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!

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

L'Aimant by Coty c1927

L'Aimant by Coty: launched in 1927. Pronounced "LEH MON", the name means "magnet" in French.

In 1926, Coty purchased the Antoine Chiris company, established in 1768, who harvested and supplied raw materials for perfumes, manufactured perfumery bases, essential oils and made perfumes for other companies.

The Russian perfumery A. Rallet & Company was owned by Chiris and produced the perfume Rallet No. 1, originally named Bouquet de Catherine, composed by Ernest Beaux. When the Russian Revolution began, Rallet relocated to France and set Ernest Beaux up with a new laboratory in Grasse. It was here that he met Coco Chanel and worked on making a perfume for her. Ernest Beaux tweaked Rallet No. 1 and thus in 1921, Chanel No. 5 was born.

The popularity of this perfume was so great that Coty felt he needed to make a clone so he and his chief collaborator in perfumery, Vincent Roubert, gave the old Rallet No. 1 a slight adaptation and it was christened L'Aimant.



Original Fragrance Composition:


So what does it smell like? It is classified as an aldehydic floral for women.. It starts with an aldehydic top, followed by a classic precious floral heart, layered over a sweet, balsamic and powdery base. A floral bouquet, a blend of jasmine and rose with a modern aldehydic top note and a warm background of musk and amber.
  • Top notes: bergamot, neroli, peach, aldehydes, strawberry, cyclamen, hyacinth
  • Middle notes: lily of the valley, carnation, orris, geranium, oriental rose absolute, orchid, Grasse jasmine absolute, Bulgarian rose, violet, and ylang-ylang.
  • Base notes: patchouli, musk ambrette, ambergris, Siamese benzoin, Tolu, labdanum, Ethiopian civet, vetiver, Tibetan musk, Mexican vanilla, Mysore sandalwood, Venezuelan tonka bean and Virginia cedar.


L'Origan made use of the base Iralia, an ionone that smells of iris and violet, and Dianthine, a synthetic reproduction of carnation.


Combat, 1955:
"L'Aimant (perfumed cologne by Coty) - rose, jasmine and lily of the valley, classic trio, to which an aldehyde gives a singular roundness. Perfume of good tone. It is made for these elegant women in the morning and late at night which bring infinite naturalness to the sentiments of convention."

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.

I found that this is a stunning vintage from the 1920s L'Aimant, definitely for a confident woman, with notes of bright aldehydes that tickled my nose, a shot of citrus with bergamot and neroli, pungent geranium and vetiver, a fruit-laden heart with peaches and apricots, delicate florals of lily, orris, jasmine and heady roses, an animalic base of musk and civet, over powdery sandalwood and warm ambergris. An hour later, I can still smell the geranium, jasmine, amber and the civet.

This makes me think of an opium den, thick and smoky, an audacious Flapper dressed in heliotrope silk, lying on her side, bringing a dragon carved pipe stem to her crimson, bee-stung lips, after taking a long drag, her eyelids flutter and her eyeballs roll back into her head, the smell of her rosy-jasmine-civet and vanilla perfume mixes with the bergamot, geranium, vetiver and neroli based colognes of the gentlemen who are languorously reclining on embroidered and fringed cushions around her. There is a large basket of fruit sitting on a carved cedar stand nearby, it's ripe contents of peaches and apricots bring a craving for the succulent fruit. The heat in the room, brings forth the earthy scent of the potted plants of spicy carnations, ylang ylang, lilies and delicate orchids  and lend their exotic aroma to the room. An ancient bronze censer provides a swirling mist of ambergris, patchouli, labdanum and benzoin. Nearby a young Chinese woman, wearing a blue and gold silken robe is cooling down a swooning gentleman with a pierced sandalwood fan which has been dipped in water.

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


Bottles:


L'Aimant was housed in numerous bottles over the years depending on what type concentration the fragrance was made: Parfum, Parfum de Toilette, Cologne, Eau de Toilette, or Eau de Parfum.

Some early bottles were made by Rene Lalique and Baccarat. But 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.



Parfum Flacons:

The first bottles used were made for the Parfum (Extrait) and were made by Rene Lalique and Baccarat. Soon these proved to be too expensive for Coty to purchase, so he adapted the designs and had them made in his own glassworks in France, these bottles will be marked with "Coty France" on the base.


Moth Stopper Parfum Flacon:

One of the first bottles used was the Rene Lalique designed bottle that featured the double moth frosted glass stopper. This bottle was originally designed by Lalique for the Coty fragrance Muguet in 1912, but was later used for almost all of the Coty fragrances.

This bottle was also made by Baccarat in 1913, mold number 241. These bottles should be acid marked Baccarat on the base. The Baccarat bottle can be found standing at 3.25' tall.

This was later made by Coty's own glassworks and will be marked "Coty" on the base. 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.





This bottle was adapted for travelling by the usage of an inner glass stopper and a brass screw cap, this bottle was made by Baccarat, model number 291. Look under the heading below titled "Crystal Bottle with Gilt Cap".


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. 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.






Metal Case Parfum Bottles:

A nice purse size bottle set was created and presented in a hinged platinum tone chrome metal case around 1928. The bottle used was the banded bottle with the frosted glass stopper. The case stands 2 3/4" tall. These containers were discontinued in 1933.






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. 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 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.




Etui a Cigarette Presentation:

Also introduced in 1927, was the Etui a Cigarette presentation. Bottle stands 3 1/8" tall and is molded with Coty France on the base as it was made at Coty's own glassworks. The idea was that the box could be later used to house cigarettes, long after the perfume was gone.



Louvre Parfum Flacon:

The "Louvre" parfum flacon made it's debut in 1929 and featured an arched shape with sloping shoulders and was fitted a frosted glass stopper with a molded stepped design. 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. But I have seen this bottle with L'Aimant labels too. This flacon isn't exactly "new" as it was advertised as it appears to be the "Lilas Pourpre" flacon made by Rene Lalique first used for Coty's Lilas Pourpre perfume in 1911.




Crystal Bottles with Gilt Cap:

In 1928, flat, square shaped crystal bottles with inner glass stoppers and gilt brass caps were available in French leather cases for travel. These bottles held Emeraude, L'Origan, Chypre and Paris. I  have seen these bottles with L'Aimant labels too.







Crystal Octagonal L'Aimant Flacon:

In 1928, L'Aimant parfum was presented in a heavy eight sided crystal flacon with clear label on front was available in three sizes: one ounce, two ounces, and three ounces. Gilt brass cap with enameled bands hides an inner glass stopper. The two ounce bottle stands 2 7/8" tall.  The bottle was presented in a box covered with paper imitating a shagreen pattern in shades of red, pink, gold and coral.











A squat twelve sided crystal bottle, reminiscent of an inkwell, holding one ounce measuring 2.75" tall was also introduced at the same time, however, this is extremely rare to find today and I have only seen two examples.




In 1939, the bottle was given an update with a gorgeous new presentation box and pretty cap. The glass bottle measures 3" tall. The cap is red plastic with a brass jacket. The box is covered with paper simulating fishscale and shagreen patterns in shades of red, pink, gold and coral. There is a small gilt brass horseshoe pendant on the front of the box cover (this is often missing on these boxes as women probably removed them to add to a necklace or charm bracelet).







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.

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 Cathedral shape was adapted for use for other products in the line such as bath salts.





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. The bottle design was discontinued in 1937. This is pretty hard to find, I have only seen it once. 





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.






Metal Flip Top Case Purse Flacon:

In 1934, a purse flacon debuted in a new gold tone metal case (usually the goldtone 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.

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. The base of the bottle is molded with Coty and was made in Coty's own glassworks. 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. The following perfumes were included: Muguet, Oeillet France, La Rose Jacqueminot, Lilas Pourpre, and Violette Pourpre. Eventually, the other Coty perfumes were added to the packaging design such as Emeraude, L'Aimant, and L'Origan.






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 it's debut in 1935. It was available in the following fragrances: Paris, Emeraude, L'Aimant, and L'Origan.





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.







In 1957, Coty introduced new sizes and forms of L'Aimant — including something very special for real L'Aimant lovers — a giant 16-ounce elaborately packaged bottle of perfume that can be "custom" ordered for $225.00 (plus tax).








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