40 Love (1947)

In 1947, Jean Desprez introduced his only unisex fragrance—40 Amour, also known as 40 Love—a crisp and invigorating fougère that captured the fresh, sunlit atmosphere of the tennis court. The name itself, 40 Love, is a clever nod to tennis scoring, where "40–love" signifies one player nearing victory while the opponent has yet to score. More than just a sports reference, the name evokes a sense of energy, optimism, and flirtation—the thrilling tension of being just a point away from winning both the match and, perhaps, someone's heart.

Desprez took inspiration from the image of the "tennisman", the effortlessly elegant French sportsman who embodied virility, discipline, and a kind of casual glamour. Post-war France in the late 1940s was entering a period of renewed hope and vitality. The era, known historically as the postwar recovery period, saw a return to leisure, luxury, and personal grooming, particularly as fashion houses like Dior redefined femininity with the New Look, and perfumers returned to bolder compositions after years of wartime austerity. In this climate, 40 Love emerged not only as a novel unisex scent, but as a lifestyle statement—a fragrance that suggested both athletic elegance and a clean sensuality suited to the optimistic spirit of the times.

The scent itself was built on the fougère structure, traditionally associated with masculine perfumery, but softened and brightened here for broader appeal. It opened with a brisk and clear blend of essential oils—bergamot bringing sharp citrus clarity, marjoram (marjolaine) lending a peppery, herbal warmth, and gardenia softening the composition with a creamy floral note. These top notes created a sense of open air and movement, like the gust of wind as a ball sails across the net.

At its heart, 40 Love featured naturalistic elements like sun-ripened hay, pine oil, and tarragon—ingredients that conjured up images of late summer grass courts, shaded groves, and herbal infusions. The inclusion of a secret extract, said to evoke “the frail, insistent smell of pure linen drying on a lawn,” added a poetic and textural nuance to the fragrance—clean, warm, and faintly nostalgic. Linen, associated with luxury and effortless refinement, created a tactile memory that blurred the line between scent and atmosphere.

The base notes deepened the composition with oakmoss, which provided an earthy, forested anchor, and Peruvian balsam, which added smooth, resinous sweetness and a hint of exoticism. This grounding foundation gave 40 Love lasting power and presence while maintaining its fresh, outdoorsy character.

For women of the late 1940s, 40 Love would have represented a modern, even daring choice—an escape from the ultra-feminine florals that dominated the market. Its sporty sophistication may have appealed to those who admired the rising athleticism and independence of the postwar woman, echoing fashion’s embrace of more practical, yet still elegant, silhouettes. The fragrance wasn’t coy or overly romantic; it was energetic, polished, and quietly sensual—suggesting shared passions and warm skin under a summer sky.

In the context of other fragrances at the time, 40 Love was indeed distinctive. While classic fougères existed—like Houbigant’s Fougère Royale or Caron’s Pour Un Homme—few brands positioned such compositions as unisex, or wrapped them in such vivid narrative and lifestyle imagery. Desprez’s decision to release a fragrance that blended gender boundaries and conjured up the chic physicality of sport made 40 Love both forward-thinking and refreshingly modern, embodying the house’s flair for elegance with a touch of irreverent charm.

Launch:

As part of the unique and stylish launch of 40 Amour (also known as 40 Love) in 1947, French perfumer Jean Desprez went beyond the conventional unveiling of a fragrance and orchestrated a glamorous event that perfectly mirrored the spirit of the scent. To celebrate its debut, Desprez hosted an elegant tennis and golf tournament—two sports synonymous with leisure, refinement, and athletic grace. These were not random choices, but deliberate symbols of the fragrance’s inspiration: 40 Love was conceived as a unisex, sporty fougère, evoking clean linen, sun-warmed courts, and a flirtation with victory. It was a scent that spoke to both elegance and movement, ideally expressed through the poised dynamism of these refined sports.

To commemorate the event and lend it a sense of lasting artistry, Desprez commissioned Spanish sculptor Juan Palas to design the trophies awarded to the tournament’s winners. Though little is widely known today about Palas, his involvement signals Desprez’s commitment to craftsmanship and luxury in every detail—not only in perfumery, but in presentation, branding, and atmosphere. By choosing a sculptor—rather than simply a trophy manufacturer—Desprez elevated the occasion to a celebration of art, sport, and scent, all woven together under the same aesthetic vision.

Palas’s custom-designed trophies likely reflected the elegance and fluidity associated with both sports, transforming what could have been ordinary awards into objets d’art. His participation added a layer of cultural prestige to the event, aligning the fragrance with the worlds of fine art and high society. The presence of bespoke sculpture also subtly reinforced the brand’s message: that 40 Love was not just a fragrance, but a lifestyle—one marked by beauty, athleticism, and refined taste.

In this context, Juan Palas’s role, while brief, underscores Jean Desprez’s broader artistic vision. Every element of the 40 Love launch was curated to reflect the essence of the fragrance: dynamic yet composed, sporting yet sensual, and always touched by luxury.

Fragrance Composition:

So what does it smell like? 40 Love by Jean Desprez is classified as a fougere fragrance for men. 40 Love contained pine oil, tarragon, oakmoss and sun ripened hay, plus a secret extract said to give off "the frail insistent smell of pure linen drying on a lawn."

• Top notes: aldehydes, Calabrian bergamot, tarragon, Bourbon geranium, Sicilian lemon, Provencal lavender, marjoram
• Middle notes: Grasse gardenia, Grasse jasmine, Bulgarian rose, dried fruits, hay, Siberian pine oil, Florentine orris, Persian galbanum, Somali opoponax
• Base notes: Sumatran styrax, Canadian castoreum, Maltese labdanum, ambergris, Tyrolean oakmoss, Peru balsam, Tonkin musk, leather, Mysore sandalwood, Abyssinian civet, Haitian vetiver

40 Love combines marjoram, gardenia, and bergamot with woody notes of oakmoss and opoponax, as well as animalic accents of civet and Tonkin musk. Created for sports enthusiasts, it is sober, classic, and very carefully presented. Exceptionally fresh yet sufficiently strong to make its presence felt, 40 Love shares the same qualities of longevity and originality as Bal à Versailles, while clearly leaving room for an active, sporting spirit.

Scent Profile:

40 Love by Jean Desprez unfolds like a breath of crisp, early morning air over a sunlit grass court. Classified as a fougère—a fragrance family known for its fresh herbal core, mossy depth, and often masculine structure—40 Love is as much an olfactory interpretation of movement, elegance, and athletic sensuality as it is a fragrance. This scent does not simply wear on the skin—it plays across it like a match in motion, fresh and composed, yet subtly wild beneath.

From the first spray, a bright rush of aldehydes creates an airy, effervescent lift, evoking the sparkle of sunlight glinting off white linen and the clean polish of an early summer morning. The Calabrian bergamot, prized for its nuanced citrus character—less sharp than lemon, more floral than orange—adds a gentle tartness, paired with the sharp, herbaceous Sicilian lemon, known for its purity and mouthwatering clarity. Provencal lavender, sun-warmed and slightly camphoraceous, brings the classic fougère signature into focus, but is softened by the delicate sweetness of marjoram, whose green-peppery warmth foreshadows the softness to come.

Threaded through these sparkling top notes is tarragon, with its unmistakably green, slightly anise-tinged profile. French tarragon is smoother and more elegant than its Russian counterpart, and here, it sharpens the edges of the citrus while providing a grassy liveliness. Bourbon geranium, with its citrus-rose-mint character, rounds out the opening with a crisp floral accent that echoes the scent’s clean theme.

As the fragrance settles, it deepens into a lush and textured heart. Grasse gardenia and jasmine, both narcotically creamy and lush, begin to bloom—these French-grown florals are renowned for their intensity and natural richness. A hint of Bulgarian rose, soft yet spiced, weaves into the blend with an almost honeyed warmth. Dried fruits appear like a whisper of sun-warmed sweetness—perhaps a reference to the scent of sun-ripened hay, which soon emerges with golden softness, carrying the feel of late afternoon warmth on dry grass.

Threading through the middle is pine oil from Siberia, resinous, crisp, and cold, conjuring images of coniferous woods ringing a tennis court. The pine is balanced by Persian galbanum, with its bitter green snap—both grounding and invigorating. Florentine orris, derived from aged iris roots, adds a suede-like powderiness and violet-like coolness, enhancing the linen-like quality of the fragrance. Meanwhile, Somali opoponax, a sweeter cousin of myrrh, lends a velvety warmth and a touch of balsamic incense, rounding the florals with complexity.

At the base, 40 Love deepens into a rich, natural terrain. Tyrolean oakmoss, known for its superior depth and forest-floor dampness, forms the core of the fougère structure. Here, it mingles with Sumatran styrax and Maltese labdanum, both resinous and leathery, giving the composition its classic masculine backbone. Peru balsam adds a smooth, vanillic richness, while the elusive ambergris brings its mineral, oceanic glow—salty, warm, and almost skin-like in its softness.

Animalic notes add texture and sensuality. Tonkin musk lends a deeply warm, almost creamy sensuality, while Canadian castoreum and Abyssinian civet bring subtle animal tones—never overpowering, but gently suggestive, like skin warmed by the sun. These notes are softened by the creamy, woody depth of Mysore sandalwood, treasured for its buttery, milky scent, and grounded further by Haitian vetiver, whose dry, grassy-earthiness evokes the scent of the tennis court itself—sunbaked, clean, slightly dusty.

Running through the entire fragrance is a mysterious “secret extract”, described as evoking the “frail, insistent smell of pure linen drying on a lawn.” This is perhaps a blend of aroma chemicals and naturals—possibly aldehydic musks, linalool, and ethyl brassylate—engineered to conjure the crisp scent of sun-bleached fabric, fresh air, and the faint warmth of cotton touched by wind. It's an impressionistic accord, not easily dissected, but it lingers quietly—suggesting cleanliness, warmth, memory, and restraint.

In total, 40 Love is a masterclass in balance: fresh yet warm, elegant yet sporty, structured yet quietly sensual. A true olfactory portrait of summer leisure and composed masculinity, it captures both the tradition of French perfumery and a distinctly modern sense of movement and freedom.

Bottle:

In 1951, La Coiffure de Paris described 40 Love as “good-smelling water for sports,” emphasizing both its freshness and practicality—qualities that set it apart in the era of more formal, opulent fragrances. Jean Desprez envisioned 40 Love as a versatile eau de cologne or eau de toilette, ideal for refreshing the skin after athletic activity or for daily wear by the modern gentleman. Light yet lasting, it offered a crisp fougère structure, invigorating and clean, perfect for a post-tennis cool-down or a brisk morning routine.

A key feature of 40 Love's presentation was its ingenious packaging. The fragrance was housed in a durable, perfectly airtight glass bottle, fashioned in the shape of a classic cognac flask—a deliberate nod to masculine elegance, sport, and refinement. This design choice echoed the lifestyle the fragrance represented: active, sophisticated, and discreetly luxurious. Offered in two sizes—9.5cl (approximately 4 oz) and 18cl (about 8 oz)—it was available as an Eau de Cologne Splash, specifically labeled "Pour Les Messieurs – Special for Men."

These generous splash bottles suggest that 40 Love was designed for liberal application, much like traditional colognes of the time. Men could apply it freely to the face, neck, and chest after shaving or sport, enjoying the immediate freshness of citrus, herbs, and pine with the depth of oakmoss and musky woods. In a time when grooming rituals were ritualistic and tactile, the splash format offered a physical, refreshing experience—40 Love wasn’t just a scent, it was part of a man’s routine.

Altogether, this packaging and presentation aligned beautifully with the fragrance’s concept: a stylish, functional scent for the elegant sportsman, offering briskness, subtle sensuality, and enduring charm in every splash.

In 1977/1978, 40 Love was available in the following:

• Eau de Cologne splash flacon (4 oz, 8 oz, 16 oz)
• Eau 40 Love Atomiseur (6 oz)
• Lotion apres rasage (4.8 oz)

Fate of the Fragrance:

40 Love by Jean Desprez found renewed life in the 1970s, after enjoying popularity in the 1960s as a sporty, refreshing fougère. Originally launched in 1947 as a unisex scent inspired by the elegance and energy of tennis, it was revived in 1975 with a distinct shift in focus—this time marketed exclusively as a men’s fragrance. The relaunch reflected changing tastes and grooming habits of the era, emphasizing rugged refinement and sporty masculinity.

This modern reintroduction was available in multiple masculine grooming formats: Eau de Toilette, Eau de Cologne, and Aftershave. These formulations allowed the scent to be integrated into a complete grooming ritual, offering men both a fragrance and a post-shave refresh in the same olfactory style—crisp, clean, and subtly sensual. The fragrance’s herbaceous and woody character—highlighted by pine oil, tarragon, oakmoss, and hay—fit comfortably into the 1970s trend toward outdoorsy, virile scents, making it both classic and contemporary in feel.

The distribution during this period was handled by Alfin, a company that served as the exclusive U.S. importer and distributor of several French fragrance houses. In addition to 40 Love, Alfin also brought Bal à Versailles and Jardanel by Parfums Jean Desprez to the American market. Their partnership helped reintroduce these European classics to a growing base of American consumers who were increasingly interested in niche and heritage perfumes, especially those with a French pedigree.

Though 40 Love was eventually discontinued, it remained available well into the 1980s, with documentation confirming its sale as late as 1984. Its presence across decades—adapted, reformulated, and repackaged—reflects the enduring appeal of its clean, invigorating formula and the elegant masculinity it conveyed. Even in its final years, 40 Love retained its original charm: a scent that suggested movement, composure, and the understated confidence of a man who had just stepped off the court, still dressed in crisp white linen.