Guerlain opened on the rue de Rivoli in 1828 and supplied the court of Napoleon III. What set it apart was continuity: for most of two centuries the perfumer was a Guerlain, each trained by the last.
Jicky, in 1889, was among the first fragrances to use synthetics as creative material rather than as imitation. Mitsouko, in 1919, defined the chypre. Shalimar, in 1925, defined the oriental, and its vanilla-and-bergamot structure is still being copied. The house signature, a soft powdery base of vanillin, tonka and iris, is known in the trade as the Guerlinade.
Known for
- Shalimar
- Mitsouko
- Jicky
- L'Heure Bleue
See also
Entry revised 17 September 2026. Something wrong? Send a correction.