French Perfume

Favoring French Fragrances – Why France is THE Place for Perfumes

France has been the heart and soul of the world's perfume industry since the middle of the 17th Century and French perfumes, like French wines, are famous around the world for their character and originality. The idea of scent as an important ingredient of everyday life, however, started long before that in a very different environment.

Egypt, the birthplace of cosmetics! Perfume was first used in Egypt around 1600 BC as an element in religious ritual, either as incense or in balms and ointments. It was some five or six centuries later when Egyptian woman began using perfume and oils as cosmetics . . . as well as for their observed effects as an aphrodisiac. Frankincense and Myrrh, two of the famous gifts from the Christian bible story were used to add scent to the atmosphere for rituals. Other plants, such as rose and peppermint, were were soaked in oil long enough to create a scented ointment that was then rubbed into the skin.

France, an industry is born! Jumping ahead to France in the middle of the 17th Century you'll find the genesis of the modern perfume industry and the birthplace of today's obsession with scent. Oddly enough it began with gloves! Perfumed gloves became quite popular which led the first perfume makers to join with glove makers to form a trade guild. After that, the use of perfume in France grew steadily. By the 18th Century, the invention of an eau de cologne, a milder, more refreshing scent created through the use of certain spices and citrus juices, gave birth to new and surprising uses for manufactured scents. Along with what we would consider today to be normal uses of a scent, eau de cologne was also mixed with wine and eaten on a sugar lump for use as a mouthwash.

A frivolous product? Throughout history, the French perfume industry has grown -- that is notable; in it's long history, it is one of the few industries in the world that has never seen a recession. In France itself, a full 90% of the female population uses perfume and 50% of the men use perfume. There are approximately 100 new fragrances introduced every year from the French perfume industry -- some costing their companies as much as $20 million (US) in advertising and marketing. In France, a new perfume product is not considered a success unless its sales reach the level of one billion French francs ($200 million US). The perfume industry has been called a frivolous industry but numbers like these and successes such as have been seen in the French perfume industry represent an effort and dedication that is anything but frivolous.

Grassed, France! The city of Grassed, near Cannes, is considered to be the perfume capital of the world. France's perfume industry was born in Grassed in the 16th century as an extension of the perfumed glove craze. Grassed was, at that time, already a hub of the leather and tanning industries (and had been since the 13th Century) and it was here that the perfumed gloves were made. Then, when the craze died and took much of Grasse's leather industry with it, the perfume industry remained . . . and grew.

The climate in Grassed was ideal and the most beautiful and delicate flowers grew there; this attracted perfume makers from all over France. In today's world, the perfume industry relies more on chemicals and chemistry than it does on flowers but flowers were the genesis, their scent, the inspiration for an industry.

Two thousand people are employed in Grassed, creating perfumes and aromas and generating almost 3 billion French Francs ($600 million US) per year; this is about 50% of the market for French perfumes and 6% of the world market.

The House of Guerlain! As you think of France and think of perfume there is one other name that must play into your thoughts; that name is Guerlain. Guerlain has been France's most distinguished perfumer for the past 165 years with classics such as L'Eau impériale, Shalimar, L'Heure bleue, Vol de Nuit and Mitsouko. Guerlain was founded by Pierre Francois Pascal and, since opening their first perfumery in Paris in 1828, they have expanded to seven exclusive boutiques in Paris, with equally exclusive shops in Milan, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Today the House of Guerlain has the largest family of products in the French perfume industry and has a reputation and character that is recognized all over the world.

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