Arlequinade by Rosine c1919

Arlequinade by Rosine: launched in 1919, in USA by 1923. Created by Henri Alméras.

Poiret was inspired by cubist painting represented in his collection. The Harlequin by Picasso, the commedia dell'arte, if any in the work of Picasso and Stravinsky's music.

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It is classified as a piquant, woody floral amber fragrance for women. It was composed up of spicy notes of carnation, powdery white flowers, on an animalic base. It had an unusual base known as "Opoponax LG", manufactured by Givaudan. Arlequinade also had a low level of the C-12 MNA aldehyde which gave it facets of fresh amber, aldehydes, moss, citrus, tuberose, metallic, waxy, and coumarin.

It was described in 1928 as "for the piquant type, with rather dark hair and gray green eyes, an intriguing blend which has the rare spicy sweet fragrance of old fashioned, velvety petunias mixed with other garden flowers."

• Top notes: aldehydes, clove, bergamot, petunia, hibiscus, citrus
• Middle notes: carnation, jasmine, Bulgarian rose, labdanum, tuberose
• Base notes: oakmoss, myrrh, opoponax, spices, ambergris, musk, sandalwood, patchouli, tonka

It was advertised as "a spicy carnation on a background of Venetian amber" and "spicy, elegant, light, peppery, seductive, that's Harlequin."

The Gazette Times - Oct 26, 1924:

"Paris sends us these alluring perfumes, created by Rosine, a master perfumer. Only French genius can produce such distinctive odeurs, contained in artistic flasks, charmingly packaged...  Arlequinade, in gold decorated flask, with red tassel. $25."

Bottles:

Arlequinade's bottle was directly inspired by a harlequin costume created by artist Marie Vasilyeff . The bottle featured gilded triangles on all sides and fitted with a black Bakelite stopper shaped like a tricorne hat, it was designed by Julien Viard. It has a triangular red paper label with black ink. The flacon stands 6" tall. The perfume retailed for $25 in 1924.

Fate of the Fragrances:

It was still being sold in 1929 as seen in a volume of the Official Journal: Body of the Provisional Government of Mexico along with other Rosine perfumes: Ambre de Venise, Aladin, Arlequinade, Avenue du Bois, Boria, Chez Poiret, Chypre des Isles, Coeur en Folie, Connais Tu le Pays?, Hahna, Jasmin de la Riviera, Le Balcon, Le Bosquet d'Apollon, Le Coup d'Or, Le Fruit Defendu, La Rose de Rosine, Maharadjah, 1935, Nuit de Chine, Pierrot, Qui Es-Tu?, Sa Chambre, Sakya Mouni, Toute la Foret.."

Finally discontinued in 1930 and remaining stock was sold at drastically reduced clearance prices.