The Osmothèque is a perfume museum and conservatory in Versailles located near ISIPCA as a repository and conservatory for the formulae of perfumes. It was founded in 1988 by Jean Kerléo and several perfumers with the goal of reconstructing the formula for perfumes that have been lost and preserve the formulas of influential perfumes that shaped trends in the perfume industry.[1] The name "Osmothèque" comes from joining two Greek with osmo for smell theque for storage.[2] In 2008, Patricia de Nicolaï, the great-grand-daughter of Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain, became the President of the Osmothèque[3]
Many of the perfumes may have been trend-setters in their time but are at risk of being lost due to changes in fashion and tastes, bankruptcies of the perfume company, or changes in the perfume formulations. For instance, François Coty's 1917 Chypre bears little or no resemblance to its current version. This museum also played an important role in re-creating Marie-Antoinette's perfume in 2007 due to the scientific and technical expertise of its perfumers and technicians.[1]
The perfumes that have been recreated from their formulae are conserved in aluminium flasks with its headspace flush with argon and then stored in the museum's basement air conditioned room at 12 degree Celsius.[2][4] The Osmothèque holds regular lectures on its grounds towards public understanding of the industry, trends, and art of perfumery.[1]