Empress Sissi

 

 

Elisabeth Amélie Eugénie de Wittelsbach was born in 24th of December 1837.  She was known as Sissi (Sisi in German), and was the daughter of Maximilien, the Duke of Bavari. At the age of 15, she married the future Emperor François Joseph of Austria.  She was tragically murdered in Geneva in 1898 at the age of 41.

 

Contrary to general clichés, she was not a glamourous young woman in love with her charming Prince , the future monarch. Although she accepted to comply to the constraints imposed by the court. She continually fled high society, choosing to focus on her passions: travelling (incognito), her beauty care, classical arts ...

 

A beauty for her century, she was very slim - like a super top model - 41 kg for 1m62, she was often ill but always radiant. She travelled extensively in Europe, cruised on the royal yacht to Madeira and Corfu where she had a magnificent classically-styled villa.

 

An emancipated woman for her time, she called herself a seagull of the seas; she also loved poetry and horse riding through the forest.  She spent lot of time and money on her beauty care, and paid special attention to her hair which was gretly admired in Europe.  She used to rinse her hair with a vanilla-scented lotion that she made-up herself.

 

Like the ladies of her times she perfumed herself with violet (violets from Parma or Paris): this unusual encounter between the typical powdery perfume of the European High Society of the nineteenth century and the generous, sensual scent of vanilla illustrates Sissi's appealing perfume ...