Popular Women's Perfume Of The 1960's.

The 1960's proved to be a decade that marked some defining moments in history. Some of those moments included the November 22nd,1963 assasination of President John F Kennedy as his motorcade made its way through the streets of downtown Dallas,Texas. The signing of the The Civil Rights Act on July 2nd,1964 by President Johnson. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon on July 20th,1969. In that same year the massive outdoor music/art festival Woodstock took place on Max Yasgur's 600 acre dairy farm near Bethel,New York between August 15th and August 18th. The 60's also marked the beginning of the hippie movement or the "counter-culture" which was marked by the "Riots On Sunset" in Hollywood on November 12th,1966. These riots were in protest,mainly by younger people who were demonstrating against a 10:00 pm curfew that was in place to help ease congestion in and around the Sunset Strip during the nighttime hours. Those are just some of the events that highlighted the 1960's. Now lets dig into my top five women's perfumes that were popular during this era.

Diorling by Christian Dior. Launched in 1963 Diorling was a Chypre perfume. Chypre perfumes fall into the category of perfumes that have an accord consisting of citrus top notes,middle notes centered around cistus labdanum and base notes derived from oak moss and musk. Diorling also had top notes of hyacinth and bergamot middle notes of iris,jasmine,rose and lily-of-rhe-valley. Diorling's dry down consisted of vetiver,musk,patchouli and leather. The fragrance was created by perfumer Paul Vacher.

Climat by Lancome. Released in 1967 Climat with its notes of violet,peach,jasmine,lily-of-the-valley,bergamot,rose and narcissus on top. Aldehydes,rosemary and tuberose in the middle and a base of sandalwood,tonka bean,amber,musk civet,bamboo and vetiver was a popular perfume in the late 60's and into the mid 70's at which time Lancome halted production of this legendary fragrance. Climat was a very feminine fragrance and was created to appeal to older more mature women. The nose behind the scent was legendary perfumer Gerard Coupil. Although discontinued in the mid 70's Lancome decided to re-launch Climat in 2005 as part of their 70th anniversary celebration. It was included in their La Collection Lancome which featured several perfumes of Lancomes yesteryear's.

Irisia by Creed.Created by James Henry Creed Fifth Generation Irisia was launched in 1968 and is classified as a floral green fragrance. With its notes of iris,violet and amber this perfume reminds one of a cool fall day with its clean fresh scent.

Chamade by Guerlain. Launched in 1969 Chamade perfume was inspired by the 1965 novel "La Chamade" by French playwright Francoise Sagan. The fragrance was created by none other than Jean-Paul Guerlain himself and featured heady notes of Turkish rose,jasmine,lilac,lily-of-the-valley,sandalwood,musk,iris and amber. This perfume was a tribute to love and romance and celebrated a woman's soft feminine side.

Caleche by Hermes. This was the first woman's fragrance from Hermes. It was created by perfumer Guy Robert and launched in 1961. The name Caleche refers to the horse drawn carriages that are associated with the house of Hermes. This is a very soft yet alluring fragrance that was classified as a woody Chypre floral with brilliant notes of citrus,aldehydes,Ylang-ylang,rose and jasmine. This perfume hit you with an initial rush of citrus that slowly faded and wore lightly on the skin. Hermes definitely hit a home run with Caleche as it was to them what No.5 was to Chanel.

So there you have my top five perfumes for the decade of the 1960's. In my next post we'll take a look at five women's perfumes that defined the 1970's.