CLEOPATRA'S BOUDOIR

Launched in 1936 by Guerlain, Vega is a beautiful floral perfume. Vega is the scent of starlight.

Vega speaks to Jacques Guerlain's fascination with the immensity of the universe and daydreams of a star much brighter than the sun. In 1936, Paris was the capital of cosmopolitan elegance. For the first time, Parisian women discovered a new world offered through advertisement, cinema and the possibility of travel through aviation. Today, Vega's sophisticated fragrance offers the same promise to women, letting them know that their dreams, just like the universe, are limitless. Vega became the fragrance of choice for women seeking to throw off past constraints and embrace the Charleston and the hot pulse of jazz. Often ahead of her time, her passion and intimacy with life are so inspiring, she effortlessly lights up a room.

So what does it smell like? I was lucky enough to get a 1936 vintage extrait sample from The Perfumed Court. I smell aldehydes (Aldehyde C12, I think), gardenia, jasmine with its powerful, honey-like, sweet floral with fruity-herbaceous notes, , amber with its dry balsamic, woody and somewhat tobacco like note, tuberose, bergamot, cassia, ylang ylang, sandalwood, orris, tonka , rose, and vanilla. Very soft and powdery, full of lush white flowers. It is quite exquisite!

The perfume was again launched in 2005 as part of an exclusive collection. The series called “Il Etait Une Fois” , reinterpreted by Jean Paul Guerlain. Fragrantica gives these notes:

• Top notes: aldehydes, bergamot and orange blossom.
• Heart: jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, blackcurrant blossom, carnation, iris and rosewood.
• Base: vanilla, sandalwood and amber.

The New Vega Scent as told by Neiman Marcus:

Floral, aldehydic, and powdery, Eau de Toilette

• Head Bergamot, Lavender, Estragon
• Heart Green Notes, Jasmine
• Base Iris, Sandalwood

Guerlain’s site mentions these as the notes for Vega (new issue, the EDT)

• Top : aldehydes, cassia tree, bergamot
• Heart : jasmine, Ylang ylang
• Base : sandalwood, iris, amber and vanilla notes