In 1931, Parfums Ciro turned to the public in search of the perfect name for their newest fragrance, offering a generous $500 prize—a considerable sum during the Depression—to whoever could capture the perfume’s spirit in a single word. The winning entry came from Miss Helen Laird of St. Louis, Missouri, a young woman employed in the perfume department of the elegant Scruggs-Vandervoort-Barney Dry Goods Company, one of the city’s premier shopping destinations. Surrounded each day by the finest perfumes and the women who wore them, Laird had an instinctive feel for language, mood, and allure.
Her choice—“Surrender”—stood out instantly. It felt emotional yet refined, bold yet romantic, and it carried the unmistakable suggestion of giving in to beauty, to charm, to the irresistible pull of a fragrance. The name expressed precisely the mood Ciro sought: a perfume that invited softness, yielded defenses, and created a lingering, enveloping presence on the skin. Laird’s contribution became more than a contest entry; it shaped the identity of one of Ciro’s most memorable creations.
When Surrender appeared, the world was navigating the early years of the Great Depression, a time defined by economic hardship but also by deep longing for beauty, escapism, and emotional relief. The early 1930s are often described as an era of refined glamour: the exuberance of the 1920s had softened, giving way to the sleek lines of Art Deco and the polished elegance of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Women wore bias-cut satin dresses that skimmed the body, hair styled in soft waves, and accessories chosen for streamlined sophistication. The influence of cinema was profound—perfume advertisements frequently borrowed the language of film, hinting at romance, surrender, and emotional transformation.
In this climate, a perfume called Surrender would have resonated deeply. Women of the period often viewed fragrance as an extension of identity and mood, and a name like this hinted at both emotional escape and sensual invitation. It suggested a fragrance meant to be worn during languid summer evenings, or in private moments when one wanted to feel delicate, cherished, or quietly alluring. The idea of “surrendering” in scent implied yielding to beauty, inviting tenderness, and letting the perfume soften the sharper edges of daily life.
Translating this name into scent, Ciro crafted a white floral oriental described as a light magnolia perfume—airy, creamy, and radiant, yet with enough depth to linger for hours. Magnolia in perfumery is associated with warm climates, luminous petals, and a subtle buttery quality that never overwhelms. In Surrender, the magnolia effect is brightened with greener facets, making it fresher and more buoyant than L’Origan, the iconic floral-oriental to which it was often compared. While it shared the same general fragrance family, Surrender was gentler, less ornate, and more fluid in character. It offered a tender, lulling rhythm rather than the operatic drama of earlier orientals.
What truly distinguished the fragrance, however, was its vetiver undercurrent. Vetiver, rarely used so prominently in feminine compositions of the time, added a quiet, grassy dryness that grounded the florals and gave the perfume a steady pulse. Described as “a delicious note based on vetiver,” this subtle earthiness prevented the scent from becoming overly sweet or powdery. Instead, it created a soft contrast—a tug between airy magnolia and the cool, whispering darkness of vetiver. That interplay made the fragrance feel contemplative, soothing, and emotionally immersive.
In the broader context of 1930s perfumery, Surrender aligned with trends toward lighter florals and more delicate orientals, yet it also stood apart. Many floral-orientals of the period leaned toward opulence and spice; Ciro’s interpretation opted instead for tranquility, brightness, and a more modern, uncluttered style. Its green magnolia theme and vetiver backbone gave it a nuanced elegance that gently echoed its name. Women who wore it would have experienced a fragrance that invited them to exhale—to loosen their emotional grip and allow the perfume’s soft harmony to carry them.
In essence, Surrender was a fragrance that reflected its time: a perfume born in an era hungry for gentleness, comfort, and beauty, offering the wearer a moment of release in a world undergoing profound change.
Fragrance Composition:
So what does it smell like? Surrender is classified as a white floral oriental fragrance for women and was described as a light magnolia scent perfect for warmer weather. Heady scent that lingers for hours. Greener than L'Origan but otherwise quite similar; not as much character and strength.
- Top notes: bergamot, mandarin orange, lemon, petitgrain, coriander, pepper, lily of the valley, neroli, honeysuckle and violet leaf
- Middle notes: lavender, jasmine, tuberose, magnolia, carnation, violet, iris, ionone, orange blossom, carnation, clove, isoeugenol, rose, heliotrope, heliotropin, ylang ylang
- Base notes: galbanum, patchouli, vetiver, vetiveryl acetate, oakmoss, vanilla, benzoin, ambergris, ambreine, civet, musk, musk ketone, frankincense, sandalwood, tonka bean, labdanum, frankincense, Peru balsam, tolu balsam, cedar, opoponax, orris
Scent Profile:
The first breath of Surrender feels like stepping into a garden just as morning breaks. Bergamot, likely from Calabria, brings its unmistakable clarity—bright citrus with a floral edge that gives the perfume its initial lift. Calabrian bergamot is prized for its balanced character: neither too sharp nor bitter, but rounded and sparkling. Alongside it, mandarin orange contributes a softer sweetness, the kind of citrus that feels tender rather than crisp, while lemon sharpens the composition with its brisk, almost effervescent cut. Petitgrain adds greenery right away. Distilled from the leaves and twigs of the bitter orange tree, it smells woody, leafy, and a little floral—bridging the citrus and the blossoms to come. It gives the opening the freshness of crushed stems.
The spice elements—coriander and pepper—introduce a subtle hum beneath the citrus sparkle. Coriander is unexpectedly soft: herbal, nutty, slightly sweet. Black pepper contributes a dry, radiant heat, never overtaking the flowers but energizing them.Then the green bloom begins. Lily of the valley, recreated here with delicate molecules, smells watery, silvery, and pure, like white petals floating in cool shade. Neroli, distilled from Tunisian or Moroccan orange blossoms, brightens everything with its honeyed-green purity—bittersweet, clean, and effervescent. Honeysuckle adds gentle sweetness, dewy and slightly fruity. Violet leaf brings a cool, aqueous greenness, almost cucumber-like, giving the perfume the fresh verdancy noted by early wearers. These top notes create the perfume’s signature freshness: green, airy, uplifting, and perfect for warm weather.
As the citrus-light fades, Surrender becomes a soft, white floral tapestry. The magnolia impression begins to emerge through layers of blossoms. Lavender forms a bridge into the heart, adding a faint aromatic coolness. Its herbal softness keeps the white florals from turning overly sweet.
The trio of jasmine, tuberose, and magnolia provides the main floral body. Jasmine is luminous and honeyed; tuberose is creamy and narcotic; magnolia smells like lemon-tinged petals warmed by the sun. Together, they create the heady but airy magnolia effect that the perfume was known for.
Carnation, spiced with hints of clove, adds body and a gentle piquant warmth. In fact, clove itself and isoeugenol—a key aroma molecule replicating clove’s spiced-floral quality—deepen this effect. The natural clove gives the perfume its floral spice, while the isoeugenol threads that spice more smoothly through the entire bouquet.
Violet and its key molecule ionone bring a powdery, velvety softness. Violet absolute is earthy and floral; ionone, derived from the breakdown of carotenoids, smells like violet petals transformed into fragrant air—ethereal, sweet, nostalgic. This pairing enhances the magnolia’s delicate radiance.
Iris introduces elegance with its cool, buttery, slightly dusty presence—a refined counterpoint to the lush white blooms.
Orange blossom returns in the heart, deepened and more sensual than in the top. Rose brings a gentle blush of warmth, and ylang ylang, especially prized when sourced from the Comoros, adds a creamy, banana-like floral richness with touches of spice. Heliotrope and heliotropin create a soft blanket of almondy, vanillic sweetness—powdery, comforting, and faintly reminiscent of sugared petals. The natural heliotrope is creamy and floral; heliotropin (piperonal) amplifies its soft-focus warmth and extends the delicacy into the base. Together, these middle notes form a heart that is radiant, romantic, and slightly nostalgic—lush without heaviness.
As Surrender settles, the oriental facet emerges in a base rich with balsams, woods, and musks.
Galbanum, a resin with sharp green intensity, keeps the drydown cool and fresh even as the heavier notes unfold. Its emerald bitterness reinforces the “greener than L’Origan” impression. Patchouli provides earthiness and depth; vetiver adds dry, grassy smoke. Vetiveryl acetate, a cleaned-up derivative of vetiver, brings a smoother, more polished version of vetiver’s woody-green theme—refining rather than replacing the natural note. Oakmoss brings the classic chypre undertone: earthy, forested, subtly salty. It adds sophistication and helps the perfume cling to the skin in soft velvet.
Then the balsams arrive: Benzoin – sweet, resinous, with hints of vanilla and polished wood. Labdanum – warm, leathery, ambery. Peru and Tolu balsams – smoky, sweet, softly medicinal resins that anchor the floral warmth. Opoponax – deep, honeyed, almost incense-like. Frankincense, appearing twice in this structure, adds a liturgical brightness—lemony, resinous, and serene. It lifts the heavier balsams and gives the drydown a spiritual, floating quality.
Ambergris (and its synthetic echo, ambreine) contributes a salty, skin-like radiance. Ambergris lends the perfume its longevity and sense of soft diffusion; ambreine smooths and enhances this glow. Civet and musk add subtle animalic warmth—soft, purring, sensual without overt heaviness. Musk ketone, a classic nitro-musk, contributes a powdery, warm, slightly sweet haze that wraps the composition in a gentle aura. The woods complete the foundation: Sandalwood – creamy, warm, milky, especially prized when sourced from Mysore. Cedar – dry, pencil-shavings clean. Orris – powdery, buttery, quiet but persistent. Tonka bean, with its coumarin-rich almond warmth, gives the perfume a tender finish, melding with vanilla to soften the resins and woods.
Surrender opens green and sunlit, blooms into a white floral heart saturated with creamy magnolia light, and dries down into a warm, resin-glowing oriental softened by woods, musk, and moss. The interplay of natural florals and skilled use of synthetics—ionone, heliotropin, isoeugenol, musk ketone, ambreine, vetiveryl acetate—creates a fragrance that feels both luminous and lingering. It is gentle yet long-lasting, romantic yet serene—an olfactory invitation to release tension, soften the mind, and, as its name promises, surrender.
L'Amour de l'art, 1950:
"Surrender by Ciro: a perfume with a lulling rhythm that charms you with a delicious note based on vetiver."
Bottles:
In 1931, the debut presentation of Surrender appeared as a limited edition housed in a specially commissioned Baccarat crystal flacon. This luxurious release was presented in a modernistic gray velvet box set over a wooden base wrapped in silver foil. Its construction subtly echoed the sloped silhouette of Georgian knife boxes, giving the design a refined historical reference while remaining thoroughly contemporary in spirit.
The box opened on a hinged lid that folded fully backward, revealing the crystal bottle nestled within a precisely cut recess. The interior was lined in silver foil and backed with a genuine mirror, a thoughtful detail that heightened the sparkle and refraction of the faceted crystal. Standing about 7.5 inches tall, the box featured two narrow grooved silver-toned ornaments on the exterior—details that evoked the clean, vertical lines of a skyscraper. A 1931 advertisement captured this modern flair, calling Surrender “the newest and smartest of modern perfumes… in handsome sky-scraper velvet box in gray.”
The Baccarat bottle itself was crafted in clear crystal with a diamond-faceted octagonal form and a conforming eight-sided stopper. The underside was etched “Bottle Made in France” and “Baccarat.” For this edition, a gilded enamel collar encircled the neck, lettered in black with “Ciro Paris France.” One face of the bottle also carried the name Surrender in gilded script with a black outline, paired again with “Ciro Paris France.” With the stopper in place, the bottle stands approximately 4⅝ inches tall and holds 2.8 ounces of parfum.
Many surviving boxes no longer show the original gray tone; exposure to tobacco smoke over time has often shifted the velvet to a warm brown, a change frequently seen in period examples.
Diamond Bottles:
- 2.8 oz Baccarat bottle stands 4⅝ inches tall
- 1.5 oz Baccarat bottle stands 4" tall
- 0.66 (2/3 oz) bottle stands 4.5" tall.
- 0.75 (3/4 oz) bottle stands 3.5" tall.
- 1 oz bottle stands 3" tall.
- 0.5 (1/2 oz) bottle stands 2.25" tall.
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By 1934, the presentation of Surrender shifted to a more economical format, and the smaller sizes such as the 0.75 oz and the 1.5 oz of the diamond-cut bottle reflected this new direction. These later flacons no longer carried the gilded enamel band encircling the neck, a distinguishing feature reserved for the 1931 limited edition. Instead, they were fitted with simple silver paper labels. Likewise, the gilded hand-applied lettering once placed directly on the shoulders of the Baccarat bottle was discontinued. In its place, manufacturers used clear acetate labels embellished with gilded serigraphy, offering a streamlined and less costly alternative to artisanal decoration.
The outer packaging was also simplified. The earlier velvet-covered, mirrored presentation case was replaced by slip-cover cardboard boxes decorated with a printed pattern of broken horizontal lines. Inside, the bottle no longer rested within a recessed cavity; instead, it was displayed upright against a standing wire frame. This updated design maintained a tidy appearance while reducing production expenses, reflecting the practical adjustments many perfume houses made during the mid-1930s.
Other less expensive editions were produced by other companies and were contained in different bottles and packaging.
Esscent:
Introduced in 1953, Esscent – Image de Parfum represented Ciro’s attempt to reinterpret its classic fragrances for a postwar generation that favored convenience, modernity, and intensity of expression. Esscent was formulated as a concentrated perfume—essentially the equivalent of a modern eau de parfum—strong enough to linger beautifully on the skin yet fluid enough to be worn more generously than a traditional extrait. Ciro emphasized that Esscent offered the “image” of their perfumes: faithful to the originals in character, but reborn in a form that suited contemporary lifestyles.
All Esscent fragrances were presented in bottles deliberately modeled after Ciro’s earlier luxury designs. These replicas retained the familiar silhouette of the parfum flacons, with their elegant vertical lines and distinctive shoulders, but were crafted in pressed glass rather than hand-cut crystal. Instead of a ground-glass stopper, each bottle carried a gleaming gold-plated screw cap, making the perfume easier to use and better suited for repeated, liberal application. The caps themselves were a small marvel of mid-century industrial design—made of Durez phenolic plastic manufactured by the Plastics Division of the Terkelsen Machine Company, then gold-plated to echo the warmth of the amber liquid inside. The overall effect was glamorous yet practical, with a touch of the Space Age optimism of the 1950s.
Fate of the Fragrance:
Discontinued. Still being sold in 1969.