Musée du Parfum Fragonard

Situated in the heart of Paris, just a few minutes walking from the Opera Garnier, the Fragonard perfumery is one of the oldest perfumeries in the city. Founded in 1926, the name pays tribute to Jean-Honoré Fragonard, an 18th-century painter and son of a perfume maker.

Grasse France is widely known as the perfume capital of the world and this hilly French town eventually become the center of the French perfume industry after it began manufacturing perfumed gloves in the 16th century.  This museum is a quick stop that gives you a basic understanding of the perfume world, The explanation of the history of perfume evolution is very informative and interesting. Very knowledgeable explanation of the arts of perfume making and choosing the right perfume for the right event.

Fragonard perfume museum is free to visit, it is not necessary to make a reservation. At the entrance of each room of the Museum, you can scan a QR code with your smartphone (available in English) to access the commentary, by reading or listening audio version, and learn more about the manufacturing techniques of French perfumery and its history.
For the group, you can reserve a guided tour in French or English for free. Such an unusual activity in Paris! The tour is about 30 minutes, they give you a rundown of the history of the building, the company, perfumes through the ages, perfume making past and present, and then test your sense of smell by trying to identify different scents. 

To understand perfume, we would need to start at its inception, back in the time of the previous history. At the beginning of the visit, you will see the previous history of Fragonard, through photos and relics to understand more about their story.

A bunch of small glass bottles placed in different fragrances tune the perfume composition, a wooden tone, floral tone ... and so on, you can guide the interpretation of the pilot under the test.

Perfume fragrance comes from a variety of plants and even animal secretions.  Perfumes combine raw materials with different flavors and different notes.

Used as a working tool by the perfumer and perfume technicians for designing a new composition, each system is based on a choice of raw materials that reflects different eras and graphic fashions. Notes are classifications of natural raw materials of plants. To prepare a perfume, the perfumer chooses a basic scent and builds on it by mixing essential oils and fixatives that hold the perfume together, making the fragrance lasting.

Perfume past the production process, women pick flowers in the fields and then extracted them. This is an ancient machine that extracts the essence of flowers.

In ancient times to make perfume, they will collect fresh petals, the petals added to wash and heat the melted animal fat, fresh flowers daily change, repeated several times, and the animal fat will be the flower aroma to be income and become Balm. 

In the past, people would put perfume in small bottles to carry. Here is an example of the "bag" of perfume and utility tools.

Because perfume storage needs to avoid dampness, sunshine, and high temperature, Fragonard has developed a metal perfume bottle that can let the perfume store longer. According to the proportion of fragrances, perfumes are divided into parfum essence (25-30%), eau de parfum essence (15%), eau de toilette eau de toilette (8-10%), eaux de Cologne (5%). In accordance with the different perfumes, the use of different methods, colognes, and eau de toilette can spray the whole body and hair; and fragrance and perfume only need a few drops on the wrist and neck. Remember after spraying, don't rub to avoid friction heat generated that can lead to the destruction of perfume molecules.

Visit the museum there is a small game to participate in, open the jar test smell, and determine the perfume ingredients.

By the end of the visit to the Perfume Museum, you can take a look at the Fragonard Perfumery, where you can find lots of Fragonard perfumes, candles, fragrances, toiletries, and cosmetics.

O’bon Paris’ tip

If you plan to visit and want to have a guided tour but you don't have a group. The museum organizes also a guided tour with a mini workshop at an affordable price. You can click here to check out our article about this experience.

Author: O'bon Paris team

Photos: Phan Thanh Thuy