Hello and welcome! Please understand that this website is not affiliated with Balmain in any way, it is only a reference page for collectors and those who have enjoyed the classic fragrances of days gone by.

The main objective of this website is to chronicle the history of the Balmain fragrances and showcase the bottles and advertising used throughout the years.

However, one of the other goals of this website is to show the present owners of the Balmain perfume company how much we miss the discontinued classics and hopefully, if they see that there is enough interest and demand, they will bring back these fragrances!

Please leave a comment below (for example: of why you liked the fragrance, describe the scent, time period or age you wore it, who gave it to you or what occasion, any specific memories, what it reminded you of, maybe a relative wore it, or you remembered seeing the bottle on their vanity table), who knows, perhaps someone from the current Balmain brand might see it.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Elysées 64 83 by Balmain c1946

Elysées 64-83 by Balmain: launched in 1946. Created by Germaine Cellier.





In Pierre Balmain's autobiography, My Years and Seasons, he says, "My friend, Germaine Cellier, had just invented a perfume for me which evoked best the kind of elegance of which I wanted to be the harbinger. I named it ‘Elysée 64/83', my first telephone number.”


It was available as:
  • 1 oz Parfum
  • 2 oz Parfum
  • 7.5 oz Eau D'Elysee eau de toilette

Fragrance Composition:


So what did it smell like? It was a woody floral fougere perfume with dominant jasmine notes on an animalic and powdery amber base.
  • Top notes: aldehydes, bergamot, chamomile and galbanum
  • Middle notes: wild flowers, jasmine, geranium, rose and lavender
  • Base notes: patchouli, vetiver, labdanum, wormwood, ambergris, orris, oakmoss, civet, vanilla, musk, leather

L'Atlantique, 1952:
"Balmain, whose breezy 'Vent Vert' for sportswear or sheer clothes and 'Elysees 64-83' for furs and formals are among the top sellers, has been working on presentation of the toilet waters and so has recently brought out new large green glass bottles in suede bags which are green for 'Vent Vert', red for the telephone number 'Elysees 64-83' and yellow for the men's toilet water 'Verveine-Citronelle.'"


The New Yorker, 1960:
"Balmain's lovely Jolie Madame, which is haunted by roses, has a new baby sister (at Saks Fifth Avenue) called Elysées 64-83 (if Balmain answers, don't hang up— hang on!) Its initial sharp jasmine jab becomes soft, subtle, and lingering as the stuff dries."


Bottles:




2 oz Parfum. Photo from worthpoint.

Sample vial of the perfume, photo from delcampe

1 oz parfum, photo from worthpoint

Mini bottle of 1/4 oz Eau D'Elysee, photo by Anne Marie Gast

Eau D'Elysee, bottle stands 6" tall. photo from worthpoint

Eau D'Elysee 7.5 oz eau de toilette splash, photo by ebay seller jajezus



Fate of the Fragrance:


Discontinued, date unknown. Still being sold in 1960.


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