The name means "The Handkerchief of Rosine" in French.
"Did Rosine wake up uncertain and pensive, still under the impression of confused dreams? She only admits a green handkerchief, the color of myrtle and symbol of mystery. Does she feel a secret uneasiness, some jealous torment? She adopts the orange in memory of the nasturtium. Does she feel in the mood to betray? So it will be the red, the peony. More often, I think, she chooses yellow, in other words daffodil, desire, or even better blue, the tender blue of morning glory, divine blue, the prognosis of caresses, sometimes even pink, the color of her favorite flower."
The Woman Fortnightly Magazine, 1922:
"I go out through the door of the faubourg St Honoré where the magician still presents a marvel of his multifaceted activity: "Les parfums de Rosine." I remember that when one of his first creations - Le mouchoir de Rosine - first appeared in Italy - I stood perplexed contemplating that curly handkerchief bundled up in the middle of a shop window and wondering what strange charm the Mouchoir de Rosine. Then I learned that she was hiding a vial of delicious perfume in her hands. This was followed by all the other more suggestive summers: La Coupe d'or Nuit de chine, Le Minaret, Borgia, of which you don't know whether to prefer the essence or the case which is a small work of art. An artist case that is a small work of art."
Fragrance Composition:
Yellow represented the daffodil (narcissus). In the Victorian Language of Flowers, the daffodil (narcissus) symbolized chivalry and egotism, but Poiret designated this flower as the mood of desire. The daffodil's scent is rich, floral and heady with hints of greenery. in the time of Poiret, this was usually made via adding amounts of jonquil extract, tuberose extract, vanilla tincture, storax tincture and a synthetic narcissus aromachemical, often by Verley. The addition of orange blossom and jasmine absolutes made them richer. Sometimes small amounts of orris civet, cassie and rose may also have been added.
Red represented the peony. In the Victorian Language of Flowers, the peony symbolized anger, but Poiret designated this flower as the mood of betrayal. Their scent can vary between varieties but most have the sweet scent of roses, light notes of water lilies or zesty citrus. In Poiret's the time, the perfume often included the following: geranium oil, musk, musk tincture, styrax tincture, vanillin tincture, orange blossom oil, jasmine, rose, violet, terpineol, and methyl anthranilate.
Blue represented the morning glory. In the Victorian Language of Flowers, the morning glory symbolized coquetry, but Poiret designated this flower as the mood of anticipation. The fragrance of the morning glory is slightly reminiscent of anise. At the time Poiret made the perfume, the scent was recreated in a lab using various chemicals: benzo dihydropyrone, coumarin, dimethyl hydroquinone, and methyl anisate.
Pink represented the queen of flowers, the rose. In the Victorian Language of Flowers, the rose symbolized love, but Poiret designated this flower as the mood of consent. Poiret would have made use of the precious rose absolutes made from pomades, from flowers grown in Grasse. Adding a touch of jasmine, made rose formulas richer as would hints of civet, cassie, tuberose, patchouli, ambergris and orris. The synthetic essence Linalool might have been added along with very small amount of aniline dye for the rosy color.
Orange represented the nasturtium. In the Victorian Language of Flowers, the peony symbolized patriotism, but Poiret designated this flower as the mood of jealousy. The scent of the nasturtium is sweet and lightly peppery. In Poiret's time, it was made using and nasturtium infusions made from natural nasturtium pomades and touches of anisic aldehydes, violet extract, orange blossom extract, acacia extract, jasmine extract, rose essence, vanilla, coumarin, tolu tincture and musk essence.
Bottles:
Le Mouchoir de Rosine, was a collection of fragrances released in 6 different color versions. Each bottle was wrapped in a beautifully colored silk handkerchief designed to match the mood of the buyer. The loose ends of the handkerchief were then gathered up, twisted and passed through an "amber" ring. This was probably made of tinted celluloid, rather than genuine amber, which then was slid down the silky handkerchief towards the stopper of the bottle in order to keep it secure. The clear glass bottle has a bulbous base and a long, narrow neck. It was fitted with a ground glass stopper. The bottle was then housed inside a cylindrical carboard box covered with beautifully printed paper. Each fragrance represented a particular flower and a mood:
- green for mystery
- orange for jealousy
- red for betrayal
- yellow for desire
- blue for anticipation
- rose for consent
Chemist and Druggist: The Newsweekly for Pharmacy, 1919:
"There is the "Mouchoir de Rosine," for instance, consisting of a bottle enclosed in a dainty silk handkerchief secured round it by an amber ring."
photo by Musee International de la Parfumerie in Grasse.
photo by Drouot
Fate of the Fragrance:
Discontinued in 1930 and remaining stock was sold at drastically reduced clearance prices.
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