Au Louvre, At the Louvre, Œillet, Oeillet, 'Carnation', 40 ml. or 1.4 oz. Flacon, Parfum Extrait, 1910, Paris, France ..

When it comes to perfume, no country ranks more highly than France. France is named as the country of perfume, where perfume, fashion and wine are the three best industries in the country. And so it is no wonder that high end perfumes are sold in the shop at the Louvre Art Gallery, since perfume making qualifies as one of France's great arts.

Selling perfume is nothing new, although today's perfumes are sold in a different way at the Louvre shop, and that is that perfumes are being matched to great artworks and are being sold in associate with famous pieces. However, selling famous French perfumes at the Louvre has been going on for over a century, and this beautiful Œillet is most likely from the 1920's or 30's, this making it 100 years old. This perfume was created especially for the Louvre shop, and thus we don't know the name of the maker. The exquisite little flacon reflects the skills of the crystalleries at the time, with its precious little carved Lalique style stopper.

Carnation perfumes were very popular in the early part of the 1900's, as the flowers grew abundantly there, are very highly favored. Carnation perfumes were more often fragrances for men, or were unisex.

Carnation is cultivated in many countries, but carnation absolute is produced only in the south of France. It possesses floral spicy scent with pepper and clove nuances. Carnation is often used in classical fragrances due to its spicy peppery scent that deepens floral notes, and is especially effective combined with rose scent. Unfortunately, today many perfumers consider carnation to be an old fashioned component, as at the moment the fashion dictates fresher fragrances. Yet, carnation is still unavoidable component in oriental fragrances.

This beautiful fragrance is a bouquet of spicy oriental notes with mostly citrus top notes. Carnations are widely cultivated in France. "Carnations belong to the Dianthus species, which in Greek means the flower of Jupiter. According to Greek mythology the carnation sprouted from tears shed by a shepherd who was seduced and abandoned by the goddess Diana. In Catholic legend though, it was the Madonna’s tears, shed at the base of the Jesus’ cross, that gave life to the first carnations. In flower symbolism the carnation is synonymous with fidelity."

This spicy perfume is created with Carnation, Clove, Cinnamon, and other spices. While there are no perfume notes remaining for this lovely vintage perfume, my guess at the notes will be something like this ..

Top notes are Citrus, Neroli, and Bitter Orange
Heart notes are Carnation, Honeysuckle, and Orange
Base notes are Clove, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Sandalwood

Offered here is an exquisite and charming old bottle, just over one ounce, containing the gorgeous carnation perfume of yesteryear, which has remained in tact and true to its notes over the decades. Highly collectible ..