Bourjois Perfumes
"As a Parisian brand, Bourjois is inspired by the "je ne sais quoi" that makes Parisiennes so special. In 1924, Bourjois created a stir by using an imaginary muse: Babette. This attractive, opinionated and independent Parisian brought joie de vivre and humor. Through her illustrated adventures, she guided women in the art of effortless beauty. Inspired, Parisian women started to reinvent the definition of beauty in their daily lives. Bourjois epitomizes Parisian beauty and the enjoyment of beauty products"
Bourjois is a French cosmetics brand founded in 1863 by Monsieur Alexandre Napoleon Bourjois, with the invention of the first powder blush, Pastel Joues.
In 1924 Coco Chanel approached Pierre Wertheimer, the then owner of
Bourjois, to help her create
Parfums Chanel. A deal was struck where Chanel would receive 10% of the profits, and Bourjois 90%. Parfums Chanel was an enormous success - coco had much given away the most profitable facet of her business. A decision she would come to regret.
Nowadays, Bourjois and the Wertheimer family own and control all of the Chanel business.
Alexandre Napoleon Bourjois created the first powder blush in 1863. He was not too fond of the oily make-ups that actors were wearing at that time and word about his new make-up creation spread fast. By 1879 his blush, by then the first choice of stage performers in the French capital was made available to the public.
A pot containing the powder blush remains a commercial success. The first make-ups of the brand were presented as waxy make-up sticks. They were originally made for actors and actresses but soon became a hit with the public. A rice powder would lighten skin and leave it soft was presented in 1879 as well. It was one of the most popular products of the brand back then.
Catalogs were soon delivered to the homes of many people and offered a choice of blushes, eye shadows, lipsticks, and powders. Back then much attention was given to even the tiniest details and Bourjois' success increased. The brand's initial fragrance, Mon Bourjois, was created in 1924. The second fragrance, Soir de Paris, hit the shelves in 1928. The so-called Paris-boxes was launched in 1930. There were several designs with different contents allowing women on tight budgets to own at least a small range of Bourjois' products.
The Paris-boxes became instantly popular and have been re-released in newly designed boxes on occasions such as Christmas. The 1980s saw the launch of more make-up products in round pots. Eye shadows, now available in more than 30 shades, hit the shelves in the iconic decade of the 1980s. After the first perfumes Mon Bourjois and Soir de Paris, the company presented more fragrances that would underline a woman's beauty. Kobako, a leather chypre with citruses, vanilla, jasmine, rose, magnolia, galbanum, cloves, cinnamon, carnation, tonka, lily, orris, benzoin, frankincense, amber, oakmoss, musk, and leather was released in 1936. Ernest Beaux created this fragrance.
Evasion, a fragrance from the 1950s, contained prominent notes of hyacinth, jasmine, lily of the valley and honeysuckle. Clin D'Oeil Cosmic Girl, a fruity-floral composition based on strong violet and licorice, was presented in 1998. The Clin D'Oeil collection consists of several perfumes with different notes which were launched one after another. Bourjois is an old perfume house. The earliest edition was created in 1928 and the newest is from 2013. Bourjois fragrances were created together with perfumers Francois Demachy, Jacques Polge, Ernest Beaux and Henri Robert.
