The House was founded in France the year of
1828, with a small perfume storefront managed and owned by
Pierre-Facois Pascal Guerlain. The successes of his custom
creations quickly grew and were requested by some of the highest
members of French culture, including royalty. As the company
grew and expanded, the role of perfume master always remained
within the tradition of the Guerlain family.
Unlike most of the rest of the designer
fragrances that were actually an addition to a line of fashion
apparel, the House of Guerlain is one of the few fragrance
houses that began solely as a manufacturer of perfume. Over the
years they have released more than 600 individual scents
including several masterpieces. Examples of some of the most
renowned classics are:
Jicky in 1889
– A completely revolutionary perfume for its time, it was the
first to use modern synthetic components.
Shalimar in 1925
– Named after a beautiful garden, this flagship perfume was
one of the first to use large amounts of vanillin. It offers
the nose a delicately deep and velvety scent.
Ode in 1955 –
Recently reissued in 2005 as part of the celebration around
the renovated flagship store in France.
House of Guerlain Today
In 1994, the family organization was acquired
by the Moet Hennessy - Louis Vuitton Group, commonly referred to
as
LVMH (http://www.lvmh.com).
A French holding company, LVMH owns predominately luxury goods.
Their child companies, like the House of Guerlain, are allowed
to run relatively independently.
The House has also enhanced its product line
to include makeup and skincare in addition to their historical
fragrances. The current perfume master is a fourth generation
family member, Jean-Paul Guerlain. Some of his most significant
past accomplishments in fragrances have been:
Habit Rouge in 1965
Samsara in 1989
Coriolan in the 1990s
Since the acquisition by LVMH, more outside
perfumers have been brought into the company and there is talk
that the tradition of the master perfumer being a member of the
family may actually die with Jean-Paul’s pending retirement.
Currently headquartered in France, the House
of Guerlain has made a strong statement worldwide. Due to their
significant presence and an effective network of French stores,
the original company still passionately controls the brand and
product. They have shown the way to walk the fine line between
the richness of tradition balanced with the ability toward
innovation.
Products
Due to the strong roots in fragrance, perfume
still dominates the product line. They have more recently
released both makeup and skincare, providing the customer with
the same time-honored stamp of quality expected from the brand.
Perfumes
The essence of Guerlain breathes quality and
this is not lost in any step of their fragrance production.
Perfumes are manufactured with the highest quality of raw
materials and babysat every step of the way by their masters.
Similar to the design of a fine wine or meal, the perfumer
carefully selects and smells each ingredient. Vanilla and amber
are common notes within the perfume selection, labeling their
scents a sweeter style fragrance. In addition to the superiority
appeal of the fragrance, the packaging is designed with the same
level of class. The perfume bottles from the House of Guerlain
are timeless works of art.
Makeup
The makeup line was launched in 1987 with
their first ingenious product, Meteorites. Still available for
sale today, these multicolored little pearls of powder provide a
unique blend of colors to create a perfect complexion. Each
pearl is a small ball of powder, which generates the effect of a
loose powder, but is actually not loose at all.
In their current assortment, you can also find
a standard display of quality makeup products for the face,
eyes, lips and nails. Their existing summer line is referred to
as Terracotta, with the cosmetic basics known as Divinora. They
even provide a product specifically designed for men – bronzing
powder.
