Perfume Made In France: How We Are Global Champion

Of course, it does: it is said to be the number one fragrance on the planet. In 2017 alone, a bottle sold every 5 seconds! It is not just Julia Robert’s smile to responsibility for its success. It is the other important performer in the Eiffel Tower advertising that you have overlooked.

When it comes to fragrances, fragrances are where France excels. There are countless fragrances whose names, looks, or advertising alludes to our beloved country: YSL’s Mon Paris, Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Mâle marinière, Guerlain’s Champs-Elysées… and let’s not forget Bastille here! We plead guilty!

So how did France get to become the point of reference for a product it did not even invent? We go back in time and clarify the history of the made-in-France perfume, and also talk about the role of distinctive know-how of France which has made it a true institution and the image of French elegance. So what are we left with? We give you all our advice for the real made in France, but it is unfortunately now common to see the brands pretend to be made in France when their products are 99% foreign!

However, what remains a mystery to me: where does the scent of the perfume come from?

During the time before the French perfume industry became like an adopted offspring of the country, perfumes managed to move themselves through miles and miles of distances. There is no way I can count the number of years it has traveled or the countries it’s been in!

Let’s start at the beginning: the first recordings of perfumery date back to time immemorial, thousands of years ago. The scented compounds later used by the Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans doubled as an offering to the gods and as a cure. Eventually, smell was seen as a divine medium that had to be worshiped. However, this symbolism also goes from showers of scents during holy periods in Mythologia to the meaning of odour of sanctity meaning purity of the soul – the perfume in most of the religions.

However, France has not only supplied the world with affordable perfume but also its irresistible force in the fields of hygiene, attractiveness, and chic! Originally Arabic, the use of rose water diffused to the European continent during medieval times as the knights brought back not only rose petals but also rose water in particular, which Europeans liked especially – and while the trade routes connecting Europe and the Middle East multiplied. The fragrance traveled and ended up in Europe in the 12th century when it had already become part of the culture.

Let’s be honest: Probably, if someone says the Renaissance period, you don’t automatically tend to the splendid and use perfumes first. The days were dark and cold then people washed and changed clothes less frequently but yet added more fragrance to their clothes and shoes.

In turn, fragrance has continued to be used for its therapeutic benefits...the same way they are used today for aromatherapy and essential oils. Materials with mysterious names were burned: storax, benzoin, Rhodos wood, princes — cyperus… (After this, the use of such kinds of products became more popular by the end of the Middle Ages because of the plague and diseases. People became extremely afraid and water was considered as a means of opening the pores to diseases.) It became a matter of mind state. One wasn’t ill if they possessed a nice scent. Consequently, doctors suggested people use perfume compared to almost no water for washing themselves so that in the Renaissance, smell appeared as the key component of medicine`s “soul“. Put it simply then, nowadays, a Sephora would have been the pharmacist shop which was much in demand during that period.

Where perfume from France was invented was the question that occupied my thoughts

Now widely assimilated to France, the influence of the art of French perfumery owes its origins to an Italian perfumer: Renato Bianco of course, used mostly as a torn privacy for the historic figure of René le Florentin (the opposite of football which was invented during the Middle Ages by the French, now far behind our transalpine neighbors). You can’t get everything.

It was in 1533 when they chose Catherine de Medici, the wife of the then French king Henri II, and her court perfumer Guillaume de Gavard who also came from Italy, to bring back perfume’s rightful place in French aristocratic culture.

Renato Bianco’s renown seemed to be clouded by his opening of the perfume (and poison!) shop in the capital, while the countless Italian perfumers would now start to flock to his establishment.

Instead of that both in the North of France the city of Paris turns into a world-known city with a surprising history, and in the South of France the city of Grasse becomes the capital of perfumes, with a rather unique history.

Originally, there was a leather development in the town. Sewing with leather was the only challenge I had. It smelled quite awful, just like the urine does, which made the nobles around me very uncomfortable. In the eighteenth century, perfume-making proficiency became popular for masking sewage or waste. A perfumer was born. Grasse was gaining something more known, namely, the growing of fragrant plants and the distillation of aromatic essences. Being in the limelight is due to the exclusive skills of local perfumers having to do with the craft.

The dawn of French perfumery was marked by the achievements of Louis XV. While the country of France still was mainly odoriferous with the stench of dung, the professional entourage of the king tried to stand out with their use of perfumed scents which was the sign of their interest in the king. The Court of Versailles was nicknamed “the perfumed court“, and no expense was spared: it could be perfect from the feet to wig even the gloves and hankies. Queen Marie Antoinette, known for her love of the church, started by introducing floral fragrances and made their use the hallmark of the age. At the time, perfumes were much less gendered: because marketing did not dominate at those times, men could put rose and violet perfumes against each other and nobody had eyes on them!

Fragrances had their momentum of popularity and the century has been the mark of celebration for them. Alternation of extraction and manufacturing methods appeared and new master perfumers found their place on the Parisian streets, and fragrance shops of several specializations multiplied not only in quantity but in the variety of the offered scents foreshadowing the niche perfume shops we know today. French perfumery meanwhile deluged the wonderful world and hip-hip-hooray, these came to achieve fame across the world and thus became a symbol of refinement and affluence.

Why is it a superior option to have a perfume brand that is French?

To illustrate this, the example of France as the global ambassador for a beauty product that she did not have the privilege to invent can be looked at just because this country has stood out due to its distinctive expertise, by talented master perfumers as well as territories the world remembers with unique raw materials.

The French perfumery history goes through numerous ups and downs but the 19th century can be considered a real milestone in the industry. This period saw the emergence of modern perfumery with the hygienist period led by Baron Haussmann: not only did the scrubbing of the streets and public areas renew the air of the town, but it also stripped it of its notoriety as a stinky and insalubrious place. In addition, the favoring of perfume or other oil-based cosmetics was even more taken into account!

Through the historical timeline of toiletries in Europe, we come to know the giants of perfume, including Jean-Marie Farina, who was an official supplier and created the first Eau de Cologne that was enjoyed by Napoleon Bonaparte. Some other perfume stars included Pierre François Pascal Guerlain (which by the way is a bit complex), who founded the house of Guerlain.

The arrival of these many talents can be explained in particular by a swarming of innovations: such as vaporization, green extraction technique while more and more plants are cultivating in the sun, vaporization.  Side by side with the expansion of synthesis materials and those add in the scope of the field. At the same time, perfume became a myth in French literature: Through Proust, who saw the enigmatic emotional force of perfume as exemplified in his madeleine, and Baudelaire, who celebrated it in the Fleurs du Mal, the link between perfume and the romantic remains today.

It was the swift emergence of French perfumery schools that contributed to their brand fame as they grew to be recognized for the talent they honed. The Givaudan school, founded in 1946 by Jean Carles, the Institut Supérieur International du Parfum de la Cosmétique et de l’Aromatique alimentaire (ISIPCA) created in 1970 by Jean-Jacques Guerlain and, much more recently, the École Supérieur du Parfum (ESP) saw the birth of the world’s greatest perfumers: Similarly, Jean-Claude Ellena (Hermès), Thierry Wasser (Guerlain), Jacques Polge (Chanel), Mathilde Laurent (Cartier), Francis Kurkdjian (Jean-Paul Gaultier ) and Anne Flipo who was the creator of Pleine Lune for Bastille are of the most renowned nose perfumers.

If in the 21st century, France is still the undisputed home of perfumery, it is thanks to its artistic and technical wealth: the fame of its excellent nose perfumers, the Provence and Grasse region where it grows perfuming plants, and the famous distillation plant, and Paris, undoubtedly the capital of elegance.

Where does my perfume scent come from? Which of its ingredients were synthesized in France?

Now with this background of the history of original French perfume in mind, let’s talk about some practical tips to dodge blunders and purchase the whole made-in-France products. Beware of blue washing!

The first thing that you should be aware of is that there is no requirement for labeling the place of origin of products in Europe (except the food and agricultural products that are considered entities to be labeled by strict rules). Nevertheless, the makers of the products themselves will need to figure out if they will use words such as “françaises, fabriqués à la France“, “matières brutes de provenance française” or similar.

Fool Warning! But this label exists, only a matter of no guarantee. Certainly, it does not mean that all of the products’ manufacturing phases are made in France but at least a “significant part” of them are made there. Therefore, a brand could argue that it is French and may add “made in France“ terminology on its label only because it has been produced in France, for example, a piece of cardboard packaging whose components are Chinese. In this “non-preferential-origin” rule they set.

So to help guide you, check out the brand’s website: if more and more they tell you about their production method the more trustworthy you will consider them. Names will also assist you in discovering whether the products are local to the country or not, such as the Origine France Garantie label, which has a round shape within a band of tricolor colors. This system makes the origin of the product said and, in particular, is subject to strict specifications, and their authentication via a third-party organization is borne out independently.

So, let’s recap:

A product may be”made in France” even though it is not necessarily manufactured 100 percent in France.

It does not matter whether there is a French flag, a hexagon, or any other symbol. The symbolism of France does not mean it was made in France. Don’t call them certain names!