Want to know what perfume from 1800 smells like?

[TheOwlChronicles]

Bloody strong, that's what!

I collect antiques with a particular interest in miniatures such as jewellery, ring boxes and perfume bottles from the Georgian / Victorian era

I recently picked up this little bottle on my travels and it's still got perfume in it.

It's approximately 220 years old. These bottles were generally known as lachrymatory bottles or 'tear catchers' and have quite an interesting history.

This bottle has been wax sealed somewhere on its past travels,
Probably due to a cracked lid, but my god - the smell coming off it!

Think the strongest, most powdery, floral, catch in your throat smell - and you'd be in the right ballpark!

Floris Jermyn street have an exhibit at the back where you can smell what eg george IV / Marilyn Monroe / Oscar Wilde etc smelled of because they’re still producing the same formulas now. It’s a very charming visit.

@lozrox90 that's amazing. I didn't know that.

@WhenIWasAFieldMyself it's such a nice little thing to collect isn't it? I'm more antique than vintage but if you come across Aramis New West perfume on your travels then please let me know immediately

@Vermin that sounds right up my street!

@Beurla a bit of both I think! Perfumes were stronger back in the day.

@Doesanyoneknowwhattheyaredoing
Funny! It was brutal. I’ve (kindly) sent mine to another mumsnetter.

love the sound of these perfume elements to museum exhibitions pps have mentioned

I'm picturing it smelling like avon far away just amplified haha.

@Vermin ooh that sounds great!

Oh my goodness this is absolutely fascinating! Going to do some reading on this tonight - thanks @TheOwlChronicles

I'm always so interested in things other MNers get up to!

Thanks for the info, OP.
That would my absolute favourite perfume!

What a fascinating thread!

@LadyOfTheCanyon if you're anything like me, you'll end up starting a little collection 😀 Be warned - it's a slippery slope.

I'm obsessed with antique miniatures. I'm currently filling a huge dolls house with items from around 1900 or so - takes ages to do! And then I get distracted with something else - currently my little perfume bottles

I'll be back to my antique rings next week!

@APurpleSquirrel Thank you for that. I'm going to have to visit Floris.

Are you sure it's the original perfume and that someone hasn't poured some sort of 1980s scent into it?

This is brilliant, thank you for sharing. I’ve often wondered what perfumes smelled like back in the day.

Fascinating! I wonder how clise it is to its original smell.

This is super interesting thank you for sharing.
I work near Jermyn Street, must check out that shop.

That's really interesting @TheOwlChronicles !
I recently bought what I thought was a small crystal decanter at a flea market in Paris. When I took the lid off there's an unbelievably strong small of perfume. It's not v nice but I assume it was done sort of perfume decanter. The bottle is totally empty but it still has a powerful smell!!

Absolutely fascinating - thank you for sharing. Off to buy some Heliotrope Blanc as a huge fan of almond scents. And planning a trip to Floris!

At the risk of lowering the tone I wonder if perfume was stronger because people weren't showering every day and were therefore "riper"!

@thinkofablinkingnamewoman that's what I assume. No antiperspirant/deodorant, didn't wash as often, brushing teeth not as effective etc so perfume had to be stronger to counteract the smell.

I have two by Guerlain that are early -20th century - Jicky and Nuit d'Amour. The Nuit is subtle (& had been discontinued, damn!) kind of flowery / talc and I suppose a 'day' perfume. Jicky is stronger, kind of musky but also 'christmassy' if you get what I mean. And it lasts and lasts.

I haven't tried to find any in original bottles yet. Although I can see myself doing so, now that I know they're around.

Hubs is going to kill me .... He's ok (ish) with my collection of vintage jewellery and powder compacts but perfume bottles might be a step too far...

This is so interesting thank you. We have lots of middens in our garden and often find late Victorian /early 20th century pots and bottles. Occasionally much earlier pottery too. To find something like this would be incredible but highly unlikely as my cottage would’ve been a hovel and the residents not likely to have worn perfume. Somebody loved cold cream though as lots of those dated to around 1910.
I guess perfume would’ve been so strong as would’ve needed to disguise body odour and likely the smell of those around too. I actually find the history of everyday life including hygiene really interesting.
Your collection sounds fascinating - a truly interesting slice of history.

@ZeldaWillTellYourFortune yes I'm positive 😊

@LoveLabradors amazing. Please can I come and visit and have a poke around?!

@TheOwlChronicles most welcome to 😊. My best finds aren’t pottery but a clay pipe still with tobacco intact dated to 1620 (two decades before my home was built) and a Tudor musket ball! I also cannot throw out any broken plate fragments so have a large bucket full of pretty blue and white china fragments - not sure what I will ever do with them!
For those interested in the history of the everyday life I really recommend Bill Bryson’s Home book.

For those saying that people would have strong perfumes to cover their smell, to an extent but I always assume people didn't particularly think others smelt because that's what they were accustomed to. Probably people time travelling from them til now would think we smell very strongly (washing powders, soap, shampoo etc etc) which we don't notice on ourselves.

I've got a modern day bottle of Jicky which I love. From eBay. Hope it's as good as the original.