About Me

Grace Elizabeth Arnone Hummel

Perfume Historian | Independent Researcher | Writer | Antique Dealer & Collector

Welcome, and thank you for visiting!

My name is Grace Elizabeth Arnone Hummel, although many people in the fragrance community know me as Cleopatra, the founder and author of Cleopatra's Boudoir. I am an independent perfume historian, researcher, writer, antique dealer, and longtime collector with more than twenty-five years of experience exploring the fascinating history of perfumery, antique perfume bottles, and the decorative arts associated with beauty and personal adornment.

Since establishing Cleopatra's Boudoir in 1999, I have devoted much of my life to researching, documenting, and preserving the stories of perfumes and perfume houses that might otherwise be forgotten. What began as a personal fascination with beautiful antique scent bottles gradually developed into an extensive historical research project encompassing thousands of fragrances, manufacturers, advertisements, and related artifacts.

Today, my work extends across several specialized perfume history websites, each devoted to preserving a different chapter of the fragrance industry's extraordinary past. This website is my personal tribute to Guerlain, one of the world's most celebrated perfume houses and a name synonymous with French elegance, artistry, and innovation since 1828. My goal is to explore and preserve Guerlain's extraordinary heritage, from its earliest creations and legendary fragrances to its forgotten perfumes, exquisite bottles, historic advertisements, and the talented individuals who helped shape its legacy.

Through original advertisements, vintage catalogs, archival documents, and surviving fragrances, I endeavor to uncover details that have been overlooked, forgotten, or lost to time. I hope this site serves as a valuable historical reference for Guerlain collectors, perfume enthusiasts, writers, and researchers, as well as anyone who shares my fascination with the house's remarkable past.

My guiding philosophy has always been simple: perfume is more than a fragrance. It is a tangible connection to history, art, fashion, commerce, and the people who came before us. Above all, I believe that Guerlain's history deserves to be remembered, carefully documented, and shared with future generations.

Preserving the Forgotten History of Perfume

I often describe myself as a perfume historian and detective, because historical fragrance research frequently involves solving mysteries.

A forgotten perfume name printed on a faded advertisement, an unfamiliar trademark on an antique bottle, or a brief mention in a century-old trade journal can become the starting point for hours, days, or even weeks of investigation.

My research takes me through historical newspapers, perfumery trade publications, manufacturers' catalogs, vintage advertisements, patents, trademarks, business directories, museum collections, archival documents, and other original sources. By comparing and connecting these scattered pieces of information, I attempt to reconstruct the histories of perfume houses, identify obscure fragrances, establish production dates, and document the people and businesses responsible for their creation.

I am particularly interested in fragrances that have disappeared from the marketplace, companies whose histories have become obscure, and perfume bottles whose origins have been forgotten.

Many of these subjects have received little attention in modern fragrance literature. Some exist today only through surviving advertisements, commercial records, bottles, and the memories of those who once wore the perfumes.

My goal is to bring as much of this information as possible back into the historical record, where it can be discovered, studied, and appreciated by future generations.

What I Research and Write About

My work encompasses a broad range of subjects within perfume history, including the origins and development of historic perfume houses, discontinued and forgotten fragrances, vintage fragrance compositions, original perfume advertisements, bottle designs, manufacturers, packaging, and the artists who helped shape the perfume industry's visual identity.

I also investigate the history of perfume ingredients, historical scent descriptions, manufacturing practices, fragrance marketing, and the relationship between perfumery and changing social customs.

Because perfume history is inseparable from the decorative arts, my research frequently extends into antique vanity accessories, Art Nouveau and Art Deco glass, Victorian and Edwardian dressing-table objects, cosmetics, toiletries, and the evolution of beauty rituals.

Whenever possible, I rely on original historical documentation rather than repeating information that has circulated without a verifiable source. I am especially careful when researching fragrance notes and compositions, distinguishing between descriptions published by the original manufacturer, later interpretations, and my own observations of surviving vintage perfumes.

Historical accuracy is important to me, but so is acknowledging uncertainty. Not every mystery can be solved, and sometimes the most responsible conclusion is that the surviving evidence remains incomplete.

I believe that careful research, curiosity, and a willingness to revisit earlier conclusions are essential to preserving perfume history faithfully.

A Resource for Collectors, Researchers, and Fragrance Enthusiasts

Over the years, Cleopatra's Boudoir and my related perfume history websites have become resources for people seeking information that can be surprisingly difficult to find elsewhere.

Visitors come from many different backgrounds. Some are dedicated vintage perfume collectors researching a rare bottle or an unfamiliar fragrance. Others are antique dealers attempting to identify an object, writers investigating the history of a particular perfume house, or fragrance enthusiasts hoping to rediscover a beloved scent from years gone by.

My articles are also useful to researchers studying advertising, fashion, material culture, cosmetics, glassmaking, and the social history of beauty.

Readers use my websites to identify and date antique perfume bottles, investigate discontinued fragrances, compare vintage packaging, trace the history of perfume manufacturers, locate historical advertisements, and learn more about the scents that were fashionable during different periods.

One of the most rewarding aspects of this work is hearing from someone who has finally identified a mysterious bottle inherited from a relative, rediscovered a perfume associated with a cherished memory, or found a historical detail that had eluded them for years.

Those discoveries remind me why I began sharing my research in the first place.

I have always believed that historical knowledge becomes more valuable when it is shared.

Recognition Within the Fragrance and Historical Research Communities

I have been fortunate to see my research acknowledged, referenced, and appreciated by fellow fragrance enthusiasts, collectors, authors, journalists, and institutions.

Over the years, I have contributed writing and research to fragrance publications and communities, including Fragrantica and The Perfume Magazine. I have also served on Sniffapalooza's Fragrance Advisory Board, participated in Allure magazine's Beauty Panel, and maintained an association with the International Perfume Bottle Association (IPBA).

Earlier in my career, I authored more than two hundred educational guides about vintage perfumes and collecting for eBay, helping introduce readers to the identification, history, and appreciation of antique fragrance bottles.

My work has been referenced or acknowledged in books and publications covering perfume history, decorative arts, cultural history, and related subjects. These include Lizzie Ostrom's Perfume: A Century of Scents, Gregory N. Daugherty's The Reception of Cleopatra in the Age of Mass Media, Mary May Robertson's The Marriage between Perfume and the Lyric Stage, and other scholarly and historical studies.

My research has also received acknowledgment from organizations and publications such as Kovels, Runway Magazine, Atlas Obscura, the Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art, and the Perfume Passage, among others.

Some of the most meaningful recognition, however, has come from fellow researchers who understand the time and persistence required to uncover obscure historical information.

The Beauty Bible blog once affectionately described Cleopatra's Boudoir as a "Temple to Ancient Perfumes", recommending it to fellow fragrance enthusiasts.

Amelia of The Vintage Perfume Vault offered an especially generous tribute to my research, describing me as "a hero of the free information movement on the Internet and especially in the area of vintage perfume, without parallel."

Scent Grail has also characterized my research as a "gold mine about dating vintage perfumery."

I share these words with sincere gratitude, not because I consider my work beyond improvement, but because they reflect something very important to me: that independent research, freely shared, can make a meaningful contribution to a wider community.

It is gratifying to know that information originally gathered out of personal curiosity has helped others with their own discoveries, publications, collections, and historical investigations.

My Approach to Vintage Perfume Research

One particularly fascinating part of my work involves studying surviving examples of vintage fragrances.

Whenever I have access to an original perfume sample or bottle containing its historic contents, I try to compare its aroma with contemporary advertising, manufacturers' descriptions, published ingredient information, and other period documentation.

These comparisons can provide valuable clues about a fragrance's original character, especially when little information has survived.

Of course, perfumes change with age. Evaporation, oxidation, storage conditions, and the natural deterioration of certain ingredients can significantly alter the way an old fragrance smells. For that reason, I never assume that a surviving vintage sample necessarily represents the perfume exactly as it smelled when first manufactured.

Instead, I treat these surviving fragrances as historical artifacts, combining sensory observation with documentary evidence wherever possible.

I am especially interested in preserving descriptions of fragrances that may never be manufactured again. Even a tiny surviving sample can sometimes contribute something valuable to our understanding of a forgotten perfume.

An Antique Dealer and Lifelong Collector

My fascination with perfume history grew naturally from my love of antiques.

Throughout my years as an antique dealer and collector, I have developed a particular appreciation for objects associated with the Victorian, Edwardian, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco periods.

My collecting interests have included antique perfume bottles, Bohemian and Czech glass, French porcelain, sterling silver vanity accessories, jewelry, chatelaines, textiles, vintage clothing, fans, parasols, decorative boxes, and numerous other objects associated with the dressing table and the fashionable home.

Studying these objects has helped me understand perfume within its broader historical setting. A fragrance was never simply a scent in isolation. It was part of a world of fashion, advertising, craftsmanship, personal ritual, and changing ideas about beauty.

That relationship between fragrance and material culture remains one of the most fascinating aspects of my work.

Why I Continue to Share My Research

Maintaining historical perfume websites requires an enormous investment of time. Researching a single perfume house can involve consulting hundreds of original documents, examining surviving bottles, comparing advertisements, and tracing the complicated histories of manufacturers, distributors, and brand ownership.

Yet I continue because I believe this information deserves to survive.

The internet contains a tremendous amount of information about modern fragrances, but the histories of older perfumes are often fragmented, inaccurate, or entirely absent. Original sources can be difficult to locate, and valuable information sometimes disappears when websites close, archives become inaccessible, or private collections are dispersed.

I hope my websites provide a lasting reference for anyone interested in exploring these overlooked corners of perfume history.

They are intended to be more than collections of attractive advertisements or lists of discontinued fragrances. My ambition is to create accessible, historically grounded archives that connect perfumes with the people, businesses, artistic movements, and cultural circumstances that produced them.

Whether someone is conducting serious historical research or simply trying to remember the name of a perfume worn by their grandmother, I want them to feel welcome here.

Beyond Perfume

When I am not researching fragrances or studying antiques, much of my time is devoted to animal rescue.

I live in southern New Jersey, where I care for my own much-loved cats, help neighborhood community cats, and foster kittens in need of safe homes.

Animal welfare has always been close to my heart, and the companionship of my feline family provides a welcome balance to the countless hours I spend surrounded by books, historical records, and antique treasures.

A Personal Thank You

I am deeply grateful to the friends, collectors, readers, fellow historians, writers, institutions, and fragrance enthusiasts who have supported my work over the years.

Whether you have cited one of my articles, shared a historical discovery, contributed information, helped identify a mysterious bottle, or simply spent an afternoon exploring my websites, you have played a part in keeping perfume history alive.

I am especially thankful to the readers who have written to tell me that my research helped them solve a mystery, rediscover a forgotten fragrance, or develop a new appreciation for the artistry of perfumery.

Those messages mean more to me than any title or recognition.

My greatest hope is that the research I share today will remain useful to the collectors, historians, and perfume lovers of tomorrow.

Thank you for visiting and joining me in celebrating the enduring legacy of Guerlain.

Happy collecting!

Grace Elizabeth Arnone Hummel
Cleopatra
Founder of Cleopatra's Boudoir
Perfume Historian, Researcher & Writer
Southern New Jersey, USA

reinedeparfum@gmail.com

Preserving the past, one perfume at a time.