Empress Elizabeth of Austria also known as Empress Sisi was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world during her reign.

She along with her cousin King Ludwig II of Bavaria, the guy who built Neuschwanstein castle:

were both ethereal, fairy tale like enigmas to the public – but their personal lives tumultuous and tragic.

All is vanity

Throughout her whole life she was told her beauty was her most important attribute which led to her unhealthy fixation on dieting – some days she would eat only egg whites and broth.

For her beauty regimens, she would take olive oil baths to keep her skin supple and wear face masks of raw veal. One cream she used that seems good from a modern standpoint was made for her by Guerlain called Crème à la Fraise consisting of crushed strawberries and honey.

She had stunning, long, floor length hair which was washed every three weeks in a mixture of raw eggs and cognac – it would take a full day to complete this and while she waited she would study languages and write brooding poetry.

Perfumed hair

Now here is where perfume comes into account. Sisi actually didn’t really like perfume or makeup, she preferred to showcase her natural beauty. And we know this because her niece, Countess Maria Larisch wrote a memoir about her time as lady in waiting to Sisi and an entire chapter is titled: Her Hatred of Perfume.

But she did like to spray her hair with floral essences such as orange blossom, rose, and violet and there are two perfumes that it is also presumed that she sprayed her hair with.

The first is Farina 1709 Eau de Cologne which was also a favorite of Queen Victoria and Napoleon. Farina is one of the oldest cologne makers out there, they even have a whole museum that you can tour. They count Sisi as a client in their historical records. So if she did buy this cologne for herself and not a gift, then her hair is most likely where she wore it. Farina also lists her cousin Ludwig of Bavaria as one of its clients.

The second perfume associated with Sisi is Imperial Violet by Parfumerie JB Filz. Sadly it looks like they just closed shop this past March after 213 years in business. Like Farina they had a fragrance museum and on this tour you could purchase this fragrance. As I said before, there are primary sources saying Sisi didn’t like perfume in the traditional sense. Its likely this would have been either applied to her hair or she would have used the scent in a bath, cream or mist preparation.

But we do know that she used these two brands because they both are listed in court records with the title K.U.K Court Purveyor. In the German and Austrian states this was the equivalent of a royal warrant like we see with the British Royal Family. And this is the mark KUK businesses could use.

According to the Sisi Museum which is housed in the Hofburg in Sisi’s imperial apartments, she had a soft spot for violet ice cream and candies. Violets were her favorite flower. So I do think that this info tracks, and both the cologne and the violet perfume would have been to her liking. One day I will go to the museum so I can see for myself.

The Romy Schneider connection

And if we really want to go full circle on this, remember how I said Sisi used Guerlain face cream? Well Romy Schneider who played Sisi in the 1950s trilogy about the empress was a Guerlain girl! Here she is at her dressing table in 1973 and look what we have here. Guerlain used both of these bottles for several fragrances but it looks like L’heure Bleu was her favorite one.