Germaine Cellier (1909–1976) was a French
perfumer
A perfumer is an expert on creating perfume compositions, sometimes referred to affectionately as a ''nose'' (French: ''nez'') due to their fine sense of smell and skill in producing olfactory compositions. The perfumer is effectively an artist wh ...
. She was known for creating bold, pioneering fragrances such as ''Fracas'' and ''Bandit''. Cellier was also one of the first prominent female perfumers, at a time when the industry was dominated by men.
Early life
Cellier was born in
Bordeaux, France in 1909. In 1930, she moved to Paris to study chemistry. After obtaining her degree, she went to work as a chemist for the French company Roure Bertrand. In 1943, she left Roure to work for
Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive Company is an American multinational consumer products company headquartered on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company specializes in the production, distribution, and provision of household, health car ...
as a functional perfumer, but returned to Roure after three months.
Career
In the 1940s, Cellier met
Robert Piguet
Robert Piguet (1898 – 1953) was a Swiss-born, Paris-based fashion designer who is mainly remembered for training Christian Dior and Hubert de Givenchy. The Piguet fashion house ran from 1933 to 1951; since then, the brand Robert Piguet has bee ...
, a former designer for
Paul Poiret who had started his own fashion house. Piguet aspired to create young, vibrant fashions for the post-war period. In 1944, she created ''Bandit'', one of the first leather
chypres in perfumery. Cellier used 1% isobutyl quinoline to give ''Bandit'' an intense, leathery quality.
In 1947, she created ''Vent Vert'' for the house of
Balmain, which contained an overdose of
galbanum, and was considered to be the first "green" perfume.
In 1948, she created
''Fracas'', considered today to be the landmark
tuberose fragrance. The formula, among other ingredients, contained Indian tuberose absolute, Tunisian orange blossom absolute, French jasmine, and Italian iris root butter.
Throughout her life, Cellier cultivated friendships with some of France's most famous figures, such as writer
Jean Cocteau, actor
François Périer, and Pierre Brisson, long-time editor of
Le Figaro.
In 1999, Fashion Fragrances & Cosmetics, owner of the Piguet fragrances, launched re-orchestrated versions of ''Fracas'' and ''Bandit''.
List of creations
Balenciaga
Balenciaga SA ( ) is a luxury fashion house founded in 1919 by the Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga in San Sebastian, Spain. Balenciaga produces ready-to-wear, footwear, handbags, and accessories and licenses its name and branding to C ...
* ''La Fuite Des Heures'' (1949)
Balmain
* ''Elysees 64 83'' (1946)
* ''Vent Vert'' (1947)
* ''Jolie Madame'' (1953)
* ''Monsieur Balmain'' (1964)
* ''Miss Balmain'' (1967)
Robert Piguet
Robert Piguet (1898 – 1953) was a Swiss-born, Paris-based fashion designer who is mainly remembered for training Christian Dior and Hubert de Givenchy. The Piguet fashion house ran from 1933 to 1951; since then, the brand Robert Piguet has bee ...
* ''Bandit'' (1944)
* ''Visa'' (1945)
* ''Fracas'' (1948)
* ''Cravache'' (1963)
Nina Ricci
* ''Coeur Joie'' (1946)
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cellier, Germaine
Businesspeople from Bordeaux
1909 births
1976 deaths
French perfumers