Guerlain
| Founded | 1828 |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain |
| Headquarters | Levallois-Perret, France |
| Products | Perfumes and cosmetics |
| Revenue | €350.8 million (2010) |
| Parent | LVMH |
| Website | www.guerlain.com |
Guerlain (French pronunciation: [ɡɛʁlɛ̃]) is a French perfume house, among the oldest in the world. It has a large and loyal customer following, and is held in high esteem in the perfume industry. Perfumes by Guerlain are often said to be characterized by a common olfactory accord known as the "Guerlinade." A perfume by the same name was launched by Guerlain in 1921.
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[edit] History
The House of Guerlain was owned and managed by members of the Guerlain family from 1828 to 1994. It was acquired in 1994 by the LVMH group, a multinational investment corporation specializing in luxury brands.
[edit] The beginning
The House of Guerlain was founded in 1828, when Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain opened his perfume store at 42, rue de Rivoli in Paris. As both the founder and first perfumer of the house, Pierre-François composed and manufactured custom fragrances with the help of his two sons, Aimé and Gabriel. Through continued success and the patronage of members in high society, Guerlain opened its flagship store at 15, rue de la Paix in 1840, and put its mark on the Parisian fashion scene.
The success of the house under Pierre-François peaked in 1853 with the creation of Eau de Cologne Impériale for French Emperor Napoleon III and his wife Empress Eugénie. This perfume earned Pierre-François the prestigious title of being His Majesty's Official Perfumer. Guerlain went on to create perfumes for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Queen Isabella II of Spain, among other royalty.
[edit] The second generation
With the death of Pierre-François in 1864, the house was left to his sons Aimé Guerlain and Gabriel Guerlain. The roles of perfumer and manager were divided between the two brothers, with Gabriel managing and further expanding the house, and Aimé becoming the master perfumer. The House of Guerlain thus began a long tradition whereby the position of master perfumer was handed down through the Guerlain family.
As Guerlain's second generation in-house perfumer, Aimé was the creator of many classic compositions, including Fleur d'Italie (1884), Rococo (1887) and Eau de Cologne du Coq (1894). However, many would argue that his greatest composition was 1889's Jicky, the first fragrance described as a "parfum" and among the first to use synthetic ingredients alongside natural extracts.
[edit] The third generation
The business was handed down to the sons of Gabriel Guerlain: Jacques Guerlain and Pierre Guerlain. Jacques, Aimé's nephew, became Guerlain's third master perfumer; he was the author of many of Guerlain's most famous classics, which are still held in high esteem in the modern perfume industry. Many of his perfumes are still sold and marketed today. Among Jacques Guerlain's most important creations are Mouchoir de Monsieur (1904), Après L'Ondée (1906), L'Heure Bleue (1912), Mitsouko (1919), Vol de Nuit (1933), and Guerlain's flagship fragrance Shalimar (1925). Jacques composed his final perfume, Ode (1955), with the assistance of his grandson, the then-18-year-old Jean-Paul Guerlain.
[edit] The fourth generation
Jean-Paul Guerlain was the last family master perfumer. He created Guerlain's classic men's fragrances Vétiver (1959) and Habit Rouge (1965); the latter is considered by many[who?] to be the first oriental fragrance for men. He also created Chamade (1969), Nahéma (1979), Jardins de Bagatelle (1983), and Samsara (1989), as well as Héritage and Coriolan in the 1990s. With the retirement of Jean-Paul in 2002, and no heir from inside the family to take over, the role of master perfumer is no longer tied to family succession.
[edit] Purchase by the LVMH Group
In a decision widely seen as a break with tradition, the Guerlain family sold the company to the luxury goods conglomerate Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) in 1994. Though Jean-Paul Guerlain remained as an in-house perfumer until 2002, other perfumers were brought in after 1994 to compose perfumes for Guerlain, and Jean-Paul had to submit his compositions against those of others. Fans of the house viewed the LVMH purchase as a step towards the cheapening and commercialization of the legendary firm's legacy. Most were unhappy with the first post-LVMH release, the 1996 sweet mimosa floral Champs-Elysées, composed by Olivier Cresp, whose entry was selected over that of Jean-Paul Guerlain.
Among the outside perfumers to compose perfumes for the firm after 1994 was Mathilde Laurent, who worked for Guerlain at the end of the 1990s and in the early 2000s. She composed Aqua Allegorica Pamplelune (1999) and Shalimar Light (2003, reattributed to Jean-Paul Guerlain and relaunched in 2004 following reformulation). Maurice Roucel, a perfumer of Symrise, composed L'Instant de Guerlain (2004) and Insolence (2006).
In May 2008, Thierry Wasser was named the in-house perfumer for Guerlain. Wasser, a Swiss perfumer who used to work for Firmenich, created Iris Ganache (2007) and Quand Vient la Pluie (2007) for Guerlain before his appointment the following year. Jean-Paul Guerlain is staying on in an advisory consultant role, both for fragrance design and ingredients. Wasser will work closely with Sylvaine Delacourte, Guerlain's Artistic Director.[1]
[edit] Famous perfumes
- Eau de Cologne Impériale (1853) (pronounced: [od kɔlɔɲ ɛ̃peʁjal]): Guerlain composed this classic cologne, with rich lime and lime-flower notes, as a gift for Empress Eugénie, the wife of French emperor Napoléon III. She liked the composition so much that she named Guerlain an official purveyor of colognes and toiletries to the imperial family. Almost 150 years later, the cologne is still in regular production.
- Jicky (1889) [ʒiki]: Said to be named either after the nickname Aimé Guerlain gave to his nephew, Jacques, or after a girl who broke Aimé's heart as a student in England, Jicky is widely heralded as the first "modern" fragrance, and the first to be referred to as a perfume. Jicky was among the first fragrances to incorporate synthetic odorants (vanillin and coumarin) in its composition, and is described by some as being the "ultimate" fougère. The fragrance is known for its main notes of lavender and vanilla over animalic civet. Although marketed by Guerlain as a women's fragrance, it was initially more successful with men and has proven to be a popular unisex fragrance. Over 120 years later, Jicky is still being sold, making it the oldest fragrance in continuous production.
- Après L'Ondée (1906) [apʁɛ lɔ̃de]: Meaning "After the Rainshower," Après L'Ondée is a light floral fragrance reminiscent of bitter almonds, with anise and herbal notes. Its composition includes violet, rose, heliotrope, hawthorn, anise, and citrus notes.
- L'Heure Bleue (1912) [lœʁ blø]: Meaning "The Blue Hour," L'Heure Bleue is a floral oriental fragrance with the dusky scent of candies and almond cake bought in an old world apothecary. Although much akin to Après L'Ondée in its pastry and almonds core, L'Heure Bleue is much less bright and more melancholic.
- Mitsouko (1919) [mitsuko]: Named after the heroine of the novel La Bataille by Claude Farrère, Mitsouko is said to herald the ending of World War I. Due to a bottle shortage at the end of the war, it was marketed in an identical bottle to that of L'Heure Bleue, and is sometimes considered to be that fragrance's warm counterpart. The structure is based on Coty's 1917 perfume Chypre, with added notes of peach and iris. With Coty's fragrance long since discontinued, Mitsouko is today considered by Luca Turin, a well-known perfume critic and reviewer, to be a reference fragrance in the chypre olfactive family.[2]
- Shalimar (1925) [ʃalimaʁ]: Named after the garden in Kashmir, built by Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, Shalimar is one of the first perfumes to successfully incorporate large amounts of vanillin in its composition. The scent of Shalimar is densely constructed, with a cascade of many notes, including bergamot, tonka bean, iris, and vanilla. This is the flagship perfume of the House of Guerlain. Together with Coty's 1921 perfume Emeraude, Shalimar is considered an early example of the oriental fragrance family[by whom?].
- Vol de Nuit (1933) [vɔldənɥi]: Composed as a tribute to flight, celebrating the novel of the same name by pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Air France, this is a green, semi-oriental chypre with notes of iris, galbanum, daffodil, and oakmoss. Vol de Nuit's use of galbanum made it the first fragrance to feature pronounced green notes.[3]
- Chamade (1969) [ʃamad]: Named after the novel by Françoise Sagan, Chamade is a floral oriental fragrance with a pronounced topnote of galbanum introducing a core of notes including hyacinth, blackcurrant buds, and vanilla. In French, the word "Chamade" refers to a particular rapid drumbeat used by Napoleon's armies to signal an order to retreat. Packaged in a bottle representing an upside-down heart pierced by an arrow, the fragrance is said to symbolize a total surrender to love.
- Samsara (1989) [sɑ̃saʁa]: Composed by Jean-Paul Guerlain, this is a heady oriental fragrance featuring main notes of jasmine and sandalwood. The name is a reference to the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth or reincarnation in Hinduism and many other religions in South Asia.
[edit] Products
Guerlain's creations have long influenced the trends of perfumery with fragrances such as Jicky, Shalimar, and Vétiver. Guerlain is among the few older houses (such as Caron) that exist solely to produce and market perfumes. (Nowadays this includes a range of makeup and skincare products.) Many brands in the perfume industry, such as Chanel and Jean Patou are in fact divisions of fashion houses or Multi National conglomerates that license the name such as P&G Prestige Beaute with Gucci, which produce perfumes as part of a broader range of products.
Since its foundation in 1828, Guerlain has created over 300 fragrances. A non-exhaustive list is as follows:
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[edit] Controversy
[edit] Racism
In October 2010, several black and anti-racist associations called for an international boycott of Guerlain and LVMH products, in response to remarks made by Jean-Paul Guerlain on French television. Speaking about the making of the famous Samsara fragrance, Jean-Paul Guerlain said: "And for once I started working like a nigger. I don't know if niggers ever worked that hard".[4]
[edit] LVMH reformulates perfumes
Since its acquisition by LVMH, Guerlain has reformulated some of its classics for health compliance reasons. These could potentially mean the end of the traditional formulations of many classics such as Mitsouko and Shalimar.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ osMoz, Guerlain hires perfumer Thierry Wasser, http://www.osmoz.com/News-Trends/News/Pro/Guerlain-hires-perfumer-Thierry-Wasser, retrieved 28 May 2008
- ^ Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez, Perfumes: the A–Z Guide, Expanded Edition, Penguin, 2009, 384–5.
- ^ Roja Dove, The Essence of Perfume, London: Black Dog Publishing, 2008, 116.
- ^ Jean-Paul Guerlain speaking about negros, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqRrjBzX3fI
- Stamelman, R: "Perfume – Joy, Obsession, Scandal, Sin". Rizzoli. ISBN 978-0-8478-2832-6. A cultural history of fragance from 1750 to the present day.
[edit] External links
- Company webpage of Guerlain www.guerlain.com
- Corporate webpage of LVMH, owner of Guerlain www.lvmh.com
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