Vintage - Coty Meteor Parfum
Year Introduced: 1949, Introduced in the US in 1951 - Feminine
Notes: A top note of aldehydes; middle notes of jasmine, tuberose and rose; and base notes of Tibetan civet and musk
An excerpt from The Non Blonde:
Meteor de Coty is another forgotten perfume from the 1950s. It was composed by Vincent Roubert who's famous for creating Knize Ten, Coty's L'Aimant and Iris Gris for Jacques Fath. Yes, that Vincent Roubert. Various sources state its launch date as 1949 but also mention that Coty didn't bring Meteor to the US until 1951. Crossing the ocean didn't help Meteor all that much: by the late 1950s it was already gone from the shelves. Some say it was available until 1964, but the latest advertisement I could find was from 1957, so I suspect Meteor didn't live to see the 60s. I guess there were enough classic floral perfumes around at the time, so Meteor didn't feel special enough to have a strong customer base.
Meteor might have been a boring little thing back then, but for the modern perfume lover who's frustrated with the lack of quality and creativity in too many department store fragrances, this lost Coty is a little treasure. Meteor is described in various places as a floral perfume, and it is-- an abstract white floral that leans towards jasmine. There's a green streak somewhere in its core, perhaps a jasmine-tuberose party. But the fun is in the animalic dry-down that lasts for hours and celebrates civet. My bottle is the splash eau de toilette, not the spectacular parfum with the glass stopper. Still, the quality of the juice and its longevity even when dabbing carefully are breathtaking. My next step is to decant some of it into a sprayer. I have a feeling spritzing this one with reckless abandon is going to be lots of fun.
Ads from 1951 read:
Out of the heavens to you. Meteor, the new fragrance by Coty. Imported from France. Meteor - a spectacular new scent.
Coty's Meteor, sparkling and new, was inspired by the flashing beauty of a shooting star. After you've worn it for a while, notice how this spectacular blend changes to a subtle floral tone.
Exciting news - especially for holiday giving - is a brand-new perfume from Coty. Meteor, its name: its scent, a spectacular and subtle blend of florals.
Meteor has been discontinued.
We are decanting from an unopened, boxed bottle of the parfum version of this fragrance.
