Lance Carson
Evening in Paris, also known as Soir de Paris, is a perfume created by Ernest Beaux for French perfumer Bourjois in 1928. The scent was originally sold in a cobalt blue bottle designed by Jean Helleu and produced by Brosse glassworks. The fragrance was available in parfum, eau de toilette, and eau de cologne. It was discontinued in the late 1960s but was revived and reformulated by Chanel in the early 1990s.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Creator | Ernest Beaux |
| Manufacturer | Bourjois, Inc. |
| Place Made | Paris, France |
| Year Launched | 1928 |
| Bottle Designer | Jean Helleu |
| Bottle Producer | Brosse glassworks |
| Bottle Colour | Cobalt blue |
| Bottle Shape | Hemispherical Art Deco flacon |
| Fragrance Type | Sweet, floral |
| Top Notes | Bergamot, violets |
| Heart Notes | Tilleul, clover, lilac, rose, jasmine |
| Base Notes | Vetiver, styrax, vanilla |
| Variants | Parfum, eau de toilette, eau de cologne |
| Other Products | Dusting powder, talc bottles, sachet bottles, soap, lipstick, bath cubes, hand lotion, perfumed bath oil, rouge, cologne sticks, compacts, face powder |
| Packaging | Gift boxes in various shapes |
| Availability | Sold in department and drug stores for over 30 years |
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What You'll Learn
Ernest Beaux created the perfume
Beaux created the perfume for Bourjois, a company established in Paris in 1863 to manufacture makeup and face powders. The company began making perfumes in 1900. "Evening in Paris" was an instant hit, and its name evoked the reputation of gaiety, romance, and love associated with the French capital. The scent was sold in department and drug stores for over thirty years and was often given as a special gift.
The bottle design by Jean Helleu featured a midnight blue, hemispherical Art Deco flacon. The bottles were sold from the 1920s to the 1960s, and their packaging changed very little. Most of the bottles were cobalt blue glass, but there were also examples of clear and gilded glass. The majority of the labels from the 1920s to the 1940s were triangular-shaped, and the bottles from the 1920s and 1930s had frosted glass stoppers with cork ends.
The Evening in Paris fragrance was available in parfum, eau de toilette, and eau de cologne. It was also sold as dusting powder, talc, sachets, soap, lipstick, bath cubes, hand lotion, perfumed bath oil, rouge, cologne sticks, compacts, and face powder. The products were attractively packaged in gift boxes in various shapes, including stars, sailor's hats, and crescent moons. These special gift sets were often sold around Christmas, Mother's Day, and Easter.
In the late 1960s, the scent was discontinued. However, it was revived and reformulated by Chanel in the early 1990s. The new formulation resulted in a sweet, smooth, creamy, slightly wood-based fragrance known as "The Most Popular Fragrance in the World."
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Jean Helleu designed the bottle
Helleu's bottle design was a midnight blue, hemispherical Art Deco flacon. The cobalt blue bottle was produced by the Brosse glassworks. The scent was sold in department stores and drug stores for over thirty years and was often given as a special gift.
The bottle was designed in 1928, the same year the fragrance was launched, but it was not manufactured until around 1930. The design is now part of the Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, where it is described as a work of art.
Helleu's bottle design has clearly left a lasting impression, with many people recalling how just catching a glimpse of the familiar cobalt blue glass bottle brings back fond memories. The bottle's colour and shape are iconic and have become synonymous with the scent, even after it was discontinued in the late 1960s.
The "Evening in Paris" perfume was revived and reformulated by Chanel in the early 1990s, but it is unclear whether Helleu's original bottle design was also retained for this new iteration of the fragrance.
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The scent was discontinued in the 1960s
"Evening in Paris" was discontinued in 1969. Created by Ernest Beaux for Bourjois in 1928, it was the most well-known fragrance by the perfumer. Advertising for the scent in 1948 was "It whispers your charms", and in the 1950s, the slogan was "Exciting things happen when it's an Evening in Paris". The scent was even featured in a 1952 romantic vintage ad set on the banks of the River Seine.
The fragrance was originally sold in a cobalt blue bottle designed by Jean Helleu. This distinctive blue bottle was inspired by the racing colours of the Wertheimer family, who owned Bourjois. "Evening in Paris" was relaunched in the early 1990s by Chanel, and later in 1992 by Francois Demachy and Jacques Polge, who reformulated it for the modern market. The new fragrance featured top notes of apricot, bergamot oil, green notes, peach, and violet, with middle notes of damask rose, heliotrope, jasmine, lily of the valley, orris, and ylang-ylang, and base notes of amber, cedar, musk, sandalwood, and vanilla.
The relaunched scent was renamed "Soir de Paris" in the United States and repackaged in different bottles that were still cobalt blue but now featured a silver label and cap. "Evening in Paris" is also part of the Smithsonian's collection of cosmetics and personal care products displayed at the National Museum of American History.
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Chanel revived and reformulated it in the 1990s
"Evening in Paris", also known as "Soir de Paris", was originally created by Ernest Beaux for French perfumer Bourjois in 1928. The scent was discontinued in the late 1960s, only to be revived and reformulated by Chanel in the 1990s.
Chanel's revival of the scent was commissioned by Bourjois in 1991. Chanel house perfumers Jacques Polge and Francois Demachy were tasked with redesigning the fragrance for the modern market. The new formulation was an Eau de Parfum with a complex blend of top, heart, and base notes. The top notes included apricot, bergamot oil, green notes, peach, and violet, while the heart notes featured Damascene rose, heliotrope, jasmine, lily of the valley, orris, and ylang-ylang. The base notes rounded out the scent with amber, cedar, musk, sandalwood, and vanilla.
The new version, while retaining some kinship with the vintage scent, had a distinct 1990s feel to it. It opened with a shampoo-like apple scent before evolving into a combination of violet, rose, and apricot that reminded some of other fragrances from that decade, such as Lancôme Trésor, Lagerfeld Sun, Moon, Stars, and Yves Saint Laurent Paris flanker.
The packaging for the reformulated scent was also updated. The original cobalt blue bottle, designed by Jean Helleu, was replaced with a squat, half-moon bottle in the same iconic colour but with a modern twist—a silver label and cap.
This revival and reformulation by Chanel breathed new life into the classic "Evening in Paris" fragrance, adapting it to the tastes and trends of a new generation while preserving its timeless appeal.
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The fragrance was sold in various forms
The scent was originally packaged in a cobalt blue bottle, designed by Jean Helleu, with a midnight blue hemispherical Art Deco flacon produced by Brosse glassworks. Over time, the bottles changed little, but their labels evolved. In the 1920s and 1930s, the bottles had frosted glass stoppers with cork ends, and during the 1920s to the 1940s, the labels were predominantly triangular.
Evening in Paris was also available in gift sets, with special packaging in the shape of stars, sailor's hats, or crescent moons, often sold during Christmas, Mother's Day, and Easter. These gift sets included various items such as dusting powder boxes, talc bottles, sachet bottles, soap, lipstick, bath cubes, hand lotion, perfumed bath oil, rouge, cologne sticks, compacts, and face powder.
The fragrance was discontinued in the late 1960s but was later revived and reformulated by Chanel in the early 1990s, resulting in a sweet, smooth, creamy, and slightly wood-based scent. The new formulation is described as having top notes of citrusy and spiced bergamot, middle notes of jasmine, ylang-ylang, Turkish rose, violet, iris, hints of peach and woody cedar, and a soft, powdery base of vanilla.
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Frequently asked questions
French perfumer Bourjois.
Ernest Beaux.
1928.
