CLEOPATRA'S BOUDOIR

Chaldee Perfume by Jean Patou, created by in house perfumer Henri Almeras was launched in 1927. A sensuous blend of orange blossom, hyacinth, jasmine, daffodil, vanilla, narcissus, opopanax , amber, spices, and lily of the valley. 

 This fabulous perfume was directly inspired by one of Jean Patou's famous first innovations:  the invention of suntan lotion, named Huile de Chaldee (Oil of Chaldea). Coco Chanel's famous tanning excursions & the dusky skin of Josephine Baker both influenced women of the 1920s and started sunbathing to attain the bronzed glow from the sun, as a result, Patou introduced Huile de Chaldee. Huile de Chaldee was named after an ancient city of Chaldea in Babylonia that was legendary for its beautiful, amber skinned beauties. Huile de Chaldee 'was made with the most expensive oils and perfumed with a warm, sensual mix of narcissus, orange flower and amber' says Jean Patou's house perfumer Jean-Michel Duriez.

Patou's Huile de Chaldee sun oil had become so popular, many customers were buying it purely for its smell, therefore, Chaldee the perfume (a dry musk) was produced to fulfill this need.

 A 1929 poster for Huile de Chaldee by Leon Bagnini reads "Huile de Chaldee- Prevents sunburn, softens and tans the skin".

Chaldee and Huile de Chaldee remained discontinued for a number of years. Later Jean Patou has launched its Chaldee perfume for the Ma Collection of Patou's best loved perfumes. Also relaunched was the reinvention of Huile de Chaldee, in keeping with the exotic name, this time as an after sun tan enhancer, "L'Originalle Or Rouge".