Houbigant: A Source of Modern Perfumery Across Four Centuries

“If God had given ferns a scent, it would have been the scent of Fougère Royale.”
— Paul Parquet (Houbigant perfumer, 1882)

Essential Information

Brand name: Houbigant
Founded: 1775
Founder: Jean-François Houbigant (1752–1807)
Based in: Monaco (under Loft S.A.M.) / Paris, France
Current owners: The Perris family: Gian Luca Perris (deputy CEO) and Elisabetta Perris
Official website: https://www.houbigant-parfum.com

Houbigant is the only fragrance house to have survived without interruption from the eighteenth century to the present, with a history spanning four centuries. Loved by royalty and great figures from Marie Antoinette, Napoleon, Queen Victoria and Russia’s Tsar Alexander III to Princess Diana, it is a house that can be described as a source of modern perfumery.

The Founder and the House’s Origins

A 23-Year-Old Beneath a Flower-Basket Sign

Jean-François Houbigant was born in Paris on December 21, 1752. His father Nicolas and mother Geneviève were both servants; his mother worked for the Duchesse de Charost, whose mansion stood at 39 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. The duchess is said to have been a kindhearted woman who took an interest in the young Jean-François, giving him an education and a modest sum with which to establish himself.

In Paris at the time, foul-smelling streets and poor hygiene were driving demand for perfume, face powder and cosmetics. The young Jean-François joined the guild of perfumers and glove-makers. Its rules dated to 1190, during the reign of Philip II, and required four years of education and three years of apprenticeship. He trained under the perfumer Deschamps, his future father-in-law, and would qualify as a master perfumer.

In 1775, at the age of 23, Jean-François opened a modest shop on rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, at what would later be number 19. Beneath a hand-painted sign depicting a basket of flowers, “À la Corbeille de Fleurs,” the shop sold perfumes, gloves, pomades, face powders, soaps and even bridal bouquets.

“Houbigant, perfumer and glove-maker, produces powders, ointments and rouge of the highest quality, and stocks baskets of every kind for weddings and christenings.”
— From a Houbigant advertisement of 1801

Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré was then one of Paris’s most fashionable emerging neighborhoods. Elegant mansions such as the Hôtel d’Évreux, later the Élysée Palace, and the Hôtel de Beauvau were being built in succession, drawing high society to the area. Houbigant’s products soon caught the attention of this glamorous clientele.

Becoming a Perfumer to Royalty and the Nobility

Account books from 1777 to 1782 feature an illustrious list of aristocratic names, including the Duchesse de Charost, the Marquis de Polignac, the Comtesse de Matignon and the Vicomte de Choiseul. Houbigant is said to have taught the women of the Versailles court how to scent their fans, allowing them to send a romantic message with a single flutter.

The most dramatic stories concern Marie Antoinette. It is said that in 1793, as she went to the guillotine, she concealed three bottles of Houbigant perfume in the bodice of her dress to fortify herself. Another legend holds that during the flight to Varennes, the disguised Marie Antoinette was recognized as royalty because she was wearing Houbigant perfume. Neither episode is firmly substantiated, but both have been passed down as illustrations of how inseparable Houbigant’s fragrances were from royalty.

Even the French Revolution of 1789 did not deal a serious blow to Houbigant’s sales. Those newly in power, too, craved perfume.

The Napoleonic Era

When Jean-François died suddenly in 1807 at the age of 55, the business passed to his wife and his son Armand-Gustave Houbigant (1790–1863). Its relationship with Napoleon’s court deepened, and Houbigant fragrances were indispensable to the group known as the Muscadins, or musk enthusiasts, to which Empress Joséphine belonged. Napoleon himself is also said to have carried Houbigant perfume in his campaign chest on his European campaigns.

Particularly intriguing are the records of the Hundred Days in 1815. Although Napoleon spent only three months in Paris, records show that he found time to shop at Houbigant while occupied with reorganizing his army. An order dated May 17, 1815, discovered by a blogger named Evan, is said to include gloves and other items, just one month before the Battle of Waterloo.

Perfumer by Appointment to Europe’s Royal Courts

Throughout the nineteenth century, Houbigant’s reputation spread across Europe.

1829: Appointed perfumer to Her Royal Highness Princess Adélaïde d’Orléans.
1838: Granted the title “Perfumer to Her Majesty Queen Victoria” of Britain.
1890: Appointed perfumer to the Russian Imperial Court by Tsar Alexander III; created Czarina Bouquet for Empress Maria Feodorovna.

Handwritten ledgers recorded the Russian Dowager Empress’s purchases from 1900 to 1917, on the eve of the Russian Revolution. Her sister, Britain’s Queen Alexandra, began shopping there in 1902; the accounts are even said to show that the two royal women did their Christmas shopping together at Houbigant. The client list also included the King and Queen of the Netherlands, the Queen of Italy, the writers Tolstoy and Maupassant, and the Rothschild family.

Paul Parquet and the Birth of Modern Perfumery

The most revolutionary turning point in Houbigant’s history began in 1880, when perfumer Paul Parquet (1856–1916) joined as a co-owner. Under Parquet, manufacturing moved to Neuilly-sur-Seine, the facilities expanded, and modern laboratories were installed.

Parquet is widely recognized as the first perfumer to understand the importance of the new synthetic fragrance materials. In 1882, or 1884 according to some sources, he introduced Fougère Royale, a landmark in perfume history. Fougère means “fern” in French, although ferns themselves have little scent. Parquet created this “imaginary scent” of a fern by combining synthetic coumarin, a compound isolated from tonka beans, with bergamot, lavender and oakmoss.

“If God had given ferns a scent, it would have been the scent of Fougère Royale.”
— Paul Parquet

Known as the first instance in history of a synthetic ingredient being used in perfume, it is regarded as the birth of modern perfumery. Fougère Royale inspired countless imitations before disappearing from the market in the late 1960s, and became the ancestor of the entire modern fougère family. Many of the world’s best-selling men’s fragrances, including Brut, Hugo Boss and Prada pour Homme, belong to this family today.

Ernest Beaux, the legendary perfumer known for creating Chanel No. 5, praised Parquet as “the greatest perfumer of his time.” Parquet was made a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur in 1908 and devoted his estate to establishing a pediatric medical center in Neuilly-sur-Seine.

Robert Bienaimé and Quelques Fleurs

Parquet’s successor was Robert Bienaimé (1876–1960), a perfumer with a background in chemistry. He met Parquet in 1909 and joined Houbigant under his mentorship.

In 1912, Bienaimé introduced Quelques Fleurs, a name meaning “a few flowers.” Until then, floral perfumes had mainly imitated a single flower: rose for a rose perfume, violet for a violet perfume. Bienaimé created the concept of a multi-floral bouquet, harmonizing several flowers as one bouquet for the first time. Entirely unprecedented at the time, this approach had a profound influence on subsequent perfume history.

The writer Guy de Maupassant is said to have worn Fougère Royale, describing it as “a magnificent evocation of the scent of a forest, or perhaps the moors; not an expression of flowers, but a portrait of greenery.”

After Parquet’s death in 1916, Bienaimé led Houbigant’s creative department until around 1930. During this period, he served several terms as president of the Syndicat National de la Parfumerie between 1923 and 1942.

Even after Bienaimé left to establish his own house in 1935, perfumers such as Paul Schwing and Marcel Billot continued to work at Houbigant. In 1941, Billot introduced Chantilly, which would likewise secure its place among the house’s important creations.

Difficult Years: Bankruptcy and the Fate of a Name

Houbigant entered a difficult period in the second half of the twentieth century. Enrico Donati (1909–2008), an Italian-American Surrealist painter married to Claire Javal, daughter of the family that owned Houbigant, took over management in 1965. Bringing an artist’s sensibility to perfumery, Donati founded the Alyssa Ashley brand in 1968, naming it after his daughter Alyssa.

Yet changing times proved unforgiving. In 1993, Houbigant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York, with liabilities of $52.5 million against assets of just $23 million. In 1994, the formulas and trademarks for twelve Houbigant perfumes were licensed to the new company Renaissance Cosmetics. Its emphasis on drugstore and discount-chain sales seriously damaged Houbigant’s prestige. Renaissance itself went bankrupt in 1999, and the Houbigant name became embroiled in litigation alleging that its formulas had been “watered down.”

Revival Under the Perris Family

At this point, Houbigant’s story intersects with that of the Perris family from Rome, Italy. Fascinated by perfume from childhood, Michele Perris had gained early experience at leading fragrance and cosmetics companies. In the 1980s, he met the last blood descendant of the Houbigant family and began working with the house as a consultant.

“Over years of working together, a deep friendship developed between the two men.”
— From Houbigant’s official brand story

In 1981, Michele established his own company to distribute the Houbigant brand. Later, when Houbigant’s owner was forced to relinquish the business for health reasons, the Perris family made it their mission to reclaim the historic Houbigant name.

After several years of effort, in 2005 the Perris family finally gained control of the Houbigant name in the fragrance and cosmetics market.

“After the recent economic crisis, there is a growing hunger for genuine quality and authenticity. It is not about throwing something together, putting a pretty label on it and selling it at a high price. The quality inherent in the composition of Fougère Royale is precisely what people are looking for today.”
— Gian Luca Perris, interviewed by Forbes in 2010

Michele’s son Gian Luca Perris studied perfumery in Grasse and is himself a perfumer. Together with his sisters Elisabetta and Consuelo, he has worked to revive Houbigant and establish Perris Monte Carlo, founded in 2012.

“Without Houbigant, modern perfumery as we know it today would have been very different.”
— Gian Luca Perris

Houbigant celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2025, opening flagship boutiques at 62 rue François Ier in Paris, measuring 80 square meters, and on the Boulevard de la Croisette in Cannes, measuring 150 square meters. The Paris opening marked its return after fifty years or more. Designed by Florentine architect Filippo Breschi, the stores feature champagne-colored paneling called “Boiserie Houbigant,” inspired by Parisian palaces, with fragrances displayed like artworks on brass-edged glass shelves.

The House’s Distinctive Commitments

A Philosophy of “Responsible Restoration”

For Houbigant’s revival, the Perris family adopted a policy of “responsible restoration.” Givaudan master perfumer Rodrigo Flores-Roux, entrusted with the 2010 revival of Fougère Royale, applied a concept from architectural restoration to perfume.

“When restoring a historic building, there is an approach called ‘responsible restoration,’ in which a little of the patina left by time is retained. I began my work by following that example.”
— Rodrigo Flores-Roux

Flores-Roux smelled the original Fougère Royale preserved at the Osmothèque, the fragrance archive in Versailles. Honoring its spirit, he creatively reinterpreted it within the possibilities of contemporary ingredients and regulations: compensating for oakmoss that regulations had made unusable with patchouli and cistus labdanum, and using clary sage and natural coumarin from Costa Rican tonka beans instead of synthetic coumarin. The renowned British perfume critic Roja Dove joined as a consultant, and the project was completed through this three-way collaboration with the Perris family.

Respect for Grasse and a Commitment to Ingredients

As Gian Luca Perris himself explains, Houbigant continues to make fragrances with a profound respect for French tradition.

“Houbigant is a brand that maintains a very high quality in what goes into its bottles. We have a long French tradition to respect, so we work with people who understand it deeply. That is why we go to Grasse time and again: to Grasse, the birthplace of French perfumery.”
— Gian Luca Perris

Gian Luca’s journeys to Nosy Be in Madagascar in search of the finest ylang-ylang for Perris Monte Carlo, and his use of the traditional sponge extraction method for Calabrian bergamot, exemplify the uncompromising approach to ingredients that underpins the Houbigant/Perris group.

Bottle Design: Collaborations with Artists

Houbigant’s flacons, or bottles, are conceived not merely as containers but as works of art.

The Collection Privée bottle: Designed by the Surrealist painter Enrico Donati, husband of the last descendant of the Houbigant family. Its refined form draws inspiration from the original Quelques Fleurs bottle.
The Collection Royale crystal bottle (introduced in 2010): An homage to an original bottle designed and manufactured for Houbigant by René Lalique in the early twentieth century, reinterpreting Art Deco aesthetics for the present.
The Collection Les Matières bottle (introduced in 2012): Inspired by the Le Parfum Idéal bottle designed by Baccarat for the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900. The original bottle is now held in the collection of the Pola Museum of Art in Hakone, Japan.

The Fragrance Collections

Houbigant’s current offering comprises several collections that deftly unite history and modernity.

Collection Privée

The flagship line presents Houbigant’s historic masterpieces in extrême concentrations, housed in the bottle designed by Donati.

Quelques Fleurs L’Original: The modern version of the “first-ever multi-floral bouquet,” born in 1912. It is also known as the perfume Princess Diana wore on her wedding day.
Quelques Fleurs Royale: Descends from a fragrance dedicated to Princess Adélaïde d’Orléans, who appointed Houbigant her perfumer in 1829.
Essence Rare, Mon Boudoir, La Belle Saison and others.

Within Collection Privée, heritage does not always mean restoring an unchanged formula. At the 2018 presentation, Jean-Claude Ellena explained how a meeting with the Perris family at a Houbigant conference led him to propose revisiting Essence Rare. He retained its classical floral structure but simplified the composition to reflect his later sensibility. This was a process of authorial revision rather than straightforward reproduction.

Quelques Fleurs Jardin Secret approaches continuity through its intended wearer. In 2017, Elisabetta Perris explained that she wanted to carry the floral tradition forward while reaching women of her own generation. The inherited name thus accompanies a renewed idea of the audience, rather than serving only as a reference to the past.

Collection Royale

A refined collection that brings Lalique’s crystal bottle back to life for the present day.

Fougère Royale: Revived in 2010 through the collaboration of Rodrigo Flores-Roux and Roja Dove. Its core includes lavender, geranium, oakmoss, patchouli and tonka bean.
Bois Mystique and Figuier Noir.

Collection Les Matières

With bottles inspired by Baccarat, this line focuses on individual natural ingredients, exploring their many facets.

Orangers en Fleurs, Iris des Champs, Pivoine Souveraine and Pétales de Magnolia.

La Collection Orientale

Introduced in 2023, this relatively recent line is a collaboration between perfumers Luca Maffei and Antoine Lie. It is a bold oriental collection that combines Middle Eastern perfumery traditions with Houbigant’s savoir-faire, or craftsmanship, dating back to the eighteenth century.

Ambre des Abysses, Tabac Nomade, Patchouli Sauvage and Oud Or.

Collection Les Ambres

A new line devoted to amber, featuring Ambre Rubis, Rose du Désert, Vanille Impériale and other fragrances.

Incidentally…

Princess Diana’s wedding fragrance: On the day of her wedding to Prince Charles in 1981, Diana wore Houbigant’s Quelques Fleurs. According to Barbara Daly, her makeup artist that day, Diana accidentally spilled some of the perfume on her iconic wedding dress.
Oscar Wilde was also a customer: The standard-bearer of aestheticism is said to have worn Houbigant, and is counted among the house’s select clientele.
Napoleon’s order before Waterloo: On May 17, 1815, just one month before his defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon placed an order with Houbigant. It is said to have included gloves.
The creator of Alyssa Ashley: The brand Alyssa Ashley, created while Enrico Donati was involved in running Houbigant, combined his daughter Alyssa’s name with her nickname Ashley, meaning “blonde.” It is now run by Consuelo Perris of the Perris family.
The Russian Dowager Empress’s Christmas shopping: The ledgers record that Russia’s Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna and her sister, Britain’s Queen Alexandra, did their Christmas shopping together at Houbigant. The image of these two royal women choosing perfume together is an exquisitely elegant vignette from history.