The Age of Empire Nineteenth Century

Josephine, a Creole from Martinique, employed a different pot pourri of smells. She favoured animalics, and was particularly fond of musk oil, to the point that when Napoleon left her for another woman, she smeared the inside walls and curtainings of their house, Malmaison, with the all-pervading tenacious smell as a constant reminder of her. Needless to say, Napoleon was not too enamoured of that Parthian shot, but he still nevertheless kept a place in his heart for Josephine. 

The old warrior carried a necklace with her cameo portrait and a pressed violet, one of her favourite flowers, around with him, and on her death visited her grave to strew it with violets. One of his own dying wishes was to be buried in a certain spot at St. Helena where his soul would be soothed by the sweet smell of tuberose. 

Queen Victoria can be credited with two smell revolutions which hit Britain. The first involved her dress style, which often in casual mode featured a knitted shawl. The shawls she wore were steeped in patchouli, imbuing a rich woody fragrance to the garment. Since half the populace wished to emulate the monarch, patchouli shawls were de rigueur, and we see here one of the first instances of smell being used as a product and in the marketing of a fashion item. 

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