The History of Perfumery: A Living Heritage in Grasse
At Grasse Atelier, we honor centuries of expertise. Our scents are handcrafted using traditional methods in the world's perfume capital.
Some perfumers have left their mark on the history of perfumery. In 1709, Jean Marie Farina founded the perfume house Farina gegenüber in Cologne, which is now the oldest perfume house in the world. He named his new perfume Eau de Cologne in honor of his city, making Cologne famous worldwide as the city of perfume. In 1775, Jean-François Houbigant established himself in Paris under the sign "A la corbeille de fleurs." This became the second oldest French perfumery. Other major players in the history of perfume include the members of the Guerlain family, whose dynasty began with Pierre-François Guerlain, who opened a perfumery in Paris in 1828. In 1853, the Guerlain house created Eau de l'Impératrice and became the first supplier to Napoleon III. In 1889, Aimé Guerlain created Jicky, considered the first great French perfume to combine natural essences and synthetic essences. This was followed by the creation of a perfume for men, Mouchoir de Monsieur (1904), composed by Jacques Guerlain at a time when men were still very resistant to perfume. As an "independent" perfumer, François Coty, best known for Le Chypre de Coty (1917), gave rise to an olfactory family. François Coty introduced several marketing innovations: creating a range of derivative products from a perfume (lipstick, face powder); and designing prestigious bottles produced by the most famous houses, notably Lalique. The geniuses of perfumery, also known as "noses," remain much less known than the perfumes they have created. It is thanks to Ernest Beaux that we have Chanel No 5. Edmond Roudnitska created Diorissimo and Eau Sauvage for Dior. Henri Alméras composed Joy (1929) for Jean Patou. Perfumery in Grasse.