~French Perfume~ One of the many Fabulous things about France

September 20th, 2013

“Where should one use perfume” a young women asked.

“Wherever one wants to be kissed.”        

                Coco Chanel          

Perfumery, the art of making perfume, made its way to France in the 16th century with the Italian bride of King Henry II, Catherine de Medici. Among the many finer things of life she found necessary to bring  to Paris from her native Renaissance Italy was her perfumer, whose laboratory was connected to her apartment down a secret passageway. She apparently was a woman who needed her perfume close.

France quickly excelled in the art of perfumery.

The sunny South of France was the perfect climate to cultivate  the flowers needed to become the center of the perfume industry in Europe.

Perfumers gather flowers between 5-7 –the magic hour-knowing that their scent will be at its most powerful.

Guerlain, one of the most important & oldest perfume houses of France, created a heady mixture of rose, iris, jasmine, vanilla and musk & gave it the name by which this time is traditionally known,

…L’Huere Bleue (the Blue Hour).

To experience the perfume boutiques in Paris is a celebration of scents, stunning displays & packaging.

Merci, Catherine de Medici for understanding the power of perfume.