Secret of Venus by Weil (1933)

A spicy floral Oriental with incredible tenacity and projection, Secret of Venus strikes me as unmistakably vintage in style, complexity and forthrightness. It might as well come with its own mink stole, cigarette holder and silk charmeuse evening gown, it's so bold and in-your-face. (See smoldering wild child Tallulah Bankhead to your left.)

There's a lot of conflicting information about Secret of Venus, in part because there are perfume and bath oil iterations (I have the oil), as well as Secret of Venus-branded Antilope (1935) and Zibeline (1927) perfumes, just to name a couple.

Why it would be "branded" Secret of Venus is confusing to me, considering the umbrella-brand is, in fact, Weil, a company that started out as furriers in 1898 and introduced perfumes in 1927 made to perfume furs. Zibeline, for example, was marketed as "strictly an odor for furs" and boasted its ability to get rid of a fur's stale smell without damaging it. (I have some vintage Zibeline and recall not liking it, but for the sake of being comprehensive and to contrast it with Secret of Venus which it's often confused/conflated with, I'll compare notes in my next post.)

But onto the perfume. Secret of Venus bath oil (dark and viscous as cough syrup) opens with symphonic herbaceousness, moves into a lush, spicy floral heart, and rests on a velvety, sumptuous Oriental base of sandalwood, amber, musk, honey and tonka. Its drydown is an irresistible mix of sweet, balsam-powdery softness, vanilla-amber creaminess, and incensy-spice. SofV is a little like Le Numéro Cinq (1925) and Coty's Styx (1911) in style and personality, if a bit sweeter. There was even a kind of vegetal-vetiver-salt note in the drydown, as if Secret of Venus needed any more complexity. In other words, this perfume doesn't let up!

Top notes: aldehydes, bergamot, lemon, coriander, tarragon (maybe lavender?)

Heart notes: rose, jasmine, lily of the valley, ylang-ylang, orris, gardenia

Base notes: vetiver, civet, sandal, amber, musk, honey, Tonka (maybe patchouli?) Notes from The Scented Salamander

The first time I took a whiff, SofV did that animalic/raunchy lurch that tends to mean that civet is prowling around, but it could just be a really animalic musk. Ironic that a perfume in a line meant to hide the smell of the animal in fur can't resist throwing some animal back into the perfume. (No word in my searches that Secret of Venus was meant for anything but a woman's skin.) 

In notes I took when I was "reading" the perfume, I wrote, "Is the secret of Secret of Venus...almond oil?" It has that nougaty/nutty center that's redolent of toasted almonds, but perhaps this is the marriage of facets from the florals and ambery base.

Warm and sexy in a retro way, Secret of Venus is a must-smell vintage. Be prepared to have people in other rooms ask what it is you have on (it projects that far!) and to be able to smell its spicy shadow on your skin a good twenty hours later...

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My vintage sample of Secret of Venus courtesy of The Miniature Perfume Shoppe.

Historical info on Weil thanks to Cleopatra's Boudoir. You can read specifically about Secret of Venus here.

If you can afford it, a pristine 1 oz. bottle (the image above) of Secret of Venus is on eBay for five days, with a starting bid (gulp) of $195. Yikes.

Comments

[Gardenfairy Mw]

Oh my ! You got my all nervous and curious, as I won a small miniature of this in the Bay lately, which has not yet arrived at my desk here. I _do_ have the Antilope SoV - and I wrote about it in my perfume blog. It was not utterly pleasant and I did not like the smell of Antilope at all. I am intrigued by the Weil perfumes though, and Zibeline has proved as a favorite of mine. The old EdT as well as the Extrait. Simply wonderful and I faint with pleasure when I have it on. BTW - do you know anything about a WEil perfume named "Noir"? I am seeking "desperately" for detailed info, but can't find any.
kind regards,
Martina
http://duftreise.blogspot.com/

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Martina,

Congratulations on getting some vintage Secret of Venus! I hope you write about it; I'm curious what you think! Did you get the oil, or the perfume? I don't know anything about Noir, but I'm a sucker for any perfumes with this moniker. I can only imagine how interesting Weil's Noir would be...I LOVE Antilope, but I have the EDT; not sure what the EDP would be like. As for Zibeline...stay tuned! I'll revisit it and let you know what I think. Thanks for stopping by!

[Gardenfairy Mw]



[Gardenfairy Mw]

I did already post in my blog about the Secret with the Antilope scent( http://duftreise.blogspot.com/2010/11/antilope-weil-secret-de-venus.html ). The fine thing is that the bottle is full, and in a beautiful state, so it does not really bother me if I like this scent or not - it is a nice addition to my collection anyway. I will give it a try again in a few days. I am waiting for an other one , a smaller size, to arrive in the mail soon- then I will compare the fragrances.
The NOIR by Weil is for me literally uknown by now - except that I found notes about the year of creation.
What I can say on first sniff is that it seems to be a rather tart scent with lots of hidden secrets, scent-wise too.
I will surely post when I know more.
kind regards, Martina
http://duftreise.blogspot.com/

[Anne]

Is Secret of Venus anything like Youth Dew? Maybe not, if it is herbaceous. I love the image of Tallulah Bankhead, by the way.

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Anne,

I'll compare these two and get back to you. And yes, Tallulah is amazing...

[Gardenfairy Mw]

It is here ! I will post a photo soon in my Blog - two cutest small 5ml bottles, very neat ! I took a short sniff only yet, with a little on the back of my hand - and it is heavenly, fresh, green almond-y and later very seductively sweet. Just as you described it !
I will dive into it more deeply over the weekend, I hope.
It certainly is not comparable to Youth Dew, IMO, as the latter is sweeter and creamier. Two very different scents.

[Perfumaniac]

Enjoy your bottles Secret of Venus! I'll look for your take on it when it's out.

[Veronika M. Boggess]

I recently came across a small bottle marked Secret of Venus down the front center. The bottle is about 2-3/4" tall. It has a gold screw on cap with the word "WEIL" on the front towards the bottom. The bottle is square in shape with some fluting on the back. On the bottom of the bottle is a "5" or an "S". There are no other marks, names or identifying information on the bottle. I would like to know if this bottle contains SofV EDP, EDT or if it is Cologne, which I doubt. I dabbed a very miniscule amount on my left wrist, rubbed it with my right wrist. It most certainly smells as you described, however, it is not the consistency of syrup so I'm thinking it is not the bath oil. Anything you can tell me about the bottle I have would be most appreciated. I love this scent. It is dramatic and very sophisticated. I am more in tune with the richer, headier fragrances and from time to time I like to wear Youth-Dew or Shocking. Thank you so much!