Two legends surround the perfumes of Houbigant, Marie-Antoinette’s favorite perfume company. According to one story, she loved their products so much that she had her bottles refilled before she escaped. The tale is still told that the Queen was only caught because the revolutionaries smelled her scent and thought that it was so expensive that only royalty could afford it!
Jean-Francois Houbigant founded this venerable French company in 1775. Aged only 23, he is believed to have arrived in Paris with a basket of flowers. This became the sign above his first shop and the name of it. ‘A la Corbeille de Fleurs’ was situated in the fashionable Faubourg Saint-Honore. At first Houbigant sold perfumed gloves but he soon graduated to bottles of scent. The shop was a favourite of many aristocrats besides Marie-Antoinette.
Surprisingly, the company wasn’t greatly affected by the Revolution and achieved great success in the early nineteenth century. It was appointed the perfumer to Princess Adelaide d’Orleans in 1829 and Queen Victoria in 1838. It was also the perfumer to Russian Tsars.
Josephine reportedly burned scented pastilles made by Houbigant to comfort Napoleon as he lay dying.
Houbigant’s son and then the perfumer, Chardin, managed the company after Jean-Francois died. In the 1880’s the perfumer, Paul Parquet, became joint owner of Houbigant. The company was moved to Neuilly-sur-Seine so that it could expand its facilities.
He produced Fougere Royale, the first perfume to contain a synthetic. A blend of wood moss, lavender, coumarin (the synthetic), and other ingredients, this started a line of fragrances called ‘fougere’ or ‘fern’. Although Parquet originally created this scent for women, its sharp, woody scent became popular with men. It became a favorite of the famous writer, Guy de Mauppassant.
The company expanded around the world and became popular with the wealthy and royalty everywhere. Queen Marie of Romania even advertised it!
Another famous perfume of Houbigant was Quelque Fleurs, which was created by the perfumer, Bienaime. This is supposed to be the first true multi-floral scent according to an EBay guide to the company.
Unfortunately the company met a slow decline and went bankrupt in 1993. After much litigation between Houbigant and its new owners and accusations of watering down, things settled somewhat. The Dana company now owns the products but unfortunately the perfumes are not the originals.
Vintage bottles of Houbigant are very popular amongst collectors and a beautiful addiction to any dressing table.
(NB: I also have this article on sale at Constant-Content
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