La Belle Saison by Houbigant c1924

La Belle Saison, launched by Houbigant in 1924, takes its name from the French phrase meaning “The Beautiful Season”—pronounced "la bell say-zohn". It is a poetic homage to spring and early summer, evoking that fleeting moment when nature is at her most lush and fragrant. The name alone conjures images of fresh green fields, gardens in riotous bloom, and golden light dappled through newly budded trees. There’s a softness and nostalgia in it—an embrace of the season’s ephemeral beauty.

The fragrance emerged during the Années folles—France’s “crazy years,” equivalent to America’s Roaring Twenties. Postwar Europe was undergoing a cultural renaissance, with a renewed appetite for beauty, elegance, and modern expression. Women were enjoying greater freedom—socially, politically, and sartorially. Hemlines rose, corsets loosened, and cosmetics and perfume became more widely accepted as a part of daily life. In perfumery, this was a golden age, as new synthetic materials allowed perfumers to break from the limitations of natural extractions alone. The 1920s saw a wave of innovation, with perfumes designed not merely to imitate nature but to express moods, seasons, and even abstract ideas.

La Belle Saison—described in contemporary advertising as “the exquisite crystallization of summer’s verdant charm”—was Houbigant’s olfactory interpretation of that liberated, optimistic spirit. Created by Robert Bienaimé, the perfume was classified as a spicy floral, aligning with the period’s fascination with complexity and drama. Rather than offering a single-note soliflore, it blended precious and exotic florals with warm spice, creating a fragrance that was both grounded and radiant—an idealized version of nature filtered through imagination.

To a woman in 1924, La Belle Saison would have represented more than just a pretty scent. It embodied sophistication and sensuality with a modern twist. The advertising spoke directly to the emotional connection women sought from their perfumes: an escape, a memory, a fantasy. It was “the perfume of the season of beauty,” something to wear not just on special occasions, but to heighten the everyday—whether strolling along the boulevard or sitting in a garden in the late afternoon sun.

Housed in a luxurious bottle designed by René Lalique—a frosted flacon with gently sunken sides, speckled with touches of amber—the perfume's presentation mirrored the scent itself: light-filled, golden, and elegant. It was sold in a jade and gold box, suggesting opulence, but also the freshness of the season it celebrated. In the landscape of 1920s perfumes, La Belle Saison distinguished itself with its lyrical concept, its visual artistry, and its blending of the natural and exotic. It was both of its time and timeless—a tribute to the transformative power of scent, and to the season that never truly fades.

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? La Belle Saison by Houbigant  is classified as a spicy floral fragrance for women. "La Belle Saison is the aristocrat of perfumes, a gorgeous dewy bouquet of rare summer flowers, an exquisite fragrance for evening perfumes."

• Top notes: aldehyde C-11, aldehyde C-12 MNA, Calabrian bergamot, Paraguayan petitgrain, Amalfi lemon, Sicilian neroli, Alpine lily of the valley, Turkish cyclamen, Malabar pepper, North African tagetes, Moroccan cassie
• Middle notes: Riviera mimosa, Italian linden blossom absolute, Tunisian orange blossom absolute, Grasse rose absolute, geranyl acetate, Grasse jasmine absolute, French carnations, methyl eugenol, Saigon cinnamon leaf, Jamaican pimento, Ceylon nutmeg, Bourbon ylang ylang oil, anisic aldehyde, heliotropin, Tuscan violet leaf absolute, methyl ionone gamma
• Base notes: Java vetiver, Seychelles patchouli, Balkans oakmoss, ambergris, Indian musk ambrette seed, Mysore sandalwood, Venezuelan tonka bean, coumarin, Tibetan musk, Maltese cistus labdanum oil, Mexican vanilla, vanillin, Siam benzoin

   

Scent Profile:

Smelling La Belle Saison by Houbigant is like stepping barefoot into a hidden summer garden just after sunrise, when the grass is still wet with dew and the air is drenched in light and green. From the very first impression, the top notes create a shimmering, luminous aura. Aldehyde C-11 and C-12 MNA sparkle like cold champagne—waxen, fizzy, and airy—evoking crisp white linen hanging in the sun. These aldehydes give lift and diffusion, exaggerating the brightness of the natural citrus oils that follow.

The Calabrian bergamot is soft, with a complex sweetness and a hint of herbal tang, distinct from other bergamots by its sun-soaked ripeness. Amalfi lemon, sharp and slightly bitter, slices through the mist with its vibrant zest, balanced by the green, slightly woody note of Paraguayan petitgrain, distilled from the leaves and twigs of the bitter orange tree. From Sicily, the neroli oil—gleaming and floral with a slightly metallic edge—adds an elegant bitterness and ethereal grace.

What immediately softens this tart overture is the dewy, green floral heart that begins to unfold. Alpine lily of the valley, airy and delicate, seems to glisten with morning frost. Turkish cyclamen, cool and slightly aquatic, adds a misty floral haze, while North African tagetes (marigold) contributes a bitter herbal sharpness, bridging the citrus to the spiced heart. A trace of Malabar pepper sparkles in the background—dry, woody, and just slightly floral—adding a suggestion of warmth and intrigue. Moroccan cassie, with its sweet, powdery, and green profile, introduces the first touch of floral softness, like powder clinging to a petal.

Then, the garden fully blooms. Riviera mimosa, all creamy pollen and soft powder, melts into Italian linden blossom, which smells like sunlit honey and hay, layered with warm floral greeness. Tunisian orange blossom absolute, richer than neroli, is more narcotic, with hints of honey, indole, and fruit flesh. Grasse rose absolute, velvet-soft and lush with jammy facets, anchors the composition, harmonizing with Grasse jasmine absolute—ripe, slightly animalic, and solar. The warmth deepens with French carnations, known for their clove-like spiciness, elevated by methyl eugenol, a natural component of clove that intensifies that peppery warmth.

Supporting the floral core are rich spice notes: Saigon cinnamon leaf, sharp and dry, and Ceylon nutmeg, more woody and balsamic than sweet. A flash of Jamaican pimento (allspice) adds complexity—clove-like, peppery, and slightly fruity. Bourbon ylang ylang oil, thick, creamy, and exotic, lends depth and sensuality, its sweetness slightly tempered by anisic aldehyde, which brings a breath of almond-floral brightness. Heliotropin (piperonal), sweet and powdery with almond-vanilla nuances, envelops the heart in the softness of warmed skin. Tuscan violet leaf absolute adds a green, cucumber-like freshness, while methyl ionone gamma, a violet molecule, gives an airy, woody-powdery lift that diffuses the entire bouquet like light through silk.

As the fragrance dries down, it deepens into its luxurious base. Java vetiver brings a cool, earthy woodiness, contrasting with the creamy smoothness of Mysore sandalwood. Seychelles patchouli is clean and slightly green, less camphoraceous than its Indonesian cousin, contributing a mossy grounding effect. Balkans oakmoss, rich and foresty, adds a plush, moss-carpeted feel to the base, where it wraps around the animalic warmth of ambergris and Tibetan musk—soft, skin-like, and ever so faintly salty.

There is a gourmand undertone from Venezuelan tonka bean, with its almond-vanilla coumarin content, and Mexican vanilla, rich and syrupy. These are bolstered by vanillin, adding a more crystalline sweetness, and coumarin, with its hay-like, toasted almond warmth. Indian ambrette seed musk lends a vegetal softness, lightly nutty and musky, and Maltese labdanum oil adds ambered resinous depth. Finally, Siam benzoin, with its balsamic vanilla-resin aroma, completes the drydown like golden lacquer, soft and enveloping.

La Belle Saison is more than a floral—it is a sensory poem to late spring and early summer, a scent that walks the tightrope between bright aldehydic radiance and warm, spiced bloom. It's both refined and emotional, floral and spicy, ephemeral and rooted. A masterpiece of composition that evokes the golden hours of the “beautiful season.”

 

Bottles:

Lalique Bottle:

René Lalique’s design for La Belle Saison by Houbigant, introduced around 1925, is a poetic embodiment of spring’s delicate abundance, captured in frosted and clear glass with a warm, sepia-brown patina. The bottle is both architectural and lyrical in form—rectangular in shape with concave sides that gently fold inward, creating an almost sunken quality to the central decoration. The bottle was produced in two sizes, measuring approximately 4 inches and 5.5 inches in height, each carefully proportioned to reflect a sense of elegant restraint and timeless luxury.  

At the heart of the design is a recessed cameo of a female figure in profile—an archetypal Lalique motif—captured in a serene moment of inhaling the scent of a flower. From this central portrait, a pattern of fine, slender stems bearing tiny, stylized leaves radiates outward toward the edges of the flacon, creating a sense of natural movement and quiet rhythm. The entire surface is treated with Lalique’s masterful combination of clear and frosted glass, which, when overlaid with the brown sepia patina, creates an effect reminiscent of dappled sunlight—soft and amber-toned, like the golden haze of late spring afternoons. The reverse of the medallion was left smooth for a gilded paper label.

The bottle is crowned with a carefully designed stopper that echoes the shape and sentiment of the flacon itself. It is gently domed and comported, sitting proudly atop the bottle while seamlessly continuing the vertical line of the design. This stopper not only seals the fragrance within but serves as a sculptural complement to the flacon’s artful face.

Lalique’s intention seems to have been to imprison a season within glass—La Belle Saison, or “The Beautiful Season,” finds itself not just as a perfume name, but as a sensory experience represented visually. The term evokes early summer, moments of fleeting floral bloom, and a feminine reverie that is both intimate and expansive.

The bottle was presented in a luxurious presentation box covered in jade green and gold faux shagreen paper, a nod to the elegance and freshness of the perfume inside. The cool green suggests gardens and new growth, while the gold accents hint at refined opulence. Altogether, this bottle—known as model"Houbigant-Perfume-3"—is a testament to Lalique’s ability to translate mood and meaning into finely worked glass, offering a visual and tactile representation of scent, season, and femininity in one harmonious design.

 

Fashions of the Hour, 1930:

"LA BELLE SAISON," The gay holiday name of Houbigant's spicy blended odor. In a really lovely glass bottle designed by Lalique, and a green box. 2 oz $7.50."

 

 

 

 

Other Bottles:

 

Fate of the Fragrance:

La Belle Saison by Houbigant was launched in 1924, during the height of the Art Deco period, a time when perfume was increasingly seen as an essential accessory for the modern, elegant woman. Created by perfumer Robert Bienaimé, the fragrance was presented as the very essence of seasonal beauty—the olfactory interpretation of nature's bloom in spring and early summer.

Although the exact discontinuation date of La Belle Saison is unknown, records confirm that the fragrance was still being sold as late as 1956. Its longevity on the market—over three decades—speaks to its enduring popularity and timeless appeal. Like many classic perfumes of the early 20th century, La Belle Saison likely evolved over time in its formulation, packaging, and presentation, but it retained its core identity as a spicy floral fragrance rich with dewy, radiant blooms and softened with warm, sensual undertones.

The extended life of this fragrance suggests that it continued to resonate with women even as fashion and tastes changed. From the flapper era of the 1920s through the glamour of post-war femininity in the 1950s, La Belle Saison offered an idealized escape into a season of endless bloom—an olfactory fantasy wrapped in the elegance of a René Lalique flacon. Its continued availability into the mid-century reflects Houbigant’s commitment to tradition and artistry in an era increasingly defined by modernity.

2020 Reformulation & Relaunch:

In 2020, La Belle Saison was reborn for a new century, reformulated by perfumer Céline Ellena for Houbigant’s La Collection Privée. This modern interpretation pays homage to the fragrance’s 1924 origins while reimagining it with contemporary sensibilities and exceptional ingredients. Offered exclusively as an Eau de Parfum Extrême in a 100ml size, this edition speaks to intensity, richness, and purity—hallmarks of the Collection Privée, which emphasizes rare essences and high-concentration blends crafted to offer depth, complexity, and longevity.

Though modern in its execution, the new La Belle Saison preserves the poetic spirit of its name—“The Beautiful Season”—and the romance of springtime it originally captured. According to Houbigant, this version evokes the delicate lightness of a spring morning, likened to “a shower of feathers,” with flowers and leaves glistening with dew and exuding soft, transparent waves of scent. Ellena has composed a luminous, white-gold floral bouquet that feels both airy and opulent, capturing spring’s gentle sensuality and hopeful elegance. The brand draws a parallel between the fragrance’s femininity and the graceful muses of Botticelli—figures adorned with light, silk, and the promise of renewal.

The bottle, true to La Collection Privée, is a nod to the house’s historic legacy, reinterpreting classic design with modern polish. This new La Belle Saison continues Houbigant’s legacy of blending heritage with innovation—offering not just a scent, but a signature, a sillage that is both timeless and unforgettable.

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? La Belle Saison by Houbigant is classified as a floral fragrance for men and women.

• Top notes: apricot blossom,limonene, linalool and pink pepper
• Middle notes:  farnesol, geraniol, mimosa, orange blossom, lily-of-the-valley, hydroxycitronellal
• Base notes: benzyl salicylate, benzyl alcohol, benzyl benzoate, coumarin, musk, labdanum and sandalwood

Scent Profile:

The 2020 La Belle Saison by Houbigant unfolds like the breath of early spring, a floral symphony that is both ethereal and grounded, weaving together modern aroma chemicals and timeless naturals with exceptional precision. It is a fragrance that seems to shimmer—sunlight diffused through petals, captured in scent.

From the first moment, a soft yet radiant brightness emerges. The apricot blossom is airy and gently fruity, offering a rounded sweetness that feels like skin warmed in morning sun. It doesn’t shout—it hums. This natural note is lifted by limonene, a citrus-derived compound found in lemon peels. It sparkles like zest, adding sharp clarity and lightness. Linalool, a naturally occurring component found in lavender and coriander, softens the opening with a subtle, floral woodiness that enhances the perfume’s translucency. Then comes pink pepper, sourced from berries of the Peruvian pepper tree. It is crisp, rosy, and slightly metallic—adding a modern, peppery twist that tingles delicately on the skin.

The heart of the fragrance is where the floral tapestry begins to unfurl. Farnesol—a naturally occurring molecule found in lily, citronella, and neroli—provides a waxy, green floral tone that smooths the transition between brightness and bloom. Geraniol, from rose oil and citronella, lends a fresh, rosy nuance, its green edge giving shape to the softness of the other florals. Mimosa, especially the bright yellow blossoms cultivated in the south of France, breathes powdery warmth into the heart—a nostalgic, golden haze like sunshine filtering through lace. Orange blossom and lily-of-the-valley follow, the former creamy and honeyed, the latter crisp and dewy, like spring rain on petals. Hydroxycitronellal, a synthetic compound, mimics the airy sweetness of lily-of-the-valley and magnolia; its clean, soapy brightness helps structure the florals into something beautifully composed and luminously modern.

As the fragrance dries down, it becomes both more sensual and softly radiant. Benzyl salicylate and benzyl alcohol are important aroma chemicals that give lift and depth to floral compositions, reinforcing the jasmine-like warmth in the bouquet. Benzyl benzoate adds a rich, balsamic smoothness that supports the creamy base. Coumarin, with its nutty, hay-like sweetness, blends seamlessly with the soft musk, casting a gentle, velvety warmth. The musk is not animalic, but airy and clean, acting like a soft-focus lens that diffuses all the elements into a lasting trail. Labdanum, sourced from the rockrose shrubs of the Mediterranean, is resinous and ambery—its soft leather and incense notes grounding the bouquet with quiet sensuality. Finally, sandalwood, probably from Australia, adds a creamy, woody richness that lingers like sunlight warming skin.

Together, these elements form a fragrance that is both nostalgic and forward-thinking—a spring memory wrapped in modern clarity. La Belle Saison 2020 feels as if it has been painted in watercolor and sunlight: delicate, fresh, warm, and supremely elegant.