Grand Musée du Parfum

The Grand Musée du Parfum was a Paris perfumery museum that operated from December 22nd, 2016, to July 6th, 2018.

History

The Grand Musée du Parfum opened on 22 December 2016. It was founded by entrepreneur Guillaume de Maussion whose ambition was to create a "scientific, creative and accessible" space. It was overseen by fragrance experts including Jean-Claude Ellena (in-house perfumer at Hermes), Mathilde Laurent (house perfumer at Cartier), and Sylvaine Delacourte (director of fragrance for Guerlain). The museum, developed over two years.

A 5-year partnership had been inked with the International Flavors & Fragrances, the museum had the support of Paris' Mayor Anne Hidalgo, of the Fédération des Entreprises de la Beauté and of the Syndicat Français de la Parfumerie.

The museum closed on 6 July 2018. No explanation was provided as to why it closed.

Description

The Grand Musée du Parfum was located in the hôtel particulier at 73, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. The 1,400 m² building was fully renovated at a cost of 7 million euros. It was once the residence of the Roederer champagne family and later the location of fashion house Christian Lacroix.

Exhibits included a recreation of the laboratory of French perfume house Houbigant (founded in 1775 at 19, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré), using items on loan from the Musée Carnavalet (the museum of the history of Paris). It also had a "garden of scent" with white sculptures that each released different scents.

Entry cost between 5 and 14.50 Euro.

References