My fascination with Nettie Rosenstein and her work continues. I may or may not have been spending an unhealthy amount of time looking at her costume jewelry online (and obviously coveting the stuff that goes for 4-digits). At least I have Mrs. Rosenstein's perfumes to amuse me.
I already talked about the beautiful Odalisque, but I also managed to acquire small amounts of her even more obscure fragrances: Tianne (1948), Mlle Ghe (1960 or 1965), and Fleurs d'Elle (1961). Since they came in one coffret (with Odalisque), it's obvious that my bottles were made after 1961. How much after? I can't tell as I'm not certain when exactly they were discontinued (Odalisque and Tianne remained in production much longer than the others). In any case, the very first time I sprayed all of them I had to deal with some funkiness. Thankfully, once the stuff inside the sprayer mechanism was gone and I had the chance to test the rest of the juice I was delighted. Yes, it smells vintage in the best possible way-- as in "they don't make them like that anymore".
Mlle Ghe is a dirty white floral. Jasmine, civet and a filthy musk, quite indolic .There may be some aged tuberose in there. It's of the same school of thought that brought us Ferme tes Yeux.
Fleurs d'Elle- green and floral, there's an aldehydic touch, thankfully not too stale. I'm pretty sure I smell lavender with some teeth, that keeps Fleurs d'Elle from being too dainty. I smell shades of Reverie au Jardin there.
Tianne was the one I first thought has gone off, only to discover there's still life in there. It's another aldehydic floral, spicier than Fleurs d'Elle and woodsy enough to be the least femme of the bunch.
There's very little information available about Nettie Rosenstein's perfumes. Since they're so American and have been discontinued for many years none of the books I have mentions them. Are you a Nettie Rosenstein fan? Have you worn any of her perfumes?
Photos of Nettie Rosenstein's fashion and jewelry via hprints.com and myvintagevogue.com.
I have never heard of her as I am Australian but - they all sound like perfumes I would adore and they have that "real perfume" feel and smell to them - you know, not that chemical watery stuff many scents are today :(
ReplyDeleteLove that jewellery too!!! Love those ads - so classy!
Is that Nettie in the chic orange dress?
I read your blog post with interest as used to wear Tianne back in the late 60's when I was 19 or 20!! (till I could no longer find it) I'm 62 now. It was a beautiful, floral/clean/woody scent and even then, was difficult to find. I could only purchase it in one particular dress shop in the small-ish town that I lived in - in Pa. I had a 3 pc. spray coffret also, but Tianne remained my favorite of them. A couple yrs. ago, I bought a vintage Tianne from ebay. It's not wearable anymore, as strong woody notes and something else have taken over (I'm not a pro at describing scents), but there are still some notes in there that bring it back into my memory as it was - lovely.
ReplyDeleteBack in the late sixties, when I was in my early twenties, and living in Omaha, Nebraska, I worked with a woman who smelled as if she had just stepped out of the shower every day. When I asked her what perfume she was wearing, she said it was Tianne by Nettie Rosenstein. I have never smelled such a lovely scent since.
ReplyDeletedoes anyone remember a Tianne sold in a robin egg blue bottle with Chinese woman in gold? I just found the bottle rummaging in my Pirate's Cave garage. My one perfume bottle.
ReplyDeleteI found an old bottle of Mlle Ghe some years ago at a thrift store, and I thought at the time I smelled powerful nitro-musks and possibly IsoBQ leather. But I think it had degraded somewhat and if I smelled it again today I might have a different take on it.
ReplyDeleteDelighted to run accross your site while looking for any references to NR Fleurs d'Elle that might tell me what happened to one of my favorite scents from 'days of yore'. Believe it or not, I have still have my last bottle purchased decades ago (4oz down to a 1/2 oz or so left). I have hoarded this since it was no longer available. A tiny drop imediately transports me back to memories of beautiful 'date nights' with my dear husband. It still has it's magical, heady scent!
ReplyDeleteJust stumbled on this blog entry while searching for a vintage bottle of Tianne... This was my mother's signature perfume during the 1960s. She always referred to it as a "woodsy" fragrance, and detected in it a whiff of cedar--one of her favorite scents. I remember it as an elegant, complex perfume, never sweet or cloying. My mother is now 89, and has almost entirely lost her sense of smell. I'm wondering whether some of the vintage juice might awaken a sensory memory. Worth a try, I think.
ReplyDeleteBack in the late sixties, as a summer job, I was a mother's helper. My employer had a bottle of Fleurs d'Elle on her dressing table, and I fell in love immediately. I would steal a tiny drop when she was away and dream of future dating adventures where I would wear it in earnest. Soon enough my dream came true. Fleurs d'Elle was the ethereal accompaniment to all my best romances. If it still existed, I would be almost afraid to smell it, for fear that I wouldn't love it as much.
ReplyDeleteI, too, long for a return to the Nettie Rosenstein fragrances and wore most all of them, particularly Odalisque and Fleurs d'Elle. I found my bottles of delight in a small shoppe in a small Tennessee town where I went to college. Nothing compares to these perfumes and the memories that linger with them. Thank you for keeping Nettie alive with your blog. So many of us appreciate it your time and research.
ReplyDeleteI am delighted to see mention of Nettie Rosenstein's fragrances. I was a huge fan and bought whatever I could find of Tianne, Odalisque and Fleurs d'Elle.
ReplyDeleteI still have my empty bottle of Odalisque and an un unopened bar of Fleirs d'Elle soap. During the final days of the New York office, I went there in 2001 and bought up 5 bottles of Tianne Hand Lotion. I still have 2 of them. Marilyn Migljn bought up the name and products that were left and she was selling them up until 2005. Then there was no more. I have not been able to find the beautiful scents like she created anywhere else.
My mother bought me a bottle of Fleur d'Elle when I was about 14 (after smelling a sample at Joseph Magnin in SF back in the 60s). I adored the scent and miss it so much. Thank you.
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