While the French didn’t invent perfume, they have certainly made it their own and produce some of the world’s best-known fragrances and eau de parfu. Paris and Grasse in Provence are the main bases for French perfume manufacture and widely considered to be the world capitals of scent. And ask anyone to name a perfume brand and the chances are that Chanel, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent or Guerlain will be first to come to mind. France and parfum therefore go hand-in-hand.
Discover the history of French perfume
History credits the ancient Egyptians with the invention of perfume, something they associated with wellbeing and health. They became masters of creating scents for personal use and embalming. They even had a god of perfume, Nefertum. Later on, the Greeks and Romans also used perfume, primarily to hide bad smells.
Leap forwards a little in time and the history of French perfume begins. France was where mass production of perfume began. In the mid-1500s, Grasse was one of the smelliest towns in the country – the tanning industry filled the air with a stench that clung stubbornly to anything made from leather. To mask the smell on the best-selling leather gloves, manufacturers sprayed them with perfume.
Did you know? Lavender is an essential scent in French perfume and grows in Provence in abundance.
>>> Discover the fields of blue gold
Like most Europeans at the time, the French themselves also smelt as few people washed regularly. Louis XIV famously only bathed three times in his entire life such was his (and his fellow Frenchmen’s) aversion to water. Unsurprisingly, the French perfume industry also came into its own to disguise human odour. The French court was the first to embrace the idea of perfuming yourself and everything around you – Louis XV’s was known as ‘la cour parfumée’.
French perfume fact #1
France leads the international perfume market and scents produced in the country account for around 30% of the world share.
“Long after one has forgotten what a woman wore, the memory of her perfume lingers.” Christian Dior
The capitals of French perfume
Not only did Grasse need to hide its pungent smell of leather, but the town also had easy access to the main components in perfume. Roses, lavender and jasmine grow in abundance in Provence and locals used them to distill scents making the small town a major hub of the perfume industry.
But by the 18th century, the geography of perfume and the art of perfumery shifted to Paris. Supplied with raw material from Grasse, Parisian perfumers began to create their own scents. This led to the rise of several prominent perfumers – Jean-Louis Fargeon was one of the most famous. Marie Antoinette loved his creations including the signature Sillage de la Reine with its heady mix of tuberose, jasmine, orange blossom and sandalwood.
French perfume fact #2
Grasse celebrates two annual festivals in honour of perfume’s main components, aromatic plants: the rose festival in May when 25,000 cut roses adorn the town’s squares; and the jasmine festival in August.
“Perfume is the most intense form of memory.” Jean Paul Guerlain
Did you know? Provence is a feast for the senses, including its perfume museums, particularly in spring and summer.
>>> Discover the fragrances for yourself when you cruise one of the region’s waterways.
Early pioneers in perfume in France
In Grasse, some of the most famous perfumers were part of the Fragonard, Galimard and Molinard houses. All three still produce scents in the town and you can visit their factories and perfume museums. But the best overall insight into the French perfume industry comes at the International Perfume Museum.
In Paris, Guerlain was one of the first perfume houses to mass-produce scents. The brand has created over 600 perfumes including the iconic Shalimar whose bottle design won its creator, Raymond Guerlain, first prize at the Paris Decorative Arts Exhibition in 1925. You can visit the Maison de Guerlain at 68 Champs- Elysées.
Coco Chanel was also an early pioneer in the world of French perfume. Perhaps the world’s most iconic French perfume, Chanel No 5 was created in 1921 in Grasse. Its creator, the ‘nose’ Ernest Beaux, used aldehydes for the first time in scents. He offered Coco Chanel a choice of 24 fragrances and she chose the fifth. The equally iconic bottle takes the octagonal shape of the Place Vendôme as its inspiration.
French perfume fact #3
The perfume industry uses around 6,000 essential oils including those naturally produced by flowers, fruit, resins, grasses, spices and animal musk. Synthetically produced aldehyde also forms the base of much modern-day perfume manufacture.
“No elegance is possible without perfume. It is the unseen, unforgettable, ultimate accessory.” Coco Chanel
French perfume today
In a world flooded with cosmetics containing scent – from shower gel and deodorants to soap and face cream – France still manages to stay at the top of the perfume game. Fragrances make up the second most important sector in the country’s beauty industry and France is the world’s top producer and exporter of timeless French perfume.
Chanel, Dior and Guerlain remain the largest brands – creating some of the most famous perfumes of all time – synonymous with luxury scent and French style. Joining them are around 40 other French brands of perfume ranging from established names like Estée-Lauder and Lâncome to up-and-coming newbies such as Maison Francis Kurkdjian in Paris and Mad et Len in Grasse.
French perfume fact #4
Napoleon was perhaps the world’s first perfume junkie. He loved the scent of cologne so much that he placed a regular order of 50 bottles of the fragrance a month, reportedly because the notes of rosemary reminded him of his native Corsica.
“Perfume is the art that makes memory speak.” Francis Kirkdjian
On board with French perfume
Perfume forms part of the language of love – as Christian Dior said, “Make me a fragrance that smells like love”. It therefore follows that the best romantic holidays in France should include a nod to perfume history.
Amour, a luxury hotel barge, combines romance, luxury and perfume to perfection. Taking just the two of you, Amour glides the waters of the Canal du Midi on a 7-day trip experiencing the very best the area has to offer. In cuisine, in wine, in culture and heritage, and of course, in perfume – the two of you can enjoy a private visit to a perfumery to experience the glamourous art of perfumery and romantic world of French fragrances.
Discover the ultimate romantic French holiday with its very own dab of perfume.
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