The history of the Guerlain house and the best Guerlain perfume

Guerlain's house - each scent of it is a unique creation, unique and unrepeatable. These are the best perfumes in the world, these are true works of art. Guerlain's perfumes are gentle, passionate, exciting, mysterious and even daring - Apres l'Ondee, Shalimar, Samsara, Mitsouko,…. Guerlain's perfumes are out of fashion, they are eternity.

Pierre-Francois Pascal Guerlain was born in 1798 in Normandy. His father sent his son to England to receive a chemical education. When the young physician-chemist returned to France, he opened a small soap factory, and with it a pharmacy and perfume shop on the Rue de Rivoli, in which he sold his products. In his activities, he found not only commercial benefits, but also pleasure.
It was there that he put up for sale his first floral fragrances Esprit de Fleures ("Soul of flowers") and Senteurs de Champs ("Field paths").

Honore de Balzac himself often visited this shop and ordered eau de toilette from Guerlain. And when Napoleon III began the reconstruction of Paris, Pierre François Pascal Guerlain opened a new store on rue de la Paix. After reconstructing Paris, Napoleon III began to organize his personal life. A great connoisseur of female beauty, he chose a beautiful Spanish woman as his wife princess Eugene. And for the wedding celebration, Guerlain composes Eau de Cologne Imperial (cologne "Imperial") in a crystal bottle with a gilded relief image of bees - the emblem of the House of Bonaparte. This exquisite aroma, including bergamot, lemon, neroli, delights Eugene. Guerlain becomes the official perfumer of Their Imperial Majesties, he receives the status of a court perfumer and creates wonderful fragrances: Parfum Imperial, Parfum De France, Parfum d 'Imperatrice, Bouquet Napoleon. They were followed by fame not only at the French court. Perfumes are ordered by all European monarchs. For the Moscow court, specifically for the Emperor Alexander II, he creates Eau De Cologne Imperial Russe. Then there were created fragrances for Russian princesses - Princesse Alexandra and Bouquet d'Olga.

Subsequently, the Guerlain House becomes the official supplier of the Russian Imperial Court. By the way, the greatness and wealth of the Russian court attracted many perfumers, who considered it an honor to win the favor of the Emperor and his court nobility. Queen Victoria of Great Britain, Isabella of Spain, and the young princess of Austria-Hungary Elizabeth (Sissi) admire Guerlain's fragrances. The private collection of the House of Guerlain contains bottles and recipes for colognes "Imperial Russe" ("Russian Imperial") and "Cour Moscovite" ("Moscow Dvor").

Meanwhile, his sons Eme and Gabriel are growing up, who become his assistants.

Aimé Guerlain, like his father, was educated as a chemist in Great Britain. He was fascinated by this country, and not only by the country. One young Englishwoman, Geeky, won his heart. But for some reason, they could not be together, and then it was time for Ema to go home. He returned to France, and Jiki could never forget, and remained alone forever. True, his brother's family always supported him, and without having children of his own, he adored his nephew Jacques. In 1889, Aimé Guerlain created Jicky in memory of his beloved. Eme wanted to create a masculine scent using the newly synthesized coumarin, which smelled like freshly cut hay.But thanks to the shades of warm marjoram and sandalwood, the fragrance has gained immense popularity among women. The fragrance combines fresh notes of bergamot and lavender, the pungent scent of tonka beans, vanilla and opopanax. This perfume is still produced by the House of Guerlain. Aimé Guerlain became a worthy successor of the perfume house - his creations represent a new era in perfumery - Fleurs d'Italie (Flowers of Italy), Excellence (Perfection) and others.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Pierre and Jacques, Aimé's nephews, became the governing bodies of the Guerlain empire. And his beloved Jacques begins the most brilliant era in the history of the House of Guerlain. He created new perfume compositions in the spirit of that time: Bon Vieux Temps ("Good Old Times"), Voilette de Madame ("Lady's Veil"), Le Mouchoir de Monsieur ("His Handkerchief"), Muguet ("Lily of the Valley"), Rue de la Paix ("Peace Street"). Jacques continued the family tradition of dedicating fragrances to famous people. For example, in 1933 he created the fragrance Vol de Nuit ("Night Flight"), dedicated to the French pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupery. The legend and symbol of the early twentieth century Sarah Bernhardt - Jacques creates his masterpieces for her - Apres l'Ondee (1906) L'Heure Bleut (1912). Apres l'Ondee ("After a shower") - is it possible to better convey the beauty and freshness of nature after a summer rain. The fragrance belongs to the floral-powdery family, in which the freshness of cassia and anise, violet and carnation. The composition ends with a powdery aroma of iris and vanilla. L'Heure Bleut ("Blue Hour") - twilight is about to come, but the day is not yet completely extinguished, there is a fragrance of flowers in the garden, and time seems to stop. The state of bliss cannot be conveyed in words, only perfume created by Jacques Guerlain can do it. The magic scent is enclosed in a bottle with graceful arabesques, and the cork is in the shape of a heart. And then Jacques creates another masterpiece that still fascinates and excites - Mitsouko. The chypre combination of jasmine, rose, spices, oakmoss and amber has become the emblem of the House of Guerlain. But when Shalimar was created (1927) there was a phenomenal success - the glory of the House of Guerlain reached the shores of America. It should be admitted that perfume Shalimar - this is a classic that has no age, it is eternal. This perfume is among the best-selling to this day. In 1955, Jacques Guerlain creates his last creation - Ode ("Ode"). This fragrance is a collaboration with his 18 year old grandson Jean Paul.

Perfume Guerlain Shalimar

After that, only four years pass and Jean Paul is already acting independently and creates one of the best colognes for men - Vetiver ("Vetiver"). In 1965 - the first oriental fragrance Habit Rouge ("Red Tailcoat"). This fragrance is only for real men, so much it conveys strength and energy with its breath, the autumnal smells of the forest and the sensual aromas of leather and tobacco. A fragrance that will make a woman's heart flutter. Habit Rouge is a combination of fresh notes of orange, bergamot, lemon, spice, patchouli, leather, amber, vanilla.

In 1968 Jean Paul creates the Chamade perfume. Shamad is a type of drumbeat. Shamad is a hymn to the passion of a captivating, daring and sensual woman. Jean Paul Guerlain is a poet and musician in perfumery, therefore the images reflected in his fragrances are the images of his fantasies and poems, and in the fragrance "Shamad" the image is inspired by the heroine Catherine Deneuve from the film based on the novel by Françoise Sagan "The Signal for Surrender". This fragrance can hardly be attributed to any particular family of perfumes. It is semi-oriental, floral and fruity. Top notes are hyacinth and galbanum, heart notes are ylang-ylang, jasmine, currant, trail is sandalwood and vanilla. Who can resist a woman who smells like such a bouquet? Yes, of course, the name of the fragrance explains everything - “Signal for surrender”. And the bottle echoes the name and content of the fragrance - an inverted heart, it is crowned with a lid in the form of an arrowhead that has reached its goal.

In 1979, again and again, Jean Paul confirms the title of the worthy heir to the perfume empire. He creates perfume Nahema ("Naema"). Exciting and heady perfume with a rose aria, in which you can hear passion and tenderness.The magic power, contained in the bottle, gives pleasure not only to the woman who uses them, but also to those around her.

In 1983, Jean-Paul Guerlain thrilled again with the appearance of a new flower composition "Gardens Bagatelle" - Les jardins de Bagatelle. A joyful, radiant and daring bouquet of flowers opens with a rose, gardenia, jasmine, in the heart of the bouquet is the night beauty of tuberose. 1989 year - Samsara scent caused a whole avalanche of imitations. A magical aroma affects the soul and heart with its beauty, and it is impossible to forget it.
Back in 1955, when very young, Jean Paul created the Vetiver fragrance for men. It can be said that it was the first fragrance for men. Time passes, a new woman needs a new man, and Jean Paul creates the fragrance L 'Instant de Guerlain ("Instant"). The scent makes you feel that every moment of life is magical. Guerlain is constantly in search of that moment that can change life, give new feelings and unexperienced emotions. Jean Paul Guerlain created a magnificent series of fragrances "Fqua Allegoria", which is dedicated to his favorite Guerlain notes: "Rosa magnifica", "Ylang & Vanille", "Lilia bella", "Gentiana" and others. Adhering to family principles, he keeps up with the times that's why young people are delighted with his grapefruit Pamplelune and herbaceous Herba Fresca.

Jean Paul Guerlain loves literature, music and French cuisine. He loves to travel to exotic countries in search of new ingredients for his new perfume masterpieces. Guerlain owns ylang-ylang plantations on the island of Mayotte, an essential oil plant in Tunisia. He continues the family tradition according to the principles of the Guerlain dynasty. All perfumes contain not so many components, prefers to use natural raw materials, although he does not neglect artificial ones either (its share is no more than 20%). In addition, all Guerlains attached great importance to the design of the bottle: "... a bottle for a fragrance is like a dress for a woman."

The scent is capable of overshadowing the beauty and brilliance of diamonds. He can possess magical powers, awakening feelings and fantasy. And the descendants of Pierre François Guerlain proved this with their creations.