Doux Jasmin by Parfums Ciro was introduced in 1923, at a moment when perfumery was embracing both refinement and modernity. The name, Doux Jasmin, is French, pronounced as "doo zha-sman", meaning “Sweet Jasmine.” The words evoke images of delicate white blossoms glowing in morning sunlight, their soft, intoxicating fragrance filling the air with an aura of gentle elegance. There is a sense of serenity, charm, and understated luxury in the name, suggesting a perfume that is both tender and captivating, perfect for women who wished to express subtle sophistication through scent.
The early 1920s were a period of cultural exuberance and social change. Women were embracing shorter, freer fashions, sporting light, flowing dresses, cloche hats, and athletic-inspired ensembles, reflecting the newfound freedom and dynamism of the post-war era. In this context, Doux Jasmin would have been perceived as both modern and timeless—a fragrance that complemented the day-to-day elegance of women while enhancing their allure in evening settings. The perfume’s floral orientation, centered on jasmine, tapped into the enduring popularity of this flower, which had long been a symbol of femininity, sensuality, and refinement.
Jasmine had been widely used in perfumery throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, appearing in numerous formulations and perfume formularies. Ciro’s Doux Jasmin, crafted by Henriette Gabilla, represented an updated interpretation: it relied not only on natural extracts and absolutes but most likely also incorporated synthetic aromachemicals such as benzyl acetate, linalyl acetate, linalool, and hydroxycitronellol. These synthetics enhanced the natural jasmine bouquet, providing clarity, longevity, and a refined sweetness, while also allowing the fragrance to stand out among competing jasmine perfumes on the market.
Women of the period would have related to Doux Jasmin as a signature scent that balanced intimacy and sophistication. Its name, gentle yet evocative, suggested a floral elegance that was both accessible and aspirational, speaking to the wearer’s refinement and taste. While jasmine perfumes were common at the time, Ciro’s formulation distinguished itself through its thoughtful blending of natural and synthetic ingredients, offering a vivid, lasting jasmine experience that felt modern, yet retained the classic charm associated with one of perfumery’s most beloved flowers. In this way, Doux Jasmin aligned with the prevailing trends while also presenting a polished, contemporary take on a timeless floral theme.
Doux Jasmin was available in the following:
Dusting Powder
Eau de Ciro
Eau de Toilette
Parfum
Fragrance Composition:
So what does it smell like? Doux Jasmin by Ciro is classified as a very sweet floral oriental fragrance for women.
- Top notes: Calabrian bergamot, lemon, neroli oil, orange blossom absolute, benzyl acetate, linalyl acetate, aldehyde C10, linalool
- Middle notes: hydroxycitronellol, Bourbon ylang ylang oil, jasmine absolute, tuberose absolute
- Base notes: ambergris tincture, musk, vanilla tincture, Siam benzoin, phenylethyl alcohol, rhodinol, heliotropin, benzyl alcohol
Scent Profile:
Experiencing Doux Jasmin is like stepping into a sunlit Mediterranean garden where every flower and citrus fruit is at the peak of its bloom, and the air is charged with a delicate, sweet warmth. The perfume opens with a sparkling citrus-floral brightness: Calabrian bergamot offers its signature lively, bittersweet aroma, rich in limonene and linalyl acetate, providing immediate clarity and radiance. Lemon adds a sparkling tartness, balancing the lush floral top notes.
Neroli oil, traditionally harvested from the blossoms of bitter orange trees in Tunisia or Morocco, imparts a luminous, slightly green-floral sweetness, its linalool and linalyl acetate components giving a crisp, airy lift. Orange blossom absolute deepens the floral richness with a honeyed, voluptuous warmth, highlighting the narcotic sweetness characteristic of Mediterranean citrus flowers. Benzyl acetate and linalyl acetate, synthetics used here, enhance and extend the natural sweetness of these blossoms, adding a transparent, shimmering quality, while aldehyde C10 contributes a sparkling, almost effervescent lift to the opening, giving it a subtle modernist edge that was revolutionary in the 1920s.
The heart of Doux Jasmin unfolds as a sensuous, creamy floral bouquet. Hydroxycitronellol provides a soft, rose-like freshness, harmonizing beautifully with the exotic richness of Bourbon ylang-ylang oil, prized for its sweet, fruity, and slightly narcotic facets that add depth and warmth to the floral core. Jasmine absolute, likely from Grasse or India, brings a creamy, indolic sweetness that is both radiant and intoxicating, layered with the lush, heady opulence of tuberose absolute, which gives the heart a waxy, almost velvety texture. These notes are lifted and refined by subtle synthetics like phenylethyl alcohol and rhodinol, which amplify the natural floral scent and add a gentle sparkling facet, ensuring the bouquet remains radiant rather than heavy.
The base notes settle into a warm, sweet, and subtly animalic finish, grounding the fragrance in sensuality. Ambergris tincture provides a soft, marine-animalic warmth that enhances diffusion and longevity. Musk and Siam benzoin contribute a creamy, balsamic richness, intertwining with vanilla tincture to add a gourmand sweetness. Heliotropin evokes the soft almond-like nuances of freshly ground marzipan, while benzyl alcohol helps to reinforce and harmonize the floral and balsamic elements. Together, the base forms a velvety, enveloping foundation, allowing the florals to radiate above it while lingering on the skin for hours.
Doux Jasmin is a masterful example of a very sweet floral oriental: it transitions from sparkling citrus-fresh top notes to a radiant, creamy floral heart, and finally settles into a warm, comforting, and subtly intoxicating amber-floral base. Each ingredient—natural or synthetic—has been carefully layered to enhance clarity, sweetness, and longevity, creating a fragrance that feels both classic and modern, capturing the elegance, sophistication, and allure of early 1920s perfumery.
Bottles:
Doux Jasmin was presented in a visually striking bottle that reflected the elegance and modernity of early 1920s design. The perfume was housed in a cylindrical glass bottle crowned with a red enameled stopper, its vibrant color evoking the warmth and richness of the fragrance within. The bottle’s clean, cylindrical form allowed the eye to focus on the vivid stopper, combining simplicity with a touch of decorative flourish.
The perfume was packaged in an oblong box of canary yellow, outlined with a delicate black dotted edge, lending the presentation a refined, geometric elegance characteristic of the Art Deco era. The black and gold label added a sense of luxury and contrast, drawing attention to the perfume’s name while emphasizing its sophistication. Each box was handsomely wrapped in cellophane paper and tied with a gold cord, ensuring that the presentation felt special and gift-worthy, a miniature celebration of style and refinement. The bottle contained 1.5 ounces of Parfum, a generous amount for a fragrance meant to be experienced luxuriously.
Altogether, the design of Doux Jasmin—from the bold red stopper to the bright, meticulously wrapped packaging—projected a sense of joy, elegance, and attention to detail, enhancing the perfume’s allure even before the first note touched the skin. The presentation was as much a part of the perfume’s charm as its scent, creating an experience that engaged both the eyes and the senses.
Esscent:
Introduced in 1953, Esscent – Image de Parfum represented Ciro’s attempt to reinterpret its classic fragrances for a postwar generation that favored convenience, modernity, and intensity of expression. Esscent was formulated as a concentrated perfume—essentially the equivalent of a modern eau de parfum—strong enough to linger beautifully on the skin yet fluid enough to be worn more generously than a traditional extrait. Ciro emphasized that Esscent offered the “image” of their perfumes: faithful to the originals in character, but reborn in a form that suited contemporary lifestyles.
All Esscent fragrances were presented in bottles deliberately modeled after Ciro’s earlier luxury designs. These replicas retained the familiar silhouette of the parfum flacons, with their elegant vertical lines and distinctive shoulders, but were crafted in pressed glass rather than hand-cut crystal. Instead of a ground-glass stopper, each bottle carried a gleaming gold-plated screw cap, making the perfume easier to use and better suited for repeated, liberal application. The caps themselves were a small marvel of mid-century industrial design—made of Durez phenolic plastic manufactured by the Plastics Division of the Terkelsen Machine Company, then gold-plated to echo the warmth of the amber liquid inside. The overall effect was glamorous yet practical, with a touch of the Space Age optimism of the 1950s.
Fate of the Fragrance:
Doux Jasmin by Parfums Ciro occupied a cherished place in the imaginations of women and the fragrance press from its earliest years. A 1924 advertisement captured the ethos of the perfume with poetic fervor, portraying the wearer as someone universally remembered—not necessarily a member of high society, yet unforgettable. The ad emphasized that such distinction could be achieved through the choice of scent: “Doux Jasmin…fresh, enduring, ardent as young love, scintillant as the bursting blossoms of Spring. With it, one may weld the silver chain that binds the flying feet of memory…find the fragrant way to say ‘Remember Me!’” Here, the perfume is depicted as both a personal signature and a subtle instrument of memory, its floral sweetness and enduring warmth leaving a lasting impression on all who encounter it.
By 1929, Hearst’s International reiterated this message, connecting Doux Jasmin to notions of enduring memory and youthful ardor. Beyond the parfum itself, the brand extended the fragrance into face powders, such as the Apritan shade, to lend the wearer a “true Continental sun-bronzed hue,” reflecting the period’s emphasis on beauty rituals that harmonized scent with cosmetic elegance. The imagery of blossoming jasmine and the poetic evocation of memory positioned the perfume as both a luxury and a personal emblem, blending refinement with emotional resonance.
Through the 1930s and 1950s, Doux Jasmin maintained its presence in Ciro’s repertoire. The Drug and Cosmetic Industry in 1937 noted its inclusion in flower pot-shaped Poudre de Toilette, alongside Gardenia Sauvage and Camelia du Maroc, showing the versatility and enduring appeal of the scent. In 1958, Harper’s Bazaar praised the perfume for capturing jasmine at its freshest, while a 1959 Esquire feature highlighted the Spray Mist, offering a faithful replication of the beloved fragrance in a modern, convenient form. These references reveal that Doux Jasmin was celebrated not only for its olfactory qualities but also for its adaptability across formats, from parfum to powder to spray, ensuring its place in women’s daily routines and special occasions alike.
While the exact date of discontinuation remains unknown, the old stock of the perfume was still being sold as late as 1967, demonstrating its longevity and timeless appeal. Across four decades, Doux Jasmin was consistently represented as a fragrance that combined youthful ardor, floral elegance, and enduring memory, securing its reputation as a signature scent for women who wished to leave a delicate yet unforgettable impression.
No comments:
Post a Comment