February is the perfect month to share some of the history behind our love-themed Esprit d’Amour perfume.

Thanks to popular songs and burlesque shows, such as The Ziegfeld Follies, the French word for love, “amour,” gained widespread use in the English language. In All the Perfumes of America, Arthur Minton noted that “amour” was almost English. His work recognized Blocki’s Esprit d’Amour as one of many American perfumes using the word “amour” to entice customers.

Blocki’s Esprit d’Amour was certainly trading on the popularity of the word “amour”, but there is more to the story. There was a strong perception that European products were superior to American made products, especially when it came to perfumes. Sprinkling in French influence signaled that Blocki understood this provenance and was formulating to the highest standards.

The choice of a name that translates to “spirit of love” was also a signal that Blocki truly cared about its customers and the quality of its products; and it reflected the close-knit community of beauty pioneers that would grow their own businesses alongside Esprit d’Amour. John Blocki was the chemist behind one of earliest hygienic toiletries companies and was ready to launch his own improved line.

Hygienic beauty of the early 1900s was a lot like “clean beauty” today. The public had grown weary of swindlers selling false medical cures and the Pure Food and Drug Movement had begun. In addition, makeup was becoming more acceptable and widely used which created a need for healthy skin care.

The original Esprit d’Amour fragrance launched in 1916 and was a floral symphony of unusual harmonizing scents. The powder version contained twenty-seven unique floral ingredients and was meant to be layered under the customer’s favorite floral fragrance to enhance the scent. During the 1920s, Esprit d’Amour blossomed from a fragrance into a cosmetic line with nearly 100 different products.

The extensive “Esprit d’Amour Way” of skincare was taught in cosmetology schools and in detailed booklets given to customers. A typical nighttime routine might include loosening powered make-up by applying Esprit d’Amour Rejeuvanaia Cleansing Cream, washing it off with either dry or oily soap, treating pores with Esprit d’Amour Astringent Lotion, and moisturizing with Esprit d’Amour Derma Night Cream skin food and tissue builder.

We uncovered the Esprit d’Amour history thanks to the many articles and advertisements written by the women who loved and sold these products. While mail order and door-to-door sales were gaining popularity, Blocki chose an approach akin to Elizabeth Arden’s famous Red Door salon and partnered with independently owned salons and beauty stores around the country. This network of salons was overseen by Blocki’s dedicated business manager for many years, Miss Van Arsdale.

In addition to being an astute manager, Miss Van Arsdale was very protective of the women in her employ. When two men stalked her assistant and went so far as to enter the building in which they worked, she drew her hatpin and chased them out of the building before calling the police. She then personally appeared in court to prosecute the men. The headline in the Chicago newspaper read “Hatpins Used by Women on Men Who Annoyed Them.”

Blocki licensed trademarks for Esprit d’Amour and Flower-in-the-Bottle to be used in the salon or perfume shop name. The success of the shops was reflected in a headline in an Atlanta newspaper in 1924 that proclaimed, “Women Workers Aiding in Success of Perfume Shop.” The article noted that the shop was a success due to the merit of the Esprit d’Amour toiletries and the camaraderie of its representatives.

The original Esprit d’Amour fragrance remained popular for three decades and is a testament to the impact of these early beauty pioneers. We recreated Esprit d’Amour as a love letter to the pioneering women who made the original Esprit d’Amour famous. Today’s Esprit d’Amour perfume is a romantic skin scent of muted florals, warm tonka, and ethereal musk; created with the same spirit of love as the original.