Essential Baume de Violette c1870s

Guerlain's Essential Baume de Violette was a delicately formulated violet-scented cosmetic balm, designed for both skin care and subtle cosmetic enhancement. Created as a scented protective preparation, the balm combined a base of pure oxide of zinc with glycerine, providing soothing, moisturizing, and protective qualities to the skin. The addition of orange flower water and a few drops of tincture of benzoin offered a mild fragrance, a gentle preservative effect, and enhanced the balm’s skin-soothing properties. Essence of violets imparted its signature floral aroma, giving the product its distinctive violet character. To achieve a light tint or healthy flush, the formula could be colored with a few drops of ox blood or a small quantity of carmine, allowing the skin to take on a delicate, rosy effect.

Intended as part of a broader beauty regimen, Baume de Violette could be used in conjunction with veloutine, a fine finishing powder, which increased the balm’s effect, leaving the skin smooth, lightly fragranced, and visually enhanced. Though not a perfume in the traditional sense, the balm occupied a unique space between skincare and cosmetics, serving as a subtle scented treatment for the face or exposed skin while providing a protective and moisturizing function. Its combination of fragrant, soothing, and lightly tinting ingredients exemplifies Guerlain’s attention to creating luxurious, multi-purpose products that harmonized beauty, care, and sensorial pleasure.

The Essential Baume de Violette was housed in a refined colorless glass bottle, mould #5829, reflecting Guerlain’s attention to elegance even in its cosmetic containers. The lower half of the bottle is engraved with “Guerlain 15 rue de la Paix,” marking both the brand and its historic Parisian address. The bottle is fitted with a ground glass stopper, providing a secure closure while maintaining the luxurious, classic aesthetic characteristic of Guerlain’s early 20th-century cosmetic packaging. This simple yet sophisticated design complemented the balm’s delicate formulation, emphasizing both functionality and refined presentation.

• Mould #5829

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