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Luxury Perfumery Goes Back to Basics. An Indicator for the Future of Luxury (I)
Uché | November/December 2009
“All human senses bring pleasure to the body except the sense of smell which gives pleasure to the soul”
- Old Hebrew saying
Some of the true and original luxury perfumes that were made in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, with the highest respect to the art and craft of perfumery, from Roger & Gallet, Guerlain, Caron (from left to right)
"My perfume evokes thoughts of a beautiful spring morning after the rain. It’s a composition of oranges, lemons, grapefruits and bergamot, the flowers and fruits of my homeland”.
These were the words that Jean-Marie Farina, the founder of the company that would later become Roger & Gallet, used to describe his first fragrance l’Eau de Cologne in a letter that he wrote in 1703. His inspiration for the perfume was strong and his vision for its smell, its look and its presentation was clear. As an Italian immigrant to Cologne, France he wanted to pay respect to his homeland but also honour his adopted country. He found the balance in ensuring that the fragrance evoked Italy and that the name evoked France, hence ‘Cologne’. But he didn’t go about this business with lightness. He devoted his time and energy and put all his know-how into this mission. For him it was a quest that could only be achieved through perfection. It took him six years of mixing, matching, experimenting and testing and finally in 1709, l’Eau de Cologne was launched. It is the oldest perfume that still exists today and his company Roger & Gallet is also the oldest perfume company still in existence.
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