«In the Land of Scents»
Perfumes are intimately linked to the history of France.
Under the Ancien Régime, during the reign of Louis XV, etiquette dictated wearing a different perfume every day. To be at the height of fashion, one had to wear a powerful perfume. Oud, a raw material of animal origin, was highly prized for the personal hygiene of the nobility, who, at the time, hardly appreciated water.
His successor, the famous King Louis XVI, was also passionate about the art of perfumery and continued to promote this art from the court of Versailles to the present day.
As a token of his love for his wife, Marie Antoinette, Louis gifted her, among other things, the iconic Petit Trianon, a garden where she could indulge in her favorite flowers. This gift also reflected the olfactory trends of the era, where nobles sought the exclusive use of flowers, synonymous with freedom, lightness, and, above all, good health. This period was marked by a renewed interest in pharmacopoeia, influenced by the widespread use of Queen of Hungary Water (Catherine de Medici) at court a hundred years earlier.
Travel vanity case belonging to Marie Antoinette, 1791, Paris. Acquired by the International Perfume Museum in 1985.
Perfume is deeply rooted in French heritage; it is certainly linked to its history, but most importantly to its ancestral know-how, which developed from Montpellier to Grasse, and then to Paris, thanks to the legacy of Fargeon, glove maker and perfumer to His Majesty.
This know-how, perpetuated to this day, has earned the sacred region of Grasse an international reputation since 2018: «UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity for the cultivation of perfume plants, the knowledge of natural raw materials, their processing, and the art of perfume composition.»
This historical, geographical, and technical influence has allowed, over time, the democratization of perfume.
At the beginning of the 20th century, French fashion houses began to consider perfume as an accessory in its own right.
«Perfumes can dress us, undress us, or add the finishing touch to our outfit.»
Paul Poiret was the first to associate perfumery with his fashion house. He was followed by Chanel with her famous No. 5, Joy by Jean Patou, and many others.
The art of perfume is now an integral part of luxury brands, which use and highlight it to convey their enchanting message.
Like France today, the world of perfumery is rich in its diversity, drawing inspiration from both its history and its multicultural present. This enthusiasm for diversity, inclusion, and innovation fuels creativity, particularly within small, innovative businesses. It also helps preserve French olfactory heritage, notably thanks to one institution: the Osmothèque, the first and only perfume conservatory in history, which has been working since 1990 to protect and catalog perfumes, whether they are no longer on the market or still for sale.
Le Studio des Parfums directly contributes to the preservation of this heritage by sponsoring the «Je reviens» perfume from Worth 1932; this is how we support the Conservatory in its missions.
With my olfactory greetings,
Le Studio des Parfums, creation of made-to-measure perfumes.
