside each of the three "lamps". Included in the presentation were Fame, Jet and Tzigane. The name, "Rue de la Paix," was taken from Corday's address at 15 Rue de la Pais, Paris. Blanche Arvoy created early perfume concepts and high quality presentations and was awarded the silver medal in 1925 for her creations. She later sold to Max Factor in 1960.

Launched in 1931, Corday's Le Pois de Senteur is a beautiful sweet pea fragrance with depth and complexity.

"Incredible. The scent of sweet peas is woven throughout, but it's so much more than that, with honeyed darkness and sophistication to spare. Quite deep and beautiful. This review is for the urn perfume."

"This is a very sweet, feminine perfume, with great sillage and longevity. The sweet pea note, one that has been lost to the modern world of scent, is center stage and never loses its freshness and beauty. It is most reminiscent of honeysuckle and may share a botanical ancestor with that bloom. As the scent begins to dry down, the other light supporting notes slowly emerge (the hyacinth, cyclamen and jasmine). Finally, the warm base notes of rose, linden, coumarin, vanilla and cedar arrive, accompanied by sobering muguet and lilac to maintain the floral base. Sandalwood and musk round out the olfactory experience.

This is a scent for a girl or very young woman. It radiates youth, innocence, beauty and freshness. Very old-fashioned in a most positive sense. Corday uses very high quality oils in its perfumes and this is certainly a prime example of their commitment to this high standard. Sadly, long discontinued, but available from internet sellers to this day." Basenotes Review, Jack Twist.

Notes are Sweet Pea, Rose, Hyacinth, Cyclamen, Jasmine, Lilac, Lily of the Valley, Linden, Hay, Vanilla, Cedar, and Sandalwood ..

Offered here an opportunity to buy a sample of this beautiful perfume. It had leaked during shipment to Hawaii, ruining the box, so I decided to sell it in decants. It is very beautiful!