100 years of perfumes

Fragonard perfumer of happiness since 1926

Perched between sea and mountains, Grasse enjoys a rare balance: abundant sun, tempered by altitude; generous rains that nourish the earth; cool nights that concentrate the aromas. The May roses bloom here with unparalleled intensity, and jasmine finds a soil so rich that it is said to be more heady than elsewhere. Each petal becomes promise of essence, each field, an open-air laboratory

Mimosa, rose, orange blossom, tuberose, jasmine... are the famous perfume flowers grown in Grasse, capital of French perfumery. For its hundredth anniversary, the Fragonard house created L'Air de Grasse, a tribute to the city that saw it born: a perfumed air where the most exquisite scents are combined in Provençal. The L'Air de Grasse collection tells the story of a family-owned and traditional perfumery that has been written since 1926.

Why l'Air de grasse ?

Mixed with sea wind and southern light, the air is also symbolic. Myths have always conferred a particular power on him: in ancient Greece, each wind had its name and mood (Borée, Zéphyr, Eurus), bearing sometimes storms, sometimes promises of love. Among the ancient Egyptians, the divine breath animated the universe; among the Hindus, the god Vayu embodies prana, this vital breath that circulates in each being. For the Native American peoples, the wind was a spirit, messenger of ancestors and guardian of sacred directions.

Everywhere, it was more than a draft: a voice, a presence, an invisible energy. So why, here, not to imagine him as a perfumer, too? Perfume historians describe the air of Grasse as an olfactory universe enriched by centuries of know-how and harvests.

A reality transfigured by literature: Patrick Süskind, in Le Parfum, makes Grasse a mythical place where the atmosphere saturated with flowers becomes almost palpable. For Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, the main character of the novel, each scent is a raw material to capture, each fragrance a substance to sculpt. Between myth and history, reality and imagination, L'Air de Grasse blows a joyful and fragrant breeze.