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 Jean-Claude Ellena (born 1947) is a French perfumer and writer. He served as the in-house perfumer at Hermes from 2004 to 2016, prior to the appointment of incumbent Christine Nagel. He has collaborated with other major brands such as Van Cle ...

(in-house perfumer at Hermes),

Mathilde Laurent Mathilde Laurent is a French perfumer. After studying perfumery at ISIPCA in Versailles, Laurent began her career as an apprentice to Jean-Paul Guerlain. She went on to work at Guerlain for 11 years. Since 2006, she has been the in-house perfume ...

(house perfumer at

Cartier Cartier may refer to: People * Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player Places * Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australi ...

), and Sylvaine Delacourte (director of fragrance for

Guerlain Guerlain () is a French perfume, cosmetics, and skincare house which is among the oldest in the world. Many traditional Guerlain fragrances are characterized by a common olfactory accord known as the "". The house was founded in Paris in 1828 b ...

). The museum, developed over two years. A 5-year partnership had been inked with the

International Flavors & Fragrances International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF) is an American corporation that creates products across taste, texture, scent, nutrition, enzymes, cultures, soy proteins, and probiotics categories, which it markets globally. It is headquartered in ...

, the museum had the support of Paris' Mayor

Anne Hidalgo Ana María "Anne" Hidalgo Aleu (, ; born 19 June 1959) is a Spanish-French politician who has served as Mayor of Paris since 2014, the first woman to hold the office. She is a member of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party (PS). Hidalg ...

, 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 () is the French term for a grand urban mansion, comparable to a Townhouse (Great Britain), British townhouse. Whereas an ordinary (house) was built as part of a row, sharing party walls with the houses on either side and directly fronting on a ...

at 73,

rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré The Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré () is a street located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Relatively narrow and nondescript, especially in comparison to the nearby Champs-Élysées, Avenue des Champs-Élysées, it is cited as being on ...

. 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 Christian Marie Marc Lacroix (; born 16 May 1951) is a French fashion designer. The name may also refer to the company he founded. Lacroix's designs combine luxury and insouciance. He prefers artisanal trades, fringe, bead, and embroidery. He's ...

. 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 Musée Carnavalet () in Paris is dedicated to the History of Paris, history of the city. The museum occupies two neighboring mansions: the Hôtel Carnavalet and the former Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau. On the advice of Baron Haussmann, ...

(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

{{reflist Museums established in 2016 Museums disestablished in 2018 Museums in Paris Defunct museums in Paris Cosmetic industry Perfumery