Lightyears Collection
Glamour
1933
Chanel

Click on image to enlarge Chanel Glamour perfume

Glamour appears to be one of Chanel's forgotten perfumes of which there have been, over the years, quite a number. The bottle shown here comes from Cuba, a popular tourist destination for the rich before the Castro revolution.

In 1933 when Glamour was launched, Ernest Beaux was Chanel's chief perfumer and technical director. We don't know whether Glamour was an Ernest Beaux creation or the work of a perfumer or assistant employed by Beaux.

We do know that in 1953, Parfums Chanel's principal owner was complaining of the cost of promoting a perfume and explained to Time magazine that one fragrance supplied the bulk of the profits for an entire perfume company. In the case of Chanel, that one perfume was and always has been No.5.

Interestingly, in the same year that Pierre Wertheimer made this comment, Chanel's sister company, Bourjois, launched their version of Glamour. And who was chief perfumer and technical director for Bourjois? Chanel perfumer, Ernest Beaux!

Click on image to enlarge Chanel Glamour perfume bottle showing Cuban tax stamp.