Constantin Mikhailovich “Kot” Weriguine ( rus, Константи́н Михайлович Веригин, Konstantin Mikhailovich Verigin; 1899–1982) was a Franco-Russian perfumer, best remembered for his work at

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French high-end luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. Chanel specializes in women's ready-to-wear, luxury goods, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Chanel is ...

and

Bourjois Bourjois is a French cosmetics company owned by the American group Coty, Inc., Coty Inc. Bourjois creates Make up, make-up, fragrance and skincare products, which are sold in approximately 26,000 points of sales in more than 80 countries worldwid ...

Biography

Weriguine was born in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, the son of an aristocrat and officer of the Russian

hussar A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...

s. He was schooled in

Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crimea ...

and served as an officer of the Horse Artillery of the

Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, in ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After the war, he lived in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

and

Pančevo Pančevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Панчево, ; german: Pantschowa; hu, Pancsova; ro, Panciova; sk, Pánčevo) is a city and the administrative center of the South Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is located on ...

, before obtaining a visa for France. He studied chemistry at Lille Catholic University and interned at the Parfums de Luzy, working under Claude Fraysse. In 1926, he was hired as a perfumer at Chanel and Bourjois, seconding

Ernest Beaux Ernest Beaux ( – 9 June 1961) was a Russian-born French perfumer who is best known for creating Chanel No. 5, which is perhaps the world's most famous perfume. Family background Born in Moscow, Ernest Beaux was the son of Edouard Hyppolite B ...

. He married Sophie Constantinovna Schabelsky in 1933 and had two children. He created some thirty perfumes at Bourjois, most notably ''Mais Oui'' (1938), and assisted Beaux in the creation of another twenty at Chanel and Bourjois, including ''Soir de Paris'' (1928), ''

Bois des Îles Bois des Îles () is a fragrance produced by Parisian couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. The name is French for "Island Wood" or, more literally, "Wood of the Islands". History Coco Chanel had worked with Ernest Beaux on her original perfume, ...

'' (1929), ''

Cuir de Russie Cuir de Russie () is a fragrance from Parisian couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. (The term may also refer to other Russia leather perfumes, most notably ''Creed Cuir de Russie''.) History Coco Chanel had worked with Ernest Beaux on her origina ...

'' (1935) and ''Kobako'' (1936). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Weriguine was conscripted into the Service du travail obligatoire and sent to a chemical plant in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. After the war, he resumed his work at Chanel and Bourjois, eventually seconding Henri Robert from 1954 to 1962. That year, he was dismissed from the two companies, though sued for damages and won. He was subsequently hired at Rhône-Poulenc. He released his memoirs, ''Souvenirs et Parfums'', in 1965, before retiring in 1977. Towards the end of his life, he served as vice president of the French Society of Perfumers. Several of his major works are archived in their original form at the

Osmothèque The Osmothèque (from Greek ''osmē'' "scent" patterned on French ''bibliothèque'' "library") is the world's largest scent archive, a leading international research institution tracing the history of perfumery, based in Versailles with conferenc ...

Selected works

Perfumes

* ''Ashes of Carnations'' (1930) * ''Para Ti'' (1930) * ''Printemps de Paris'' (1931) * ''Amok'' (1934) * ''Chicote'' (1934) * ''Flamme'' (1935) * ''Mais Oui'' (1938) * ''Courage'' (1939) * ''Folies Bergère'' (1943) * ''Endearing'' (1946) * ''Beau Belle'' (1949) * ''Fantasio'' (1950) * ''On the Wind'' (1950) * ''Ramage'' (1951) * ''Roman Holiday'' (1951) * ''French Lace'' (1951) * ''Glamour'' (1953) * ''Christmas in July'' (1954) * ''Frosty Mist'' (1955)

Books

* ''Souvenirs et parfums : Mémoires d'un parfumeur'' (1965)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weriguine, Constantin 1899 births 1982 deaths Burials at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery Russian military personnel of World War I People from Yalta French perfumers Lille Catholic University alumni Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France

Biography

Selected works

Perfumes

Books

See also

References