1775
Operating since
1775, the
House of Houbigant is the only fragrance house that has existed through four centuries of history.
Through these centuries, the perfumers of the House of Houbigant have made groundbreaking discoveries in the formulation of perfumes that have revolutionized forever the way perfumes are constructed. It is not an exaggeration to say that, without the House of Houbigant, modern perfumery as we know it today would not exist.
Over the centuries, the House of Houbigant became perfumer to the royal courts of Europe. Josephine, the future Empress of France, belonged to a group of stylish young men and women called “The Muscadins” because of their craze for musk which was Josephine’s favourite essence. Houbigant fragrances travelled in
Napoleon’s campaign chest during the years when he was conquering Europe.
1815
In the spring of
1815 Napoleon was only in Paris for three months, a period that history calls “
The Hundred Days”. In those brief months he raised an army and yet found time to shop at
Houbigant.
1829
In
1829, Houbigant was appointed perfumer to
Her Royal Highness, the
Princess Adelaide d’Orleans, sister of
King Louis-Philippe.
1838
In
1838, the French house was awarded the license of “
Perfumer to Her Majesty, Queen Victoria of England”.
Czar Alexander III named Houbigant perfumer to the
Imperial Court of Russia in 1890. Houbigant created a perfume, “
The Czarina Bouquet”, in honor of the Empress,
Maria Fyodorovna.
1882
In
1882,
Perfumer Paul Parquet introduced
Fougère Royale, a fragrance that would define a new category of perfumes — the “
fougère” (or fern-like) fragrance family, which is still today the most popular family in men fragrances.
1912
In
1912,
Houbigant perfumer Bienaimé picked up the ball from
Paul Parquet and introduced
Quelque Fleurs, one of Houbigant’s all-time great fragrances and the first multi-floral bouquet ever created.
1935-1941
During this period, Houbigant stretched out its commercial arms around the world. Under the direction of the Paris office, offices were established in the United States, England, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania. Connections were made in Havana, Buenos-Aires, Rio-de-Janeiro, Australia, Japan, and China.
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