A tender affirmation of love, this quaint, melodious perfume was created for women in the First World War to give to their wartime sweethearts as a symbol of fidelity and the reciprocal yearning for the same: roses ( candied, almost chocolate); lilacs, and violets over the classic chypric, darker, mousse de saxe Caron base; a sweet, ardent love letter, heartfelt and true, yet with darker, perhaps foreboding, elements beneath its upbeat, sanguine exterior.
N’Aimez Que Moi (‘love no-one but me…..’) feels very old fashioned now, almost musty and cloying, especially in extrait, but its romantic heart, its trembling directness, make it somehow heartfelt, unprofane; and the thought of some poor soldier clutching a bottle of this scent, or a shared keepsake drenched in its lilac-rosed earnestness, as he swallowed the horrors of the trenches and the stench of death all around, is moving: a ray of hope; the charm of his girl somewhere; life, lying hopefully beyond.
This last picture is a detail from the first Valentine’s Day card Duncan gave me, almost twenty years ago xx
A Happy Valentine’s Day to you all.
N x
Just beautiful and so painful and beautiful still. Scents can help people survive hardship even only for a moment, a moment that a perfume like this one transforms to eternity. And the almost 20y-o VD card… Is it original? Duncan did the collage? In any case, the red arrow and the boneless rose are so eloquent and my heart is touched. A happy and fragrant Valentine’s Day to you two.
And to you too!
The crochet at the top is from the time, I believe. I do think the story behind this perfume is very touching as well.
How utterly romantic that you saved Duncan’s card! Happy Valentine’s day to both of you and I hope Duncan has bought you some wonderful new perfume!
I have always loved the name of this perfume but have never sampled it…I picture it being worn by the eldest daughter in Downton Abbey…lilacs,violets and roses..lovely!
It really really could have been worn by her you know… a perfect evocation!
We have finished what hubby calls my “midsomer madness” and moved on to Downton Abbey…I always get such a thrill watching her apply perfume as she gets ready to head downstairs…there is something so erotic and almost out of character for one who, at times, defies protocol… and I am always nudging hubby and saying “see…even back then perfume was an important accessory”..he just rolls his eyes!!!
Happy Valentine’s Day to you, Neil! Hope that you and Duncan had a wonderful one
The card snippet looks like a ‘rose ear’ – bet it’s listening to lots of ‘sweet somethings’! : )
Nice idea!