Collecting Bourjois Perfume Bottles – Evening in Paris & More

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Bourjois is best known today as a cosmetics name, but for collectors of vintage perfume bottles the French company has a much richer history. Its fragrances appeared in elegant Art Deco bottles, miniatures, presentation boxes and wonderfully imaginative novelty holders, creating a collecting field that extends well beyond the perfume itself.

The origins of Bourjois date to Paris in 1863, when Alexandre-Napoléon Bourjois acquired a cosmetics business specialising in theatrical make-up. The company expanded rapidly beyond the theatre, developing cosmetics for a much wider market and becoming particularly successful with its face powders.

By the early 20th century its catalogue had become extensive, and perfume was an increasingly important part of the business. Bourjois fragrances included Manon Lescaut, Mon Parfum, Kobako, Mais Oui, Ramage and Glamour. However, one fragrance would eclipse them all.

Soir de Paris – Evening in Paris

Soir de Paris was created in 1928 by Ernest Beaux, one of the great names of 20th-century perfumery. Beaux had previously created Chanel No. 5 and Cuir de Russie for Chanel.

For the American market, Soir de Paris became Evening in Paris, a name that made full use of the international image of Paris as a city of elegance, romance and nightlife. It proved enormously successful.

A collection of 1940s An Evening in Paris by Bourjois Bakelite novelties. Including including boxed “Hotel Door”, and unboxed “Hotel Door”, owl, longcase clock, slipper, lucky horseshoe, egg, and scallop shells in both blue and white. Sold for £200 at Anderson and Garland, May 2023.

Just as important to collectors was its packaging. The famous midnight or cobalt-blue Art Deco bottle was designed by Jean Helleu and manufactured by the French glassworks Verreries Brosse. The Museum of Fine Arts Houston has a circa 1930 example in its collection and records Helleu’s bottle design as dating from 1928.

The deep blue glass evoked a Parisian night sky, while versions of the silver-coloured label incorporated a star and crescent moon. The result was a relatively inexpensive commercial perfume presented with a remarkably strong visual identity.

A Surprising Number of Blue Bottles

For collectors, Evening in Paris is much more complicated than finding a single cobalt-blue bottle.

Assorted Bourjois Perfume Bottles including — Assorted Bourjois Perfume Bottle including Springtime in Paris miniature; an Evening in Paris miniature blue flacon in its original star box; a small cobalt-blue Evening in Paris flacon in its original box; an Evening in Paris Dusting Powder/Eau de Toilette boxed kit; and two cobalt-blue Eau de Cologne flacons, 1 fl oz and ½ fl oz, in their original box. Sold for $70 at Helmuth Stone Gallery’s Lifetime Perfume Bottle Collection – Benefit Auction, held 28 November 2023 in Sarasota, Florida.

The standard blue bottle appeared in numerous variations. There were different sizes and shapes, while triangular and rectangular labels are known. Bottles can also be encountered with frosted-glass, metal, Bakelite and later plastic closures.

The fragrance itself was offered as perfume, eau de toilette and eau de cologne, while the Evening in Paris range expanded to include face powder, talc, lipstick, soap, bath products, compacts and other toiletries.

Consequently, two apparently similar blue bottles can represent different periods, products or markets. This variety makes Evening in Paris an interesting collecting subject in its own right.

Evening in Paris Gift Sets and Novelty Bottles

Packaging provides another collecting field altogether. From the 1930s into the 1960s, Bourjois produced an extraordinary range of gift presentations, particularly for occasions such as Christmas, Easter and Mother’s Day. Boxes containing several bottles and cosmetics became increasingly elaborate, with the largest sets designed to make an impressive gift.

Some presentations were created specifically for particular markets. One appealing design presented a small bottle of Evening in Paris beneath a miniature Eiffel Tower. Even more intriguing for British collectors was a presentation incorporating London’s Marble Arch, which was marketed specifically for the English market.

There were also novelty perfume holders made from Bakelite and later plastics. Known forms include shoes, horseshoes, shells, clocks and other objects, often concealing a miniature bottle of Evening in Paris.

World Collectors Net has previously featured a selection of these unusual Bourjois Bakelite Evening in Paris novelty perfume bottle holders, which demonstrate just how imaginative the company’s presentation of the fragrance could become.

Other Bourjois Perfumes to Collect

Although Evening in Paris dominates collector interest, Bourjois produced many other fragrances. Mon Parfum, Kobako, Mais Oui, Ramage and Glamour are among the better-known examples, and their different bottles and packaging considerably broaden the possibilities for anyone building a Bourjois collection.

Assorted Vintage Bourjois Kobako Glass Perfume Bottles (Bourjois “Kobako” – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Sold for $500 at Helmuth Stone Gallery’s Lifetime Perfume Bottle Collection – Benefit Auction, held 28 November 2023 in Sarasota, Florida.

The enormous commercial success of Evening in Paris, however, means that surviving material ranges from relatively commonplace individual bottles to considerably scarcer novelty presentations and complete boxed sets.

What Should Collectors Look For?

Condition and completeness are important. Look for chips around bottle rims and stoppers, deterioration of labels, loss of decoration and damage to boxes. With novelty presentations and gift sets, missing bottles or cosmetic components can make a considerable difference to their desirability.

Bourjois point-of-sale advertising display a chalkware plaster Art Deco lady wearing a necklace — Bourjois point-of-sale advertising display: a chalkware/plaster Art Deco lady wearing a necklace, earring and feathered headpiece. It stands about 30cm high, is flat-backed and has a hanging hook. Sold for £44 at Wessex Auction Rooms, February 2024.

Original packaging is especially useful because it can provide clues to both age and intended market.

Collectors should also be wary of dating every blue bottle to the 1920s or 1930s. Evening in Paris remained enormously popular for decades. The original fragrance was discontinued in the late 1960s before being reformulated and revived in the early 1990s.

That long production history is actually part of its attraction. Collectors can trace changing bottle shapes, labels, closures, gift packaging and manufacturing materials across several decades.

Bourjois Mais Oui perfume bottle. Estimate £10-£20 / $15/$30. This example sold for £12.89 on ebay, August 2026.

Nearly a century after Ernest Beaux created Soir de Paris, the little cobalt-blue bottles remain immediately recognisable. They are affordable enough to provide an entry point into perfume bottle collecting, while scarcer bottles, novelty presentations and complete gift sets provide plenty for the specialist collector to pursue.