Crown Perfumery was founded in 1872. Their story is not so unusual: after a long period of success, they fell on hard times. Eventually the company was rescued by Clive Christian, but shortly after launching his first perfumes under his own name, he discontinued the Crown line altogether. Some of us are still holding a grudge.
Eau de Russe was first launched in 1911 and includes notes of heliotrope, amber and musk. It starts with a burst of citrusy bergamot; the citrus lingers but is quickly clouded over by a heavy dusting of vanilla-tinged powder. The powder grows in intensity as the fragrance dries down, and the amber in the base provides a nice underlying warmth, but other than that, the development is minimal. It smells like a lightly spiced vanilla pudding dotted here and there with curls of citrus peel.
On paper (on screen?) it sounds like something I would hate, but in fact it is easily my favorite perfume from Crown. A trail of bergamot lasts well into the dry down, and tempers the sweeter vanillic notes perfectly: it is vaguely foody but not overly rich, and could be the sober, more old-fashioned ancestor of La Perla Eclix. Eau de Russe was marketed as a men’s fragrance, and it certainly starts out rather masculine, but the dry down, to my nose, is somewhere between feminine and unisex.
If I remember correctly, Eau de Russe was one of the earliest of the Crown fragrances to hit the chopping block under Clive Christian. I am fairly sure that it has not been in production since 1999, but I wouldn’t swear to it, and it seems to me that I read at some point that someone or another was bringing back the entire range? Please comment if you know. As of this writing, bottles are available at parfumsraffy in the US and at englishscent in Germany, where you can also read a more detailed history of Crown Perfumery.
Note: the image shows a vintage Crown Perfumery fragrance bottle unearthed at a Boer War campsite near Pretoria, and is via the very interesting site Antique Bottles.
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Sounds wonderful! I thought that I had a sample of it, but now I cannot find it. I regret not purchasing more of Crown Perfumery fragrances when the line was discounted by more than 80%.
Robin, how does Gaultier2 compare to Eau de Russe, if at all? Btw, I l
I meant to say I looove Eclix!
Question from a long-time lurker: I'm travelling to London and Paris on business over the next week, and am interested in paying visits to a few perfume shops. Perfumes such as the one above are incredibly interesting to me, and I'd love to know where to find them.
Might someone have suggestions of places to visit for the budding perfumista?
'hit the chopping block' – given that Clive Christian is fundamentally a kitchen designer who just happens to have a perfume range, that's a very appropriate image.
To S: in London you should visit Les Senteurs on Elizabeth Street, Ormonde Jayne in the Bond St Arcade and Harrods Haute Parfumerie as a minimum
And of course, I missed those deals entirely myself.
Nothing like Gaultier2 at all except that the notes are very similar. The Gaultier has a fruity bubblegum kind of thing going on, and beyond that, is in a very modern synthetic style. In a million years you wouldn't imagine that it could have been created in 1911. The Eau de Russe, while undoubtedly reformulated, does have a very old fashioned style.
Great recs below for London — if you cover those and have more time, Liberty is supposed to have a great selection, and you could also cover Parfums de Nicolai (although they are in Paris too).
For Paris, my choices would be Guerlain, Serge Lutens (Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido), Frederic Malle, Caron, and then possibly L'Artisan (unless you have access to a good selection near you at home) & Annick Goutal. I'm sure I am forgetting something fabulous but that is what springs to mind.
Have a wonderful trip!
You know, I had completely forgotten that. You wouldn't think a kitchen designer would end up with such incredibly expensive perfumes…
Canadians don't have a great selection of perfume houses/shops to choose from… whenever in New York I tend to go a little perfume-mad. Thank you all for the recommendations, Ormonde Jayne is at the top of my list.
S
I believe that the kitchens are somewhat overpriced too. They certainly look quite overdesigned.
Would love to see the OJ boutique some day! Enjoy & buy a bottle for me
S, I know how you feel. Perfume shopping here is quite limited, compared to New York and other places. How lovely to be going to London and Paris! Another interesting shop in Paris would be the Patou boutique, with the Monclins and all. Happy shopping!
You could visit OJ in the Royal Arcade, Penhaligon's in the Burlington Arcade, Fortnum and Mason for their divine perfume department, Floris, Czech and Speake, Trumpers and the other traditional men's perfumers on Jermyn Street, all within a 5-10 minute walk of each other. It's actually my favourite area of London.
Eau de Russe was my favourite from the line. I remember back when you could still get them cheaply on ebay, I bought my father 6 of the scents for Christmas – he loves the line and hoards them as I told them they are so hard to find now. The bergamot is quite strong in Russe on me, but dries down to a almost sugar cookie like scent, slightly powdery. My father finds it the most feminine of the men's Crowns, but he still loves it on the right occasion (he's a scent fanatic too).
I have Crown Eau de Russie,bought from Direct Cosmetics about 3 or 4 years ago. Infact I bought mine for £2.50 for 50mls.
I actually find the opening quite similar to Mitsouko before it settles down.
This seems to be available at Parfums Raffy for $65 for 1.7 oz. Considering getting it. . . . I wonder if it has been reformulated.
Evil Scent Twin or not, but Eau de Russe is my favorite Crown Perfumery scent and one of my favorite scents in general. I am certainly holding a grudge. Have you seen the horror movie Grudge? Well, that is the kind of terrible grudge I am holding. Grrrr.
How nice that your father is a perfume fanatic too! Wish I had tried more of the men's fragrances before they disappeared.
Wow, great price! There is something sort of Guerlain-ish about it.
I'm sure it has been reformulated since 1911, but I checked with parfumsraffy awhile back and their stock is from before CC discontinued it, so it should be the same thing I'm smelling.
LOL — haven't seen the movie but can imagine.