Guerlain
Nearly 200 years of mastery
Guerlain is the French perfume house with the longest unbroken family lineage in modern perfumery — founded in 1828 by Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain and operated by five generations of the Guerlain family before passing into LVMH ownership in 1994. The house's catalogue includes some of the most influential fragrances ever composed: Jicky (1889) — the first fragrance to use synthetic vanillin; Shalimar (1925) — the foundational oriental; Mitsouko (1919) — the canonical chypre. Guerlain is to fragrance what Stradivarius is to violin-making: the reference point against which all subsequent work is measured.
The Founder's Story
Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain opened his first perfumery and chemist's shop at 42 Rue de Rivoli, Paris, in 1828. He was the official perfumer to Napoléon III by the 1850s, supplying scented gloves, soaps, and the famous Eau de Cologne Impériale to Empress Eugénie in 1853. The business passed to his sons Aimé and Gabriel, then to Aimé's nephew Jacques Guerlain — the most influential family perfumer in the lineage — who composed Mitsouko, L'Heure Bleue, Shalimar, and Vol de Nuit. Jacques's grandson Jean-Paul Guerlain took the role of in-house perfumer in 1956 and held it until 2002, when the company appointed Thierry Wasser, the first non-family perfumer in the house's history.
Heritage & Timeline
1828 — Pierre-François opens Rue de Rivoli shop. 1853 — appointed official perfumer to Empress Eugénie with Eau de Cologne Impériale, named after her. 1889 — Aimé Guerlain composes Jicky, the first modern perfume to combine synthetic and natural ingredients. 1912 — Jacques Guerlain composes L'Heure Bleue. 1919 — Mitsouko, the founding chypre. 1925 — Shalimar, the founding oriental, inspired by the love story of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. 1955 — Vétiver, the foundational vetiver masculine. 1962 — Habit Rouge. 1989 — Samsara. 1994 — Guerlain joins LVMH after 166 years of family ownership. 2008 — Thierry Wasser becomes in-house perfumer, ending the Guerlain family era. 2015 — La Petite Robe Noire becomes the bestseller of the modern era.
Signature Style
Guerlain's signature is the Guerlinade — a base accord built on bergamot, jasmine, rose, iris, tonka bean, and vanilla, present in some form in nearly every house composition since the late 19th century. The aesthetic is unmistakably Parisian: warm, slightly powdered, elegantly old-world. Guerlain pioneered the use of synthetic vanillin in fine fragrance (Jicky, 1889) and built much of modern oriental perfumery on the back of Shalimar's iris-vanilla-bergamot structure. Bottles include the legendary Bee Bottle (1853) — designed for Empress Eugénie and still in use — and the iconic curved Shalimar flacon designed by Raymond Guerlain.
Iconic Fragrances
Did You Know?
Guerlain's Bee Bottle was designed in 1853 for Empress Eugénie's Eau de Cologne Impériale — 69 bees are embossed on the bottle to symbolise the Napoleonic era.
Jicky (1889) was the first fragrance in history to use synthetic vanillin — making it the technical bridge between traditional perfumery and the modern industry.
Shalimar's name comes from the Shalimar Gardens of Lahore, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal — the same emperor who built the Taj Mahal.
The Guerlain family held in-house perfumer roles for five generations, until 2008 when Thierry Wasser became the first outsider to take the role.
Guerlain still operates the original 68 Champs-Élysées flagship, opened in 1914.
Where to Buy in South Africa
Selected lines at Edgars, Skins SA, and online. R2,000-R4,500 typical.
