Mille Fleurs by Elizabeth Arden c1939

Mille Fleurs by Elizabeth Arden: launched in 1939. The Mille Fleurs fragrance was available in various products: parfum, eau de toilette, eau de cologne, dusting powder, lipstick, cream rouge, and nail polish.

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It is classified as a sweet floral fragrance for women. I have no published notes on this composition. I would need a sample to tell you what it smells like. Advertisements claimed it was made with "a rare pre-war French essence."

• Top notes:
• Middle notes: flowers
• Base notes:

Elizabeth Arden's Mille Fleurs was most likely based on a 19th century formula. The Mille Fleurs perfume was very popular during the Georgian period throughout the Victorian era. Most formulas included the following ingredients in varying amounts:

• Top notes: citronella, orange, lemon, verbena, geranium, bergamot, almond, neroli, cassie, palmarosa
• Middle notes: sassafras,orris, rosemary, thyme, pimento, orange blossom, lavender, rose, tuberose, jasmine, violet, cloves, reseda
• Base notes: Peru balsam, musk, vetiver, patchouli, civet, cedar, vanilla, ambergris, musk, storax

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1942:

"There's much more to this new "Mille Fleurs" perfume and makeup of Elizabeth Arden than we can crowd into an Easter column - it's a brand new repertoire inspired by those old Empire paperweights, and inspired is the word, all right! For the moment, you must hear that the fragrance recalls those fields of Southern France, with the thousands of flowers waiting to be picked and bottled into perfume - and that the thousand-flowers motif works out beautifully in bottles and blossoming boxes (bottles are stoppered with miniature mille-fleurs paperweights) be it perfume, toilet water, or dusting powder."

Opinion: A Journal of Jewish Life and Letters - Volumes 10-13 - Page 102, 1941:

"Newest Elizabeth Arden fragrance in Eau de Toilette and Dusting Powder in a satin-covered box. Tray removes and box can be used for hankies. 10.00. Purse-size flacon of Mille Fleurs Perfume in a circle of satin. 5.00"

Drug & Cosmetic Catalog, 1941:

"Mille Fleurs, Elizabeth Arden's fragrance of many flowers was made available in the lighter version of perfume, Flower Mist, in the popular pinch bottle, to retail at $3 for eight ounces."

 

Woman's Home Companion, 1942:

"Elizabeth Arden is soon presenting a new perfume, Mille Fleurs, that is the breath of spring."

Brown & Gold, 1942:

"Elizabeth Arden. Mille Fleurs Perfume, a new scent as fragile as crystal...and as alluring. Made with a rare French essence.... $5.00,. $9.00. $14.50, $23.50."

The New Yorker, 1946:

"Elizabeth Arden: To start with, there's that new On Dit we were talking about. Her famous bath crystals are ... Beautiful bath sets ; from $4.80 to $42 in the Blue Grass fragrance, and from $7.80 to $39.60 in Mille Fleurs."

Harper's Bazaar - Page 296, 1946:

"Elizabeth Arden makes Christmas a thing of beauty . . . fills flacons with fragrance, brims boxes with beauty, wraps hearts in happiness. It's natural, though, as mistletoe ... Mille Fleurs Set with Perfume, Toilet Water, Dusting Powder, $33.00"

The New Yorker, 1946:

" Mille Fleurs Set with Perfume, Toilet Water, Dusting Powder, $33.00."

Home Journal, 1947:

"Elizabeth Arden's Mille Fleurs scent is transposed into sleek white satin sachets studded with multicolored sequins: one sachet pillow, with Mille Fleurs toilet water in a Christmas box. $12.50"

Bottles:

The Mille Fleurs Parfum was available in two round bottles that were based on an antique French millefleurs art glass paperweight: a gold plated glass flacon and a non-gold plated glass flacon. I dub these the paperweight flacons. Both bottles had an orange Bakelite cap covering an inner glass stopper.

 The gold plated flacon was available in four sizes: 

• 5/16 oz
• 0.5 oz bottle stands 2.5" tall
• 1 oz 
• 2 oz bottle stands 3.5" tall x 2.25" in diameter

Cue, 1943:

"Elizabeth Arden - 5th Ave. at 54th St., Mille Fleurs Perfume young, gay - unforgettable. Newest addition to the Mille Fleurs sequence is this charming, round box with an interpretation of the paperweight embedded in the cover. Crystal bottle. $5."

The American Perfumer & Essential Oil Review, 1945:

"ELIZABETH ARDEN: Newest addition to the Elizabeth Arden family is Mille Fleurs Flower Mist. Presented in the famous eight ounce pinch bottle, the delightful fragrance of a thousand flowers is light, sweet and long lasting ."

Concert Bulletin of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, 1945:

"MILLE FLEURS - Crystal flower fantasy of a rare Empire paperweight interpreted by Elizabeth Arden in a captivating springtime fragrance. MILLE FLEURS SEQUENCE: Perfume, $5.00, $9.00, $14.50, $23.50 in crystal clear bottles: $10.50 $15.50, $24.50 in gold-plated bottles. Eau de Toilette, $7.50; Dusting Powder, $2.00."

. 

The clear glass paperweight flacon came in two sizes that I know of:

• 0.5 oz bottle stands 2.5" tall
• 2 oz bottle stands 3.5" tall x 2.25" in diameter.

Other bottles were also used for the Mille Fleurs Parfum and Eau de Toilette.

The other bottle used for the Parfum was the cube bottle used for other Arden scents. The clear glass bottle has black enamel lettering and a ground glass cube shaped stopper. Bottle stands 2.25" tall and holds 5/16 oz.

 

Another bottle used was similar to the cube bottle, as you can see, its corners are more rounded. It stands 2.5" tall and has a ground glass stopper. On the front, "Elizabeth Arden New York - Mille Fleurs - net 5/16 oz." is enameled in black.

Fate of the Fragrance:

Discontinued in 1948 but remaining stock was still being sold in 1951.

Note: Please understand that this website is not affiliated with the Elizabeth Arden company in any way, it is only a reference page for collectors and those who have enjoyed the Elizabeth Arden fragrances.  

The goal of this website is to show the present owners of the Elizabeth Arden company how much we miss the discontinued classics such as Mille Fleurs and hopefully, if they see that there is enough interest and demand, they will bring back the perfume! 

Please leave a comment below (for example: of why you liked the perfume, describe the scent, time period or age you wore it, who gave it to you or what occasion, any specific memories), who knows, perhaps someone from the company might see it.