French
Fragrances:
France is The Place for Perfumes
- by KissMeGoodnight.com
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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KissMeGoodnight.com
: 2006
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