An armony between design and beauty

The Sixties celebrate the triumph pf the hippy culture which was born in San Francisco and focuses on the myth of nature, the refusal if constraints, equality of the sexes. The demonstrations against the Vietnam ar in May 1968, spread among young and old. We discover India, its gurus and its aromas. Sandalwood, musk and patchouli essences are more in vogue, fashion spreads and sticks of incense perfume the rooms. The haute couture  is moving parallel ti this wave of mode…anti-fashion. With names such as Yves Saint-Laurent, Daniel Hetcher, Paco Rabanne, Cacharel, ready-to-wear luxury was  born. An example is Dior Eau Sauvage, created by Edmond Roudnitska: at once discreet and persistent, it marks the advent of  perfumery in masculine and opens the way to eaux fraiches female, masculine and androgynous.

From the 70s to the 80s

The 70s represent a period of real openess abroad, especially in the USA. The new marketing techniques reflect this movement: the purpose is no longer to produce and sell, but to analyze the market and consumer behaviour to meet their expectations. So, to maximize profitability. The most important objectives become successful media and sales figures. Even for the smell. Among various contrasting lifestyles, several trends exist. In Europe as in the USA conceptual scents are born. These appeal to women, from time to time, sophisticated, provocative, romantic and natural. The Italian designers will start manufacturing perfumes: Gucci in 1974, Trussardi in 1976, Nino Cerruti in 1979 and Krizia in 1980. Even the French  perfumery goes international, composing its perfumes on USmodels and doubling its concentrations(for example the Opium Perfume launched by Yves Saint-Laurent).

During the French revolution, the passion for perfumery takes a second place. Then, with the Direttorio and Napoleonic Empire, what is considered beautiful and luxurious is important again. Including perfumes. It’s especially with the arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte and the inordinate passion for perfumes of his wife Josephine, the sector is experiencing a real upward period. Historians say that the emperor could not stay too long in his wife’s room, filled with aromas of civet, amber and musk to the point that the air was stifling. For his part, Napoleon doesn’t entertain as much passion for perfume, except for the cologne, perfumed water based on bergamot, lavanza, rosemary, lemon and orange. The Emperor is the first to understand the qualities of this invigorating formula, to the point of wanting  to sprinkle from head to foot, every day, and consume up to sixty vials per month. Its Official Suppliers is Jean Marie Farine, formerly personal nose of Marie Antoinette and various courts of Europe. Gian Paolo Feminis, his uncle, invented the formula of Eau de Cologne. At the end of the seventeeth century, he had known the formula of the Queen Hungary Water, the first alcohol-based perfume that the monks of the monastery of Santa Maria Novella in Florence were preparing for Catherine de Medici. From the recipe Feminis took his water, the first to boast a toning effect on the body and spirit. At first, Feminis named his water Mirabilis.

But when, in 1729, he obtained the permission for his formula by the faculty of Cologne, he renamed the fragrance in honour to the city. Then the soldiers of various armies of Europe brought this scent from Cologne to their countries. Cologne subsequently became the most beloved by the Emperor Napoleon.

Early in the nineteenth century, researches began to explore the possibilities of using nature as inspiration for isolating molecules interesting from an olfactory point of view. But it’s only around in 1860 that perume makes a significant leap forward, hand in hand with the triumph of the bourgeoisie and the birth of … good flavor. Then perfume trade flourishes and perfumery is configured as an art. During the same period, first synthetic products of high quality appear: they are the result of researches conducted in the laboratories of the chemical in Europe and in the United States. The world of perfume, initially accused of coarsening, is revalued soon. After all their scents, so constructed and surprising, give hints and unpredictable abstract compositions. The low costs accellerate the dissemination of their combination with natural born unpublished notes, soon entered into new, interesting jus. Among others, Houbigant Fougère Royale (1882), which contains coumarin, and Guerlain Jicky(1889), where lavender is turn to vanillin. Dates from the late nineteenth century, the classification of olfactory essences in eighteen groups- families and subfamilies future- at the hands of the perfumer Eugene Rimmel London. The aim is to facilitate the classification of odors.