Maison
Guerlain.
“Founded in 1828 by Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain — five generations of family perfumers and the inventor of the modern oriental.”
Paris, since 1828 — the oldest continuously operating perfume dynasty in France.
Specimen Card
Réf. GUERLA
In the collection
—
Bottles in stock
Status
Live inventory
- Founded
- 1828 · Paris
- In-house perfumer
- Thierry Wasser (since 2008)
- Signature accord
- The Guerlinade — bergamot, iris, jasmine, rose, tonka, vanilla
The Dossier
What to know about Guerlain.
Guerlain was founded in 1828 on rue de Rivoli in Paris and has remained a continuously operating perfumery for nearly two centuries. The house pioneered some of the most influential compositions in fragrance history: Jicky (1889) — widely considered the first modern perfume to use synthetics alongside naturals; Shalimar (1925) — the founding oriental, the bottle that defined the genre; Mitsouko (1919) — the chypre reference still used in perfumery schools.
The Guerlinade — the signature accord of bergamot, iris, jasmine, rose, tonka and vanilla — runs through almost every house composition like a family signature. Thierry Wasser has been in-house perfumer since 2008, the fifth nose in the lineage.
L'Art & La Matière, the niche-tier collection, allows Wasser and his team to release uncompromised compositions built around a single raw material — Cuir Beluga, Tonka Impériale, Bois d'Arménie, Spiritueuse Double Vanille.
Historical note
Five generations of Guerlain perfumers from 1828 to 2002, then Thierry Wasser from 2008 — the longest continuous perfumer dynasty in France.
Notable releases
- ShalimarBergamot, iris, vanilla, leather — the founding modern oriental, 1925
- MitsoukoBergamot, peach, oakmoss — the chypre reference, 1919
- Habit RougeCitrus, leather, vanilla — the great equestrian masculine, 1965
- Spiritueuse Double Vanille (L'Art & La Matière)Vanilla, rum, incense — the most beautiful vanilla in perfumery