Bal a versailles de jean desprez biography

As I was about to open the shrink-wrap of my bottle of Bal a Versailles (1962), I looked at the box art and laughed.

I wasn’t laughing at the packaging, but rather at myself, that I couldn’t believe I would hop from one perfume shop to another hunting for something that I would consider kitschy and granny-looking. (No offence to people who appreciate the packaging.) Have perfumes altered my integrity or I finally can see beyond the surface of things?

I was always aware of the existence of Bal a Versailles because of the gold-brick box and the painting used in the packaging design.

Bal a versailles de jean desprez biography

I thought, “wow, a Holy Mary perfume, must be the first celebrity designer scent ever”. But, on closer examination, it’s a group of very well-dressed women in the Renaissance period visiting the Versailles. (Just a guess.) Not-so-surprisingly, the scent is a perfect match.

In fact, this perfume smells like it belongs to the Guerlain vintage/classic libr