By Liz Armstrong
She Loves Me, is a beloved musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and a book by Joe Masteroff. Based on the 1937 play Parfumerie by Miklós László and set in the backdrop of a 1930s perfumery, there’s no doubt perfume plays a role in this romantic comedy. The play itself revolves around the “perfume of love.”
But to better understand the intricacies that luxury scent plays in the musical, let’s dive into the role perfume had in general before, during, and after the 1930s.
Perfume’s Role in She Loves Me
Right in the opening scene, Georg tries to spray perfume on Amalia’s hand when her character is first introduced — and is rejected.
“There’s a special–this week only–on ‘Roses of Italy’…I’ll show it to you,” Georg says. “Let me spray a little on your hand.”
“No! Actually you see, I’m not going to buy any,” Amalia says.
But as the play goes on, Amalia indulges in the perfume. Throughout the entirety of the play, it’s used as a symbol representing the attraction between Amalia and Georg. This is displayed in Amalia’s song “Vanilla Ice Cream.”
“But now I have discovered something new / A scent so wonderful, so fine, so grand / A perfume with a name I can’t quite place / It smells like vanilla ice cream!” Amalia sings, comparing the scent of the vanilla perfume to the feeling she has toward Georg.
Perfume in America During the Great Depression
For many, in the 1930s, especially in the United States – with the stock market crash on Wall Street in 1929 – money was tight. But perfume was something women still clung to. Just as perfume symbolizes love and attraction in the play, it stood as a symbol of hope to the women throughout the Great Depression.
One of the most notable perfumes of the times was in 1932, when Jean Patou launched jasmine and rose perfume “Joy.” The marketing specifically targeted American women who couldn’t splurge on glamorous gowns but would still allow themselves the treat of a few drops of fragrance.
In 1933, the Spanish fragrance house launched “Twenty Carats,” which The Perfume Society wrote “was the closest women were going to get to a diamond in tricky financial times.” With notes of orange, cherry, whisky, tobacco, and cinnamon, the perfume gave the illusion of wealth to the women who wore it.
Although perfume was still being purchased and clung to during these dark times, sales dipped, even for manufacturers abroad. But instead of giving up entirely, changes were made. The intricate and expensive bottles gave way to cheaper, machine-made containers. Although this change may have taken away from the art and luxury of perfume according to critics, it did what it needed to at the time: it made perfume accessible to the everyday wearer.
Starting in the 1920s, perfumes were sold as “nips.” Sold by the drop, the vending machines dispensed single-use glass perfume ampoules. In the 1930s, machines were stocked with sets priced at twenty-five cents.
The Pub published an article comparing choosing the scent of these samples to falling in love. Much like women were on the hunt for their soulmate, they also searched for their signature scent, perhaps believing that finding one would help them find the other.
“Inside was just enough perfume to decide whether it was love or merely a passing flirtation” (Sky, 2026, para. 3).
World War II: Perfume’s Role Worldwide
Perfume wasn’t just a reprieve for American women. Designer Elsa Schiapirelli brought reprieve to women in Europe during difficult times. At the rise of fascism, the scent “Shocking” was released. Bringing color and a surrealist touch to the fashion world, Schiapirelli implemented the same elements to her perfume. The top scent notes of “Shocking” included bergamot, tarragon, and aldehydes. Both her fashion and perfume “offered a momentary escape.”
During WWII, designers like Chanel were forced to close their couture houses. But perfumes were still launched. In 1941, Houbigant launched “Chantilly” and Piguet unveiled “Bandit.” “Chantilly” was created as “an accessible, prestige fragrance” and became a success as a chic and exotic scent, named after the famous Chantilly silk lace. On the opposite side of the spectrum, “Bandit” boasted an element of mysteriousness and included notes of leather and smoky woods, the very definition of “rich.”
Considered a landmark in the perfume world, “Femme do Rochas” was created in 1943 in Paris in a building with “a rubbish dump on one side and paint factory on the other.” Blending notes of floral and musk, the scent is marketed to add “sophistication and elegance to every encounter.”
In 1946, Madame Carven hoped to capture post-war optimism in a bottle. “Ma Griffe” was created by Jean Carles and launched in an unforgettable way. Carven had a small plane drop thousands of green and white parachutes with samples of the fragrance over Paris. The Perfume Society called it a “symbolic moment, indicating to a war-battered community that France, luxury and the perfume industry were firmly back on track.” The scent is inspired by Carven’s favorite flowers: gardenia, jasmine, and rose.
Indulging in Perfume and Love to Find Hope
Women clung to perfume as a symbol of hope and sensuality through some of the most difficult times in history. A few small drops of perfume could boost morale and give wearers the encouragement needed to move forward.
In She Loves Me, Amalia and Georg were set against a backdrop of difficult times.
“In the middle–European world of the mid–1930s before the Nazis and before the Communists, signs of trouble were already in evidence. She Loves Me offers us a glimpse of a depressed economy in which businesses were closing, clerks were afraid of losing their jobs, and customers who still had cash to spend were treated like royalty,” Music Theatre International’s study guide explains.
Georg and Amalia were in a struggling world, and their frustration for each other eventually melted into affection, like a perfume’s sharp smell at first spritz softens into something lovely with time.
