If you’ve not experienced this beautiful perfume house then you’re missing out… Fragonard, named after the famous painter was founded in Grasse over a century ago by Eugene Fuchs. As the business continued to grow it was passed from father to son and eventually to the daughters Agnes and Francoise who are currently at the helm of the beautiful brand.
In the 1970’s Jean-Francois Costa had the idea of opening up the Fragonard factory to the public, which later turned into the iconic tourist attraction in France – Fragonard Perfume Museum. This is where you can visit the factories and see the behind the scenes creation of fragrances – such a special experience. Combining his love for perfume history with rare and exquisite ingredients, the museum has become a must-visit for any perfume lovers.
The Fragonard Perfume Museum is an iconic tourist attraction in France. Anyone who has been to the Museum has exactly the same reaction when they walk into our store for the first time and see the large column of Fragonard perfumes proudly displayed. You can see their faces light up – disbelief and excitement at the same time. Memories of their wonderful travels through France and their beautiful experience at the Fragonard Fragrance Museum come flooding back. The fragrances that they couldn’t find anywhere else in Australia are finally available again!
The Fragonard perfume range is made up of several different collections – the most recognisable being the Estagon Collection. The Estagon range feature the gold aluminium bottles that Fragonard began using during the war. As glass was not readily available and had become too expensive, Fragonard chose to use aluminium instead. Unbeknownst to them, the Fragonard brand would become synonymous with these iconic bottles. Not only are they the most durable bottle you can find (we can definitely attest to this in store with our hard slate floors…), they are lovely and compact (a 60ml size) to be easily carried in your handbag, and most importantly they ensure that no light makes it’s way to your precious perfume juice to degrade it. Almost all of the classic scents in the Fragonard range are available in the Estagon range. Some of our most popular include Diamant, Etoile, Belle Cherie and Belle de Nuit however there are many more in the collection – something for everyone!
The Jardin Collection from Fragonard is another very popular collection, featuring wonderful perfumes with corresponding bars of soaps. The scents are glorious as they take us to different gardens around the world from a bright and vivacious Mexican garden (Bigarade Jasmin) to a gorgeous spring-time garden in Provence (Tilluel Cedrat) to an exotic and mysterious garden in the Far East (Rose Ambre). Each scent is beautiful and the matching soaps are to-die-for! Some of our most popular soaps at Lore Perfumery as a matter of fact! The Jardin Collection of soaps are rich and decadent, they fill the bathroom with a light scent and feel incredibly creamy and luxurious to use. The fragrance and matching bar of soap are the ultimate duo to gift someone special, coming in at just a bit over $100 for a beautifully packaged and incredibly smelling duo!
Some favourites and most popular ones we definitely recommend trying within the Fragonard perfume line are –
• Diamant is an opulant and warm scent. With notes of Caramel, Rose, Patchouli and Vanilla it still rich but the hints of Plum, Orange and Mandarin brightens the scent and Diamant gets better and better as the complexity evolves on the skin. Those deeper notes mingle so seamlessly with the fresher, lighter ones. With a slight similarity to Chanel Mademoiselle this is a great scent for Chanel lovers who want a more niche fragrance option.
• One of our best-sellers is Etoile – it has the perfect blend of fresh crispness with Ginger, Bergamot and Apple with a gentle, feminine heart of Jasmine and Gardenia and then the warm, earlthy base of Amber. This scent is gentle, refreshing and feminine – Etoile is the perfect scent to wear day to day.
• Emilie is such a refined scent, bringing Violet to the forefront – it is elegant and sumptuous with notes of Violet, Rose, Sandalwood and Lily of the Valley. A rich and heady floral composition to begin with, Emilie develops into a gentle, vintage style powdery floral.
• Belle Cherie takes me to the scents of hot tropical nights. It’s sweet and fruity with island holiday feels. Belle Cherie has notes of Star Fruit, Tangerine, Jasmine and Vanilla. Its a playful, carefree scent that lasts so long on the skin – Belle Cherie is like a fruity cocktail mixed with warm, delicious vanilla.
