The Maison Molinard was founded in 1849 in

Grasse Grasse (; Provençal dialect, Provençal oc, Grassa in classical norm or in Mistralian norm ; traditional it, Grassa) is the only Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in the Provence- ...

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

, in the south of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, a historic centre of Europe's

perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...

industry. It has remained an entirely family-run business to this day, and is also one of the oldest of its kind in France after

Galimard Galimard is a French perfume manufacture based in Grasse founded by Joseph Roux in 1950. The name of the manufacture is a tribute to Jean de Galimard. History In 1747 Jean de Galimard, Lord of Seranon was a perfumer in Grasse. Galimard was the ...

established in 1747 (though not run by original founding family). At that time, Molinard produced floral waters and

Eau de Cologne Eau de Cologne (; German: ''Kölnisch Wasser'' ; meaning "Water from Cologne"), or simply cologne, is a perfume originating from Cologne, Germany. Originally mixed by Johann Maria Farina (Giovanni Maria Farina) in 1709, it has since come to be a ge ...

, which was sold in its "little shop" in the

town centre. In 1860 the firm began creating new single floral fragrances from Jasmin,

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

Mimosa ''Mimosa'' is a genus of about 590 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word (''mimos''), an "actor" or "mime", and the feminine suffix -''osa'', "resembl ...

and

Violet Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Viol ...

in discreet, elegant bottles made of

Baccarat Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game played at casinos. It is a comparing card game played between two hands, the "player" and the "banker". Each baccarat coup (round of play) has three possible outcomes: "player" (player has the higher score ...

crystal. In 1900, the company moved into an old perfume factory, where the distillery structure was designed by

Gustave Eiffel Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (born Bonickhausen dit Eiffel; ; ; 15 December 1832 – 27 December 1923) was a French civil engineer. A graduate of École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures, he made his name with various bridges for the French railway ...

and

perfumery Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...

is still based there today. Molinard's first customers were wealthy foreigners from England and Russia that came to the

French riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...

and also bought Molinard's

eau de Cologne Eau de Cologne (; German: ''Kölnisch Wasser'' ; meaning "Water from Cologne"), or simply cologne, is a perfume originating from Cologne, Germany. Originally mixed by Johann Maria Farina (Giovanni Maria Farina) in 1709, it has since come to be a ge ...

and other floral fragrances. In 1920, the famous bottle-designer Julien Viard (1883-1938) created a number of outstanding glass

flacon A ''flacon'' (from Late Latin , meaning "bottle"; cf. "flagon") is a small, often decorative, bottle. It has an opening seal or stopper and is designed to hold valuable liquids which may deteriorate upon contact with the air. They are widespread in ...

designs for company perfumes. 1921 the firm launched one of the first solid perfume, Concréta, a fragranced natural flower

wax Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to give low ...

used directly as a

. During 1920's and 1930's

Art-Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the United ...

interwar period the company also hired renowned glassmaker

René Lalique René Jules Lalique (6 April 1860 – 1 May 1945) was a French jeweller, medallist, and glass designer known for his creations of glass art, perfume bottles, vases, jewellery, chandeliers, clocks, and automobile hood ornaments. Life Lalique's ...

Lalique Lalique is a French glassmaker, founded by renowned glassmaker and jeweller René Lalique in 1888. Lalique is best known for producing glass art, including perfume bottles, vases, and hood ornaments during the early twentieth century. Following t ...

to design and produce a number of magnificent bottles for Molinard that are sought after collector's classic today.

References

*http://www.molinard.com/en/histoire.html *http://www.grasse.fr/spip.php?rubrique395 *http://www.grasse.fr/spip.php?page=espace_pro_presta&id_rubrique=486&id_article=773 *http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/france/provence-and-the-french-riviera/grasse/25975/parfumerie-molinard/attraction-detail.html *http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/09/travel/savoring-south-of-france/index.html {{Authority control Cosmetics companies of France Perfume houses Manufacturing companies established in 1849 1849 establishments in France Grasse