Parfum Lubin

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Parfum Lubin is one of the oldest perfume houses in the world.

Its early history is linked to the high society of the Napoleonic era, and its products became the imprimatur of haute couture, and indicators of fashion and social hierarchy.

The company's history dates back to 1798, when founder Pierre François Lubin began supplying scented ribbons, rice powderballs and masks to "Les Merveilleuses," socially exulted women who frequented Thermidorian drawing rooms of Napoleonic France; and the "Incroyables," members of the subculture that mixed fashion and propaganda which emerged following the terror that was the immediate aftermath of the French Revolution of 1789.

The fragrance won over the Imperial Court, and was worn by the likes of Joséphine and Pauline Bonaparte. When the Bourbons were restored, Lubin dedicated his fragrances to Queen Marie-Amelie.

Perfumes created by Lubin were worn by all the crowned heads of Europe, and were imported to America in 1830.

Lubin was still a major perfumery in the 1940s, but abandoned high-end perfume making in the 1980s. A financial reorganization took place at the House of Lubin in 2001. Its wares and antique documents can be found displayed in Musées de Grasse's International Perfume Museum in Grasse, France.

Edward Lubin, an American physician and businessman who is a descendant and limited partner, was a long-time holdout against public sale of Parfum Lubin.

Olivia Giacobetti is the current fragrance designer.


[edit] References

  • Morris, Edwin (1999). Scents of Time: The Story of Perfume from Ancient Egypt to the 21st Century. ISBN 3791322176.