The Brand Impasse des parfums

During my medical studies, I'd been lucky enough to stay in a mansion. There was a garden and, at the bottom of the garden, a dilapidated warehouse with difficult access, whose threshold we h a d b e e n warned not to cross. You can imagine that I was in no hurry to do the opposite of what was recommended.

It was a wonderful discovery. Stills, flasks, containers of all kinds, a world of half-light, cobwebs, laboratories and alchemy: I immediately understood that this was an old perfume factory, probably one of the last in the city.

This house was called "IMPASSE DES PARFUMS", and was my address throughout medical school.

The other discovery came years later, after I had joined the teaching staff of our Faculty of Medicine. I'd always been fascinated by the history of this faculty and its plant garden, and even more so when I discovered its extensions, the history of Montpellier perfumes,,linked to those of botany, apothecary and the skin industry. This kind of epic of scent and trade, filled with glovemakers- perfumers, renowned perfumers, royal perfumers, called to the French court for over a century, and first by Louis XIV, is a fantastic little-known adventure that it was our duty to bring out of oblivion and give a new lease of life. 

All it took was a few meetings, a lot of thought, a flurry of ideas, a perpetual spirit of creativity and a genuine shared enthusiasm to reconnect with this past of legendary brilliance. With Mathias, with his heightened olfactory sensitivity, with Michel, my writer friend, who immersed himself in the bibliographic depths of the city's multifaceted past, and with Roger, the team's invaluable manager, we decided to resurrect this particular history of Montpellier 

When it came to fragrance development, we were delighted to work with Concept Aromatique, a southern France company specialized in the development and production of contemporary scents, founded in 1994 by Frédéric de Los Rios.

From the outset, we decided on the idea of fragrances based on white flowers and aimed at a unisex clientele.

After extensive research by Concept Aromatique and numerous tests on a targeted audience, we have selected four floral arrangements: :

• lilac, a spring flower with crisp green notes;
• tuberose, a bewitching flower;
• orange blossom, very balmy, evocative of carefreeness;
• fleur de lys, a muted flower whose florality has been accentuated by the addition of spicy notes.

I've been passionate about perfume ever since I was a child, and after working for 15 years in the cosmetics industry, I took the crazy gamble of realizing my childhood dream of becoming a perfumer by joining the international perfumery school in Grasse: The Grasse Institute of Perfumery (GIP) in 2019.

Then I joined Le Parfumeur Français with master perfumer Joelle Lerioux-Patris, who passed on to me her know-how, passion and rigor for creating rich, signature fragrances

I'm now a perfumer with Concept Aromatique, run by Frédéric de los Rios, but I also teach at the GIP to share the passion that drives me every day.

From the outset of the project, our intention was to combine art and fragrance.

The art of Frédérique Gilloux, who trained in drawing at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Montpellier, reflects the influence of a youth spent in Madagascar, an island of nature, color and light. Frédérique calls herself a "colorist". At first, her paintings are covered with elementary, quasisymbolic forms - fish, cactus, birds - whose simplicity gives her the freedom to fill them with vibrant hues.

We asked her to "color our fragrances" based on white flowers. As a lover of color, she naturally chose to wrap them in strong, sunny, Mediterranean hues.

We let her follow her inspiration. We then chose and isolated details from her canvases to decorate our packaging and  boxes

In association with Maison Fabre, a luxury glove manufacturer based in Millau that will celebrate its centenary in 2024, Impasse des parfums is following in the tradition of Montpellier's glove-makers and perfumers.

Our choice of Maison Fabre reflects our desire to promote local designers who are committed to the arts and crafts, and who fervently defend local craftsmanship and French know-how, such as high-quality couture. The company, which combines heritage, modernity and transmission, buys its products from mainly European mills and regularly trains new talent in its  workshop.

Our scented gloves are designed with the utmost respect for traditional craftsmanship. The leathers come from sheep bred mainly for organic certification bio.

Discover the Impasse des parfums scented gloves

A book was needed to accompany this adventure, to refresh memories, to clear the clutter of preconceived ideas, to help clarify the past so as to better forecast the future, and to offer the curious an object of culture, analysis and entertainment.

It took a great deal of historical research into Montpellier's ancient and sumptuous perfumery, and the fields and sciences that came together to achieve this excellence. Histories of the city, the region, medicine, surgery, botany, apothecary, perfumery,  fashion…

The author, a former journalist and photographer in his spare time, carried out this investigation and the writing of his book "Impasse des parfums, le roman des parfums de Montpellier" with happiness, wit and  meticulousness.
We are pleased to present this study, which will take its place among the reference works on the subject.

Find out more about the book Impasse des parfums