Hello and welcome! Please understand that this website is not affiliated with Coty in any way, it is only a reference page for collectors and those who have enjoyed the classic fragrances of days gone by.

The main objective of this website is to chronicle the history of the Coty fragrances and showcase the bottles and advertising used throughout the years.

However, one of the other goals of this website is to show the present owners of the Coty perfume company how much we miss the discontinued classics and hopefully, if they see that there is enough interest and demand, they will bring back these fragrances!

Please leave a comment below (for example: of why you liked the fragrance, describe the scent, time period or age you wore it, who gave it to you or what occasion, any specific memories, what it reminded you of, maybe a relative wore it, or you remembered seeing the bottle on their vanity table), who knows, perhaps someone from the current Coty brand might see it.

Also, this website is a labor of love, it is a work in progress and is always being updated with new information as I can find it, so check back often!

Sunday, August 3, 2014

L'Origan by Coty c1905

L'Origan by Coty: launched in 1905, imported into USA in 1909. Pronounced "LO-REE-GONE," the name means "marjoram" in French.




Fragrance Composition:


So what does it smell like? It is classified as an oriental fragrance for women. It begins with a fresh, spicy top, followed by a spicy floral heart, layered over a woody, powdery sweetened amber base. It was made up of 56 individual ingredients. Warm with a curious powdery note, violet, carnation and a hint of vanilla.
  • Top notes: French basil oil, cascarilla oil, lemon, sweet orange, Bourbon ylang ylang, neroli, peach, pepper, coriander, mandarin orange, bergamot
  • Middle notes: clove buds, violet, orchid, orange blossom, rose, jasmine, nutmeg, cinnamon, spicy carnation, orris
  • Base notes: Bourbon vetiver, labdanum, opoponax, cedar, Mexican vanilla, Mysore sandalwood,Venezuelan tonka bean, Tibetan civet, Indian musk, musk ambrette, frankincense, Virginian cedar, Siamese benzoin, ambergris


L'Origan made use of the ambreine accord (by Samuelson), which is formed between bergamot, vanillin (or ethyl vanillin), coumarin and civet, with woody (vetiver, patchouli 4% and sandalwood) and rose notes (Calkin and Jellinek 1994). This was also used in the following oriental ambery fragrances: Shalimar by Guerlain, Must de Cartier and Obsession by Calvin Klein.

Other aromachemicals also play their parts in the construction of L'Origan: eugenol, methyl ionone, vetiveryl acetate, musk ketones, heliotropin, cinnamic alcohol and nitromusks.

In addition to the ambreine accord, L'Origan features six other specially compounded bases: Dianthine (Chuit Naef/Firmenich), Iralia (Firmenich), Coralys (Samuelson/Naef/Firmenich), Foin Rigaud (De Laire), Flonol (De Laire), and Bouvardia (Schimmel/de Laire). The original formula also included Chiris floral absolutes of tuberose, jasmine, and orange blossom.

Dianthine lends a spicy, carnation bouquet, while Iralia forms sweet, floral woody notes on a methyl ionone base. The marriage of these two notes was used successfully in the Coty perfume L'Ambre Antique. The Foin Rigaud was a new mown hay synthetic, Flonol is an orange flower-neroli base, Eugenol intensifies the clove like facet of carnation while Bouvardia provided a jasmine effect in the heart of the fragrance. Coralys helped to give the perfume it's powerful Oriental vibe.

A 1931 chemistry book gives the following ingredients to create the L'Origan type perfume:
white carnation flower oil, Orrisin M (by Agfa), Heliotropine, Coumarin, Vanillin, Havannia Base, Ambra Grisea, Jasmine Base, Red Rose Synthetic, Vetivert Bourbon Oil, Bergamot, Musk Ketone

The rich, sweet, floral oriental beauty of L'Origan paved the way for the fantastic 1912 Guerlain creation, L'Heure Bleue. However, this genre of perfumes lied dormant until 1976 when a revival of the style was used in the signature perfume of Oscar de la Renta. This was followed by other modern fragrances such as Vanderbilt by Gloria Vanderbilt, Yves Saint Laurent's controversial Poison, and Cacharel's dreamy LouLou. 

All of these shared a characteristic accord between ylang ylang and eugenol (carnation), the Schiff bases of orange blossom or tuberose, methyl ionone (except Poison), and vanillin, with additional notes of heliotropin and coumarin.

Connie, a reader of my blog, graciously sent me some very old samples of Coty perfumes, which I call the "Big Three":  Emeraude, L'Aimant and L'Origan. These perfumes have stood the test of time and have remained popular for decades. L'Origan, this is old L'Origan, c1920-1930s era, thick, syrupy, pungent, gorgeous and definitely done right. I really enjoyed reviewing this one, I detected notes of bright lemons and oranges, cascarilla oil and herbal facets, honeyed roses, a kick of pepper with cloves and coriander, orchids, sexy musk, sweet violets, orris, heliotrope and ylang ylang, powdery ambergris and tonka bean, opoponax and labdanum, balsamic vanilla,  woody cedar, vetiver and sandalwood notes. An hour later I can still smell citrus, carnation, pepper and cedar notes.

L'Amour de l'art, 1950:
"L'Origan by Coty: Its start is fruity like a peach, but it becomes flowery and we breathe in a bouquet composed of violets, carnations and jasmine fixed by musk and civet."

In the 1920s and 1930s, it was customary for perfume companies to introduce the idea that women of certain complexion or hair color would be better suited to particular perfumes. Incidentally, perfumers said, blondes should wear light perfume, brunettes, heavy Oriental perfumes.  

  • For Blondes: Paris, L'Aimant, L'Effleurt, La Rose Jacqueminot & L'Or.
  • For Brunettes: L'Aimant, L'Origan, Emeraude, Chypre, Ambréine, Fougeraie au Crépuscule, or Styx.
  • For Red-Haired Women: Emeraude, Paris, L'Origan, L'Ambre Antique, Iris & Cyclamen.


Other perfumers advised women to seek out perfume based on their personalities or moods rather than their looks. These marketing techniques worked and thousands of bottles of perfume were purchased, probably by those who needed to buy gifts for others or were unsure of what perfumes to wear.
  • For the Woman of Sunny Joyous Type: L'Effleurt, Muguet & Violette.
  • For the Woman of the Dreamy Elusive Type: Jasmine de Corse, La Jacinthe & Lilas Blanc.
  • For the Exotic Types: Chypre, Violette Pourpre, Ambre Antique
  • For the Mysterious Types: Ambre Antique, Styx & Cyclamen
  • For the Brilliant Sophisticated Temperaments: Emeraude, Paris, L'Origan

'"The most popular Coty success has been his 'Origan,' in which dominates, miraculously refined, our old liniment or plaster friend origanum, a sort of wild marjoram, but dressed up with discreet half-tone scents, until you have an extremely penetrating, sweet, and troubling perfume, very taking, very tempting, but not, perhaps, of the utterly distinguished good taste which is the final word of a great perfume."



Bottles:




Moth Stopper Parfum Flacon:

One of the first bottles used was the Rene Lalique designed bottle that featured the double moth/butterfly frosted glass stopper, patinated in brown. This bottle was originally designed by Lalique for the Coty fragrance Muguet (Lily of the Valley) in 1912, but was later used for almost all of the Coty fragrances. The flacon is a simple square shape, measuring slightly over 3" per side, with straight shoulders, slightly convex, an indented base, a small neck and a fancy molded stopper. 

The Lalique flacons came in two sizes: 3.34" tall and 3.93" tall. The mark of a genuine Rene Lalique bottle is an impressed intaglio-molded long-tail L "LALIQUE" signature. See photo below. The bottle also has an elongated oval indentation in the center of the base. They were not marked "R. Lalique" so beware of fake signatures applied to old non-Lalique produced bottles. 

This flacon is pictured in the following books:
  • Marcilhac, R.Lalique Catalogue Raisonne, page 929 of the 2011 French printing, under the reference "Coty 19" (photo 9).
  • Utt, Lalique Perfume Bottles, 1990, page 26.
  • Jones-North, Commercial Perfume Bottles, 1987, page 36 
In 1914, to save money, Coty commissioned Baccarat to make the flacons based on the original Lalique designs. This caused a falling out in the friendship which resulted in the two men not talking for 13 years. Eventually, the two friends made up and Lalique designed one last bottle for him in 1927. Baccarat started making the bottles in 1916, the bottle being mold number 307. These bottles have sloping shoulders, not as straight as those found on the Lalique flacons. These bottles should be acid marked Baccarat on the base. Like the Lalique flacons, the bottle also has an elongated oval indentation in the center of the base. The Baccarat bottle can be found standing at 3.25" tall. You can see this bottle pictured in the book "Baccarat: The perfume bottles" by Addor Press, 1986, as #307. 

However, the Baccarat bottles also proved to be too expensive, and François Coty, who was excessively cheap, had the Lalique-copied bottles produced at his own glassworks. Like those by Baccarat, these bottles have sloping shoulders, not as straight as those found on the Lalique flacons. The bottles made at the Coty glassworks are marked "Coty" on the base either embossed in the glass or acid stamped. Unlike the Lalique and Baccarat examples, the Coty made bottle does not have the elongated oval indentation in the center of the base, presumably to cut costs. The Coty base is flat. The Coty marked bottle holds 1.6 oz of parfum and stands 3.25" tall, it was housed inside of a green leather covered box. Another size is 2.75" tall.

The beautiful moth stoppered bottle was finally discontinued in 1961.


This bottle shape was adapted in 1916 originally for L'Origan for travelling by the usage of an inner glass stopper and a gilt brass screw cap, this bottle was made by Baccarat, model number 291. In 1928, these flat, square shaped crystal bottles were available in French leather cases. These bottles held Emeraude, Ambre Antique, L'Origan, Chypre and Paris. I have seen these bottles with L'Aimant labels too.




Roseraie Package:

In 1927, Coty brought out a pretty new packaging design for the moth stoppered bottle. The bottle was now housed in a box covered with a brown suede like effect. The face of the package has a small dotted circle with "Coty Paris" inside and is topped with fanciful ribbons. This presentation was used for the perfumes Emeraude, L'Origan, Paris and Chypre. Newspaper ads differed on how much the bottle actually held as I found 1 1/3 oz, 1 3/4 oz, and 1 1/2 oz being noted. Errors in ads were numerous at the time.


Heliotrope Flacon:

The "Heliotrope" flacon, also known as "Coty Perfume No. 14" was first made by Rene Lalique in 1911 for the Coty perfume Heliotrope. It is roughly a triangular shape with canted corners along the bottom. The bottle was used for various Coty fragrances: Emeraude, L'Aimant, L'Origan, Styx, Chypre, Muguet, Jacinthe, Jasmin de Corse, La Rose Jacqueminot, and Paris.



Briar Stopper Flacon:

Rene Lalique designed this flacon in 1911, and it was later made by Coty's own glassworks after 1920. The clear glass bottle is tall, with a square base, and features a frosted glass stopper molded with the "briar" motif. The bottle was originally made to house the various Eau de Toilettes, but the design was later adapted to include different sizes including a miniature versions to house parfum. The most common miniature size is dubbed "Petite Modele" and debuted in 1936 and held 0.27 oz.

In the 1920s, the boxes had messages inside reminding the owners of the bottles that ""These exquisite crystal flacons are hand-cut in the Paris ateliers of COTY - Care must be taken in placing them on the dressing table to avoid breakage of the corners."

Sizes:
  • 2" tall miniature (0.13 oz)
  • 2.5" tall miniature (0.27 oz) - Petite Modele
  • 3" tall (0.60 oz)
  • 4" tall
  • 4.25" tall (1.70 oz)
  • 5" tall
  • 5.25" tall (3 oz)
  • 5.5" tall
  • 6" tall
  • 6.25" tall
  • 6.5" tall
  • 8.75" tall






Banded Bottles with Frosted Stoppers:

The bottle has an embossed band along the upper part and a frosted glass stopper molded with flowers and ridge details. Don't be fooled by sellers who claim this is a Lalique or Lalique-designed bottle. Lalique had nothing to do with it. People have mistakenly attributed this bottle to both Lalique and Baccarat, however, the bottle does not appear in either companies catalogs and was not one of their molds. It was made by Coty's own glassworks in France. 

 

The parfum bottle was available in three sizes: 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz and 1 oz. The bottles were discontinued in 1932. The 1/4 oz bottle itself was discontinued in 1934.

Bottles stand:
  • 2.25" tall - 1/4 oz
  • 2.75" tall - 1/2 oz 
  • 3.75" tall - 1 oz

Larger sizes of this bottle were also created for the boudoir, standing at 6" tall, 7.25" tall and 8" tall and hold Eau de Toilette. These bottles were also used for other Coty perfumes: Eau de Coty, L'Origan, Chypre, Paris, La Rose Jacqueminot and L'Aimant.
  • 3 oz bottle.



As you can see from the advertisement below, the eau de toilette bottles could also be found with shaker tops.


Cylindrical Frosted Stopper Bottles:

As early as 1923, a new style of bottle was introduced, it seems for the perfumes Chypre, L'Origan, Paris, Lilas Blanc, Iris, Heliotrope, Violette Pourpre, and L'Effleurt. It is a cylindrical shape and fitted with the familiar frosted stopper. I have found there are two types of stoppers, you can see in the photos below. 

 Don't be fooled by sellers who claim this is a Lalique or Lalique-designed bottle. Lalique had nothing to do with it. People have mistakenly attributed this bottle to both Lalique and Baccarat, however, the bottle does not appear in either companies catalogs and was not one of their molds. It was made by Coty's own glassworks in France and are acid stamped "Coty France" on base. Bottles have been found in various sizes:
  • 2.5" tall.
  • 0.80 oz stood 3" tall. 
  • 3.25" tall.
  • 3.75" tall.

There are several different boxes used, a rectangular paper covered box reads: "The bottle, label and box of this item have been registered in accordance with the law and are the property of Coty. This specialty and its accessories were created by Coty in factories at the Cite des Parfums in Suresnes after Paris (France). Our products are the exclusive property of Coty incorporated for the United States of America where they are manufactured. Counterfeits will be rigorously pursued. All our specialties are sold under the Coty name without any first name."


Metal Case Parfum Bottles:

A nice purse size bottle set was created and presented in your choice of a crackle finished or a platinum tone nickel hinged metal case around 1928. The bottle used was the banded bottle with the frosted glass stopper. The case stands 2 3/4" tall. It was invented by Philip A. Reutter and manufactured by Scoville Manufacturing Co. These containers were discontinued in 1933.


Etui a Cigarette Presentation:

Also introduced in 1927, was the "Etui a Cigarette" presentation. Bottle stands 3 1/8" tall. People have mistakenly attributed this bottle to both Lalique and Baccarat, however, the bottle does not appear in either companies catalogs and was not one of their molds. It was made by Coty's own glassworks in France and is molded or acid stamped with "Coty France" on the base as it was made at Coty's own glassworks.




Lilas Pourpre Flacon:

"Lilas Pourpre" flacon made by Rene Lalique first used for Coty's Lilas Pourpre perfume in 1911. This bottle featured an arched shape with sloping shoulders and was fitted a frosted glass stopper with a molded stepped or scale design. The bottle was later used for all of Coty's perfumes in the 1910s through the 1930s. Most bottles made after 1920 were made by Coty’s own glassworks in Pantin and his flacons were fitted with presentation cases made at his boxing factory in Neuilly. You can find this in the 0.35 oz size as well.


In 1929, it was part of what is known as the "Louvre" presentation and was advertised as a "new flacon".  The bottle held 1 2/3 oz of Parfum and as you can see in the ad below, it was housed in a faux reptile skin covered presentation box. According to newspaper ads, the bottle was still being used in 1930 for Emeraude, L'Origan, Chypre, Paris, and La Jacee. The name "Louvre" was a throwback to the very store that Coty first approached to sell his La Rose Jacqueminot perfume in 1909. It is also worthy of to note that the name Louvre was chosen because the bottle was originally made by Lalique and used for the Magasins du Louvre department store for their signature perfumes. 





Cathedral Flacon for Parfum:

In 1930, a newspaper ad for Gimbel's claimed that a special bottle dubbed the "Cathedral", was designed and created exclusively for them to hold Coty's extracts of L'Aimant, Emeraude, Styx, L'Origan, La Jacee, Chypre, Muguet, L'Or, L'Effleurt, Lilas, La Rose Jacqueminot and Paris. The claim however, was untrue as I found other newspaper ads from other stores such as LS Ayres using the same bottle also claiming it was their "special" bottle too. This was just a special edition bottle, not made expressly for any one store. The modernistic bottle came in two sizes: 1 oz and 1 2/3 oz.

People have mistakenly attributed this bottle to both Lalique and Baccarat, however, the bottle does not appear in either companies catalogs and was not one of their molds. It is molded or acid stamped with "Coty France" on the base as it was made at Coty's own glassworks.


The Cathedral bottle originally had a glass stopper, but by 1934, this bottle was later changed to have a plastic screw cap and made in different sizes. Also the slope shouldered Cathedral shape was adapted for use for other products in the line such as bath salts, most notably in the "Neptune Green" line of packaging.

Arched Crystal Flacon:

Also in 1930 another perfume bottle was introduced, it was a nice flat, arched shaped crystal flacon, very Art Deco, with a stepped glass stopper. It was available in two sizes: 1 oz and 1 5/8 oz. For the perfumes: Emeraude, L'Aimant, L'Origan, Rose, La Jacee, L'Effleurt, Chypre, Paris, Styx, and L'Or. This is pretty hard to find. One bottle stands 3" tall.  

Again, people have mistakenly attributed this bottle to both Lalique and Baccarat, however, the bottle does not appear in either companies catalogs and was not one of their molds. It was made by Coty's own glassworks in France and is molded or acid stamped with "Coty France" on the base.


 

Metal Flip Top Case Purse Flacon:

In 1934, a purse flacon debuted in a new gold tone metal case (usually the gold tone finish has worn off). This case replaced the old coffin style that was used in the 1920s and early 1930s. The new case was rectangular in shape and had a strip of black bakelite covering the flip top lid.  It has a hinge on the left side and a deep red tab on the right which, when pressed, opens the top to get to the perfume bottle inside. The front of the case features the engraved Coty logo. The size of the case is approx. 2.5" tall x 1-3/8" wide x 5/8" thick. It was invented by August Mitchell and manufactured by the Scovill Manufacturing Co.

The bottle is quite plain and is of clear glass and resembled the earlier banded style flacon. The stopper is molded with a stylized floral design. Again, people have mistakenly attributed this bottle to both Lalique and Baccarat, however, the bottle does not appear in either companies catalogs and was not one of their molds. It was made by Coty's own glassworks in France and is molded or acid stamped with "Coty France" on the base.

The bottle holds 1/4 oz of parfum. You can find this in Emeraude, L'Aimant, L'Origan and possibly others.


 Yellow Mimosa Print Packaging:

In 1935, the Coty floral parfums were packaged in new limited edition ensembles featuring mimosa prints on yellow backgrounds. I think this was also named Feuilles d'Automne (Autumn Leaves). The following perfumes were included: Muguet, Oeillet France, La Rose Jacqueminot, Ambre Antique, Lilas Pourpre, and Violette Pourpre. Eventually, the other Coty perfumes were added to the packaging design such as Emeraude, Iris, L'Aimant, and L'Origan.


Reste Jaune, 1936:
"All the other Coty perfumes benefit from a new standard presentation: flat crystal bottle, green and gold plastic stopper, box decorated with "autumn leaves", red, blue and gold. The powders are also presented in a new box decorated with "autumn leaves."


Peacock Presentation:

Debuting in 1935, the "Peacock Presentation" featured a peacock feather design on the packaging and stylized peacock eye motifs on the bottles. The bottles came in three sizes: purse, travel and boudoir. The fragrances represented were: Chypre, L'Aimant, L'Origan, Paris, Emeraude, Ambreine. By 1937, Emeraude and Ambreine were no longer offered in this line as you can see from the 1937/1938 catalog image below.

Obelisque Flacon:

The "Obelisque" flacon is a tall, slender bottle topped by a flat, square frosted glass stopper molded with stylized foliate motifs with the name COTY molded in each corner. This bottle made its debut in 1935. It was available in the following fragrances: Styx, Paris, Chypre, Emeraude, L'Aimant, and L'Origan. The flacon was also available in a miniature version holding just 0.34 oz and using the same scale motif stopper as the Lilas Pourpre and Louvre packaging styles.

People have mistakenly attributed this bottle to both Lalique and Baccarat, however, the bottle does not appear in either companies catalogs and was not one of their molds. It was made by Coty's own glassworks in France and is molded or acid stamped with "Coty France" on the base.



Neptune Green Packaging:

In 1935 Coty introduced a new look for its packaging. Dubbed "Neptune Green", the boxes, talc and bath salts, and dusting powder canisters were covered in a seafoam green color with air bubbles and starfish to evoke an undersea motif. The scents represented were Styx, L'Aimant, Emeraude, L'Origan, Paris, and Chypre. The line included toilet water, bath salts, dusting powder and talcum. Bottles were satin glass molded with bubbles.


Purser Flacon:

Gold-tone case holds a glass bottle and has a green plastic cap and base. It appeared in the 1937/1938 Coty catalog



Amphorae:

In 1940, Coty introduced an Eau de Toilette concentration which they termed "Informal Fragrances." These were their most popular fragrances which were housed inside amphora shaped stoneware bottles. Each amphora was color coordinated with the fragrances they contained.  
  • Emeraude was in a light green 
  • Chypre was in a lighter green 
  • L'Aimant in pink
  • L'Origan in brown
  • Paris in blue
These amphoras were created by Zanesville Stoneware Company of Ohio starting in 1940. They measure 5.5" at the lip of the spout. Each bottle holds five ounces of the toilet water. The stoppers are a unique bronze colored metal capped cork.  Some of the bottles might retain their original labels on their bellies and bases. The bottom label reads: "Coty New York Paris Informal fragrance. Use this lovely Eau de Toilette as lavishly as you choose. A generous sprinkle in your bath--a dash in your hand basin--in your final shampoo rinse--on your lingerie or 'kerchief'. Impart a touch of fragrance to your accessories or your furs. Take it with you to 'freshen up' while traveling. Cont. 5 oz. Compounded in U.S A." 


Other Informal Fragrance Bottles:

Coty also introduced their Informal Fragrances in glass bottles similar to those from the 1930s. These bottles were packaged with a plastic atomizer head.

Flacon avec Bouchon Triangle Pointe de Diamant:

The “Bouchon Triangle Pointe de Diamant” model with its gold foil paper label and cut glass stopper. Bottle designed by Pierre Camin. Used for a variety of Coty perfumes.


The Coty "Pearls of Fragrance" presentation was introduced in 1958. Boxes were covered in gold paper printed with lustrous illustrations of pearls. 







The packaging below was introduced in 1950. 

The American Perfumer and Essential Oil Review, 1950:
"Coty has redesigned the packages for its L'Origan line to keep up with changing fashion trends. New L'Origan packages Coty has retained the gold leaf motif as well as the metal shaker container for talcum powder". 

The Glass Packer - Volume 29, 1950:
"GOLD LEAF theme has been retained by Coty in redesigning packages in the L'Origan line. New packages are simple and graceful, with tiny spot labels. Basic colors are delicate pink and gold. Air- Spun powder box is unaltered." 





Fate of the Fragrance:

In 2004, to celebrate the firm’s 100th anniversary, Henri Coty, François’s son, commissioned the re-creation of his father’s L'Origan perfume, to be housed inside a French crystal flacon. These were sold in a limited number of just 200 only available to the French Market, and the perfume was reformulated by Daphné Bugey. Bottom of the bottle is marked in raised letters, "Bottle Made In France". This bottle measures 2" tall x 1 1/4" square. Other perfumes in this limited edition set included: Jasmin de Corse, Emeraude, and La Rose Jacqueminot. The perfume set was celebrated with the launch of a book Coty: The Brand of Visionary by Editions Assouline.



Cheaper reformulations existed in some forms and this old stock was sold mostly by discount internet retailers. The reason for the reformulations was most likely due to the fact that some of the characteristic bases that made L'Origan such a beautiful scent are no longer available and that IFRA may have placed restrictions on some of the ingredients.

Unfortunately, by 2005, Coty discontinued L'Origan, but I suppose that is just as well because the modern incarnations of this classic paled in comparison to the glorious vintages. 

No comments:

Post a Comment