Established in 1910 by Henriette Gabilla, a Syrian perfumer and cosmetician. Gabilla was a major exporter of luxury to lower priced presentations worldwide. It is reported by Nigel Groom that Gabilla started creating fragrances in the 1890s and her first perfume under her own name was Mon Cherie. Henriette moved to 6 rue Edouard VII in Paris and purchased a perfume factory in 1910 located 203 rue de Paris, Ivry-Sur-Seine. I have also read that she was the perfumer to the Court of Russia.
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Gabilla also created perfumes and presentations for other companies such as Ciro. Gabilla created the first perfume presentations for Ciro and La Grande Maison de Blanc introduced their own perfumes using Gabilla creations in 1926. La Grand Maison le Blanc bought Gabilla’s Moda fragrance and renamed it La Grand Maison le Blanc.
The perfume Mae West was created for the voluptuous film star in 1934 and launched by her own label Wesmay. The perfume‘s slogan was “loaded with allure“. Gabilla created a perfume in 1920 named Tous Les Bouquets, and in 1923, sold it to Woolworth’s Department stores. In 1926, the perfume of Tout le Printemps was created, and later sold to Bourjois in 1932, who may have renamed it Springtime in Paris.
Gabilla also purchased perfumes from other companies, such is the case with Lubin’s perfume for Gaby, which Gabilla launched in 1920. The printing company of Marboef et Cie supplied Gabilla’s labels, papers and presentation boxes, most notably for the perfume Hossegor.
The best example of Gabilla’s influence over other designers would be for the perfume, My Sin. My Sin, first introduced by Gabilla in 1927 was created by in house perfumer Madame Zed. The flacon, of black crystal and gilded accents was designed by Julien Viard and produced by Depinoix. This beautiful perfume flacon and name had inspired Jeanne Lanvin to create her own version of My Sin, complete with a similar looking bottle by Armand Rateau. Interestingly, the Gabilla flacon was also produced in clear crystal, again accented in gilding and used for other scents such as Minnie in 1920.
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The whimsical and simplified floral motifs drawn by Georges Lepape and Charles Martin and Georges Barbier, were soon a favorite style of Henriette Gabilla’s and informal versions of these designs were found on her early labels and bottles. Perfumes such as Violette and Pour Changer were contained in simple, but graceful bottles.
Henriette Gabilla had made friends with notable French writers and poets, such as Colette and Edmond Rostand. One of Gabilla’s first perfumes, Musardises was named after Rostand’s first book of poetry. The 1912 flacon for Musardises was elegantly enameled and may have been created by Georges Lepape. Another perfume was introduced in 1912, Minnie, named for one of Colette’s plays co-written with her husband from 1905. In 1918, Minnie was reintroduced in a flacon created by Baccarat chief designer Georges Chevalier, and produced by their glass works in a rare, silvered opalescent crystal. It has been said that Colette’s favorite perfume was Jasmin by Gabilla.
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Another Baccarat flacon was created for the perfume Moda, which resembled the outline of a fashion sketch with a hat like stopper, decorated with an over sized gilded silk tassel and childlike enameled floral designs. The clear crystal flacon for Mimosa, from 1921, employed a large domed green enameled crystal stopper as the focal point for a rather bland Baccarat flacon. Gabilla won the Prix d’Honneur in 1925.
Gabilla’s perfume, La Vierge Folle (The Mad Virgin) was directly inspired by the title name of a play by Henri Bataille about a young girl who fell in love with an older man. The perfume was first created by Henriette Gabilla in 1910 and the flacon was later produced by Baccarat in 1910.
An early Gabilla flacon was made for the perfume La Reve de Gabilla, the Dream of Gabilla. This gorgeous satin finished bottle was accented with sepia patina in the recessed. The exquisite presentation case was covered with red velvet and jeweled and gilded silk threads reproducing a fabulous Renaissance era tapestry found in the Cluny Museum in Paris.
![]()
Starting in 1919, a series of commemorative perfumes were created for the first World War, this included: Fausse Alertes, Fleurs de Victoire, Heures Breves, Minuites Breves, Minuites Cheres, Minuites Revées,Nuits d'Alertes, La Fruité des Heures , Oublions L'Heure and Tic Tac.
Julien Viard lent his imagination to an existing Baccarat flacon used for other Gabilla scents, this time, in 1924, he softened the angular lines and added delicate stenciled perfume names onto the front of the bottles. Each perfume had a brass cap that was enameled on the top. These enameled tops matched the particular colors of the presentations boxes for certain perfumes. These color coded perfumes were red for Fleur du Jour, green for Musardises and cream for Moda.
Although Gabilla is most noted for their sumptuous flacons, it is possible to find some Gabilla scents contained within Baccarat’s early apothecary styled flacons, this practice by Gabilla started in 1923 as a type of “reverse snobbery” and a return to more simplistic presentations.
![]()
The whimsical and simplified floral motifs drawn by Georges Lepape and Charles Martin and Georges Barbier, were soon a favorite style of Hernriette Gabilla’s and informal versions of these designs were found on her early labels and bottles. Perfumes such as Violette and Pour Changer were contained in simple, but graceful bottles.
The flacon for Chin-Li was completely different, a modern type of presentation by Depinoix for Gabilla, combined vivid colors of green, blue, red, orange and yellow in its presentation.
A very unusual presentation created for Gabilla was for the perfume for Mon Talisman. Consisting of an opaque white crystal flacon enhanced with gilding, this Baccarat produced bottle came in two sizes, from a very large 10 5/6” to a diminutive 3 1/2” tall example
Other Baccarat flacons were produced for the following perfumes: Réveillon (Revillon), Folies de Femme, Tango, Tout le Printemps, Xantho, Mon Cheri, Gardenia and Mimosa.
I have seen a 1926 advertisement for Xantho perfume, it made clear that the perfume bottle could be purchased with different colored crystal stoppers, in sapphire, emerald, black onyx, ruby and amethyst.
Rene Lalique supplied beautiful crystal flacons for Gabilla’s Jasmin, Tout le Fleurs, Glycine and Lilas. The box for Jasmin also a luxury object, echoed the bottle’s floral pattern, complete with a hanging floral paper medallion attached by a silken tassel.
The designer Daillet lent his imagination for the creation of the flacon for Violette in 1912, in both green and clear crystal, each bottle was accented with enameling and is very Art Nouveau in character.
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Gabilla's perfumes were distributed in the USA by Janet Rose.
The perfumes of Gabilla :
These other perfume names are recorded for Gabilla, but I am unsure of their launch dates: Chauve-Souris Paquette, Reve a Deux.
The House of Gabilla was resurrected in 2007 but I have not heard any news regarding the launch of any perfumes or products since.
Gabilla also created perfumes and presentations for other companies such as Ciro. Gabilla created the first perfume presentations for Ciro and La Grande Maison de Blanc introduced their own perfumes using Gabilla creations in 1926. La Grand Maison le Blanc bought Gabilla’s Moda fragrance and renamed it La Grand Maison le Blanc.
The perfume Mae West was created for the voluptuous film star in 1934 and launched by her own label Wesmay. The perfume‘s slogan was “loaded with allure“. Gabilla created a perfume in 1920 named Tous Les Bouquets, and in 1923, sold it to Woolworth’s Department stores. In 1926, the perfume of Tout le Printemps was created, and later sold to Bourjois in 1932, who may have renamed it Springtime in Paris.
Gabilla also purchased perfumes from other companies, such is the case with Lubin’s perfume for Gaby, which Gabilla launched in 1920. The printing company of Marboef et Cie supplied Gabilla’s labels, papers and presentation boxes, most notably for the perfume Hossegor.
The best example of Gabilla’s influence over other designers would be for the perfume, My Sin. My Sin, first introduced by Gabilla in 1927 was created by in house perfumer Madame Zed. The flacon, of black crystal and gilded accents was designed by Julien Viard and produced by Depinoix. This beautiful perfume flacon and name had inspired Jeanne Lanvin to create her own version of My Sin, complete with a similar looking bottle by Armand Rateau. Interestingly, the Gabilla flacon was also produced in clear crystal, again accented in gilding and used for other scents such as Minnie in 1920.
The whimsical and simplified floral motifs drawn by Georges Lepape and Charles Martin and Georges Barbier, were soon a favorite style of Henriette Gabilla’s and informal versions of these designs were found on her early labels and bottles. Perfumes such as Violette and Pour Changer were contained in simple, but graceful bottles.
Henriette Gabilla had made friends with notable French writers and poets, such as Colette and Edmond Rostand. One of Gabilla’s first perfumes, Musardises was named after Rostand’s first book of poetry. The 1912 flacon for Musardises was elegantly enameled and may have been created by Georges Lepape. Another perfume was introduced in 1912, Minnie, named for one of Colette’s plays co-written with her husband from 1905. In 1918, Minnie was reintroduced in a flacon created by Baccarat chief designer Georges Chevalier, and produced by their glass works in a rare, silvered opalescent crystal. It has been said that Colette’s favorite perfume was Jasmin by Gabilla.
Another Baccarat flacon was created for the perfume Moda, which resembled the outline of a fashion sketch with a hat like stopper, decorated with an over sized gilded silk tassel and childlike enameled floral designs. The clear crystal flacon for Mimosa, from 1921, employed a large domed green enameled crystal stopper as the focal point for a rather bland Baccarat flacon. Gabilla won the Prix d’Honneur in 1925.
Gabilla’s perfume, La Vierge Folle (The Mad Virgin) was directly inspired by the title name of a play by Henri Bataille about a young girl who fell in love with an older man. The perfume was first created by Henriette Gabilla in 1910 and the flacon was later produced by Baccarat in 1910.
An early Gabilla flacon was made for the perfume La Reve de Gabilla, the Dream of Gabilla. This gorgeous satin finished bottle was accented with sepia patina in the recessed. The exquisite presentation case was covered with red velvet and jeweled and gilded silk threads reproducing a fabulous Renaissance era tapestry found in the Cluny Museum in Paris.
Starting in 1919, a series of commemorative perfumes were created for the first World War, this included: Fausse Alertes, Fleurs de Victoire, Heures Breves, Minuites Breves, Minuites Cheres, Minuites Revées,Nuits d'Alertes, La Fruité des Heures , Oublions L'Heure and Tic Tac.
Julien Viard lent his imagination to an existing Baccarat flacon used for other Gabilla scents, this time, in 1924, he softened the angular lines and added delicate stenciled perfume names onto the front of the bottles. Each perfume had a brass cap that was enameled on the top. These enameled tops matched the particular colors of the presentations boxes for certain perfumes. These color coded perfumes were red for Fleur du Jour, green for Musardises and cream for Moda.
Although Gabilla is most noted for their sumptuous flacons, it is possible to find some Gabilla scents contained within Baccarat’s early apothecary styled flacons, this practice by Gabilla started in 1923 as a type of “reverse snobbery” and a return to more simplistic presentations.
The whimsical and simplified floral motifs drawn by Georges Lepape and Charles Martin and Georges Barbier, were soon a favorite style of Hernriette Gabilla’s and informal versions of these designs were found on her early labels and bottles. Perfumes such as Violette and Pour Changer were contained in simple, but graceful bottles.
The flacon for Chin-Li was completely different, a modern type of presentation by Depinoix for Gabilla, combined vivid colors of green, blue, red, orange and yellow in its presentation.
A very unusual presentation created for Gabilla was for the perfume for Mon Talisman. Consisting of an opaque white crystal flacon enhanced with gilding, this Baccarat produced bottle came in two sizes, from a very large 10 5/6” to a diminutive 3 1/2” tall example
Other Baccarat flacons were produced for the following perfumes: Réveillon (Revillon), Folies de Femme, Tango, Tout le Printemps, Xantho, Mon Cheri, Gardenia and Mimosa.
I have seen a 1926 advertisement for Xantho perfume, it made clear that the perfume bottle could be purchased with different colored crystal stoppers, in sapphire, emerald, black onyx, ruby and amethyst.
Rene Lalique supplied beautiful crystal flacons for Gabilla’s Jasmin, Tout le Fleurs, Glycine and Lilas. The box for Jasmin also a luxury object, echoed the bottle’s floral pattern, complete with a hanging floral paper medallion attached by a silken tassel.
The designer Daillet lent his imagination for the creation of the flacon for Violette in 1912, in both green and clear crystal, each bottle was accented with enameling and is very Art Nouveau in character.
Gabilla's perfumes were distributed in the USA by Janet Rose.
The perfumes of Gabilla :
- 1902 La Vierge Folle (trademarked in 1910)
- 1910 Mon Cherie (trademarked in 1910)
- 1910 Fleur de Jour
- 1910 Folle Passion, reissued in 1956 (trademarked in 1910)
- 1910 La Vierge Folle, reissued in 1931
- 1910 Mon Cheri, reissued in 1931
- 1911 Xantho
- 1912 Minne, reissued in 1931
- 1912 Violette
- 1912 La Rose de Gabilla
- 1912 Le Bouquet de Gabilla
- 1912 Le Rêve de Gabilla
- 1912 Musardises,reissued in 1927
- 1913 L’Ambre de Gabilla
- 1914 Le Secret de Marguerite
- 1917 Pour Changer
- 1918 Moda, reissued in 1931
- 1918 Réveillon/Révillon
- 1919 Fausse Alertes
- 1919 Folie de Femme
- 1919 Heures Breves
- 1919 La Fruité des Heures
- 1919 Les Jeux et Les Ris (trademarked in 1910)
- 1919 Minuites Breves
- 1919 Minuites Cheres
- 1919 Minuites Revées
- 1919 Nuits d'Alertes
- 1919 Oublions L'Heure
- 1919 Tic Tac
- 1919 Vincha
- 1920 Gaby
- 1920 Amour Americain
- 1920 Tous Les Bouquets
- 1921 Longchamp
- 1922 Le Reve
- 1922 Ambre de Gabilla
- 1922 Le Succes
- 1922 Eau de Verveine
- 1922 Chrysantheme
- 1922 Fleuri
- 1922 Columbine
- 1922 Fougere
- 1922 La Bouquet
- 1922 Foin Coupe
- 1922 Ambre Merveilleux
- 1922 Marguerites
- 1922 Cordiality
- 1922 Petite Folie
- 1922 Musc du Tonkin
- 1922 L'Ambre
- 1922 Opoponax
- 1922 Pa-Ri-Ki-Ri
- 1922 Peau d'Espagne
- 1922 La Violette de Gabilla
- 1922 Tout le France
- 1922 Tout le Printemps
- 1923 L’Intrigant
- 1924 Chypre
- 1924 Gaby Deslys
- 1924 Hauthro
- 1924 Chin-Li
- 1924 Fleur de Jour
- 1925 De Tout Un Peu
- 1925 Jasmin
- 1925 La Violette
- 1925 Lilas
- 1925 Folies de Femme
- 1926 Bruyere
- 1926 Toutes Les Fleurs
- 1925 Millefleur
- 1925 Sais-Tu?
- 1925 Tango
- 1926 Bruyere
- 1926 Pois de Senteur
- 1926 Narcisse
- 1926 Mon Talisman
- 1926 Tout le Printemps (trademarked in 1910)
- 1926 Glycine
- 1926 Jasmin
- 1926 Gardenia
- 1926 Muguet
- 1926 Mimosa
- 1926 Xantho
- 1926 Rose
- 1926 Mimosa
- 1926 Heliotrope
- 1927 My Sin
- 1928 Bijou D'Amour
- 1929 Hossegor
- 1929 Seneca
- 1930 La Glycine
- 1930 La Jasmin de Gabilla
- 1930 Luce et Colas
- 1930 Œillet
- 1931 Longchamps
- 1932 XYZ
- 1933 Oui ou Non?
- 1933 Sinful Soul
- 1933 Vineuil
- 1935 Mae West
- 1936 Reve A Deux
- 1937 Tango
- 1938 Quadrille
- 1938 Intrigue
- 1940 Dream For Two
- 1940 Foolish Virgin
- 1953 Fredaines
These other perfume names are recorded for Gabilla, but I am unsure of their launch dates: Chauve-Souris Paquette, Reve a Deux.
The House of Gabilla was resurrected in 2007 but I have not heard any news regarding the launch of any perfumes or products since.
