The house of Volnay is one of the traditional French perfume houses. It was founded in 1919 in Paris and has launched 40, among them very famous and beautiful fragrances. Volnay was one of the perfume houses that shaped and moved the century.
Specially designed bottles by René Lalique were created for the Volnay fragrances - one of the most beautiful examples of this is Miméomai. They were crafted in the typical Art Deco style, with soft, rounded shapes, elaborate floral decorations, and high, cut glass stoppers. Masterpieces of glassblowing art. Unfortunately, very few of these old bottles have survived and are available today, and if they are, then only at astronomical prices - which is understandable due to their rarity. Thus, any collector who can call one of these wonderful bottles their own should consider themselves lucky.
I discovered Volnay through a blind purchase of Perlinette - until then, I was unfamiliar with the house. However, this fragrance impressed me so much that I started looking for more fragrances from Volnay.
Fortunately, Volnay is one of the few French perfume houses that still exists today and successfully produces fragrances, adhering to the old traditions of the house. Today, they focus on (so far) five fragrances, all based on the old scents of the house and adapted to our current needs. Yapana and Brume d'Hiver were created in 1922, followed by Objet Céleste, Etoile d'Or, and Perlerette in 1925.
The inspiration for the appearance of the new fragrance line was Miméomai, in its beautiful Lalique bottle adorned with floral vines. This bottle served as a model for the new perfume bottles, which thus combine tradition and modernity. I had samples of these five current fragrances sent to me and tested them with pleasure.
I chose Objet Céleste - the Celestial Object - as my first fragrance, as I always feel a bit unfamiliar with Chypre scents.
Objet Céleste is a gentle, floral Chypre; it opens fresh and citrusy, but not juicy citrusy, rather like the essential oil of citrus fruits, very aromatic and slightly bitter. This impression doesn’t last long, but it is a typical and quite pleasant introduction.
After that, the fragrance becomes very powdery and almondy. On this almond powder, various flowers are scattered, especially rose and jasmine. Objet Céleste is sweet, but not unpleasant or overly sweet, just enough to make the fragrance very feminine and graceful.
This lasts quite a while, but is simultaneously very close to the skin. It takes a good 8 hours to reach the base, and I think patchouli and powder play the main role here. Soft, very fine sweetish powder.
Objet Céleste is a fragrance that should appeal to both younger and older generations. An "old" scent adapted to today, managing this balancing act - which only a few old creations can achieve. However, it will not make it into my collection, as it is personally a bit too powdery for me.
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Addendum: Ergoproxy is correct - the grandchildren of the founder Germaine Madeline Duval, Muriel and Olivier Madeline, have revived the house of Volnay. They work with the old formulas that the perfumer Amélie Bourgeois has adapted to today's tastes. All five perfumes from Volnay are based on base 4092, a blend of powdery notes, rose, vanilla, and clove.
Top Notes 
Italian bergamot
Grapefruit
Clary sage
Heart Notes 
Jasmine
Peony
Base Notes 
Almond
Powder
Precious woods
Rose
Musk
Indonesian patchouli
Siam benzoin
Vanilla
Clove
Yelimon
Emorandeira
Violett
Licorice
Pollita
Pluto
Yatagan
Azura
Zerotonin
Jumi
