Ever dreamt of stepping behind the scenes to experience the magic of the season? For nearly two centuries Guerlain has manufactured its products within its own workshops in France, where House artisans bring creations to life with the very same passion that inspired our founder in 1828. Thanks to this exceptional expertise, the Guerlain House has been awarded with the title of “Living Heritage Business” (Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant). Discovering each gem becomes a moment of sheer poetry, filled with the unshakable promise of thrill and wonder. Dressed in gold to spread enchantment and light, as ever the creations in this year’s Golden Bee Holiday Collection have been crafted in our workshops.
Les Météorites: The Art of Light
Today, as it has been in the past, hands-on techniques are essential to the production process of the Météorites. Only five Guerlain artisans, trained by their elders, master the skill of making them by using the perfect balance of powders and water. At the House’s cosmetic manufacturing site in Chartres (Eure-et-Loir), their gestures guide the Météorites pearls into shape over five hours.
The “Dames De Table”: The Art of Bottling
With its fragrance and specially made-to-measure bottle, a personalized bottle of perfume becomes the ultimate gift, giving you another way to share a part of yourself with the world. At the Orphin, (Yvelines) perfume manufacturing site, Guerlain’s six “Dames de Table” ensure that the ancestral techniques for embellishing bottles live on by enhancing the most beautiful bottles with “barbichages”, “baudruchages”, wax seals and bow details which form an expertise that elevates Guerlain’s most precious bottles into works of art.
Rouge G: The Art of Colour
Within this small and innovative gem, Rouge G conceals a safely guarded secret. Because inside this luxurious case designed by jeweller Lorenz Bäumer, is nestled a mirror designed to appear as if by magic alongside a lipstick made from precious ingredients. To create this prized red matter, Guerlain artisans weigh and blend ruby powder, mango butter and Tiger Grass with great precision. Like an object of desire, Rouge G fits into the palm of the hand like a mysterious gem.
Terracotta: The Art of Complexion
In 1984, Guerlain started a complexion revolution with Terracotta. Nestled in its pebble-smooth amber case, this compact bronzing powder contains an exclusive combination of sunny, honey-coloured, perfectly caramelized pigments that are blended and compacted in our French ateliers. This revolution in cosmetics continues to glow today as Terracotta is now available in several products, one of which is sold somewhere in the world every 30 seconds.
Guerlain’s Boutique: The Art of Living
What has kept Guerlain’s heart beating throughout time? None other than the timelessness of the city that saw the House’s birth and has inspired some of its most beautiful creations. Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain opened his very first Boutique on Rue de Rivoli in Paris, 1828, amid the chandeliers and gild work of what would later become the Hotel Le Meurice’s restaurant dining room. The “Boutique” spirit of the House with its promise to share the French art of hospitality was born. That same year, the Perfumer moved his manufacturing close to the Arc de Triomphe to what he poetically called “La Savonnerie” (The Soap factory). Delicate pomades, iridescent oils, perfume and soap were all produced here for local and international customers who were now discovering the magic of the Guerlain universe. Little by little, the House blossomed within the heart of the City of Light.
Next, with all the splendour and elegance of the Second Empire came Guerlain’s consecration. In 1853, as Paris was alight with festivity, Pierre-François-Pascal Guerlain dedicated his Eau de Cologne Impériale to Empress Eugénie of Montijo to mark her marriage to Napoleon III. He entrusted the creation of the bottle to the Pochet & du Courval glassmakers who made it according to a cylindrical, domed design and topped it with a festoon motif inspired by the Vendôme column. He was named “Perfumer to the Empress”. Bees, an imperial symbol in France could be found in relief around the bottle’s circumference. From then on Guerlain’s name became known throughout Europe’s royal courts, and much like his aura, his success never faded.
In 1840, the daring and visionary Pierre-François-Pascal invested in a space on Rue de la Paix. He was evidently a good judge of location, because what was once dubbed the “most poorly paved street in Paris” soon became the beating heart of the Vendôme district and a symbol of French luxury and creation. In 1914, Jacques Guerlain then made the genius decision to create a temple of Beauty at 68 Avenue des Champs-Élysées, a legendary location nestled in a prestigious building designed by architect Charles Mewès (to whom we also owe the Ritz, Paris and the Carlton in London). As a bold and luxurious expression of the Guerlain spirit, this exceptional place dedicated to lovers of all things beautiful featured an Institute and Spa which when opened in 1939 was one of the first in the world. Designed by Jean-Michel Frank, Christian Bérard and Alberto Giacometti, this unique space became the House setting for enhancing beauty.
Throughout its history, Guerlain’s Boutique spirit has never ceased to radiate throughout the heart of the capital. From Rivoli to the Champs-Élysées, Vendôme to Saint-Honoré, Paris has made Guerlain’s heart beat all the stronger and, just as it did in the past, continues to inspire its most beautiful creations with both passion and genius. Embodied by its bee, for this festive period Guerlain is sharing its magic, expertise and enchantment with the world from France.
