Clara “Coty” Labadie: The Forgotten Pioneer of American Natural Perfumery
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Before fragrance was fashion. Before department store counters and glossy ad campaigns. Before we had names like “clean beauty” or “sustainable scent”… there was Clara Labadie.
Known lovingly as “Coty” by her friends and neighbors, Clara was quietly distilling flowers, herbs, and orchard fruit into perfume from her Michigan farmhouse in the early 1900s. And though she never became a household name, her legacy lives on in the way many of us experience fragrance today: as a deeply personal, place-rooted, and memory-filled part of our everyday lives.
At Cypress Cove, we often say our perfumes are “favorite memories, bottled.” And in many ways, Clara Labadie was bottling memories long before we were.
A Life Among Lavender and Apple Blossoms
Born in 1872 in the orchard-rich hills of western Michigan, Clara grew up on a working farm where seasons were marked not by the calendar, but by scent. Spring smelled of lilacs and new grass. Summer brought the dusty sweetness of hayfields. Autumn carried ripe apples, falling leaves, and warm pies cooling on windowsills.
By her teenage years, Clara had begun making her own tinctures from lavender, chamomile, and rose petals, steeped in homemade alcohol and sealed in glass vials. At first, it was just a curiosity—something to trade with friends or gift to her sisters. But word spread. Local women began asking for more. The town apothecary invited her to sell a few bottles in his shop.
And just like that, a quiet little perfume business was born.
A Scent of Her Own
Clara wasn’t trained in chemistry or perfumery. But she knew her flowers, and she trusted her nose. She’d walk the orchards barefoot in early morning, gathering apple blossoms heavy with dew. She lined her shelves with jars of dried herbs and homegrown lavender. She even tried to grow her own patchouli one summer (not entirely successfully, she admitted).
She kept notebooks filled with blends—apple blossom and violet for a spring tonic, cedar and mint for winter, and a signature mix she called “Hearth & Hope” that combined clove, rose, and smoke. It was a customer favorite, described as “the scent of home, lit lanterns, and good company.”
Mail Orders and Midwest Roots
By the 1920s, Clara was selling perfumes by mail across the Midwest. Her labels read simply: Made by Coty Labadie – Natural Perfumes from Michigan. (Yes, she called herself Coty—years before the French Coty brand made headlines. She joked that she used the nickname before it was fashionable.)
She wasn’t trying to compete with Parisian perfumes. Clara’s blends were different—simpler, softer, rooted in familiar places. Where other fragrances aimed to impress, hers aimed to comfort.
And isn’t that what scent is really about?
A Legacy That Smells Like Home
Clara passed away in 1954, leaving behind shoeboxes of handwritten formulas, dried herbs, and a few surviving bottles. Her story, though little known, feels like a thread woven into the larger tapestry of American perfumery—a quiet reminder that scent doesn’t have to be fancy to be meaningful. It just has to feel like something real.
Here at Cypress Cove, we carry that same spirit forward.
We create regionally inspired Eau de Toilettes that celebrate scent memories tied to American life—lake days, winery visits, beach walks, cozy mornings at a B&B. And like Clara, we care about what goes into our bottles: safe synthetics, beautiful naturals, and blends that feel personal.
Inspired by Clara? Try These Scents:
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🌲 A Day At The Lake – With notes of juniper, fresh water, and sun-warmed stone, this scent is like a barefoot walk down to the dock—exactly the kind of memory Clara would’ve bottled.
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🍇 A Day In The Vineyard – A soft, fruity-herbal blend of grape must, herbas berries, and oakwood, evoking the joy of harvest season in wine country.
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🌊 A Day At The Coast – Salt air, driftwood, and a whisper of patchouli. If Clara had lived on the coastline instead of the orchard, we think this would’ve been her favorite.
Why Her Story Still Matters
Today, when we talk about perfumery, we often focus on fashion houses, celebrity launches, or sleek luxury brands. But the heart of American fragrance lies elsewhere—in the memory of place, in the power of scent to soothe and delight, and in the hands of women like Clara, who trusted their instincts and crafted something beautiful from what grew around them.
So next time you spritz your favorite Cypress Cove fragrance, remember: you’re not just wearing a scent. You’re continuing a tradition—one that started on a farmhouse porch, in the golden light of a Michigan orchard.
Here’s to Clara. And here’s to all the memories we’ve yet to bottle.
Favorite Memories, Bottled.