Trends and demand within the global perfume market evolve and shift as in any other, but one particular type of scent is experiencing a significant revival: French fragrances that focus on the finest quality ingredients, hand-finished glassware and the pomp and grandeur of the 18th century.
Parfum Muse, a luxury perfume stockist with curated selections of the most premium and unusual scents from around the world, is well placed to meet this demand, providing customers with a high-end, tailored service and access to leading perfume houses and world-class perfume designers.
Here the team clarifies the reasons behind the uptick in the appeal of heritage French scents and why this corner of the perfume industry has lasted so many generations.
The Prominence and Appeal of Iconic French Perfumes
France has long been regarded as the perfume capital, having established itself as a country with the best perfumers, attention to detail, and exceptional quality. Its climate makes it ideal for cultivating some of the classic wearable scents, such as rose, blossom, and jasmine.
Grasse, a city on the French Riviera, played a hugely influential role in the development of modern perfume-making techniques. It has deep associations with scent, just as Switzerland is linked with watchmaking.
However, for modern perfume collectors, designers, and producers, there is a specific era that impacts their ingredient selection and blends—the famous perfumed court of Louis XV. The King of France was known for elaborate costumes, scandal, and demands that his apartments, ornaments, and court members smell pleasant at all times.
Versailles was filled with unwelcome fragrances at the time due to the lack of bathing facilities and poor sewerage systems. The king even ordered fountains to be built, decorated with statues, and filled with flowers to bring more pleasing scents to the city.
While his reign ultimately led to the French Revolution, it was the allure and novelty of this passion for the finer things in life, personal care, and elegance that became a period in history that has continued to influence contemporary perfumery to this day.
Quality Perfume Brands With a Heritage French Influence
Parfums de Marly is one of several popular fine fragrance houses we stock within our hand-picked selections. The brand was created to replicate the splendour and extravagance of the Versailles Courts and the Château de Marly, the French royal palace, which was partially demolished in the 19th century.
One of the unique features of this intricate royal residence was the set of sculpted horses at the entrance, created by Guillaume Coustou from Carrara marble. Louis XV commissioned the horses and their grooms to stand guard over the palace grounds.
Today, the Marly Horses can be seen in the Louvre Museum in Paris, in the centre of a courtyard, and emblazoned on the bottle of every scent created by Parfums de Marly as part of a motif depicting a coat of arms.
The brand was launched in 2009 in Paris and creates luxury fragrances inspired by this lavish element of French history. It offers male, female, and versatile, unisex fragrance scents alongside deeply aromatic body care products, each carefully blended to mimic the specialist techniques used in traditional perfume, long before cheap replicas and mass production became the norm.
It characterises its brand as a combination of classic and audacious and sets out to create perfumes that are timeless, graceful and ultimately a pleasure to wear.
Recommended Parfums de Marly Scents to Sample
As you might expect from fragrances created to stand out, each Parfums de Marly scent is distinctive, bold and draws on accents and notes that feel contemporary but are inspired by 18th-century France.
If you adore all things vintage or would love to try a Parfums de Marly scent for yourself, we’ve shared some recommendations below, all of which are available to order now from the Parfum Muse online store:
Parfums de Marly Althair Eau de Parfum
The Althair Eau de Parfum is a classic, rich, deep scent that is equal parts wood, amber, and vanilla, contrasting fresh and cultivated ingredients against brighter orange blossoms with praline and musk base notes. A heady Bourbon vanilla at the centre is the starring ingredient, as a plant descended from the original vanilla brought to France by the monarch—at the time, an exotic and rare scent and flavour.
Parfums de Marly Delina Exclusif Eau de Parfum
Packaged in a sugary pastel pink bottle with delicate tassels, Delina Exclusif is a floral, powdery perfume with pear and lychee top notes that add a touch of sweet exotic fruits. A mixture of warming vanilla and musk, with rose and incense at the heart, makes this perfume feel fresh and energetic, designed to be the ultimate in a romantic French perfume.
Parfums de Marly Delina La Rosée Eau de Parfum
Delina La Rosee is a lighter, paler scent. Similar tangy fruits at the top combine with bergamot and essence for a deeper, more complex scent. The summery Turkish rose, peony, and florals are slightly citric without being acidic or bitter, with vetiver to balance the scent profile.
Purchasing a Distinctive French Perfume for Your Collection
Of course, each of the scents featured above is different, and the best classic perfumes may depend on your personal preferences and the fragrances you most love to wear.
Timeless French perfumes can also be an acquired taste, particularly those that have very rich, bold profiles or stronger accents that people used to wearing lighter, cleaner scents can find overpowering.
If you are unsure, our advice is to opt for one of the beautifully boxed Discovery Sets, featuring four separate perfumes in a feminine and masculine selection.
Trying each fragrance, experimenting with layering, or sampling the way these intricate and prestigious perfumes change and evolve during the day will ensure you pick the perfume or aroma that you love most and will be able to share some incredible insights into the history of your new signature scent when you’re asked what you are wearing—which is almost guaranteed!
Read more about Parfum Muse - Choosing Artful Scents That Elevate Your Dressing Table: Expert Tips for Bottles of Beauty
About Parfum Muse
Parfum Muse is the new luxe shopping destination for perfume lovers, showcasing some of the UK’s most premium niche and fine fragrances.
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