The Molinard perfume house has over 150 years of history creating perfumes for clients, amongst them artists, celebrities and noble families, from Queen Victoria, who requested cosmetic products to be delivered to her hotel, to Princess Anne, who visited the factory in the 1970’s. Now, it is opening a new boutique museum in Nice where you can discover their range of perfumes and fragrant products and even create your own perfume in the workshop and enjoy a free guided visit.
Molinard remains true to its family traditions of being the “Provençal Perfumer”, using local flowers and raw materials whenever possible. In 1860, their Rose and Jasmine ‘perfumed waters’ started to gain popularity and are still enjoyed to this day. Founded in 1849, by a chemist by the same name, Molinard has created exclusive, authentic and traditional perfumes that transcend history. Habanita the irresistible vanilla and rose scented fragrance, loved by women worldwide, was created in 1924 during “les années folles”, becoming a symbol of emancipated women.
Prince Felix Youssoupov and his wife Irina, residents in Paris after the Bolshevik Revolution asked Molinard to create “their” perfume. The chemist asked Leon Bakst to paint the scent-bottle, created by Baccarat Crystal. The fragrance was a work in progress when for an unknown reason Youssoupov stopped the project. However, Molinard decided to use the beautiful crystal scent bottle and went on to use many more Lalique and Baccarat designs for his precious perfumes.
Today Molinard has just launched a perfume ‘Pour Une Femme Russe, reminiscent of Russian winters with an amber fruity fragrance to celebrate St Petersburg’s Tricentenary. A surprising decision taken is that to finish the perfume originally destined for Princess Irina Youssoupov, but to dedicate it to modern Russian women. The new perfume will involve the participation of Russian women and men in a perfume creation competition, which will take place at the factory in Grasse until 30th November 2003)
Addresses:
Nice: 20 Rue Saint François de Paule, next to the Cours Salaya market and the Opera house
Grasse: Bld Victor Hugo
Sjliney wine & tourism development 