Private Collection by Estee Lauder c1973

 

Private Collection by Estee Lauder: launched in 1978. Created by Vincent Marcello.

"All you need is one beautiful drop to know why Estee Lauder was keeping Private Collection fragrance for herself."

Originally, Private Collection, was a custom made perfume reserved for Estée Lauder for her own exclusive use. When she was asked what scent she was wearing, she would reply with "this is from my private collection."

Private Collection fragrance was available in the following:

• Parfum
• Perfume Spray
• Parfum Cologne
• Dusting Powder
• Silken Body Lotion
• Perfumed Body Cream
• Pure Fragrance Spray
• Perfumed Soap

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? The original formula is classified as green floral chypre fragrance for women. 

It starts with a brilliant green top highlighted with dewy Luxonne odorata violets, fresh bergamot and honeyed cassie from Lebanon. This is followed by a dramatic green floral heart marrying the essences of jasmine grandiflorum and rose de mai from Grasse, damask roses from the Valley of Roses in Bulgaria, orange blossom and the sweetness from honeysuckle and tropical ylang ylang from Nossi-Be. These opulent floral notes are resting on a green, mossy base blended with balsamic benzoin from Thailand, crisp vetiver from Haiti, coriander, warm labdanum from Cyprus, earthy patchouli and precious sandalwood from Ceylon.

. Made up of over 200 ingredients including some of the rarest and most expensive absolutes, reportedly not one of them was synthetic. Opulent, dramatic, floral with brilliant green topnote.

• Top notes: Luxonne violet, green accord, bergamot, hyacinth, lime, neroli, mimosa, Lebanon cassie
• Middle notes: Bulgarian damask rose, Grasse rose de mai, Grasse jasmine, narcissus, pine needle, reseda, orange blossom, Nossi-Be ylang ylang, honeysuckle
• Base notes: Thailand benzoin, oakmoss, Haiti vetiver, cedar, musk, amber, Ceylon sandalwood, heliotrope, Cyprus labdanum, patchouli, coriander

Bottle:

The Parfum was wrapped in Estee Lauder's own parchment writing paper, tied with a ribbon in her favorite shade of blue and tucked in a drawstring leather bag, its frosted crystal decanter is said to be a copy of her own antique flask. Contrary to what I have seen people list in the descriptions in their online shops, the bottle was made in France, but it was not made by Lalique. 

Parfum was available in the following sizes in the frosted bottle:

• 1 oz. (30 ml) with glass stopper
• 0.5 oz (15 ml) with glass stopper
• 0.25 oz. (7.5 ml) with glass stopper
• 0.09 oz (3ml miniature) with plastic stopper

An 11" tall frosted glass factice bottle can also be found. This was filled with colored water, not perfume.

A limited edition Collector's Bottle was released, it is made of clear and frosted glass with a frosted glass stopper in the shape of flames. Again, this is a French made bottle, but not by Lalique.

The flame stopper inspired another Limited Edition, this time a precious purse bottle was released. It is frosted glass and a recalls the flame shape with a gold tone screw cap ending in a silky tassel. This bottle measures approximately 3" long x 1.25" wide. It holds 7ml of parfum. The bottle was housed in a beige leather pouch.

Spray bottles were also produced such as the frosted bottles below holding 3/8 oz of Parfum.

 

In the 1980s, Estee Lauder released lovely Holiday gift sets with glass or ceramic boxes accompanied by a bottle of Parfum. These were dubbed "Keepsake Boxes".

Estee Lauder Private Collection Keepsake Box and original .25 oz Parfum. The 'Keepsake Box' measures 4" high, 2.75" wide and 2" thick. The frosted glass is decorated with intricate and delicate gold stenciled designs. The top opens on a back hinge and is secured by a floral clasp on the front. The top and bottom of the box (jar) are trimmed with beaded gold-tone oval frames. The bottom is marked: "Created in Japan especially for Estee Lauder Private Collection Keepsake Boxes".  The original bottle of Private Collection Perfume is in a tan leather pouch with a grosgrain ribbon tie .The bottom of the bottle is marked: "Private Collection Estee Lauder Dist New York, New York 1002.25 FL OZ Bottle Made in France"

Fate of the Fragrance:

Private Collection has suffered from various reformulations over the years and its current formula, unfortunately does not smell as good as it originally did when it was able to be produced using many of the ingredients that are restricted today such as oakmoss.