Distant memories, a far away place, desirability, personality – a few words that sum up an exquisite concoction in a bottle. Haute fragrances from some of the world’s legendary perfume houses still retain age-old techniques to create – in the end – a true objet d’art. The Sybarite takes a look at some of the renowned and most respectable perfume houses known for their history and expertise in creating profound scents for the individual to last their lifetime.
One of the oldest perfume houses since 1730 is British perfumery, Floris. This jewel of a shop has been catering the likes of some legendary customers from Florence Nightingale, Sir Winston Churchill to Marilyn Monroe and to this day, still houses the classic fragrances in the Floris Classic Collection.
Besides crafting a fragrance to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee and displayed within the gardens of Buckingham Palace, Floris also does Bespoke Perfume Design, mind you, at a relatively high price tag of £4,500.00. The process is lengthy – taking about 6 months and a minimum of 3 consultations – albeit exceptionally worthy. What you can expect to receive throughout the journey is the true Floris experience where you will go through the first steps of fragrance creation with Edward Bodenham, the ‘nose’ and 9th generation of Floris family. In the end the customer will receive a 100ml Eau de Parfum and a Certificate of Provenance in a Floris signature bespoke experience box along with 5 more repeats of the same fragrance.
Relatively new fragrance house, Kilian bases its philosophy on how perfume was made in the 20th century but giving it that more contemporary, updated twist.
Founded by Kilian Hennessey, the grandson of LVMH group founder, he launched his haute parfumerie in 2007 after training with some of the best noses in perfumery. Besides crafting up some exquisite scents, Kilian also prides itself on crafting bespoke concoctions just like a fashion designer would on crafting up a couture piece. Like Floris, the client can expect to work closely with Kilian to develop a scent that satisfies their nose and then receive two 50 ml flacons along with 6 iconic KILIAN 50ml bottles and 3 travel sprays in a signature-lacquered black box containing a lock and a key. Price is on request.
Located in the prestigious Avenue Montagne and Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, is a perfume house that began with a love story. It started when its creator, Ernest Daltroff fell in love with his colleague, Félicie. The two went on to create some interesting scents such as legendary “Pour un Homme” in 1934 and “Poudre Libre” which uses a method that to this day remains a trade secret.
Although it does not do bespoke fragrances, its exceptional blends, collections and limited editions has made Caron a truly one-of-a-kind perfume house. Take a look at Lady Caron, a concoction stored in a Baccarat crystal bottle, sealed and adorned with gold thread – a limited edition of 300 are available, each containing a number.
Taking scents from the Orient and Arabia is Montale founded by Pierre Montale who previously created perfumes for the nobility in Saudi Arabia. Montale brought his olfactory characteristics back to Paris and is currently housing some very empowering scents suitable for men, women or unisex.
The main ingredients used for each unique scent is a combination of agarwood, cedar and sandalwood all the while using them in high concentration to give off the intense but beautifully evoking scent. Each bottle is made of aluminum in order to keep the essences out of light. For those new to the brand, Montale offers their ‘My Little Treasure Box’ where you can choose up to 3 of their fragrances of 20ml bottles.
