Le Fruit Defendu by Rosine: created by Henri Alméras and launched in 1913, probably in USA by 1916. The name means "The Forbidden Fruit" in French and referred to the "forbidden fruit" of Adam and Eve's demise. The perfume was a favorite of American actress Gloria Swanson.
Fragrance Composition:
So what does it smell like? It is classified as a sweet fruity floral woody fragrance for women with a spicy, amber and woodsy base. Made use of the chemical Persicol by Firmenich which gave it a distinctive peach scent. The fragrance is a forerunner of modern gourmand fragrances. It was also said to be the first to incorporate an aldehyde, a 0.3% dosage of C-12 Lauric. This gave the perfume a soapy, waxy, aldehydic floral nuance combined with the pungent citrus note of a fresh orange rind.
- Top notes: orange rind, aldehydes, apple, peach, banana, plum, coconut
- Middle notes: heliotrope, cinnamon, ylang ylang, tuberose, honey, gardenia
- Base notes: spices, almond, patchouli, vanilla, sandalwood, ambergris
Bottles:
The bottle measures 2 1/2" tall, and the box is just a touch over 3" tall.
Bottle measures approximately 2.75 inches tall with it's metal over-cap by 2 inches wide side to side.
It lay in a silk- upholstered silver paper covered box embossed with jungle foliage meant to represent the artist's version of what may have been inside the Garden of Eden, complete with a snake winding around the sides of the box and various eyes around the snake watching your every move (beware! if you take that forbidden fruit, someone is always watching you). The interior of the box was a jungle green shade.
Fate of the Fragrance:
Discontinued, date unknown.
It was still being sold in 1929 as seen in a volume of the Official Journal: Body of the Provisional Government of Mexico along with other Rosine perfumes:
Ambre de Venise, Aladin, Arlequinade, Avenue du Bois, Borgia, Chez Poiret, Chypre des Isles, Coeur en Folie, Connais Tu le Pays?, Hahna, Jasmin de la Riviera, Le Balcon, Le Bosquet d'Apollon, Le Coup d'Or, Le Fruit Defendu, La Rose de Rosine, Maharadjah, 1935, Nuit de Chine, Pierrot, Qui Es-Tu?, Sa Chambre, Sakya Mouni, Toute la Foret.."
It was still being sold in 1929 as seen in a volume of the Official Journal: Body of the Provisional Government of Mexico along with other Rosine perfumes:
Ambre de Venise, Aladin, Arlequinade, Avenue du Bois, Borgia, Chez Poiret, Chypre des Isles, Coeur en Folie, Connais Tu le Pays?, Hahna, Jasmin de la Riviera, Le Balcon, Le Bosquet d'Apollon, Le Coup d'Or, Le Fruit Defendu, La Rose de Rosine, Maharadjah, 1935, Nuit de Chine, Pierrot, Qui Es-Tu?, Sa Chambre, Sakya Mouni, Toute la Foret.."