France has a long history as a leader in perfume production, dating back centuries. Key cities like Grasse and Nice in the south of France became centers of the perfume industry due to favorable climates for cultivating flowers used in fragrances. Today, French perfume companies account for a substantial share of the global perfume export market and brands like Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, and Dior are among the most popular perfumes worldwide, cementing France's role as a dominant force in the luxury perfume industry.

1. FRENCH PERFUMES
History Of Perfume:
The history of perfume began in antiquity. The word perfume is used today to describe
scented mixtures and is derived from the Latin word, "per fumes", meaning through
smoke. Perfumery, or the art of making perfumes, began in ancient Egypt but was
developed and further refined by the Romans and the Arabs. Although perfume and
perfumery also existed in East Asia, much of its fragrances are incense based. The basic
ingredients and methods of making perfumes are described by Pliny the Elder in his
Naturalis Historia.
Islamic point Of view:
Islamic cultures contributed significantly in the development of Western perfumery in
both perfecting the extraction of fragrances through steam distillation and introducing
new, raw ingredients. Both of the raw ingredients and distillation technology
significantly influenced Western perfumery and scientific developments, particularly
chemistry.
As traders, Islamic cultures such as the Arabs and Persians had wider access to different
spices, herbals, and other fragrance material. In addition to trading them, many of these
exotic materials were cultivated by the Muslims such that they can be successfully
grown outside of their native climates. Two examples of this are jasmine, which is native
to South and Southeast Asia, and various citrus, which is thought to have originated in
Southeast Asia. Both of these ingredients remain important in modern perfumery.
French Perfume History:
Although perfume has been used in one way or another since the times of ancient
civilizations including the Egyptians, modern perfume as we know it today first began
being manufactured in France around 300 years ago. Initially, perfume was soaked into
leather gloves for women to make their hands smell nice and it was only a matter of
time before liquid perfume was being sold in antique French perfume bottles.
Information and French Perfumes:
The French have a long tradition and skills in the art of making perfumes. The great
names in fashion have assisted i exporting some of the most important names in

2. perfume though out the world. The birth place for French perfumes is in the Provence
region and is called Occitane (pronounced Ox C tan). The abundance of herbs, lavender
and many other wild flowers on the rocky landscape, plus hundreds of years of
experience in distilling mixtures and creating scents.
Popular French Perfume:
Many of the most popular French perfumes are developed in the town of Grassed
located in the south of France. This town has a long history of perfume production and
today the perfume industry employs hundreds of people in the town. Part of the reason
for the success of Grassed as a perfume manufacturer is that its Mediterranean climate
in the south enables the cultivation of many different types of flowers which were then
used to extract the perfume essence. Although most modern popular French perfumes
rely more on chemicals than floral essences today, more often than not the inspiration
for a perfume comes from a natural source such as vanilla, rose or lotus.
Famous French Perfume:
Although it could be argues that France has lost its position of unrivaled power in the
fashion industry to newer and trendier fashion houses from Italy and the US, the same
cannot be said about French perfume. With a pedigree of 300 years of making fine
French perfumes, France is still home to many of the world’s best selling perfumes.
Whether it be the classic perfumes made by Channel, Yves Saint Laurent and Lagerfeld
or the younger more Avant gard perfumes of Jean Paul Gautier and French connection,
French perfume is still very much at the forefront of a global industry worth billions of
dollars in sales alone annually.
History of Fragrance Industry in Nice:
The France fragrance industry began here in the 16th Century. Originally leather and
tanning center in the 13th Century, the area became famous for its leather gloves. Then
it became the fashion in the 16th Century to wear perfumed leather gloves (thanks to
Catherine de Medici) and that was the beginning of the Perfume Industry here in Grasse
and Nice. The fragrance industry production now surpasses that of leather here.If you,
like the majority of us, appreciate fragrances and flowers then Nice is the place for you.
Even if you don’t there is still a bewildering variety of things to do and see. But Nice, at
the heart of the France Fragrance Industry is for perfume lovers first and foremost.

3. France Perfume Industry:
France Perfume Industry is situated in Province in the South of France on the
Mediterranean coastline. Nice is at the centre of the France Fragrance Industry, just
down the road from Grasse, the World Capital of Perfume. In Provence you cannot
escape perfume, flowers are everywhere and Nice has the best flower market of all,
over 100 market stalls dedicated to flowers. The February Carnival in Nice is famous for
its ‘Battle of the Flowers’ where spectators are pelted with flowers and petals by the
lavishly decorated floats as they parade through the City. Visitors and tourists to the City
can go on a walking tour around various gardens open to the public, visit greenhouses
and perfumeries, there are several excellent Museums dedicated to the History of
Perfume and the Fragrance Industry that are worth visiting and you can even take a
short course in perfume making at the ‘Parfumerie Molinard’.
‘Parfumerie Molinard’ is the oldest family run business in France. Founded in 1849 in
Grasse you can still visit the original factory rooms where perfumed products are still
created with loving attention to detail. The Head Office, factory and museum are in
Grasse, the ‘House of Fragrance’ is in Nice. Perfumers to Royalty, Molinard has worked
with Baccarat and René Lalique for many years who have created some stunning
perfume bottles for Molinard.
French Perfumes Role in France Economy:
Today, French perfumes account for a substantial share of world perfume exports and
four of the eight major groups in the sector are French. As an evanescent product par
excellence, supporting thousands of jobs and colossal sales figures, perfume is a luxury
product that is increasingly popular; as a sector, it has, for a number of years,
undergone some considerable changes.
Rarely has an industrial sector of such importance consisted of so many contradictions:
as the quintessence of luxury, sensuality and refinement, the perfume industry is also
the domain of powerful industrialists, of experts in marketing and publicity launches at
the global level. In spite of the product's somewhat frivolous connotation, the perfume
industry has drifted through the recession virtually unaffected, without ever dropping
into negative figures (in France, nine out of every ten women and one out of two men
use perfume).