Is perfumery as we know it today threatened by the Cosmetic Regulation? There is a growing concern in the industry about the latest projects on the European agenda, which involve questioning the use of particular ingredients in perfumery, especially due to their allergenic potential. The FEBEA organized a conference afternoon on the matter last April 7, 2014. Mobilization is in the air…
Perfumery is part of the very essence of human civilization. Alain Grangé Cabane, President of the FEBEA, emphasized it at the beginning of the discussion: since Man has been Man, perfumes have always been associated with the great events in his life, and intimately linked with his own relationship with the sacred (incense in temples…), power (perfume spread across the path taken by kings…), health (therapeutic essences…), love…
And today it is also a significant economic sector that has long been rooted in France.
History of a heritage
Patricia de Nicolaï is the President of the Osmothèque. This scent archive is a living museum whose mission is to preserve perfumes from being worn away, lost, and from sinking into oblivion. It shelters a collection of 3,000 fragrances, including 400 which have now disappeared.
This independent perfumer is a descendant of the Guerlain family, and she came to remind everyone that perfumes are part of our heritage. From Grasse tanners who have become glovers and perfumers, and who hold the secrets of enfleurage, distillation and volatile solvent extraction, from renowned names (Robertet, Mane, Roure…) to leading Parisian brands of the 18th century (Houbigant, Lubin…), she told us about the history of …
