Vintage Perfumes For Women

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There are so many perfumes on the market today; we have been using them for many years. Let’s take a look at ten vintage perfumes for women. Perfume dates back to 1371, when we saw the first modern alcohol-based fragrance for Queen Elizabeth of Hungary.

There are many collectors of vintage perfumes; this is another one and the world’s most expensive perfume to add to the collection.

Those who collect such fragrances find how scents have changed over the years intriguing.

They will also know that some ingredients, such as oakmoss, a species of lichen used in various fragrances, have been restricted in recent years.

Some have been banned as they are no longer considered safe in perfumes, so other fragrance notes have been sourced instead.

If you have a collection of vintage perfumes in your wardrobe, keep hold of them. Perfumes dating back to the 1950s such as the iconic bottle of Chanel No.5 are well worth keeping. Perfumes dating before 2000 and familiar brands are still worth keeping as they can be sold and money can be made from them.

We all have memories created by the perfume we used to wear. Some may still wear the same scent today, especially if it’s their signature fragrance.

Such perfumes bring special events to life, including happy and sad memories, and some lots are still on the market today to keep those memories alive. Some may see vintage perfumes as something our Nan used to wear—that strong and overpowering scent that lingers for hours and in every room. Many are delicate but unforgettable fragrances.

 

Vintage perfumes for women

 

1. Shalimar By Guerlain

The oldest perfume and an oriental fragrance was created in 1925 by the perfume house Guerlain, called Shalimar. It is named after the Garden of Shalimar and its history of being created by Emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal as a romantic gesture.

Its scent is still sold today and has fragrance notes of rose, tonka bean, jasmine and bergamot.

With base notes of musk, vanilla, and sandalwood, this bottle contains a beautiful combination of strong and elegant fragrance notes.

 

2. Anais Anais L’original By Cacharel

Launched back in 1978 and named after Anaitis, the ‘Goddess Of Love‘, this fragrance is still trendy today and was the first fragrance produced by Cacharel.

It was a fragrance created to attract teenagers with its floral and youthful scent.

Fragrance notes of sandalwood, honeysuckle, orange blossom, lavender, lemon and bergamot certainly caught the younger generation’s attention. With its floral, pretty bottle, most teenagers owned a bottle of this distinctive scent.

 

3. Opium By Yves Saint Laurent

There won’t be many who haven’t heard of Opium. Launched in 1977 and created by Jean Amic and Jean-Louis Sieuzac, this perfume has strong oriental notes and a distinctive fragrance. With top notes of plum, cloves, pepper, jasmine, coriander, bergamot, citrus, and West Indian bay, this spicy perfume should be worn with minimal application.

Added to the fact that this bottle is very distinctive, it’s possibly one of those perfumes that will go down in history. Nowadays, we also see Black Opium on the market.

With notes of pear, pink pepper, orange blossom, vanilla, patchouli, cedar, and cashmere wood, it’s just as powerful as the original. If you like potent scents that make a statement and can carry off such an iconic scent, take a look on Amazon.

 

4. L’air Du Temps By Nina Ricci

We rarely hear of Nina Ricci’s perfumes, but they are one of the most popular of the 20th century, alongside Chanel No. 5.

Launched in 1948, this floral/ spicy perfume with its unique glass dove cap contains stunning jasmine, rose, sandalwood and amber notes to capture the sense of being ‘free‘.

It was created in the wake of World War II by the French perfumer Francis Fabron in collaboration with Nina Ricci. Roughly translated from French, it means ‘the trend we have now/something in the air’. With its brightly coloured box and elegant bottle, it does suggest summer, blue skies, and open spaces.

 

5. Youth Dew By Estée Lauder

This fragrance, created in 1953, started as a bath oil. Women felt confident using it every day, and so it soon became a popular product as a fragrance.

In the 1905s, perfume was only bought as a gift from a husband or partner and not by women. Estée Lauder created this elegant bottled fragrance, and women soon fell in love with its spicy, amber, rich floral, and woody notes.

As men loved its scent, it became one of the sexiest fragrances ever created and still captures the hearts of many women today. Women will have heard and used the cosmetics we see in-store and online today, made by Estée Lauder, and Youth Dew is the first fragrance she created.

It’s a true classic. If you’re a lover of rose, lavender, jasmine, spices, and patchouli notes, take a look at eBay.

6. Mitsouko By Guerlain

This is another vintage perfume by Guerlain, and on first impression, this bottle looks a little masculine. Launched in 1919, Mitsouko captures this bottle’s chypre and fruity fragrance family. It also has a combination of beautiful notes.

With jasmine, rose, cinnamon, amber, peach, lilac, oak moss and bergamot, this fragrance was inspired by the story of impossible love between Mitsouko and a British officer. With such a combination of scents, it’s not your average daytime perfume, but it has heavy base notes of amber, oak moss, and cinnamon. It’s not the cheapest fragrance on the market either, but it’s well worth trying if you get the chance, purely for such beautiful fragrance notes.

7. L’Heure Bleue By Guerlain

Another fragrance created by Guerlain, this one was launched in 1912 and contains beautiful notes of coriander, bergamot, violet, cloves ylang-ylang, jasmine, orchid vanilla, Sandalwood, musk, and tonka bean. In its distinctive bottle, it is classed as one of Guerlains’s best classic fragrances. According to Vogue, it is a symbol of royalty, as it is one of the Queen’s favourite scents, alongside Floris, white rose EDT.

8. Apres L’Ondee By Guerlain

Jacques Guerlain created this perfume in 1906, with its combination of violet, orange blossom, and spicy Anais notes. Apres L’onee (April shower) is a springtime fragrance after a rain shower.

This scent captures the freshness that reaches our noses as the rain hits the countryside, and then the sun comes out to warm the scent of the wet leaves again. Guerlain showcases many perfume fragrances and has a history of being one of the world’s most incredible perfume houses.

9. Tabu By Dana

Tabu was created by the French perfumer Jean Carles and launched in 1932 by a company also associated with Nina Ricci and Christian Dior.

It’s not the most elegant bottle for a female perfume, with a simple design, an almost ‘old’ and ‘heavy’ appearance, and a dark bottle, but its fragrance notes make up for it.

A mixture of patchouli ( and a high dose at 10% ) combined with clove, bergamot, orange, Coriander, rose, ylang-ylang, Sandalwood, musk and amber gives us a heavy oriental scent and one of the world’s first most robust.

10. Arpege By Lanvin

This fragrance, named after the musical term ‘arpeggio,’ was released in 1927 and is a classic among some of the world’s most famous perfumes. Similar to Chanel N0.5, Arpege is very much a flower perfume. It contains peach, orange blossom, honeysuckle, iris, rose, vanilla, musk, geranium, Sandalwood, patchouli, and vetiver. It is quite a simplistic bottle with a black base and gold cap. Paul Vacher and Andre Fraysse created it.

Do you own a vintage perfume? I’d love to hear which one you have! If you have any inquiries about finding the right scent, drop your comment below.

Look at our perfume and beauty resources page if you prefer more recent fragrances.

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