Bocages by Lancome c1935

Bocages by Lancôme: launched in 1935. The name means "Groves" in French.

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? It is classified as a light, airy, fresh floral fragrance for women.

• Top notes: honeysuckle, aldehydes, green note, mimosa, geranium, linden, hawthorn, acacia
• Middle notes: pepper, jasmine, gardenia, French lilac, Dutch honeysuckle, Mountain lily of the valley
• Base notes: English violet leaves, sandalwood, oakmoss

Armand Petitjean, creator of the perfume explains:

" Bocages is a fragrant array of spring. It exudes the smell of a tender bud, the sap rising, shrubs just beginning to bring the light and color of the mist ... The freshness and relaxed style of Bocages is perfect for younger women and will seduce Swedes, Norwegians, Belgians, Germans, and the women of northern France."

 Paris-Alger, 1935:

"Lancome...These five new scents are: Kypre, velvety and flowery, deeper than ordinary chypre; Tendres Nuits, whose sweetness of exotic fruits surprises with a lavender opening; Bocages, scent of blonde, young and laughing, whose honeysuckle seems to emerge from a double base of jasmine and mimosa; Conquête, an aroma of intimate luxury, of the same inspiration as Chanel's 5, although the smell is different; Tropiques, which is exhaled in surprises, like a warm symphony in which the brilliance of the brass surprises."

Times Colonist, 1946:

"The sap of young shoots and dewy buds, faint traces of lily of the valley, gusts of lilac and the air heavy with the sharp and slightly heady scent of the tiny honeysuckle with its creamy brown flecked blossoms. Charming, youthful, with a tough of the languor which accompanies the first days of spring."

Combat, 1954:

"Eau parfumee a Bocages de Lancome: it's a spring breeze that brings this scent, after having razed the woods, by picking honeysuckle, the gardens by stripping the geraniums, after having made the linden trees in bloom and to be torn by the fragrant claws of hawthorn and acacia. A little pepper also lurked in the blue silence, split by a swift. And the Parisienne on vacation, lying flat on her stomach in the thick grass and the bocage shadow, shuddered for no reason."

Combat, 1955:

"Honeysuckle, freshened by the green smell of lilac, the fine aroma of honeysuckle, which points its ivory teeth in the forests, is similar to the scent of Chinese gardenia. We find the dominant in extracts that are suitable for the summer, such as Chanel's Gardenia and Lancome's Bocages.."

 

Bottles:

Bottle & box designed by Georges Delhomme.

The Fate of the Fragrance:

Discontinued, date unknown.  During WWII, importations of Lancome fragrances such as Tropiques, Tendres Nuit, Fleches, Cuir, Conquete, Bocages, Peut Etre, and Kypre were halted and did not return to US soil until 1946.  

A 1946 newspaper ad stated that "The first envoy of the French perfume industry arrived in America a short time ago. Mme. Elsi Cramer, a representative for Lancome, had much to say about American women and the subject of perfume. Madame claims that the American woman chooses many scents but never really tries to discover anything about perfume bases, the floral mixtures, or how the perfume is packaged. She is primarily interested in which scent will last the longest. Mme. Cramer declares that no one should ask that of any perfume! Instead, she says, that by carrying a small vial of your favorite perfume and dabbing on a few drops once of twice during the course of the evening, you will find that your perfume will achieve its purpose of being fresh and 'just put on.' 

Tropiques, Fleches, Cuir, Kypre, Conquete, Qui Sait (pronounced key-say, Who Knows?) and Bocages are the newest perfumes in her line. The artistic packaging and the bottles themselves have been perfected after many long years of searching for the right thing.

American women once again may thrill to the wonderful French perfumes. And Mme. Cramer said that the formulas for these very same scents were closely guarded during the German occupation of France. So the return of French perfumes to the American market should mean a little more than just a comment of "oh, some more sweet smelling stuff has just arrived!" Taken into account should be the hard work, the scarcity of materials to work with and the hardships endured during the period when France was subjugated. Your perfume will mean much more to you when you think of those things."

Still being sold in 1956.