Once in a while something really special comes my way. Something so special that it's totally out of my price range but I want to blog about it anyway. I am drawn to the history of the brand and bear with me while I tell you a bit about them.
Grossmith is one of England's olderst perfume houses and was first launched in 1835 and now the great great grandson of the founder, Simon Brooke has bought the company back into family ownership. The House of Grossmith combined advancements of pefumery of the early 19th Century with the trend for exotic scents and created three fragrances which are at the heart of the revival. The fragrances were the height of luxury in decorative boxes and Baccarat crystal flacons and they appealed to highest ranks of society, including royalty and in 1893 there was a custom fragrance created for the wedding of King George V and Queen Mary.
The Grossmith formulae books were rescued from the offices when they were bombed during the Blitz and were passed down through the family for three generations until 1970 when the brand left the family and closed down soon after. Now back in family ownership and working with the famous perfumer Roja Dove, Grossmith are back and recreating their perfumes.
The sample I received, and it was just a tiny phial rather than a full bottle (mores the pity) was a fragrance called Hasu-no-Hana. It's first blast is citrus, Bergamot and Orange but at the heart theres Jasmine and Ylang Ylang and the base is Cedarwood and Vetiver (amongst other things). The perfume was inspired by the Japanses Lotus Lily.
It's a truly amazing perfume. It smells expensive, and it smells exotic and it smells exclusive. And well it should, the Eau de Parfum is £125 for 50ml, the perfume is from £150 for 10ml and if you want the Baccarat special edition, well then you'd best have a spare £6,000. No, thats not an typo.
I'd love a bottle of this but I don't think Santa will ever think I've been good enough to earn this! But if unusual perfumes are your thing and you're feeling flush, you should definitely check this out. It's truly truly beautiful and the history behind the brand only serves to make it more appealing to me.
Available from http://www.grossmithlondon.com/
Wow I love a good complex perfume with a history - I can never wear them, a combination of asthma and sensitivity sees to that but I love the idea of them, and love to smell them on people - I will have to plan a summer holiday near to you so that I can come and smell it on you!! Jan x
ReplyDeleteThis sounds lovely, I also love complex perfumes. I am on a mission to find my hg perfume at the moment Samsara seems to be hitting the spot, I did once find a Chanel fragrance in duty free in Spain I think that was incredible I am sure it was Rue something but I wish I had written it down, its not something I have been able to find in the UK but I will keep looking!
ReplyDeleteJan, what a shame! However, I can certainly recommend Devon as a holiday destination! See you soon? x
ReplyDeleteDebbie, Samsara is beautiful. I used to work in a factory years ago making the boxes! I also love Mitsouko though, have you tried that one? x