Estee Lauder Private Collection : Perfume Review
Today’s guest post is brought to you by Anne-Marie. She is a museum curator and historian living in Canberra, Australia. Her mother wore Yardley’s April Violets for over fifty years, and this is what sparked Anne-Marie’s interest in perfume. You can also find Anne-Marie’s reviews at Beauty on the Outside.
“Oh, it’s from my private collection.”
Thus would Estée Lauder reply when people asked her about the intriguing perfume was wearing. It could not be bought. At first she shared it only with Princess Grace of Monaco and the Duchess of Windsor (Wallis Simpson). In 1973 Mrs Lauder was finally persuaded to put the fragrance on the market and she kept the name, Private Collection.
Whether or not this is true, Private Collection is a brilliant example of fragrance marketing. Its story makes me think of Givenchy’s L’Interdit, a bespoke fragrance created for Audrey Hepburn and launched commercially in 1957. We are told that Estée Lauder tried to keep Private Collection “to herself”, just like Hepburn, who upon heard the proposal to release her fragrance cried, “But that is my perfume, I forbid it! (Mais c’est mon parfum, je vous l’interdis!)”
Neva in Spring Perfume Round-Up: Scents in Bloom for Every Budget: I like that you have divided your suggestions in price categories. Thank you! My favourite spring fragrances are Clinique Wrappings (green, herbal), Sublime Balkiss by The Different Company (green, fruity),… April 22, 2025 at 5:41pm