History of Bourjois

The Beginning:

In 1860, M. Ponsin, an actor, established a shop at 28 place Vendome, Paris, which sold perfumes, toiletries and cosmetics.

In 1869, the shop was purchased by Alexandre Napoleon Bourjois and the company was renamed Bourjois. 

Around 1880, Emile Orosdi became a co-proprietor and in 1898, the business was acquired by Ernest Wertheimer, who had already established a reputation of producing perfumes,  theatrical makeup, and a best selling rice face powder called Java. Bourjois invented the first dry rouge in 1890, and marketed the first powder compact

In the 1910s, Bourjois had set up an office in New York City..  Manon Lescaut was one of the earliest Bourjois fragrances, introduced in 1907.

In 1917, Pierre and Paul Wertheimer took over direction of Bourjois, with a new focus on modern, contemporary style.They wanted to move away from the traditional floral fragrances. Their fragrance Mon Parfum was launched in 1919, with the idea that "my perfume reflects my personality."

The Wertheimer Brothers made a fortune thru theatre and vaudeville by peddling their products and met Coco Chanel while she was dancing as a showgirl. The Wertheimers cut a deal with her and would also the be the owner of Chanel perfumes.

The Pharmaceutical Era, 1924:

"Bourjois & Co. The American woman of 1850 found no difficulty choosing a French face powder or perfume. In those days the offerings of Paris were few in number, but of enviable fame. Perfumes and powders were imported to the United States 'by request' Americans traveling in France, having once used them, found them indispensable. And among the importations of that day was Java, the face powder of the Paris house of Bourjois. Bourjois & Co. records class them as the oldest producers of face powders in the world. Java powder is still one of the leading staples of the firm and on its merits largely have been built the reputation of the house Bourjois & Co. was founded by A Bourjois. The present heads of the company are Paul and Pierre Wertheimer. The factory is in Pantin, a Paris suburb. In addition to the powder and rouge lines for which the house is most widely known, they put out several popular perfumes. Ashes of Roses is one of the best known of the house's products. This includes a complete line down to sachet powders and lip sticks. Among the spring novelties are the leatherette pocket cases for powders. Manon Lescaut talcum powder in a new metal container, and three new shades of rouge - currant, rose, velvet of peaches and coral rose. BM Douglas is manager of the American branch." 

In the 1920s, the labels were produced by R. Cortiglioni of Paris.

In 1940, the Nazi Luftwaffe started to drop their bombs near London, where the target was the Croydon airfield and adjacent factories producing wartime components. British Hurricane fighter jets pursued the enemy bombers. Two German Messerschmitt fighter planes crashed into the heavily populated suburbs. Paul Douglas, vice president of Bourjois, Inc. at the time, revealed that one of the firm's British perfume factories had been destroyed. 

The British Bourjois factory was partially converted to war production, in this case manufacturing shaving soap which was supplied to the British Army. The factory did not actually make the soap on the premises, they purchased a pre-made soap base, added the requisite perfuming agents, pressed the soap base into cakes, packaged and sold the product under the Bourjois name. The factory also produced the one of the world's most beloved perfumes, Evening in Paris, as well as other popular scents such as Ashes of Roses, Kobako and Mais Oui.

Unfortunately, during the attack, general public air raid sirens did not alert employees working the night shift at Bourjois and surrounding factories, and as a result, a total of sixty people were killed, while another 180 were injured. Those air raid alerts finally rang out, 17 minutes after the first bombs had dropped. Besides the plane crashes, six incendiary bombs gutted the soap and perfume factory, whether the Nazis knew Bourjois was producing for the war or not, the building was wrecked and needed to be rebuilt. It was reported that the pungent floral scents from the demolished factory hung around Croydon for days.

Rumors flew for decades that the remains of one of the airplanes were still encapsulated behind the factory walls. Bourjois, owned by Chanel, confirmed the rumor, but never allowed reporters or photographers access to view the crushed aircraft, which they claimed was an early postal aircraft. The perfume company said that removal of the plane would risk structural damage to the factory. The factory was completely rebuilt in 1948.

The photo below shows the rebuilt Bourjois factory (in the center) in 1949, colorized by me.

During its existence until 1974, when the US plant was closed, Bourjois introduced 124 different fragrances, including four used only in bath oil and soap products, one used in a children's product line, and seven introduced by a subsidiary company, Woodworth of Rochester.

The most successful line was Soir de Paris (Evening In Paris) which debuted in 1928. You might find a perfume bottle by Gilot, named Soir de Paris, this is not a typo, this perfume-cosmetics line was trademarked in 1925, prior to Bourjois. 

Some of Bourjois' luxury boxes were manufactured by the company F. Bouvet & F. Gaud as well as Jean Martin.

Jean Helleu, a French painter, also worked as a perfume and cosmetics advertising artist, and was the artistic designed for Bourjois and Coty.

The bottles for Talis were produced by Cristalleries de Saint-Louis. The bottles for Mon Parfum were made by Baccarat. The glass factory of Verreries Brosse supplied many bottles for Bourjois perfumes after WWI.

The perfume bottle for Kobako was made by Verreries Brosse. Its gorgeous red bakelite presentation case was made by Eduard Fornells.

Bourjois Today:

Taking its cue from its beginnings in the fashionable entertainment industry, Bourjois continues to be on the forefront of fashion and style - with a Parisian twist. As one of the oldest French cosmetics companies in operation, Bourjois is truly a French expert in beauty, dedicated to always being a step ahead with innovative products and the latest colors.

The brand is all about color, quality and joie de vivre - and this is true for every product in the Bourjois collection.

Color

Color, the supreme ambassador of the brand, is at the heart of everything they do. Ranging from neutral shades to the most vivid hues of the rainbow, Bourjois has colors to fit every mood, occasion and personality.

They are so passionate about color that even their packaging is color-coded to match its contents!

Their team of color experts in Paris is constantly updating their color offerings according to seasons and fashion trends, reinforcing Bourjois' reputation in the cosmetic world as the color specialist.

Quality

Bourjois takes their heritage very seriously. From the moment their founder, Alexandre Bourjois created the first powder blush, it has been their mission to lead the market with newness - new concepts, new textures, and ingenious new packaging. For example, Bourjois developed the first 2-step mascara for a dramatic false lash effect with Coup de Theatre, and Suivez mon Regards was the first loose powder eyeshadow in a cute pot with its own built-in brush.

In addition to pushing the envelope with innovation, Bourjois products are of the highest quality.

They are created and manufactured in France, in laboratories and factories that maintain the strictest standards of quality control, ensuring excellence in every item carrying the Bourjois logo.