With friendly support of local administration
„Drops of Venus“ The Secret Of a Sensual Woman
One of her appearances happened at the end of January 1905 within the scope of a charity event,
organized from the well known Madame Kiréevsky in Paris. Through press releases related
to “a woman from Far East, who came to Europe loaded with perfumes and jewels to cover
and uncover herself with veils“grabbed the attention of the Maecenas from Paris.
The legend tells us about the famous exotic dancer Mata Hari, that a secret admirer gave her as a present a little flacon with a precious perfume. That happened during her stay on Sumatra. The famous Madame Mata Hari had a very special application for the fragrance and we are told that men lay to her feet and raved about her scent.
On the other hand history informs us, that she ended tragic some years later.
About her secret admirer from Sumatra almost no information survived, it is only known, that he too was from Netherlands working as a military surgeon on the Dutch military base in Medan on Sumatra.
In old newspapers from 1899 you find information about a fire in Medan. The shop of a French producer of perfumes and pomades had caught fire. The shop, the store, the production, the whole documents and archives, the owner and two employees were victims of the flames, buried under the collapsing building.
So for a long, long time Mata Hari’s flacon with the precious perfume remained the only one. The remembrance of the wonderful scent stayed only in the admirer‘s memories, when they thought of the incredible night with Mata Hari.
Almost hundred years later my African friend Hamadi Mathluthi travelled from Tunis to Sumatra. Hamadi is a writer and today he lives in Nabeul. During his stay in Medan he had a business contact to a dealer of old furniture by order of his father, who was a dedicated collector and salesmen of antiques in Tunis. Among other things he bought a little wooden chest, florid and the outside and all in leather inside. The content were little bottles and skillets, but Hamadi did not pay that much attention to the content, for him the workmanship of the chest was the reason to buy it.
Back in Tunisia he dedicated himself to a careful cleaning of his little treasure chest. Cleaned all the little bottles put everything back on ist place and presented the chest to his father, who put it in the antique-shop in order to sell it.
Some months later it was autumn 1995, I had some business to do in Tunis and of course I wanted to visit my old friend Hamadi in Nabeul. I still had three days until my flight, so I called him, we met and had a wonderful super, recalled our times in Paris, where we had met first in 1974. He presented me to his family and Sunday we went out for a walk. He showed me the antiques shop of his father. One oft he first things I layed my eye on, was a very old hookah, but then I saw the chest. I asked for the price of it, but Hamadi and his father insisted to give me the little work of art as a present. Gratitude for the hospitality my family had offered to Hamadi, when he was a guest in our house for a couple of months back in 1977.
That was a very kind gesture and I was very happy with my little treasure chest. Next day I had to take my flight, but it took me still some weeks until I was back home.
For a couple of years the little chest was an exotic adornment in my office, placed on a little table. After the turn oft he millenium my business went weak and I made plans to imigrate to Brazil. Everything I coul spare was turned into money, because I needed cash for the next steps. One of the things I sold, was the chest. A collector of antiques offered me 350,00 Euros and I agreed. His only condition was to deliver the chest next day clean and without all the dusty content because he would not have any use for little bottles and stuff. I promissed to do so and next day he could come to pick the chest up and pay – of course.
The sam night I took all the bottles and things out of the chest, when I discorvered a note-book, stored in a little side-pocket oft he chest. I took it out, it was written in French. One oft he last entries was dated the 12th of July 1899.
I concentrated in the entries oft he note-book and found out, that a French perfumer used to keep samples of his perfumes in this chest and from every perfume he noted the formula in this book. Strange, there was no further entry afer the date of 12th July 1899, even though the perfumer Jean Phillip Fragonard has ben only 42 years old at this time. His personal information were written on the first page oft his note-book.
Curious I opened one or the other little well closed bottle. Most oft hem had an almost dry rest of something on the ground and I startet do travel through scents of the century of my grandparents.
One of the bottles impressed me with its still very present scent. It was exotic and sensual. On the label was written PI42. On the last page oft he note-book it said, that PI42 had been designed for a client, Dr. Nils VanReed – and it had been produced only one time.
At this very moment, I still didn‘t know, what I was about to discover, but the treasure I had found, was the original formula of Mata Hari‘s misterious perfume.
In old chronicles and documents of the family Fragonard from Grasse, France you can read, that one of the brothers Fragonard left France in the year 1874. After a terrible dispute with his brother he left home and went to Sumatra. There he wanted to find his way. From Amsterdam, Holland he took steam-ship. It was the modern P.Caland with 2540 tons, part of the Holland-America Line. During the long passage he made the aquaintance with another young man, Nils VanReed from Netherlands. Here began a long friendship between the two young men.
The P.Caland 1874 with preparations to maiden voyage.
Documents of my research.
The passengers list of P.Caland 1874
A copy of the microfilm no. 85600039 results, that passenger with no.13 was a Mr. Fragonard and passenger no.17 was a Mr. Nils VanReed.
The circle of my research began to close. I had found the evidence, that there had been a connection between the perfumer Fragonard vom Medan, Sumatra and Mata Hari’s admirer Dr. VanReed.
Some years later, already living in Brazil I was handling with the smal bottles and the note-book. In a laboraty of a friend, we analiest the little residual of the perfume PI42 and found out, that the base has been a vegetarian oil instead of ethyl alcohol.
Next step I took was to buy smal samples of the ingredients shown in the note-book and several kind of vegetarian oils. Wow, when the little left over had impressed me already, you should have seen me smelling the scent, when it was completely new mixed. A difference of more than a hundred years. What time can do to a scent! The freshly composed perfume was a dream, not the slightest skin irritation, a wonderful sensual exotic perfume, ready to be used on every part of humans body.
Now PI42 had no more secrets hidden for me, I had found out everything. Mata Hari did not only aplicate the perfume on the usual parts of her body but put a little parto f a drop...
… well I am not going to reveal her secret right away, but when you buy your first flacon, there will be a little letter enclosed with the magic aplication instruction. You will love it and you will see, how life can change, when you turn yourself into an even more sensual woman.
One thing I will honour with my name: You will get the perfume in highest quality, without alcohol or destilated water. A perfume made from precioust ingridients, pure and with all the guaranties, non allergic of course. Are you ready for an experience like in the famous Arabian nights. This will be your personal secret now and it is up to you, if you tell your best friend or preserve the secret, just like Mata Hari did… well, one thing is for sure, I will tell nobody, it is just between you and me, I promisse!
As I imigrated from Germany to Brazil, I would like to have the base of my production here in Brasil. I am closer to the precious ingredients and can controle the whole production process much easier. As we say in Germany, confidence is good, but control is better. And I want to stay the only one, who knows the formula.
A flacon with 20ml content will accompany you for about one year, so intens ist he scent. For every application you will need only a part o drop even the little rest of moisture from the plug will do. Remember: Your’re holding a fragrance in your hands!
PE-Design, Peter Echevers, email Peter@Echevers.com