Rosemary for Ageless Beauty? The History of L'Eau de la Reine d'Hongrie (Hungary Water)

In the popular tale of  “The Sleeping Beauty” by writer Charles Perrault, L’Eau de la Reine d’Hongrie (Hungary Water or Water of the Queen of Hungary) is clearly featured as a means to try to wake the sleeping princess, alas to no avail. A patch of rosemary for remembrance, fresh citrus and lush jasmine make the heart grow fonder. The recipe for L'Eau de la Reine d'Hongrie is a fascinating story to unravel.

The Queen Consort of Hungary, Elisabeth, also regent queen of Poland, used the cologne Eau de la Reine d’ Hongrie all her life, both using it on her skin and drinking it.
It was said that she owed her beauty and good health to it, to the point that she allegedly attracted a suitor when she was already 72 years old.

Her secret? A recipe, according to some sources, built in the 14th century, specifically in 1370, and as per other sources composed by Arnaud de Villeneuve in the 13th century. It is arguably the world's first eau de toilette. A recipe heavily relying on the invigorating powers of rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis), a humble plant with a scent between mint and lavender, whose essential oil is used to this day to fight against cutaneous ageing.  The miraculous reputation must have stuck for much longer than her lifetime, because fragrance companies continue to prepare fine fragrance inspired by the Renaissance recipe. Even the famous alchemist Alberto Magno (Albert the Great) advised taking a shot of this "eau" alongside some other liqueur or potion and rubbing down the body to rejuvenate.

As historians, however, we need to put things in perspective and dispel some of the tantalizingly promising tale of a miraculous elixir of youth. Elisabeth's regent status was not a bequest from a husband. It was thanks to her son, Louis de Hongrie, who became king of Poland. So whatever propositions make the stuff of legend are only that. And if we are to believe the claims by Marie Meurdrac, it might even refer to a different Queen altogether. Not Elisabeth but Dona Isabelle who reigned in 1652!

Read the rest of the article on this link on Fragrantica.

Cologne, Americans and Maghreb

Cologne was invented in 1709 by Johann Maria Farina, who wrote to his brother: "I have found a fragrance that reminds me of an Italian spring morning, of mountain daffodils and orange blossoms after the rain."

via

'Actually, colognes are very traditional perfumes in a very low concentration. Let’s put it that way. They were invented about 200 years ago in Cologne, Germany, as a reaction to the very heady, animalic scents that people used to wear. Before that, perfumes were loaded with natural musks and castoreum, so when colognes were invented it was like a breakthrough. It was the first time that people were wearing light, refreshing fragrances that were not supposed to last for days, but were just there to be enjoyed in the moment. And, of course, back then colognes were all natural and they were basically composed using an overdose of citrus oil like lemon or bergamot. They were combined with some clary sage to give an interesting twist, and also with lavender to give an herbaceous contra punto. Americans might not know what colognes really are, but I think there’s also a misconception of what a cologne is in Europe, too. It probably is because the generation of perfume lovers today were so influenced by marketing. And we all have male friends who call their fragrances “cologne” even though they’re not cologne concentration—they’re eau de toilette or eau de parfum.' ~Andy Tauer


Part of a longer interview of indie perfumer Andy Tauer to Tara Swords of Olfactif subscription service on Cologne du Maghreb being relaunched for summer 2014.

What I wrote about Le Cologne du Maghreb when it first came out back in December 2010:
'It is a classical cologne, with a woody baseline chord, "a firework of natural citrus notes, exploding into expensive sparkles, on a background with ambreine and cedarwood from the Moroccan High Atlas".
Like all colognes it is not made to last but it is a fragrant joy, living in the moment, leaving you with the finest veil of woods on your skin.
Ingredients: Citrus essential oils and absolutes (such as lemon, bergamot, clementine, mandarine, grapefruit, orange blossom absolute, neroli oil), rose absolute and oil, cedarwood, ambrein, cistrose and much more.'

Related reading on PerfumeShrine: 
Eau de Cologne: the Basis of a Legend, 
Limon Kolonyasi: Turkish delights,
Gender Bender Fragrances