Pois de Senteur by Les Parfums de Rosine was launched in 1920, during a moment of post-war rejuvenation and blossoming creativity in the arts, fashion, and perfumery. The name “Pois de Senteur”—pronounced pwah duh sahn-TUHR—is French for “sweet pea,” a delicate flowering plant renowned not only for its soft, fluttering blossoms but also for its charming, fresh, and gently sweet scent. The term conjures up images of romantic gardens, spring breezes, pastel silks, and feminine ease. In the years following World War I, such sentiments were welcome—an embrace of beauty and sentimentality after years of hardship.
Paul Poiret, ever the aesthete and storyteller, likely chose the name Pois de Senteur for its poetic association with softness, grace, and the fleeting beauty of nature. It spoke to the ideal of femininity he often celebrated—delicate, radiant, and quietly seductive. At the same time, the name had universal appeal. The sweet pea was beloved in both French and English gardens, and had been a popular floral motif in perfumes throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its inclusion as a dedicated soliflore in the Rosine lineup placed it firmly within tradition, yet its updated 1920 interpretation was far more than a simple reproduction of older formulas.
