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Henri Alméras (1892 – 1965) was a French perfumer, author, and painter.


Early life and career

Alméras was born in a garrison in
Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...
, the son of an officer. In school, he excelled in chemistry. He performed his military service in 1913 and was sent to
war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
the following year.René Chavance. “Alméras ou le parfumeur.” Industrie de la parfumerie. 4.8 Aug. 1949: 299-301. Print. While fighting on the
Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers to aid Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, in the autumn of 191 ...
, he first met the couturier
Jean Patou Jean Patou (; 27 September 1887 – 8 March 1936) was a French fashion designer, and founder of the Jean Patou brand. Early life Patou was born in Paris, France in 1887. Patou's family's business was tanning and furs. Patou worked with his ...
. Upon returning to France, he worked briefly at the physics laboratory at Dunlop, before answering an advertisement in '' Le Journal'' to join
Antoine Chiris Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin '' Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French Guian ...
in
Grasse Grasse (; Provençal oc, Grassa in classical norm or in Mistralian norm ; traditional it, Grassa) is the only subprefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region on the French Riviera. In 2017, the co ...
. There he trained as a perfumer for four years alongside
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 ...
and
Vincent Roubert Vincent ( la, Vincentius) is a male given name derived from the Roman name Vincentius, which is derived from the Latin word (''to conquer''). People with the given name Artists * Vincent Apap (1909–2003), Maltese sculptor *Vincent van Gogh ...
. He left for Germany, working at a manufactory in the Ruhr, but soon returned to France. He was employed as a perfumer by
Paul Poiret Paul Poiret (20 April 1879 – 30 April 1944, Paris, France) was a French fashion designer, a master couturier during the first two decades of the 20th century. He was the founder of his namesake haute couture house. Early life and care ...
at the couturier's Parfums de Rosine as of 1923, though certain sources suggest he had worked there since 1914. In 1925, he left Rosine for the Parfums d’Orsay, working with Henri Robert, though quit soon after. He was subsequently hired by Jean Patou, where he remained until 1933. He left to work for Fragonard and several other houses. In 1948, he published his comic novella ''La grand’soif du trompette Bidard'' (''The Grea’Thirst of the Trumpeter Bidard''), inspired by his military service, under the pseudonym Henri de Vérac. In the late 1940s, he managed the Parfums de Luzy. He also served as an advisor at Fabergé.


Perfumes created for Jean Patou

*1925 – ''Amour Amour'' : a floral fragrance and part of a trilogy of perfumes with ''Que Sais-Je?'' and ''Adieu Sagesse''. ''Amour Amour'' represents the initial rush of romantic love. *1925 – ''Que Sais-Je?'' : represents the hesitation one feels before acting on romantic feelings. ''Que sais je?'' is a fruity fragrance with notes of peach, apricot, orange flower, jasmine, and rose. *1925 – ''Adieu Sagesse'' :represents the moment when one surrenders to passion. ''Adieu Sagesse'' is a floral fragrance with notes of neroli, lily-of-the-valley, carnation, tuberose, and opopanax. It has a base of musk and civet. * 1927 – ''Chaldée'' :inspired by Patou's ''Huile de Chaldée'', the first ever suntan lotion. The fragrance celebrates the new fashion for suntanning that arose in the 1920s. The name is a reference to
Chaldea Chaldea () was a small country that existed between the late 10th or early 9th and mid-6th centuries BCE, after which the country and its people were absorbed and assimilated into the indigenous population of Babylonia. Semitic-speaking, it was ...
, and the fragrance is a dry blend of spices, amber, and opopanax. * 1928 – ''Le Sien'' :this was the first of the fresh, clean, sporty type of perfumes and was promoted as a unisex fragrance for men and women. In 1929, Jean Patou advertised the chypre and leather fragrance, as “a masculine perfume for the outdoors woman” who “plays golf, smokes and drives a car at 120 kilometers an hour.” It is classified as a citrus chypre fragrance for men and women. Top notes: bergamot. Middle notes: lavender, fern. Base notes: leather, oakmoss, Bourbon vetiver, Mysore sandalwood, tonka, amber, musk, labdanum. * 1929 – ''Moment Suprême'' :a spicy amber fragrance with notes of geranium, clove, bergamot, rose and jasmine. * 1929 – ''
Joy The word joy refers to the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune, and is typically associated with feelings of intense, long lasting happiness. Dictionary definitions Dictionary definitions of joy typically include a sense of ...
'' :Released at the beginning of the Great Depression, ''Joy'' is Jean Patou's most famous fragrance. When it came out, it was marketed as the "costliest perfume in the world." ''Joy'' is a classic example of the floral perfume genre, and it is known for its notes of Bulgarian rose and French jasmine. * 1933 – ''Divine Folie'' :an amber floral fragrance with notes of orange flower, ylang-ylang, neroli, iris, vetiver, jasmine, rose, musk and vanilla. * 1935 – '' Normandie'' :released to celebrate the launch of the luxury French ocean liner of the same name, ''Normandie'' is a chypre fragrance with wood and fruit notes. * 1936 – ''Vacances'' :released to celebrate the first paid holidays in France, ''Vacances'' is a fresh floral fragrance with notes of hawthorn, galbanum, hyacinth, lilac and mimosa. * 1938 – ''Colony'' :a fruity chypre with a prominent note of pineapple, ''Colony'' was inspired by the warm climate of tropical islands. Louis Süe designed all bottles and boxes for the Patou's perfumes. All of these perfumes are preserved in the archives of the Osmothèque, where they are accessible to the public.


References


External links


Henri Alméras at fragrantica.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Almeras, Henri French perfumers 1965 deaths 1892 births