Audace by Rochas: launched in 1936. Pronounced "oh-doss'. The perfume was created by Marcel Rochas. The couturier was fond of saying that, "One should notice the scent of a woman before even seeing her."
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So what does it smell like? It is classified as a woodsy, leafy, chypre fragrance for women.
Rochas started carrying perfumes around 1936, and sold exclusively at the fashions shows of Marcel Rochas. The original bottles were directly inspired by Rochas' shop located at 12 Avenue Matignon, a pretty blue and white salon where he did a thriving business. These perfumes were Air Jeune, Audace, and Avenue Matignon and were housed in both square and rectangular white opaline glass bottles. These chic bottles were fitted with a matching opaline glass stopper with the initials MR molded into the glass. A blue paper label was wrapped around the middle of the bottle. This flacon was available in seven different sizes, one with atomizer. However, at the start of the second World War, these perfumes were withdrawn from sale and are very rare to find today.
Drug and Cosmetic Industry - Volume 39 - Page 461, 1936:
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The original 1936 version was discontinued due to the second World War.
The name was reused for a reformulated version and the perfume was released in 1971, in USA by 1972. It was the first new perfume to be introduced by Rochas in 11 years and a heavy advertising campaign was enacted. To commemorate the occasion, the facade of the headquarters Rochas in 33 rue François Ier, was given a temporary facelift by the sculptor Pierre Sabatier (1935-2003). Created on the occasion of the launch of the perfume "Audace" in 1972, this off-white polyvinyl structure evokes fragrances and was inspired by Charles Baudelaire's poem "Harmonie du soir".
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For the reformulation's launch, Rochas commissioned designer Harry Algo to design a dress to match the personality of the perfume. Dubbed "The Audace Dress", reminiscent of Spain, richly feminine in chocolate brown velvet, the backless dress plunges to a deep-ruffled decolletage in front. Algo, a Parisian designer, studied as a boy with Marcel Rochas. By the 1970s, Algo had his own exclusive couture house.
At the gourmet luncheon given for the perfume's introduction at the Cote Basque in New York, guests were treated to a delightful experience. Each item on the menu contained a floral essence including chrysanthemums, rose petals and orchids.
The news traveled on the wind and Alexandre, the celebrated Parisian coiffeur, predicted Audace would be in the rare top echelon of scents. It was said that the hairdresser was known to have a sensitive "nose" much like a perfumer's and could instantly place a fragrance. Parfums Rochas asked him to create a hairstyle in honor of the Audace perfume. He created seven different designs but one was ultimately chosen, his favorite, number seven, that could be created either with false pieces or with shoulder length hair.
The newer version of Audace was discontinued by 1978. Rochas called it a "cool spiced floral, with a touch of green added, warmed and heightened by deep notes of sandalwood and amber musk, designed to adapt to individual skin chemistry."
Fragrance Composition:
So what does it smell like? It is classified as a woodsy, leafy, chypre fragrance for women.
- Top notes: iris, jasmine, bergamot, violet
- Middle notes: carnation and may rose
- Base notes: galbanum, sandalwood, oakmoss, vetiver, patchouli, musk, amber, juniper and pine
Bottles:
Rochas started carrying perfumes around 1936, and sold exclusively at the fashions shows of Marcel Rochas. The original bottles were directly inspired by Rochas' shop located at 12 Avenue Matignon, a pretty blue and white salon where he did a thriving business. These perfumes were Air Jeune, Audace, and Avenue Matignon and were housed in both square and rectangular white opaline glass bottles. These chic bottles were fitted with a matching opaline glass stopper with the initials MR molded into the glass. A blue paper label was wrapped around the middle of the bottle. This flacon was available in seven different sizes, one with atomizer. However, at the start of the second World War, these perfumes were withdrawn from sale and are very rare to find today.
Drug and Cosmetic Industry - Volume 39 - Page 461, 1936:
"MARCEL ROCHAS The perfumes and toiletries of Marcel Rochas have come to America and are distributed by Pierre Amouroux, Inc. The bottles and packages are extremely smart in white with a wide blue band, and white and red lettering."
Fate of the Fragrance:
The original 1936 version was discontinued due to the second World War.
The name was reused for a reformulated version and the perfume was released in 1971, in USA by 1972. It was the first new perfume to be introduced by Rochas in 11 years and a heavy advertising campaign was enacted. To commemorate the occasion, the facade of the headquarters Rochas in 33 rue François Ier, was given a temporary facelift by the sculptor Pierre Sabatier (1935-2003). Created on the occasion of the launch of the perfume "Audace" in 1972, this off-white polyvinyl structure evokes fragrances and was inspired by Charles Baudelaire's poem "Harmonie du soir".
For the reformulation's launch, Rochas commissioned designer Harry Algo to design a dress to match the personality of the perfume. Dubbed "The Audace Dress", reminiscent of Spain, richly feminine in chocolate brown velvet, the backless dress plunges to a deep-ruffled decolletage in front. Algo, a Parisian designer, studied as a boy with Marcel Rochas. By the 1970s, Algo had his own exclusive couture house.
At the gourmet luncheon given for the perfume's introduction at the Cote Basque in New York, guests were treated to a delightful experience. Each item on the menu contained a floral essence including chrysanthemums, rose petals and orchids.
The news traveled on the wind and Alexandre, the celebrated Parisian coiffeur, predicted Audace would be in the rare top echelon of scents. It was said that the hairdresser was known to have a sensitive "nose" much like a perfumer's and could instantly place a fragrance. Parfums Rochas asked him to create a hairstyle in honor of the Audace perfume. He created seven different designs but one was ultimately chosen, his favorite, number seven, that could be created either with false pieces or with shoulder length hair.
The newer version of Audace was discontinued by 1978. Rochas called it a "cool spiced floral, with a touch of green added, warmed and heightened by deep notes of sandalwood and amber musk, designed to adapt to individual skin chemistry."
- Top notes: aldehydes, Florentine iris, white jasmine, bergamot, violet
- Middle notes: jonquil, spices, wild thyme, honeysuckle, tuberose, carnation and Bulgarian rose
- Base notes: myrrh, galbanum, sandalwood, oakmoss, vetiver, patchouli, musk, amber, juniper and pine
This new version was available in the following:
- 1/5 oz Parfum Purse Spray
- 1/4 oz Parfum
- 1/2 oz Parfum
- 1/2 oz Parfum Spray
- 1 oz Parfum
- 2 oz Parfum
- 3 oz Parfum
- 0.75 oz Parfum de Toilette Spray
- 2 oz Parfum de Toilette Spray
- 4 oz Parfum de Toilette Spray
- 2 oz Parfum de Toilette Splash
- 4 oz Parfum de Toilette Splash
- 7.5 oz Parfum de Toilette Splash
The bottle was made up of a smoothly shaped rectangle with softly rounded shoulders in golden amber tones. Double tiered base of polished opaque brown plexiglass holds it. Top has a panel face of brushed, satin-finished rose aluminum. Two spheres, , golden inner one circled by a dome of clear, coppery plexiglass, top it.