Z is for Zibeline.

S is for Sables [ I’m referring to the furs !].

Z=S as Zibeline = Sables.

The voluptuous Zibeline parfum was created by the House of Weil in 1928, at the request of a regular client who wished to perfume her furs.

Alfred Weil opened his fur salon- Les Fourrures Weil – in 1912 Paris with his brothers Jacques and Marcel.

They employed Claude Fraysse, who had worked extensively with Firmenich in Geneva, as their nose.

[Claude’s sons were to distinguish themselves as well; André composed the legendary Arpège de Lanvin, while Hubert went on to run Synarome, the well-known flavor and fragrance company]

 

The Roaring 20’s were a flourishing era for adventurous perfumes.

So many houses were on creative fire: Caron, Chanel, Guerlain, Houbigant, Piver, Myurgia, Coty, Patou…and Colgate, among many others..

Glorious, over-the-top florals, quirky animalics, and blowsy orientals flooded the market.

1921 alone witnessed the birth of such olfactory luminaries as Emeraude, Chanel  No. 5 [and 11, 14, 20, 21, 27, 31] and Habanita.

The twenties gave us Shalimar, Djedi, Rue de la Paix, Arpège and Mon Peché, Bois des Isles and Cuir de Russie, Knize Ten, Nuit de Noel and Acaciosa; many Patous, including Chaldée and Adieu Sagesse.

The intention of perfuming furs was to camouflage the naturally musky odor of the skins- not unlike the custom of perfuming saddles and glove leather in order to mask the urinaceous tanning process 😉

Les Fourrures Weil did well to create three new scents to accompany their creations and the personalities that might purchase them:

Zibeline was meant to evoke the immense oak woods and steppes of Russia 

[from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia] – home to the noble sable [of the marten family].

Chinchilla Royal was a tribute to jasmines and roses of Persia and India [and not coincidentally, a source of the lovely animal whose pelts were cherished].

Hermine represented the virginal whiteness of both the blossoms utilized, and the snowy purity of the ermine’s fur itself.

 Wh o better than Baccarat, to design the bottles?

From 1927 until 1954, all the exquisite verrerie was theirs exclusively.

Zibeline!

Aldehydic floral animalic extraordinaire, with a distinctly  oriental bent .

Notes:

Aldehydes, coriander, tarragon, bergamot, lemon

Orris, gardenia, jasmine, ylang-ylang, lily of the valley, rose

Honey, sandalwood, tonka, musk, civet, vetiver, amber

Where do I begin?

Zibeline is an inebriating cocoon, a talismanic perfumed intoxicant.

It is very much old-school in the finest manner- by this, I mean that no expense had been spared in its creation.

Money was no object.

[As I have harped endlessly, to the point of boredom- you get out what you put in 😉 ]

Aldehydes serve to lift and expand, giving the fragrance diffusivity and room to breathe; they are delicious when paired with the sweet anisic herbal nature of tarragon, and the more pungent dryness of coriander.

Bergamot and lemon lilt in the top notes, as they have done so many times before, in other great fragrances of this era.

The heart of Zibeline resounds with floral abundance.

There is no dearth of silvery orris, of the sultry gardenia, jasmine or ylang here.

Lily of the valley adds a pinch of green sweetness to the blend; rose, as always- is the charming playfellow who rounds everything out, with her marvelously collaborative disposition.

Such a glorious full heart.

OH, the BASE.

Sandalwood is silky; these were the days of the Real Deal, where sandalwood was involved !

Honey is sweet, but oh-so-animalic; witness how it sidles up to civet, why don’t you.

Musk, amber, tonka conspire to bed down these flowers in earnest, with the deftness of suavity on their side.

Vetiver feels like the grassy, balsamic bedfellow it can be, when it chooses.

And it chooses 😉

Scarves, pashminas, shawls, leathers, gloves, furs: all welcome the opulent elegance of Zibeline, which I have in the parfum de toilette.

This is the perfect season [as is the season to come!] in which to surround oneself with such sublime comfort.

I’d love to share some of mine with you, dear readers. I have a sample available to one lucky commenter. To be eligible leave a comment where you tell me more about your wild side, your animalic self.  Draw will close on November 25, 2011.

We announce draw winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like Cafleurebon and use our RSS option…or your dream prize will be just spilt perfume

–Ida Meister, Senior Editor