Gilvo Perfume Company: Australian History

November 7, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 22 Comments

Post by Greg Young

Gilvo Perfume Company

A Piece of Perfume Australiana

This is something that I saw on eBay and was intrigued. It’s a bottle of No. 7777 Eau de Cologne, from the Gilvo Perfumery Company, who were manufacturing in Melbourne during the 1940s.

According to Perfume Intelligence, Gilvo launched 7777 in 1947, and both company and cologne have long since disappeared. I did find some newspaper ads for No. 7777 from late 1946, so I suspect it was on the market slightly earlier than that, in time for Christmas 1946.

Launceston Examiner, Thursday 10 October, 1946

No. 7777 was sold in a range of sizes, including a 30 fluid ounce flacon (almost 900 mls!). My bottle looks like it is 2 fl. oz – the size is not marked anywhere.

Gilvo also sold a Cologne called Three Crown Stardust Bouquet, which appears to have preceded 7777 to market, having being on sale in 1945.

Adelaide Advertiser, Friday 22 June, 1945

Gilvo were not only selling to women. By 1947, they were also selling an aftershave called Straight 8.

Launceston Examiner, Saturday 15 February 1947

As early as 1940, Gilvo were selling perfume in major stores. This ad does not refer to the brands that were in use later in the decade, but to eau-de-cologne generically. There is no earlier mention of the company in the archives, so this may have been their first product launch.

! Adelaide Advertiser, Thursday 12 December 1940

Gilvo fragrances were stocked at both Myer’s and David Jones, and featured in their 1946 Christmas promotions.

SMH, Wednesday 20 November 1946

The Argus, Tuesday 10 December 1946

A close-up of the DJ’s ad shows that Gilvo were keeping some pretty good company with the likes of Roger and Gallet and Bourjois and were commanding comparable prices to the imported fragrances.

Gilvo were headquartered in the Melbourne CBD and were hiring labour during the war years. Here’s an example of the sort of job they had on offer .

The Argus, Saturday 13 November 1943

The Argus, Tuesday 7 November 1944.

The age limit stated may seem a little odd to us these days. I believe it was because there was a desire for single women aged 18–45 to work in wartime industries exclusively. So I guess the company was seeking to recruit from the ladies who were not required for those roles. Menfolk, of course, were expected to be in war service.

The company’s premises at 360 Little Bourke St was a tiny Art Deco building that is now called Melbourne House, next door to a pizzeria and nestled in the midst of a forest of outdoors shops such as Paddy Pallin. Not exactly perfume central these days!

The company also had premises in a tiny laneway in North Melbourne called Howard St, as evidenced by this ad.

The Argus, Saturday 7 September 1946

This job ad appeared around the time that No. 7777 was launched. Notably, by then Gilvo was also describing itself as an export company, suggesting that they were possibly selling perfume into overseas markets.

The perfume business was still operating in Howard St in 1950.

The Argus, Saturday 17 June 1950

By this time though, Gilvo had started to diversify into quite a different area.

The Argus, Saturday 21 January 1950

Something does seem to have happened in the perfume trade, because all of the job ads in later years are for roles in Gilvo’s fabric printing business, the last of them in 1955.

The Argus (Melbourne, Vic). Saturday 25 June, 1955

This is typical of a series of job ads for printing positions from 1953 onwards, so it looks like Gilvo may have changed direction in the early ’50s, so that may be when No. 7777 was finally discontinued.

That would seem to indicate that my bottle is between 60 and 67 years old. Given that age, you can see from the photos that the bottle and box are in great condition. The packaging still has a sweet powdery smell, but the little juice that is left has turned an ugly inky-brown colour and the scent is pretty dubious, shall we say.

So, Gilvo were a small perfume company that operated in Melbourne and established a national brand that was able to compete in major retail stores with the imported big names for more than a decade. I guess they were the Tommi Sooni of their day! A little piece of Australia’s fragrance history.

Perfume Intelligence references

http://www.perfumeintelligence.co.uk/library/perfume/n/n3/n3p9.htm http://perfumeintelligence.co.uk/library/perfume/g/g5/g5p3.htm

Advertising references

http://trove.nla.gov.au

Ramon Monegal: Birth of a Master Perfumer

November 1, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 9 Comments

Hi there APJ Family and Friends,

Their extremely covetable bottles, gorgeously plush marketing and lavish juices have put them right at the forefront of modern mass market niche but where did Ramon Monegal the man come from?

It’s not often I take directly from a brands media kit but I was recently reading through the Roman Monegal stuff and it struck me that if I don’t know the history of the man behind the brand that burst onto the world scene so spectacularly last year then many of you won’t know too. Please keep in mind that this is combined from Ramon Monegal’s press kit and Fragrantica, so it will have been polished to shine. This reads to me like Ramon Monegal an extremely talented, driven and lucky man. I would love to meet him one day.

Photo Stolen Ramon Monegal

Ramon Monegal: Birth of a Master Perfumer

Ramón Monegal comes from a long and distinguished line of the most important perfumers in Barcelona and Spain. He represents the fourth generation of the founders of the house of Myrurgia, which was the official purveyor of the Spanish Royal Family, and the most important international perfumer in Spain.

His training began back in 1972 at Myrurgia, where he submerged himself completely and became intimate with the most essential of scents such as the mythical infusions of amber, tonka bean, musk, castoreum, civet and iris. These were the treasured secrets of the house and the key ingredients to the only couture perfumes existing at the time.

Monegal’s training continued in Geneva with his mentor, the maître parfumeur Artur Jordi Pey (Firmenich), then in Grasse with Marcel Carles (Roure Bertrand and Argeville) and finally in Paris with Pierre Bourdon (Takasago and Fragrance Resources).

Photo Stolen Ramon Monegal

From his beginnings as a perfumer, Ramón Monegal showed courage, good taste and mastery of the most complicated and costly ingredients. Early on he began to develop the concept of olfactory image — the images we conjure with the smell of a fragrance. He embarked on the preparation of perfume creations with great sensitivity, thoroughness and zeal. It took him years to refine his skills in the search, selection, acquisition and evaluation of the finest natural ingredients —the defining qualities of a nez. In addition, Monegal was very active in the processes of conceptualization, design and communication and, in 1977, to broaden his knowledge in these areas, he studied at the Barcelona Design Center.

In 1979 Ramón Monegal created his first fragrance, Alada. It soon flowered into an unexpected success within the house of Myrurgia, leading the domestic market for decades. From that time on he took over the artistic management of the house and began to create fragrances for the licenses of Adolfo Dominguez, Antonio Miró, Aigner, Inès de la Fressange, Don Algodon and Massimo Dutti. Myrurgia grew even more in prestige and as a company.

Photo Stolen Ramon Monegal

In 1985 Monegal joined the board of Myrurgia and later was appointed vice president. In 2000, just as the company reached its peak, Antonio Puig acquired Myrurgia and Ramón Monegal was asked to head the fragrance development of its brands and licenses for the group, which included the new Maison Parfum.

In 2007 he left the Puig Group and became independent. After a period of reflection, he decided to realize the project of which he had always dreamed: create without any limitation.

Ramon Monegal is a new 2012 fragrance brand. Designer Ramon Monegal has 16 perfumes all launched in 2013, he is curator, director and nose.

I hope this has given you an insight into the man behind the scents. I have a few of his fragrances that we will be looking at in future months.
Portia xx

CHANEL: Once Upon A Time #7 Mini Movie

September 27, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 5 Comments

Hello Gorgeous Perfume Peeps.

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. a tirelessly redefined model for success. In every era since her self inception Coco has been held up as the pinnacle of that eras aspirational success. That she was amazing, inventive, driven and well outside the norm is not ever under question. That her personal morals and judgements were often in poor taste and even evil is sometimes overlooked for her genius. If Coco was alive today with her way of thinking I would not buy the CHANEL product because she was a bigot, and an oppressor. Coco is gone and CHANEL remains. Long live CHANEL and I chose to look at the wonder, not the history, except to remember that not all is as it seems.

Photo Stolen Wikipedia

Please enjoy this mini movie for the wonderful piece of propaganda that it is.

Portia xx

Gabrielle Chanel – Inside CHANEL

Photo Stolen girlwiththecuriousnose

Villeroy + Boch – LoopArt Project

May 3, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 4 Comments

Hello Fragrant Fumies,

I am often inspired by the depth of commitment shown by artists. It is rare though that a multi national company shares this view or that they give us stories of such behaviours. Here is a 6 minute mini movie by the Villeroy & Boch brand. One I have loved for years because of their fun and often gorgeous tablewares that so many of my friends families used as we were growing up. It shows how the company has been created with the idea of art as king and how they keep that idea going into the 21st century. Inspiring and interesting.

Photos stolen Villeroy & Boch

Portia xx

Villeroy & Boch – But Different!

2nd Glance #1 – LoopArt Project

Black Pepper: The Story

January 1, 2013 / australianperfumejunkiescom / 7 Comments

Guest Post by SuzanneRBanks

Hello AustralianPerfumeJunkies.

Suzanne from SuzanneRBanks blog about aromatherapy, where scents come from, how to use them and life in general.

Black Pepper

Black Pepper! A spice believed to be the most commonly traded spice in the world is still gracing us with its pungent taste and soft, smoldering scent. From its roots in Kerala, India, the tiny black peppercorn has been used in India for cooking and treating ailments in Ayurveda, since 2000BC – that’s a long time ago! Scholars claim black peppercorns were found in the nostrils of Ramses II, as part of the mummification process after his death in 1213 BCE. Was the spice keeping his body from deteriorating or was the scent of the pepper used symbolically to connect him to the heavens? Perhaps both.

BlackPepper wikipedia

Photo Stolen wikipedia

The Roman Empire created trade routes to India and China, returning via the Red Sea and the Middle East into Egypt, bringing with them the valuable black peppercorns. They were then sent on to Europe and the domination of black pepper was set in stone. In the middle ages in Europe the spice was a luxury, only afforded by the rich to be used as a medicine, an exotic addition to life, and to enhance cooking. It is claimed that in medieval England the spice was used in spells and amulets to offer protection – from disease and other meta-physical threats. China records black pepper in the 3^rd Century as a foreign pepper, even so, it’s here to stay.

The essential oil of black pepper is a lot softer and sweeter than the taste, and is used in Aromatherapy for symptoms such as poor circulation, muscle and joint aches and pains, as treatment for bad digestion and as a general warming tonic. It has been used as an aphrodisiac, and an anti-dote to depression. Taking in all these properties, what can the divine scent tell us? Like many spice oils, it carries the energetic resonance of the evolution of humanity – really. Each drop, each whiff can link us to the past. It’s an oil of warmth, expansion and action. It’s a stimulating scent to the brain and can certainly be employed to open your mind. When I smell black pepper straight from the bottle (the best way to experience an essential oil is to take off the lid and take a huge sniff) I am inspired to carry on. To me it’s an oil of searching for your purpose in life, and giving inspiration to go forward and seize the day.

blackpepperseeds allintrading

Photo Stolen AllInTrading

Black pepper also reminds me of “The Chariot” card in a classic tarot deck. The one who drives the Chariot does so without reigns – only using his will. He goes out into the world to find his destiny and create his life. It could be considered to have “masculine qualities” and is describes as “yang’ in traditional Chinese medicine.

Pungent yet sweet, light with spicy tones, the oil of black pepper loves to be combined with anything really. It is a little to strong to be used all over the body in a moisturiser but perfect for anointing chakra points and vapourising for an atmosphere of warmth, love, sensuality and strength.

Happy-New-Year-2013-lucky wp Photo Stolen luckywp