Around twenty kilometres from Cannes, is a place hidden by mountain, mist, industrial erections and vast farmland. That place is Grasse, the perfume capital of the world. Within the boarders of this unassuming, mediaeval town are innumerable perfume shops. Some grand, such as Fragonard and Molinard, whose factories, museums and boutiques dominate the landscape and whose revenue largely supports the town’s infrastructure. But many are small, individuals or family run, with few or no employees. Two stand-out perfume houses that represent Grasse's past and present are Isnard Parfums and 1000Flowers.
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The Isnard family, of Isnard Parfums, is one of the oldest in the region, tracing its name and lineage back over a thousand years, while 1000Flowers is the brainchild of Canadian born Jessica Buchannan, who now lives and works in Grasse. That these two sides of perfumery can coexist right next to much wealthier perfume brands, in a region where much of the floral agriculture in the area is contracted to massive brands like Chanel and Dior, is precisely what makes Grasse so special. Visiting Grasse is not like visiting the perfume counter at the department store. In Grasse, you won’t simply find perfume brands that have the means to fund enormous marketing campaigns featuring celebrities and sappy television ads, but also authentically artisan perfume houses. Perfume houses that create and sell directly to and for lovers of scent.
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1000Flowers
I had the opportunity to sit down with Jessica Buchannan on my visit to Grasse earlier this year. The conversation was fascinating and Jessica is so warm and open. Her stunning atelier is in the iconic Place aux Airs. Inside are Cycladic white-washed interiors, untreated wooden accents, and splashes of cobalt blue in the form of sculptural vases. The Mediterranean is clearly an inspiration, and in her formulas she includes unexpected and exciting notes, like liquorice or mastic.
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Jessica began her career in Clinical Aromatherapy and natural skincare, having studied at the Australasian College of Health Science. She has had a life-long love affair with natural aromatic ingredients and it seemed only logical for her to eventually end up studying perfumery at the Grasse Institute. There she discovered a palette much larger than botanically derived ingredients could offer. Thousands of aromatic molecules, patented compounds, and access to the minds of legendary perfumers. Laboratory manufactured perfume ingredients allow Noses like Jessica, to maintain greater quality control and avoid the irritations that some naturals contain.
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While her working palette has grown in Grasse, her love for natural ingredients, especially those derived from the Mediterranean, remain. She uses her knowledge of, what Jessica terms, ‘essential oil therapy’ for safety considerations and is a passionate supporter of sustainably produced and biodegradable ingredients.
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Réglisse Noire by 1000Flowers
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Réglisse Noire was the first fragrance released by 1000Flowers and remains a cult favourite to this day. It’s not hard to see why. The liquorice and cocoa butter notes are delectable. But this is not your average gourmand, saccharine overload. The formula is fortified by an iciness; a mentholated effect that animates the entire fragrance. With this minty accord the spicy components of pepper, fennel, anise and ginger are exquisitely transformed from sharp and bracing, to fresh & supple.
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Parfum Isnard
Parfum Isnard is one of Grasse’s historical perfume houses, having been established in 1740 and continuously run by the Isnard family. The family’s tie to Grasse far outdated the 18th century, as the Isnard name arrived in the region around a thousand years ago with German Knights returning from the Crusades. Over the next millennium, the Isnards would enter into every level of Grasse’s public culture by becoming judges, consuls, leather tanners, glove makers and eventually perfumers and flower producers. Today, their flagship store in the town of Grasse houses an enormous range of perfumes designed by members of the family and are largely produced using the fragrant ingredients of their very own plantation known as Bastide Isnard.
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The grounds of the Bastide have been stewarded by the Isnards ever since Patrick Isnard, current patriarche, acquired the land. Historically, the Bastide belonged to a line of famous perfumers including Hughes Aine and Tombarel. Over three years, the farm was restored into the beautiful property I had the chance to visit in the height of summer. For over two continuous centuries, the Bastide has housed stone tiered slopes, growing ancient olive trees, bitter orange, violets, May rose, Jasmine Grandiflorum and Tuberose.
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Bastide Isnard is hydrated by a natural mountain spring. Its water was so valued that Queen Victoria of England had the water delivered to her for drinking. This ‘Queen’s Water’ irrigates the vast farmland to this day, producing 'les fleurs exceptionnelles’ that Grasse is so famous for.
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Visiting Bastide Isnard, I was greeted by Patrick Isnard, his loyal dog by his side. He relishes talking about his family’s history, the love he has for Grasse and the tradition of perfumery. Patrick has clearly passed on this love to his beautiful daughter, Alexane, who you can spot managing the Isnard shop in central Grasse, presenting her father's and her own perfumes to customers with infectious passion. Moco is the creation of Alexane Isnard.
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Moco by Parfum Isnard
The name of this perfume was inspired by the Provençal ‘Moco’ sailors who docked in French Mediterranean ports bringing with them aromatic ingredients from the Ottoman, Arab and African worlds. It radiates sweet spice, vanilla and aquatic notes. The star of this fragrance is no doubt the ferociously floral, honeyed scent of Tuberose, one of the emblematic flowers of Grasse.
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