It is probably difficult to find a perfumery Fashion House in Europe with a longer history than Guerlain. It has been around for more than two centuries. A talented chemist in love with his business, the Frenchman Francois Guerlain, in 1888 opened a very small pharmacy store. His secret hobby was the creation of perfume compositions, when there was a free minute. At first, only his relatives used them.
The situation changed dramatically when Gerlen created a cologne for the wedding of Napoleon the Third and Princess Eugenia (in those days, all perfumes were called.) Using his connections, Pierre managed to present him to the princess, who was indescribably delighted with the gift. This episode can be considered fateful for the perfumery House Guerlain - from this time begins his long history.
"Guerlain" - the perfume used by Queen Victoria, Queen Isabella the Second of Spain and many other majestic persons.
After the death of Pierre Guerlain, his business passed into the hands of his sons - Aimee and Gabriel. They turned out to be worthy successors of the work of their father, and thanks to their hard work, the Guerlain Trading House delivered perfumes to the yards of many influential people of that time. Gabriel made an intelligent manager, and Aime made many discoveries in perfumery. It was he who was the first in the world to learn to make up a fragrance of three components - the initial, base and heart notes.
In addition, he learned to combine natural and synthetic components. Modern perfume compositions contain much more synthetic substances, and House Guerlain strictly adheres to the rule: perfumes should not have synthetic substances more than 20%.
Moreover, it’s hard to believe, but the idea of creating the first fragrance of the “unisex” category belongs to him, Ema Guerlain. It was called Guerlain Jicky (Zhiki) and was created in 1889. In this composition, synthetic coumarin notes were used in a complex weave with notes of civet, vanillin, mandarin, lemon, bergamot and lavender. The fragrance for those times turned out to be quite complicated, but very easily recognizable. At first, he liked the men for freshness and astringency, and only at the beginning of the 20th century, when original fragrances began to come into fashion, women also paid attention to this smell. Fashion House Guerlain perfumes "Zhiki" still produces.
The company met the beginning of the 20th century as a prosperous perfumery empire. At this time, her nephews Eme led. Pierre successfully managed the company, and the perfume genius Jacques created unique aromas, introducing the famous company in its golden era.
In aromas, the Art Nouveau style began to slip more and more often - the spirit of the time affected. The undoubted success of the House of Guerlain is the perfume for the inimitable Sarah Bernhardt, and after them, in 1919, the best work of the great master appears - the legendary composition, created under the impression of the novel “Battle” by K. Farrer.
One of the last successful compositions, loved by millions of women, was the perfume of Guerlain "Insolens", designed for a confident, even a little daring and seductive lady. They are equally suitable for a romantic date and a business meeting.
Over its 200-year history, the spirits of Guerlain received reviews in such quantities that one could create an exposition of the museum from them. Today, the magnificent brand belongs to LNMH Corporation.