Zezan by Tuvache c1939

Zezan by Tuvache: launched in 1939.

It is interesting to note that in 1946, Zezan was selling for $12 a dram, quite pricey for the time! What cost $12 in 1946 would cost $163.43 in 2018 according to an inflation calculator.

Also in 1946, Tuvache's perfumes were sold in dram form (1/8 ounce), adjusted inflation calculated prices for 2018 are shown in parenthesis.

• Sumatra sold for $7.00 a dram ($95.33), 
• Moroccan Rose for $3.50 ($47.67)
• Gardenia for $2.00 ($27.24)
• Violet for $2.00 ($27.24)
• Tuvara for $2.00 ($27.24) 
• Arabia for $2.00 ($27.24)

 Dunkirk Evening Observer, 15 Jun 1945:

"Bernadine de Tuvache, or Mrs. Howard Angus to her friends, sat in the scented suite today and discussed the simplicity of getting OPA approval for a $75 an ounce (plus tax) ceiling price for perfume. 

"It was no trouble at all," she said. "I simply submitted the cost sheets on the rare oils I used - and got their okay on the price." 

The perfume was named 'Zezan', Madame de Tuvache likes the sound of Z's. The OPA had nothing to do with this. It was put on the market last week, and doing very nicely, she said. 

According to Madame de Tuvache the perfume was compounded from oils imported from all over the world in a secret formula which took years of background and a year and a half of experimentation to work out. It was then aged for another year and presented to the public in one ounce bottles. The bottles are shrouded in gold-burnished sculpted African heads "for a romantic touch." 

It was not, however, the most expensive perfume in the world. An earlier Tuvache model, "Jasmin of Egypt", topped it. Brought out in 1941, "Jasmin sells for $100 an ounce (plus tax)." 

Madame de Tuvache, who formerly wrote plays, said that she became interested early in life in the history of perfume, and began collecting rare perfumes and rare perfume bottles. It became her business when friends asked that she compound perfumes for them, she said. "To me, perfume has existed largely because perfume makes women desirable to men," she said. "Perfume has an emotional quality - as powerful as music. It also held religious significance." 

"It is an art with me. I am happy that people appreciate my art enough to want my perfume."

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It was described as having " a light spice tinge."

• Top notes: bergamot, neroli
• Middle notes: carnation, cinnamon, rose, jasmine
• Base notes: ambergris, oakmoss, sandalwood, vetiver, patchouli, tonka bean, musk

Star Tribune, 1947:

"Perfume, she says, is actually worth what it costs, in cold blooded terms of what goes into it. One of her scents, "Zezan", was invented during the war, and OPA officials, noting the costs of the ingredients set the price at $75 an ounce The extraordinary concentration of her perfumes, as well as the distinctive fragrances, make up their high cost, Miss de Tuvache says."

Bottles:

Zezan comes in a one ounce bottle only, set in a wood stand. It is covered with a gold ceramic replica of the head of a primitive princess, packed in a wooden crates, tied and sealed with wax.

The word "zezan" in Albanian means "black", whether M. de Tuvache knew this or not, I think it is interesting since the design of the sculpture she chose was an African motif.

The New Yorker, 1945:

"Tuvache. Quel parfum, et quel prix! The newest is the exotic Zezan, which is hidden away in a gold-painted porcelain idol, and costs $90 an ounce. Bath oils and toilet waters that are a fair distance out of this world — Moroccan Rose, Algiers (exotic carnation), and a Jungle Gardenia."

  

Fate of the Fragrance:

Discontinued, date unknown. Still being sold in 1958.

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