Jovoy Paris Rouge Assassin (photo: Despina Veneti)©

Man Ray envisioned lipstick as “the red badge of courage”. This small object, indispensable for hundreds of millions, has managed to cement its impressive influence on art, fashion and pop-culture, while emerging as a symbol of female elegance, sexuality, self-confidence – sometimes even emancipation. Furthermore, lipstick has proved a most effective tool for the democratisation of luxury: an easily attainable “weapon of seduction” that promises women a touch of cinematic glamour.

Left to right: Sarah Bernhardt (photo: W. & D. Downey)©, Suffragettes in the 1910s (photo: Universal History Archive/Getty Images)©, Maurice Levy’s sliding metal lipstick patent (via Besame Cosmetics), “The Red Badge Of Courage” (photo: Man Ray for Harper’s Bazaar 1937)©

Lip painting dates back as early as 3500 BC, and had been popular in various historical periods, often adopted by both sexes. The Victorian era brought its use to a halt, but France never stopped indulging in lip coloring; by the 1880s, Guerlain was already producing an early lip rouge version. The social taboo of applying lipstick in public was demolished by legendary Sarah Bernhardt, who freely reapplied her own. In the U.S. things were changing, too; when the suffragettes were marching the streets of New York in the early 1910s, they colored their lips bright red as a symbol of rebellion. In 1915 the first sliding metal tube – lipstick as we know it today – was born, thanks to American inventor Maurice Levy.

First row: Clara Bow, Joan Crawford, Mae Murray (studio portraits from Despina’s digital archive) / Second row: Photoplay cover from the 1920s, Dior “Le Rouge Baiser” ad (René Gruau, c. 1949), Elizabeth Arden WWII “Victory Red” ad (from Despina’s digital archive)

What propelled women’s love for lipstick was cinema. The Roaring Twenties introduced a new, bold female look and attitude, that of the flapper. Women started to shorten their skirts, bob their hair, smoke, drink and dance, earn their living, and dream more than a marriage prospect. They felt an unprecedented connection to their favorite screen idols, and the exciting creatures they incarnated; adopting their look was inevitable. Lips emerged as the focal point of beauty looks; Clara Bow’s “cupid’s bow” lips, and Mae Murray’s “bee-stung” lips, became a visual signature. Reshaping the lips of stars often redesigned their whole face (like Max Factor did for Joan Crawford and Bette Davis), giving them a unique, unforgettable look. But to get a glimpse of how the stars actually looked chromatically, one had to rely on the sparse real-color magazine photos – until color films started being produced in the 1930s.

Clockwise: Ava Gardner, Lucille Ball, Lauren Bacall, Joan Crawford, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis (studio portraits from Despina’s digital archive)

Having triumphantly survived the Great Depression, lipstick entered a new era of popularity. Red was the dominant color during the 1940s, when wearing lipstick was considered essential for boosting the wartime morale – a reminder of what the boys were fighting for. The glorious Technicolor’s larger-than-life red shades ultimately became the greatest promoters of lipstick; the already beautiful lips of stars like Marilyn Monroe, Ava Gardner, Elizabeth Taylor and Lucille Ball looked even more spectacularly vibrant, lush and irresistible on screen...

Jovoy Paris Rouge Assassin (photo collages: Despina Veneti)©, François Hénin of Jovoy Paris (photo courtesy of Jovoy Paris)© & Perfumer Amélie Bourgeois (photo courtesy of FLAIR)©

I find the main – “killer lipstick” – accord of Jovoy Paris Rouge Assassin to be an amalgam of the flapper era’s androgynous, assertive fragrances, and the softly feminine, powdery smell of the 1940s/1950s cosmetics, realised in resolutely modern spirit. Under the creative direction of François Hénin (founder of Jovoy Parfums Rares), perfumer Amélie Bourgeois (co-founder of Flair Paris) composed Jovoy Paris Rouge Assassin following an unexpected path for her lipstick accord (it’s neither waxy, nor sweet rose-dominant). The fragrance opens with juicy, succulent bergamot and resinous, piquant elemi, preceding a jammy (yet restrained) rose. Once the iris starts to develop, Jovoy Paris Rouge Assassin reveals its complexity: combined with the rose, the iris assumes the aromatic identity of a high-end, luxurious lipstick, while its interaction with the rice accord generates a splendid sensation of the finest, most ethereal face powder. The synergy between orris butter and musky ambrette further results in a sensual aura that resembles warm, clean skin. Creamy sandalwood and tobacco-tinged cedarwood support the boudoir vibe, while preventing the fragrance from becoming too “bosomy”. Underneath it all, the base is signed off by an almondy-ambery undercurrent (a combination of vanilla, tonka bean and benzoin), that sustains a long, pleasurable drydown.

Paulina Klimek photographed by Jamie Nelson© for Vogue Ukraine 2015

Jovoy Paris Rouge Assassin is a carefully constructed, impressively evolving fragrance, whose star is a remarkably genderless lipstick accord, supported by creamy woods and sensuous musks. It could have been enthusiastically embraced by a 1920s flapper/garçonne, as well as by a 1950s ultra-feminine siren; and can certainly charm and delight contemporary perfume lovers in search for nouveau-rétro fragrant gems.

Notes: Bergamot, Rose; Elemi, Rice Powder, Ambrette; Iris, Cedarwood, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Musk, Benzoin, Tonka Bean.

Disclaimer: I’d like to thank Jovoy Paris for my bottle of Rouge Assassin. The opinions are my own.

– Despina Veneti, Senior Editor

Jovoy Paris Rouge Assassin (Photo: Despina Veneti)©

Thanks to the generosity of François Hénin and Jovoy Paris Parfums Rares, we have a draw for a 100ml bottle of Jovoy Paris Rouge Assassin (value: 130€) for one registered reader in USA, UK or Europe. You must register here or your comment will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what you enjoyed most about Despina’s review, if you have a favorite fragrance by Jovoy Paris and where you live. Draw closes 8/30/2020

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