Launched in 1949, Voodoo by Dana was a fragrance designed to captivate and seduce, living up to its evocative name. For the European market, it was alternatively spelled Vudu, ensuring its mystique transcended language barriers. Subtitled "Perfume of the Night," the fragrance promised an intoxicating, spellbinding allure—an invitation into the world of the unknown, where passion and mystery reigned.
The name Voodoo was undoubtedly chosen to evoke a sense of exoticism, mysticism, and forbidden power. Originating from the West African Vodun religion, the term was later adapted into Haitian Voodoo, a syncretic spiritual practice combining African traditions with Catholic influences. Pronounced “VOO-doo” in English, the word itself stirs images of hypnotic drumbeats, ritualistic dances, and an almost supernatural hold over the senses. It conjures emotions ranging from intrigue to fear, from desire to the thrill of the unknown. By naming the perfume Voodoo, Dana tapped into these primal, magnetic associations, crafting an aura of seduction and enchantment around the scent.
The late 1940s marked a period of transition in the world. World War II had ended, and the world was shifting into a new era of prosperity and cultural evolution. The post-war years saw the rise of film noir, smoky jazz clubs, and a fascination with the exotic. Women’s fashion embraced both feminine elegance and a growing sense of independence—nipped waists, full skirts, and sensual silhouettes reflected both nostalgia and a renewed confidence. The name Voodoo would have intrigued women of this era, offering them an escape into a world of sultry mystery, an olfactory journey to distant lands filled with temptation and danger. It was a fragrance for the bold, the glamorous, and the unconventional—a scent designed to leave a lasting impression.
Classified as a spicy oriental fragrance, Voodoo was heady, rich, and unforgettable. A review of the time noted, “Dana, whose Tabu is still presumably destroying the moral fibre of men, has perfected a new weapon, called Voodoo. This one contains a good dash of cinnamon.” This suggests that Voodoo shared some of the same sensual and provocative qualities as Dana’s earlier creation, Tabu, but with an added element of warmth and spice. Cinnamon, a dominant note, would have lent the fragrance an opulent, smoldering heat, enhancing its seductive power. The scent likely blended exotic spices with deep, resinous undertones, creating an aroma as lingering and hypnotic as the rhythmic pulse of Haitian drums.
While Voodoo was in line with the growing trend of bold, exotic fragrances emerging in the late 1940s, it also stood out for its provocative name and intense composition. At a time when many women still gravitated toward refined florals or soft aldehydic blends, Voodoo offered something darker and more daring. It was a fragrance of temptation, designed for women who wanted to embrace their power, mystery, and allure.
Marketing:
In 1949, Dana introduced Voodoo with an aggressive advertising campaign designed to captivate holiday shoppers. The fragrance debuted with “more than usual hoopla” and a striking ad campaign, appearing in the pages of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar—two of the most influential fashion magazines of the time. Its launch was carefully timed for Christmas, ensuring that Voodoo would be at the forefront of luxury gift-giving. Priced at $40 an ounce—a significant sum for the era—the perfume was positioned as an exclusive and high-end offering, immediately gracing the shelves of key department stores across the United States.
Dana’s American licensee, headquartered in Chicago, played a crucial role in distributing Voodoo and establishing its presence in the U.S. market. This was Dana’s fifth major fragrance, joining the ranks of Tabu, Platine, 20 Carats, and Emir—each a successful perfume in its own right. The company relied heavily on advertising to build awareness and prestige for its scents, a strategy that had proven effective in the past. The driving force behind Dana’s success was its Spanish-born founder, Javier Serra, who had navigated the brand through immense wartime challenges.
Serra’s personal journey was one of resilience and reinvention. When the Nazis occupied Paris in 1940, he fled to New York, having already suffered significant losses during the Spanish Civil War. With his French factory and perfume formulas lost, he was forced to start over. By the end of that same year, Dana was once again in full production in the United States, and he had expanded operations into South America. However, wartime shortages of essential oils soon forced the company to limit distribution.
With the end of World War II, Dana saw a resurgence, benefiting from both the reopening of supply chains and an unexpected development—while under German occupation, Dana’s Paris division had continued to operate, creating new fragrances that would bolster the company’s postwar portfolio. This discovery helped fuel Dana’s expansion, and by the late 1940s, the brand was thriving, especially in the United States. The launch of Voodoo, supported by high-profile advertising and an aggressive sales strategy, solidified Dana’s presence in the luxury perfume market. With its bold name, dramatic marketing, and exotic allure, Voodoo was poised to make an unforgettable impact.
In 1949, Voodoo by Dana emerged as more than just a fragrance—it was an experience, a journey into the unknown, and a seduction of the senses. Advertised as "Perfume of the Night," it promised something beyond the realm of conventional perfumery. Dana’s ad copy spoke of an unprecedented creation, one that sought to push the boundaries of what perfume could achieve. It was not merely an accessory, not just a veil of fragrance, but a “perfumed lure to the imagination, a delirious promise of pleasures formerly unexplored.”
The description conjures a scent that is anything but passive. Voodoo was designed to be “never unobtrusive,” instead stirring and activating emotions, igniting passions, and awakening the awareness of those in its presence. It was an invitation into mystery, described as “volcanic,” a word that suggests something smoldering beneath the surface—dangerous, magnetic, and impossible to ignore. This language, steeped in intrigue, painted Voodoo as more than just a perfume; it was a tool of transformation, a means of altering perceptions and leaving an indelible mark on the world.
The copy further claimed that Voodoo contained “two essences entirely new to perfume,” mysterious ingredients that lent it a “definitely activating influence.” Whether these components were natural discoveries or proprietary synthetics, Dana positioned them as revolutionary—an alchemical breakthrough that set Voodoo apart from every other fragrance. The rarity of these essences reinforced the perfume’s exclusivity, suggesting that it was not only precious but also fleeting, a treasure obtainable only by a fortunate few.
The ad’s evocative language ties Voodoo to its namesake, painting it as a hypnotic, ritualistic force. The reference to “the throbbing echo of Haitian drums” aligns the perfume with the mysticism and intensity of Voodoo ceremonies, where rhythm, movement, and unseen energies intertwine to create an altered state of being. This imagery, combined with the fragrance’s “heady, heavy, and lingering” nature, implies a scent that seduces and intoxicates, wrapping the wearer in a spell of sensuality and allure.
Dana’s marketing of Voodoo was more than a mere advertisement—it was an incantation, a promise of transformation. It invited women to step beyond the ordinary, to embrace a fragrance that could unlock hidden desires and stir the soul. With Voodoo, Dana declared that perfume was not just about scent, but about power—the power to enchant, to captivate, and to leave an unforgettable impression.
The Launch:
The launch of Voodoo by Dana was an event of high glamour and theatrical allure, befitting the perfume’s darkly exotic name. Held at the prestigious Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York on December 5, 1949, the unveiling was designed to immerse attendees in an atmosphere of mystery and seduction. The star of the evening was La Voodoo, a Parisian mannequin brought to life by French model Stella Danfray, who embodied the fragrance’s bewitching and hypnotic essence.
To visually represent the exotic character of Voodoo, Dana enlisted the celebrated Parisian couturier Robert Piguet to create a gown that captured the spirit of the scent. The result was a dramatic black velvet evening dress, sleek and seductive in its construction. The strapless bodice hugged the figure, adorned with diagonal bands of shimmering black paillettes, an embellishment echoed in the peplum of the gown’s narrow skirt. A dramatic flourish came from a separate, flowing panel extending from the back of the dress, lending movement and intrigue to the ensemble. Completing the look was a waist-length jacket with a soft, face-framing collar and three-quarter sleeves, finished with a bold trim of paillettes. Every detail of the design was carefully chosen to enhance the enigmatic aura of Voodoo.
No element of the launch was left unconsidered. Accessories played an equally vital role in crafting the Voodoo aesthetic. Delman designed evening sandals specifically for the occasion, featuring black enamel and rhinestone masks as an alluring, theatrical touch. Lura De Gez, an esteemed milliner, created an exquisite coiffure to complement the look, adding yet another layer of mystery and sophistication to the presentation.
Following the grand debut at the Ritz-Carlton, Dana launched an ambitious promotional tour across the United States, with Stella Danfray at its center. Bestowed with the title of La Voodoo, she toured major cities, making a striking impression with her feline-inspired makeup, which became a signature of the campaign. Her first American appearance was at the Bonwit-Teller Five O’Clock fashion show at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia in April 1950. Here, she walked the runway in fashions from Bonwit-Teller, her presence drawing immediate comparisons to silent film vamp Theda Bara. The striking, upturned brows and elongated, almond-shaped eyeliner that became known as the Voodoo eye-do was not her own creation, but the innovation of an obscure Parisian beautician. Nevertheless, Danfray’s natural sloe-eyed beauty and impeccable styling turned the look into an instant trend, inspiring women across the country to adopt the dramatic, feline-inspired gaze.
Danfray’s impact extended beyond the runway. Selected personally by Dana for her haunting beauty and ability to embody Voodoo’s essence, she quickly became a sensation. Her captivating allure led to a Hollywood screen test under the supervision of Cecil B. DeMille, just after he completed Samson and Delilah starring Hedy Lamarr. Meanwhile, at the Bonwit-Teller show, consultants were on hand to teach spectators the art of the Voodoo eye-do, ensuring that the fragrance’s influence extended beyond scent into the realms of fashion and beauty.
Dana’s extravagant launch of Voodoo was more than a mere introduction of a new perfume—it was a carefully orchestrated spectacle, designed to ignite the imagination, stir desire, and establish Voodoo as a fragrance that promised mystery, seduction, and transformation.
Dana’s Voodoo was not merely introduced as a new fragrance—it was heralded as an intoxicating force, a scent capable of seduction and transformation. The New Yorker, in 1949, captured the provocative reputation of Dana’s perfumes with a wry nod to Tabu’s infamous sensuality, suggesting that Voodoo was yet another olfactory weapon in Dana’s arsenal. Described as a “perfume of the night,” it was haunting, rhythmic as a tribal drum, and undeniably powerful. With pricing that ranged from $8.50 for cologne to a luxurious $40 an ounce for the pure perfume, Voodoo was positioned as an elite indulgence, its potency both literal and figurative.
Mademoiselle magazine echoed this sentiment, emphasizing Dana’s talent for crafting compelling fragrances. It proclaimed Voodoo as the most “strangely exciting and wonderful” of all Dana’s creations, underscoring its mysterious allure. This was no mere perfume—it was an experience, a sensory spell designed to captivate.
The 1950 publication Tomorrow delved deeper into Dana’s ambition for Voodoo, portraying it as a fragrance that transcended the traditional role of perfume. It was not only meant to enhance a woman’s beauty but to surround her with an almost supernatural aura. Dubbed “the perfume of the night” in Paris, Voodoo was Dana’s attempt to push the limits of perfumery, creating something that did more than glorify—it enchanted. With an ounce priced at $40, its exclusivity only heightened its mystique.
By 1951, Voodoo had established itself within Dana’s esteemed fragrance line, and Town & Country reassured its readers of the cologne’s fidelity to the original perfume. In an era when cologne formulations often bore only a faint resemblance to their perfume counterparts, Dana’s promise that Voodoo Cologne was “truly Voodoo” signified its enduring richness and longevity. The magazine further elevated Voodoo’s status, describing it as “rich, magnetic… deep in dignity and steeped in splendor.” It was a fragrance designed for the poised sophisticate, the worldly traveler—someone who wore their perfume as a statement of refinement and power.
From its launch, Voodoo was never just another fragrance; it was a concept, a mystery, an essence of seduction bottled. Dana ensured that its reputation was steeped in legend, reinforcing its allure through evocative advertising and editorial praise. Whether whispered about in The New Yorker or extolled in Town & Country, Voodoo cemented itself as a perfume of sophistication, mystery, and undeniable power.
Fragrance Composition:
So what does it smell like? It is classified as a spicy oriental fragrance for women.- Top notes: Italian neroli, aldehydes, Grasse heliotrope, Moroccan cardamom, French cassis, Spanish tarragon, Spanish thyme, basil, Ceylon cinnamon and Zanzibar clove
- Middle notes: Manila ylang ylang, Saigon cinnamon, Bulgarian rose, Parma violet, French carnation, Grasse jasmine and Tunisian orange blossom
- Base notes: Florentine orris, ambergris, Mysore sandalwood, Atlas cedar, Seychelles patchouli, Mexican vanilla, Himalayan costus, Siam benzoin, Venezuelan tonka bean, Canadian castoreum, Abyssinian civet, Tibetan musk, Maltese labdanum, and Haitian vetiver
Scent Profile:
The first breath of Voodoo by Dana is a dazzling rush of Italian neroli, its effervescent citrus brightness softened by the honeyed depth that distinguishes blossoms grown along the sunlit Mediterranean groves of Calabria. This sparkling opening is laced with aldehydes—shimmering and ethereal, their soapy effervescence imparting a sense of cool sophistication. Then, a soft, powdery sweetness emerges from Grasse heliotrope, its almond-vanilla facets curling around the nose like the scent of freshly baked confections drifting through the warm Provençal air.
Exotic Moroccan cardamom follows, its camphoraceous freshness crackling with green, citrusy spice, intertwining with the deep, inky fruitiness of French cassis—an ingredient harvested from Burgundy’s fertile soil, lending a tart, almost wine-like nuance. Spanish tarragon and thyme contribute an herbal sharpness, their anise and pine-laced facets dancing with the crisp verdancy of basil. Then, a sultry heat begins to rise—the smoldering bite of Ceylon cinnamon, rich and slightly sweet, its golden bark exuding a warmth that is unmistakable. The darkness of Zanzibar clove completes the prelude, its intense, almost fiery eugenol-laden spice teasing the senses with a suggestion of mystery and shadow.
As the heart unfolds, the perfume deepens into a floral symphony of hypnotic sensuality. Manila ylang ylang, gathered from the Philippines at its most intoxicating peak, spills forth in waves of creamy, almost narcotic sweetness, its banana-tinged facets rippling beneath the fiery glow of Saigon cinnamon, known for its high oil content and deeper, more resinous bite compared to its Ceylonese counterpart. The regal opulence of Bulgarian rose soon emerges, a velvety bloom with a touch of honey and lemon, its petals capturing the essence of dawn-kissed fields in the Valley of Roses.
Parma violet lends a whisper of powdery nostalgia, its ethereal softness reminiscent of candied petals. The bold, peppery spice of French carnation ignites a piquant flame, its fiery clove-like sweetness igniting the lush floral arrangement. From Grasse, the most coveted jasmine in the world unfolds—its sweet, indolic depth blooming in decadent waves, intertwining with the luminous radiance of Tunisian orange blossom, whose honeyed, slightly green undertones evoke the intoxicating scent of a North African orchard in full bloom.
The base is where Voodoo reveals its deepest enchantment—a dark, hypnotic spell woven from rare and precious materials. The earthy, root-like sweetness of Florentine orris, aged for years to develop its luxurious suede-like powderiness, drapes itself in the warm, salty whisper of ambergris, a rarity found drifting upon the ocean’s tides. Mysore sandalwood, renowned for its unparalleled creaminess, hums with the sacred warmth of temples, its incense-like richness deepened by the smoky, resinous embrace of Atlas cedar.
Seychelles patchouli, bathed in the island’s humid breezes, exudes an earthy, almost chocolate-like richness, merging with the dark, intoxicating embrace of Mexican vanilla, its balsamic warmth curling through the composition like a silken ribbon. The ghostly whisper of Himalayan costus adds an animalic, slightly woody note, its musky undertones curling into the velvety sweetness of Siam benzoin, which exudes a golden, resinous warmth.
Venezuelan tonka bean adds its deep, almond-like caress, bridging the gap between powder and spice. Then, the most primal elements emerge—Canadian castoreum, leathery and smoky, mingles with the untamed sensuality of Abyssinian civet, whose musky depth is tempered by the sacred, enigmatic aura of Tibetan musk. Maltese labdanum, rich and ambery, drapes the entire fragrance in a soft, resinous haze, while Haitian vetiver, with its smoky, grassy soul, lingers like a final, whispering echo of the spell Voodoo has cast.
Product Line:
When Voodoo by Dana debuted in 1949, its pricing positioned it firmly in the luxury fragrance market. The parfum, offered in multiple sizes, ranged from an accessible yet indulgent one-dram vial priced at $6.50 to the ultimate extravagance—a full ounce for $40. These prices, when adjusted for inflation to 2024 values, reveal just how exclusive Voodoo was at the time. The one-dram bottle, equivalent to approximately $85.48 today, provided an entry point for those eager to experience the scent without committing to a larger, more costly purchase. Meanwhile, the quarter-ounce flacon, at $12.50 (now $164.38 in today’s dollars), and the half-ounce at $22.50 (approximately $295.88 today), reflected the increasing investment required for a more substantial supply. At the pinnacle of the range, the one-ounce bottle of Voodoo parfum, which retailed for $40, would equate to an astonishing $526.01 today—an unmistakable sign of its prestige and exclusivity.
Dana also ensured that Voodoo was available in a more affordable cologne concentration, allowing a wider audience to experience its hypnotic aura. The four-ounce bottle retailed for $8.50, which translates to $111.78 in 2024 dollars, while the smaller two-ounce bottle was priced at $5.00, or $65.75 today. Though more accessible than the parfum, these cologne prices were still relatively high, reinforcing Voodoo’s position as a refined and aspirational fragrance.
These figures not only highlight the opulence of Dana’s Voodoo but also underscore its standing in the mid-century fragrance landscape. In an era when luxury perfumes were a statement of sophistication and exclusivity, Voodoo commanded a price that aligned with its carefully cultivated image of mystery, seduction, and power. Even today, its adjusted values place it within the realm of high-end niche perfumery, proving that Dana’s spellbinding creation was, and remains, a fragrance of enduring allure.
Fate of the Fragrance:
Voodoo by Dana was introduced in 1949, emerging at a time when the world was still reeling from the aftermath of war and embracing a new era of sophistication and sensuality. Perfume was no longer just an accessory; it was an expression of identity, a whisper of intrigue, and Voodoo captured this sentiment perfectly. Marketed as the “Perfume of the Night,” it exuded a dark, exotic mystique, promising to enchant and beguile with its rich, spicy-oriental composition. The advertising of the time hinted at its almost dangerous allure, describing it as a fragrance designed to go beyond mere adornment—an olfactory force capable of captivating the senses and stirring the depths of desire. It was positioned as an essential for the sophisticated, the world traveler, and the woman who commanded attention with effortless poise.
Despite the passage of years, Voodoo remained a presence in the fragrance world well into the early 1960s, with advertisements still promoting its hypnotic appeal in 1963. This longevity speaks to the enduring fascination it held for those who sought a perfume that was more than just a pleasant scent—it was a statement. Whether worn in the glow of candlelit evenings or the bustling energy of a city at twilight, Voodoo was designed to leave an impression, a lingering aura of mystery that refused to be forgotten.
The exact date of its discontinuation remains unknown, adding yet another layer to its legend. At some point, Voodoo faded into obscurity, slipping away like an incantation lost to time. Yet, its legacy endures in the memories of those who once wore it and in the hunt for vintage bottles that still hold whispers of its former power. For collectors and lovers of classic perfumery, Voodoo remains an elusive treasure—a fragrance from an era when perfumes were bold, unapologetic, and steeped in the art of seduction.
Read more about Voodoo here.
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